MLB.tv on Roku?
 

The Royals finally are in a position to have a special year and I'd really like to watch all of their games this season. The Direct TV package, IMO, is outrageously priced at $225 dollars before tax but the alternative is MLB.tv through a streaming device at $129.99 for the season.

Unfortunately, I do not own a device with the MLB.tv app (I recently purchased three Sony Blu-ray players but MLB only supports Samsung). So, I can purchase a device like a Roku for $55 (720p) or Roku 3 for $89 (1080p). The MLB forums are filled with people that say it's great and a much better product than DTV's "Extra Innings".

Any experiences? Thanks in advance!

I have a ROKU, it's pretty cool. I don't have MLB TV though... :)

Is the picture quality excellent? Any issues with streaming?

I don't use it on Roku, but I have the app for Apple TV, which I would assume is the same thing. The app is awesome, you can get announcers from either the home or away team. The picture quality is great, and I rarely have streaming problems. You can also watch a game after it's ended. And since you don't live in KC, you'll be able to watch all the Royals games you want, except when they play the Angels. You also won't be able to watch the Dodgers. I also find that baseball games are just something nice to have on in the background if I'm doing other stuff, so it's nice to be able to stream non-Royals games, too.
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The only time I've ever had issues were issues with the provider, not with the ROKU. Everything I watch on it is 720p.

Thanks, Dude!

The Dodgers and Angels games are all shown locally, so I'm good in that regard. My biggest "fear" (for lack of a better word) is picture quality and no future Roku support.

As I mentioned in another thread, I have Direct TV Premiere and I'm good with it and the NFL package, but I really don't feel like patronizing DTV any further, if at all possible. Plus, mobile access would be cool and they support iPad's and iPhones.

Thanks again!

Thanks, Dude!

I wish the Sunday Ticket would come to the ROKU... I actually prefer the picture/sound to what I can stream on my XBOX, and before they neutered it I watched a ton of ESPN on it.

Roku is ****ing awesome. I nixed cable and went that route. Saves me about 100 bucks a month.

I have streamed MLB TV through my PS3 and iPad and its terrific.
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If you don't mind it, it's also entirely possible to stream MLB.tv through a web browser on your computer, which you can either watch on your monitor or link up to your TV.

Thanks again for the input! PC Magazine says that Apple.TV is a better device than the Roku 3. They're the same price, so that's not an issue.

Any thoughts?

If you are already in itunes world apple tv is a great choice. One more great connective device for the apple team.

I am a cranky person who loves my mac very much but hates itunes so I have a roku, and am very happy with it, just upgraded to the 3 from the very first generation which is now going into the workout room. Didn't think I'd care about the headphones on the remote, but I use it all the time! Someone else can take a phone call while I am watching something and I don't have to turn the sound down, and they don't interrupt my viewing with their talking.

Agreed, if you already have an iPad or iPhone or both, the Apple TV makes a lot of sense. You can mirror whatever is on your device onto your TV through the Apple TV. And Apple TV makes even more sense if you value having access to iTunes. But if you don't care about iTunes or about mirroring, the Roku has a lot more options for apps, like Pandora or Spotify.

If you have an Xbox there is an xbox mlb.tv app on there. that what i did with NBA. It had some deal for 50bucks for the year, but only get 5 teams.

Hate the blackout rule.

I get mlbtv on the laptop then connect to TV with HDMI cable. Works great here.

Dane Ive used Roku before and it worked fine. Spend the extra $30 or whatever and get the 1080p one.

I stream mlbtv thru my PS3 now and it works great. One very underrated aspect of it is it removes all the unnecessary local graphics and add-ons like scrolling bars and junk. I hate watching games and have to keep seeing the same crappy info scroll past on the bottom of a screen for three hours. Gives me a migraine

Also when Im at work or just messing around I can pop the game on my phone or a tablet.

Get the Roku it's great for finding and adding all kids of pirated media!!!!(I kid I kid! :D)

Actually between the Roku and the apple device I would ask which has better aesthetics. I.e. which can you hide better in your setup or not stand out.

As per 1080P v 720P devices, for the MLB I doubt the 1080P will make a difference any time soon. Hell broadcast TV is really only 720P, given the high motion nature of sports they'll probably stay at 720Pish for a while because of bandwidth concerns.

I tried to find out what bitrate they were transmitting at and the best I can find is that for the highest quality they recommend a 3Mb/s internet connection. Now that doesn't really say they are transmitting at 3Mb/s but they might be. For 720P content at ~3Mb/s bitrate you probably won't notice much difference in visual quality between the streaming and the satellite feed.

The biggest question is in how much you use your internet for. If you use it for heavy bandwidth usages then the MLB streaming could become a quality issue if you are using heavy bandwidth somewhere else in the house. I'm betting that's probably not a concern but that's something to consider.

The only other outside issue to consider is if your internet provider has put into place monthly bandwidth caps like mobile devices. This isn't terribly common today for landline systems and most of the ones that exist are for very large bandwidth caps(again something I'd bet isn't a concern for you). But this trend will start to become more popular in the future.

Unless you're on a really small local internet provider who has pretty small bandwidth limits(i.e. pretty rare), you'd have to like be watching 100+ games a month to have this be an issue today.

You're most likely good to go once you decide a device for home.

Thanks to everyone!

I pussed out and bought the Extra Innings Package from DTV. They gave me $10 off a month for 12 months and $5 off for six months. So essentially, the package cost me $40 dollars and I'm able to view from all five TV's in the house, without dragging around a dongle.

Thanks again!

Oh yeah, Go Royals! :)

Um that is a hell of a deal if you ask me. I got DTV and would be down with that.

Did you send them a penis pic or something?

Just as a data point, I bought MLB.tv today as well. Excellent picture quality on both my Xbox and laptop, very impressed thus far.

I have a roku, and the picture is as good as your ISP allows it to be. Time Warner Cable for me, and at times it lags out bad.

LMAO

DaneMcCloud.

:D

LMAO

Thanks again, Lew!

MLB app on Roku is by far the worst app i have ever used on any tablet/phone/videogame console ever! Its a piece of shit. 1 out of 10, its a 1. The constant dropping of the stream is insane. its about 10 times per game.

Not for me, sounds like an isp issue. I get a fantastic HD picture and no drops or stuttering.

not me, not even close! it works wonderful on my xbox and on my PC. Hell, the app works great on my google nexus as well. Its just on the Roku box. Netflix on Roku is wonderful as well. I dont know what the ****ing issue is, i know it cant be a bandwidth issue, i have a 50mb line.

Also, when its going, the picture is great, it just sometimes boots me back to the roku homepage. Ok it does it alot during a game.

Uninstall and reinstall the channel maybe?

i didnt think of that, going to do it before the L.A/K.C game

http://deadspin.com/whats-up-with-ml...xed-1557683857

guess its not only just me.

Tekll me more about Roku. I have it but I havent used it yet. I have the box. Do you have the stick? How much sports do you get, including local teams? Any way to get NFLST on it? Im seriously considering dumping DTV