Roku/Apple TV/Amazon Fire TV/Chromecast - What do you have? What do you like?

[SunDeck]

If I read the fine print correctly... you can still watch the game but not live (90 minutes after). I might just fork over the $130 because even if I attend the game I still watch it the next day (when I had a DVR or RedsLive). Bolded below is what I hate...

I don't know if I'd take advantage of the 90 minute thing or not. It just seems like there's an opportunity there for them to get revenue from people who are not buying anything right now, but it's probably too small a number of people. I've never had a cable package with Reds games, maybe a dumb question, but do they get home games?

[KittyDuran]

Yes, home games are available.

[SunDeck]

Yes, home games are available.

So that makes it clearer why the blackout rule is in effect for Interwebs users; the finger in the dyke holding back the tide of cord cutters is the arrangement cable companies have with major sports. Five years from now (maybe sooner), I wonder how different things will be?

[cumberlandreds]

I don't know if I'd take advantage of the 90 minute thing or not. It just seems like there's an opportunity there for them to get revenue from people who are not buying anything right now, but it's probably too small a number of people. I've never had a cable package with Reds games, maybe a dumb question, but do they get home games?

Reds carry just about every game home and away. I think it averages out to about a 145 games a year. I always thought this part of the black out was the worst. I can't see why you can't watch on another device besides a TeeVee. All they would have to do is pump in the FSN commercials and it would be the same thing. I am actually fortunate that I live outside of Reds territory and can see every game except when they play the Nats or Orioles through MLBTV.

[cumberlandreds]

Looks like the progress on lifting in market blackouts for streaming media has collasped. MLB and Fox had been on the verge of agreeing to lift the black outs of in market Fox telecasts but talks broke down and now seem unlikely this will happpen in 2015 or maybe beyond.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybro...r-2015-season/

[dougdirt]

Thanks, that's what I thought. This blackout rule is ridiculous; it is not nearly enough of an incentive for me to drive five hours round trip to see a game. Just make a package and let me pay to see the home games. They are missing a revenue opportunity.

There are workarounds, such as setting up something on your computer that tells MLB you are somewhere else. It works, but it does slow down your internet speeds a little bit in the process. Many people do it, I'm not entirely sure of the legality of it for working around something like this though. But, it happens all over the place and I know that several people on this board do it to watch the Reds game through their devices despite living in the blackout area.

The blackout thing is so strange. I get blacking me out, I drove down to the stadium today at lunch time in 20 minutes. Cool. I can make it to the games. But people that live hours away are still in the blackout zone. There is no actual chance those guys/gals are making it to games on any sort of regular basis. It's just not realistic. It's like they are using the same rules they did in 1960 when there were three home games a year on TV. Oh? They are? Well, that sounds exactly like something baseball would do.

[dougdirt]

Reds carry just about every game home and away. I think it averages out to about a 145 games a year. I always thought this part of the black out was the worst. I can't see why you can't watch on another device besides a TeeVee. All they would have to do is pump in the FSN commercials and it would be the same thing. I am actually fortunate that I live outside of Reds territory and can see every game except when they play the Nats or Orioles through MLBTV.

It's not the same thing though, because while the Reds games ratings would be up, for the other 21 hours a day, or 24 hours in the offseason, you can't watch that channel. Even if you wouldn't watch it often, you'd tune in sometimes and they'd get the ratings and thus the shows would get more ad revenue from their commercial sales and so on. That's why we haven't really seen the sides be able to come to an agreement. They want you to watch stuff other than the Reds games too.

[SunDeck]

There are workarounds, such as setting up something on your computer that tells MLB you are somewhere else. It works, but it does slow down your internet speeds a little bit in the process. Many people do it, I'm not entirely sure of the legality of it for working around something like this though. But, it happens all over the place and I know that several people on this board do it to watch the Reds game through their devices despite living in the blackout area.

Yeah, I doubt the MLB police are going to come and arrest me, but the blackout rule is their privilege. A big, outdated, stupid privilege, thank you anti-trust exemption. But I'm unlikely to spoof my IP address, just because it doesn't feel right to do so. Next thing I know, I'm pirating music and games, then donning coveralls for short trips to the garage, which I keep under lock, key and booby trap. Because meth.

[AtomicDumpling]

I think its $120 for the year.

Yes, plus $5 per month to get around the blackouts.

[BUTLER REDSFAN]

Ok--Just hooked up a roku 2 on my mom's tv yesterday...She has Time Warner Cable not sure what you call the tier but its all the channels you can get but she doesn't have any movie channels and its not high def....Anyway I downloaded the TWC app on the Roku and now she is getting all the Encore movie channels thru the app?! Is this just a fluke or do you get movie channels thru the app that you don't subscribe to from the cable box?

[dougdirt]

Ok--Just hooked up a roku 2 on my mom's tv yesterday...She has Time Warner Cable not sure what you call the tier but its all the channels you can get but she doesn't have any movie channels and its not high def....Anyway I downloaded the TWC app on the Roku and now she is getting all the Encore movie channels thru the app?! Is this just a fluke or do you get movie channels thru the app that you don't subscribe to from the cable box?

I do not get those channels through the app, so there is something going on there.

With that said, I do get a few channels through the app that I don't get on my TV. So maybe it's a package thing? I have no clue.

[KittyDuran]

I do not get those channels through the app, so there is something going on there.

With that said, I do get a few channels through the app that I don't get on my TV. So maybe it's a package thing? I have no clue.

Seems like a package thing...

[GAC]

If I wanted to also be able to use my TV to stream (browse) the internet, what's the best (and cheapest) route to go?

[dougdirt]

If I wanted to also be able to use my TV to stream (browse) the internet, what's the best (and cheapest) route to go?

A computer with an HDMI cord. Just about any laptop made in the last few years will have an HDMI port that you can use to hook it up to a tv. When my dad got sick and couldn't get around much we hooked up my old laptop to the TV for him and I bought him a wireless keyboard and mouse so he could just use it from the chair in the living room.

Now, if you wanted to do it with a non-computer device, then I really don't know what the best option is. The lack of a keyboard on things would seemingly make using the internet a mess.

[mole44]

Signing up for sling.tv and I have the opportunity to get a free Fire TV Stick, Roku stick or $50 off the Fire TV or Roku 3. We already have a Fire Stick in one room and it works mostly fine, but I am wondering if the Roku is any better. Or if the Fire TV is worth the extra money. We do not use prime video so that isn't really a plus for the Fire's. I kinda like that the Roku 3 has the headphone jack since it would likely go in the bedroom and I could watch while the wife slept but really thats about the only feature that looks better on paper to me. Anyone have experience with both? Which one do you like better?