MLB EI vs. MLB.TV

[choadler]

Quick question for those of you with experience with both services. I am going to be home during the summer watching my newborn for about 12 weeks and would like to look into getting one of these services to get me through the dog days of summer. I don't care too much about watching my local area games, just want to watch the more interesting matchups.

I have Direct TV and an HDTV. So far the Extra Innings free trial has been fantastic. The picture quality is really top notch. The cheaper option is MLB.TV subscription. I have a PS3 that I can stream the games through to my HDTV and I have a 23" inch LCD monitor that I could watch games on my PC. My internet connection is reasonbly good, i have speed tested it to a high of 12 mbps. Lastly I probably won't get get either one until I am home around June 13, due to not being able to get value out of the services until then.

So based on this knowledge what are some of your guys thoughts as to these two services and which one would you go with?

[Blzer]

Re: MLB EI vs. MLB.TV

One thing I don't like about MLB.TV is everything is captured in 30 FPS, or something close to that at least. It's like when your local team will flash back to a home run hit the night before by a certain player, that "archived" look that it has is apparent on MLB.TV. I'm guessing Extra Innings is straight from the feed so it will get a smoother "sports" feel to it.

But I love MLB.TV for "on the go" kind of action, since I can watch it on my laptop and there are quite a few awesome functionalities with it. I have no experience with EI nor do I know how much it costs.

[choadler]

Re: MLB EI vs. MLB.TV

MLB EI is 210 for the full year. MLB.TV is $119 for the Premium.

Thanks for the feedback on the 30 frames. That would seem a little odd. How is the HD quality?

[Chef Matt]

Re: MLB EI vs. MLB.TV

How is the HD quality?

In my experience it suffers a bit in the beginning of the season but gets better later on. It also depends on network traffic.

I had E.I. one year and it blows away MLB.tv in HD, however, at 119.00 for Premium MLB.TV it was far cheaper and looked great for the price. It is still HD don't get me wrong, it's not at all grainy or distorted lol, it's quite impressive just not E.I.

Also the added functionalities, and ability to watch from any computer anywhere at a fraction of E.I.'s cost made MLB.TV a no brainer again for this year.

[The Chef]

Re: MLB EI vs. MLB.TV

Last year I couldnt even get mlb.tv to work on my PS3 and I hate watching things on my laptop so this year I just bit the bullet and purchased Extra Innings, and so far its been amazing. Im not entirely sure how it works through Directv but unfortunately through Comcast there are only a couple games per day that are in actual HD and the rest are in SD which kind of sucks but its better then nothing I suppose. Secondly, if your not going to join until June you might be able to get the rate cut in half since the season will be well underway by then. Either way you cant go wrong if you dont mind watching the games on your laptop.

[Pared]

Re: MLB EI vs. MLB.TV

Well if you have a PS3 you can watch it on your TV, right?

[choadler]

Re: MLB EI vs. MLB.TV

Last year I couldnt even get mlb.tv to work on my PS3 and I hate watching things on my laptop so this year I just bit the bullet and purchased Extra Innings, and so far its been amazing. Im not entirely sure how it works through Directv but unfortunately through Comcast there are only a couple games per day that are in actual HD and the rest are in SD which kind of sucks but its better then nothing I suppose. Secondly, if your not going to join until June you might be able to get the rate cut in half since the season will be well underway by then. Either way you cant go wrong if you dont mind watching the games on your laptop.

During the free trial, every game has been in HD for both feeds both home and away.

[55]

Re: MLB EI vs. MLB.TV

Well if you have a PS3 you can watch it on your TV, right?

Yep. That's how I watch the Rays games every day. It comes through in full 1080p and looks damn good.

[The Chef]

Re: MLB EI vs. MLB.TV

Well if you have a PS3 you can watch it on your TV, right?

Of course, my problem was the app kept giving me an error having something to do with my info and my wallet and after spending far too much time trying to fix it I finally gave up. I would have eventually figured it out but I talked Comcast into giving me Extra Innings for 90.00 for the full season so I couldnt pass that up so I just threw in the towel on the PS3 app.

[cbgatorade0202]

Re: MLB EI vs. MLB.TV

Every Game on MLB.EI will be in HD on Directv all year long.

I had the package last year and loved it. I already have it ordered for this year. The price obviously sucks, but the HD quality is great and If you are going to be watching the ball games at home then your television is likely a better screen then your computer screen.

[travis72]

Re: MLB EI vs. MLB.TV

I love MLB TV. One of the best things about it is you can pick what broadcast team you want. So even when the Reds are out of town I still get there announcers instead of the home team. I wish NBA league pass had something like this so i could always have the Pacers announcers.