Looking for opinions on Sling TV quality/operability for baseball games

[WeatherWonk]

Well, I am in the US this year for the playoffs. Normally I am in Mexico, where there are no blackouts for an MLB subscriber.

So, I need a streaming service for a month. Sling is the least expensive that gives you TBS and Fox Sports 1, where virtually all the games are, up to the World Series. The WS is on Fox broadcast and get that through the air.

For those of you who have Sling TV BLUE (I gotta have two simultaneous streams as I am married and the wife's tastes are more Rachael Ray), are you happy with the quality of the games? How does it look on a 4K UHD TV compared to other channes? Does the DVR function work on the games? Can you record the games for later? 

Any other opinions on other streaming services, if you feel they are a better value?

 

[Adam]

My brother hates me because when we text during the games he's a good 1-2 minutes delayed 

[WeatherWonk]

11 minutes ago, Adam said:

My brother hates me because when we text during the games he's a good 1-2 minutes delayed 

And he has Sling, I take it?

I can live with the delay. Sometimes the delay on MLB.TV is approaching a minute.

[Adam]

Yeah

[well_red]

i went sling this year, because it has fox sports west and nbc sports and that's about 90% of my tv time right there.  btw, sling has fox 11 too, so you'll get the ws too.  i have the package without espn.  it also doesn't get abc or cbs, which is annoying for other sports.

at first i thought it looked jumpy compared to the normal cable broadcast, but i don't feel that way anymore, so not sure if i got used to it or it was just a temporary thing.  it definitely has a delay but doesn't bother me.  the interface is nice and easy.  every once in a while it'll buffer or freeze, but really not that often, once a month or so.  the strangest thing is that each channel has it's own rules about rewinding and fast forward.  for some reason, you can't go back during a live broadcast on fsw, which is annoying if you miss something and want to replay.  you can dvr the games and it works well, i think it costs $5 extra per month for the dvr option.  the other annoying thing is the sling login doesn't work for all the dedicated channel apps, for instance i don't think i was able to log in to fox sports go.  i've had some problems with the on-demand offerings from some channels, for instance i had showtime and whenever i tried to watch on-demand it would freeze up every few minutes, very annoying and not my internet connection.  but overall i'm pretty happy with it, it's not saving that much compared to cable but i had really shitty charter so this is much better.

[WeatherWonk]

Thank you, well red, for some details. I dont expect an online service to be without occasional buffering. I have Amazon Prime and Netflix and it occasionally happens, but rare.

Sounds like you have Sling Blue, since no ESPN. I am fine with that.

Have you ever tried to watch two streams at the same time? What was it like? You know, someone on a tablet or phone and someone on the smart TV?

[well_red]

10 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

Have you ever tried to watch two streams at the same time? What was it like? You know, someone on a tablet or phone and someone on the smart TV?

Sorry, only use one stream at a time, haven't tried multiple.  I think I only get one stream, but if I get a chance I can try when I get home.

[VariousCrap]

I have Playstation Vue which is also a streaming device and it works good overall.  An occasional buffer here and there, but not really a big deal.  We enhanced our internet and connected the TV to the modem.

[WeatherWonk]

ESPN is only on the Orange network. So, if you dont have it, you probably have Blue. Orange is 20.00. Blue is 25.00. Blue gets up to three streams.

[well_red]

4 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

ESPN is only on the Orange network. So, if you dont have it, you probably have Blue. Orange is 20.00. Blue is 25.00. Blue gets up to three streams.

Yeah, I looked that up when I was writing that.  It's strange because my bill says explicitly "1 stream."  So not sure if they have changed the blue package, or if the line item on the bill is misleading.  Either way I've never tried, but happy to give it a shot tonight.  

[Jobu]

Just give me your login and I'll try it for you

[Make Angels Great Again]

PS Vue is easily the best IMO. I did a lot of research into all the big streaming services when I ditched my cable TV and Vue was the runaway winner.

Best bang for your buck when it comes to the channel lineup, and the picture quality is superior to Sling. Sling only streams ESPN at 60 FPS, while Vue streams everything at 60 FPS (or at least everything that normally comes at 60 FPS on regular cable).

[well_red]

21 hours ago, WeatherWonk said:

Have you ever tried to watch two streams at the same time? What was it like? You know, someone on a tablet or phone and someone on the smart TV?

I tested out two streams on my TV and phone.  It worked great, no problems or bad quality for the 10 minutes or so I had it on.  Good to know!

[Inside Pitch]

On 10/2/2017 at 4:18 PM, WeatherWonk said:

Well, I am in the US this year for the playoffs. Normally I am in Mexico, where there are no blackouts for an MLB subscriber.

So, I need a streaming service for a month. Sling is the least expensive that gives you TBS and Fox Sports 1, where virtually all the games are, up to the World Series. The WS is on Fox broadcast and get that through the air.

