MLBEI experiences

[drx6]

Hi guys - 10 year E* customer on the verge of swapping for the sole reason of more baseball. My kids can't get enough of it!

Never having had MLBEI (or know anyone that has), I've got a few (probably basic) questions:

advertising for 2008 says 'up to' 40 games a week in HD. Were most games every night in HD or did they kind of rotate between teams?

If I have MLBEI and the sports pack, does that mean games on (Red Sox fan here) NESN will *not* be blacked out? Or do they just appear on the regular MLBEI channels (or both places)?

I'm assuming you get the choice between the home and away coverage (pending blackout rules, of course)?

I'm in the Harrisburg, PA DMA. I think we're claimed by Philly, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Washington. But what we're mostly interested in is the Red Sox. Is NESN on a CONUS bird and - if it is - is it possible to 'move' with D* as some people *cough*present company*cough* have with E*?

I'm looking to upgrade my system to HD and I can't get any NE locals in HD, as well as NESN here in PA. I guess the HD spots are a lot more narrow...

 

[Big Dawg 23]

I am also curious about the MLBEI in HD. I just moved over from Charter. I did subscribe to MLBEI last withCharter and will do the same next season with D*. However Charter did not have anything in HD.

Although after reviewing DIRECTV - MLB EXTRA INNINGS Schedule it looks to me as everything is on seperate channels other than RSN. When you read through the FAQ's it looks like those stations(RSN) function off the Zip Code black out search engine they use. My guess is that you will not be able to watch the RSN Channels for the games but not sure.

Also to current subsribers how much was MLBEI + Superfan?

 

[drx6]

yeah - I thought seriously about going back to cable *shutter* for the first time in a decade. We're Comcast territory and I do have a buddy that had MLBEI through them, but there was no HD. And then I come across the $15 monthly charge for a DVR and I'm right back home again on a dish

 

[Hookem99]

I have had MLB EI for a few years now and really enjoy it. You can choose to watch home or away, however one or the other may not be in HD. Also, in a lot of cases, I have found that if a game is available on the EI channels (720+) it may also be on the RSN. In my area, the Astros were blackout alot on the EI channel while available on FSSW. Since you're not in the Boston DMA, I doubt you'll have a issue with blackouts. As for the cost, I cant remember exactly, but I think it was 199 with SF.

 

[Daoyee]

January 1st is the debut of the MLB channel on cable. Hopefully on D* t00.

 

[Big Dawg 23]

Everyone who(Cable and Sat Providers) have MLBEI gets the MLB Channel. It was part of the negotiations. D* is the one that put it in the contract if I am not mistaken.

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[ddinsm]

Since I live in Los Angeles I wasn't able to "relocate" with DISH anymore and since they lost the MLB package I switched to Direct last year. It was the perfect time, DirecTV started broadcasting almost every game in HD for both home and away. You can watch them on the specific MLB channels or just record the "home" channel, in our case NESNHD. This way I could setup my timer to get the pregame, game and post game all on NESNHD. The only time that didn't work was when they played the Angels and the NESN feed was blacked out.

In addition to getting all the games they also had a couple of channels that were cool when I wasn't watching the Sox, the Red Zone channel is in HD and bounces around to games and one channel that showed 6 or 8 games in little screens, unfortunately that one wasn't in HD last year so I didn't watch much.

Enjoy the switch, I think you will be very happy in April.

Dave

 

[mikew]

I paid $169 + $50 for SF for a total of $219. It was the best year of EI...ever! Most HD, home and away feeds....

 

[drx6]

thanks for the info, guys.
I knew about the MLB channel (and how E* wasn't going to carry it) and that's when I seriously thought about switching. But everytime I pick up the phone to call and make the switch, I get cold feet. A decade with E* is a long time - but it appears that it's time to move on

 

[Jimmy 440]

If your a baseball fan like me,you'll love the EI package.You'll get plenty of Red Sox games on NESN,except when they play one of the above teams you mentioned.You would have to watch them on your local RSN's.They would have the local tv rights to that game.I am just outside the Philly blackout zone here & we get the CSN P Phils games on EI.I am not sure about Harrisburg.If the Phils claim you,their feed would be blacked out.You'd have to watch CSN P on cable.Regardless,there is so much baseball out there on EI,you wont be sorry you made the plunge.I broke away from Comcast in 1999 just for the sports pack & sports subscriptions.I never looked back.

DO IT HARRISBURG ! Make the switch,you won't be sorry !

 

[ddinsm]

thanks for the info, guys.
I knew about the MLB channel (and how E* wasn't going to carry it) and that's when I seriously thought about switching. But everytime I pick up the phone to call and make the switch, I get cold feet. A decade with E* is a long time - but it appears that it's time to move on

When I made the switch I had been a very happy Dish customer since 1996 and managed an extra year by doing my "move" but when I saw they were going to start spot beaming local channels I knew my wife would kill me if I didn't make the switch. It took a while to get used to the different ways Direct does things and the PVR isn't as cool but its gotten much better just in the 6 months I've been using it and the wife loves that she got her own HD-DVR in the deal.

Oh and thanks to this site my bill is lower and I got Sunday Ticket. :up

 

[drx6]

Oh and thanks to this site my bill is lower and I got Sunday Ticket. :up

oh really?!
I need to do a little searching around

The DirecTv DVR's are NOT tivo dvr's anymore, correct?

 

[Sori4mvp]

I love the EI package, I get EVERY Yankee game in HD and can watch EVERY game on YES or MY9. IN the past sometimes you had to watch the other teams feed, but now you can actually choose between Home and Road feed and that's the sweetest part of the deal now!!!! I advise to get it!!! Tons of games in HD and you get dual feeds, it gets no better then that!

 

[ddinsm]

oh really?!
I need to do a little searching around

The DirecTv DVR's are NOT tivo dvr's anymore, correct?

think it was a special deal right around the start of the season, but keep an eye on this forum and you never know what you might find out.

Direct just did a new deal with TIVO but it won't be out for at least a year, I have had very little problems with the DVR and for the baseball season I just set a manual recording for NESN everyday from 3pm to 9pm (I'm on the west coast) and would start the recording when I got home so the wife and I could watch the game. If it wasn't a game night I just deleted it.

 

[drx6]

Direct just did a new deal with TIVO but it won't be out for at least a year,

I'm not a Tivo fan, so I'll jump on board before that happens.

 

[drx6]

this is a little off-topic, but i'm the topic starter. so i'll talk about the rain in Spain if i wanna - ha.
and i feel like i know you guys

a few newbie questions about D*:
- what are the main satellite positions that a d* looks at, 101, 110, 119?
- does D* charge a monthly fee for extra receivers (dish charges $5, I believe. But when i play around on the Direct site, I never see a mention of this)
- Are you required to have a phone line hooked up and, if so - can it be VoIP? Sometime ago E* had problems with their receivers dialing in through VoIP. Don't know if it's still an issue, though. And E* charges an extra fee if you're not hooked up to a phone line....