For those of you who have Sling TV BLUE (I gotta have two simultaneous streams as I am married and the wife's tastes are more Rachael Ray), are you happy with the quality of the games? How does it look on a 4K UHD TV compared to other channes? Does the DVR function work on the games? Can you record the games for later? 

Any other opinions on other streaming services, if you feel they are a better value?

 

Its a tad more expensive but IMO DirectTV Now is a far better service and you can have two streams going for their cheapest package $35.00   For $50.00 you can get MLB Network to boot.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

On 10/2/2017 at 1:52 PM, well_red said:

i went sling this year, because it has fox sports west and nbc sports and that's about 90% of my tv time right there.  btw, sling has fox 11 too, so you'll get the ws too.  i have the package without espn.  it also doesn't get abc or cbs, which is annoying for other sports.

I went to their website but even the most expensive option didn't have Fox Sports West on the their menu at least. I have been using YouTubeTV, it has FSW, FS1, FS2, ESPN1&2, but no TBS. I use MlbTv for those games. It also has most over the air channels but I also have a good antenna so I don't need them. It has unlimited DVR, and we can have 4 streams at once at lest I haven't tried more. It cost $35/month.

[well_red]

8 hours ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

I went to their website but even the most expensive option didn't have Fox Sports West on the their menu at least. 

the blue package gets regional fox sports networks, it is based on your billing address.

[WeatherWonk]

I meant to get back to this thread with a MAJOR DISCOVERY. While Sling TV does have FS1 and TBS in the Blue package, Sling is NOT an authorized carrier for MLB. They have alternative programming on those channels during the baseball games. They also do not have MLB Network AND you cannot get an authentication code to activate your MLB premium account to watch it on MLB.TV.

So, I cancelled during the trial period of Sling and went with DirecTVNOW. They are an authorized carrier. Instead of 25.00, it's 35.00. 

[well_red]

19 hours ago, WeatherWonk said:

I meant to get back to this thread with a MAJOR DISCOVERY. While Sling TV does have FS1 and TBS in the Blue package, Sling is NOT an authorized carrier for MLB. They have alternative programming on those channels during the baseball games. They also do not have MLB Network AND you cannot get an authentication code to activate your MLB premium account to watch it on MLB.TV.

So, I cancelled during the trial period of Sling and went with DirecTVNOW. They are an authorized carrier. Instead of 25.00, it's 35.00. 

Hmm I don't have that problem, I can see all the games on TBS or FS1.  Sometimes they don't show up in the schedule for some reason, but I've watched most of them.  But whatever, glad you found something that works for you.

[WeatherWonk]

That's strange.

I tuned in during the first Yankee-Indian broadcast and there was other programming on. The game was definitely in progress, as I was listening on XM radio.

I immediately cancelled Sling  and started DTVNow and it was immediately there on MLB Network.

Here is a link that shows the authorized pay TV providers. Sling is not listed. DirectTVNow is only listed as a provider through the ALDS series. Not listed as eligible for the NLDS series. Not sure what is going to happen after these series. I havent tried to look at an NL game yet. I guess I will find out in about an hour. 

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/subscriptions/index.jsp?product=US&c_id=&affiliateId=MLBMENU#paidproviders

[Angelfan79]

I got sling only for fox sports west here in Vegas and they show just about every angels game!! The 1 to 2 minute delay has been no issue for me!!

[WeatherWonk]

10 hours ago, Angelfan79 said:

I got sling only for fox sports west here in Vegas and they show just about every angels game!! The 1 to 2 minute delay has been no issue for me!!

Yeah, but what about the 180 day delay between Angel games? 

[Angelfan79]

26 minutes ago, WeatherWonk said:

Yeah, but what about the 180 day delay between Angel games? 

 

Hahaha well that part sucks!!

[eligrba]

10 hours ago, WeatherWonk said:

Yeah, but what about the 180 day delay between Angel games? 

But in 2002..

 

At least there is that, and that amazing game when in high school.

Good times.

 

[Angel Mook]

Sling (and their parent Dish) and Fox are in the middle of a dogfight over Fox raising renewal fees. As of 7/26/19 - No Angels baseball! I was so f*cking pissed, I called Sling. They're blaming Fox of course and said they're still negotiating. If they don't get the games back in a week, I'm canceling Sling. I think Hulu Live has Fox Sports West? Anybody know the best streaming alternative? I refuse to go back to Spectrum.  

 

 

 

[Reveille1984]

I'm using a free trial of Hulu TV for now because of this.  It's $5 more than Sling Blue+Orange, but has DVR included (if you care about that) and also local stations that Sling didn't have (CBS, etc.) and their own Hulu content.

It's been pretty much the same quality as Sling so far, so If they don't work out the dispute I'll just cancel.