Thinking about cutting the cable cord, but...

[drjohnnyfever1]

I have no idea how to get the O's come the 2024 season other than going to one of those fly-by-night, pirate sports pages.

The kids are older and we no longer need the collection of kid networks you get with cable and satellite.  I could keep just basic service of something for local channels but then I'm still paying equipment rental.  MASN's the only game in town for just home team games.  I don't care so much about access to other games.  Anyway, don't want to make this a terribly long explanation.

I want access to O's games, would love to have the MLB Network and NFL Network, maybe even the Hockey Network somehow, but I don't know my options with streaming services but I imagine there are many here with that kind of experience so please chime in on how to get the most out of cutting this cord.

I have priced out an antenna for outside that I can run thru an signal amp and then thru the existing cable wiring in the house for local over the air stations, but I don't even really know if that's the best option.  So help a guy out if you can.

[RZNJ]

For 11 bucks, I got an indoor hd antenna that picks up Fox, CBS, NBC, etc.  from NY.   I have internet only and Netflix and Prime.     So I can watch most NFL and the WS.  Fortunately, I’m out of market so I have mlb.tv for the O’s.

[dystopia]

The only option is to buy MLB.TV and a VPN.

[Sports Guy]

DirecTV stream has MASN

Edited October 28, 2023 by Sports Guy

[drjohnnyfever1]

13 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

DirecTV stream has MASN

But that means you're a Direct TV customer, right?  I'm trying to totally cut the cord and just stream.  My kids watch YouTube, not even YT-TV, just the dumb free crap. lol.  I will get Disney+ with Hulu and ESPN, but beyond that I'd like to have the O's somehow without the wire from the pole or a Dish.

What I can't understand is why one of the secondary local channels like WNUV or the CW doesn't get a deal to simulcast the games on WNUV-2 or something.  But that's beyond this question.  

[fansince1988]

8 minutes ago, drjohnnyfever1 said:

But that means you're a Direct TV customer, right?  I'm trying to totally cut the cord and just stream.  My kids watch YouTube, not even YT-TV, just the dumb free crap. lol.  I will get Disney+ with Hulu and ESPN, but beyond that I'd like to have the O's somehow without the wire from the pole or a Dish.

What I can't understand is why one of the secondary local channels like WNUV or the CW doesn't get a deal to simulcast the games on WNUV-2 or something.  But that's beyond this question.  

DTV Stream is a streaming service, all you need is an internet connection. It's the only in-market option for chord cutters to get MASN. It's expensive though. You are still looking at roughly $150/month for DTV Stream combined with an internet package. Almost makes more sense to keep the cable package. 

[G54377]

That's the only reason I've kept cable.

[drjohnnyfever1]

18 minutes ago, fansince1988 said:

DTV Stream is a streaming service, all you need is an internet connection. It's the only in-market option for chord cutters to get MASN. It's expensive though. You are still looking at roughly $150/month for DTV Stream combined with an internet package. Almost makes more sense to keep the cable package. 

Ahh.  New sh!t has come to light!

Is DirectTV stream part of ATT?  I have ATT cell and that might pave a road to making this work more easily for us older people. lol

[Moose Milligan]

33 minutes ago, drjohnnyfever1 said:

Ahh.  New sh!t has come to light!

Is DirectTV stream part of ATT?  I have ATT cell and that might pave a road to making this work more easily for us older people. lol

Yes. IIRC I think you can bundle it all.  Unfortunately the cheapest package doesn’t include MASN though. 
 

I have DTV and I like it. I used to do MLB.tv with a VPN and sometimes it would work great and then other times it wouldn’t work. And say if it was working for a few weeks with a VPN out of Florida and then the Orioles played the Rays or Marlins, it’d stop working because of the blackout restrictions for the Florida markets. 
 

It became a pain in the ass. Gave in and got DTV.  Still cord free, technically because the only bill from a cable company we get is for the internet connection. But I think DTV is just the same cost as some basic cable packages IIRC. 

[Sports Guy]

2 hours ago, fansince1988 said:

DTV Stream is a streaming service, all you need is an internet connection. It's the only in-market option for chord cutters to get MASN. It's expensive though. You are still looking at roughly $150/month for DTV Stream combined with an internet package. Almost makes more sense to keep the cable package. 

I pay $90

I prefer YoutubeTV (and it’s cheaper), so I use DirecTV for half the year and YouTube TV the other half.

[Malike]

4 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

DirecTV stream has MASN

Is that in all markets? I don't see MASN in NY on DirectTV stream.

[Sports Guy]

7 minutes ago, Malike said:

Is that in all markets? I don't see MASN in NY on DirectTV stream.

In the Baltimore market (or whatever other area you can be in where it shows MASN).

[Rojo13]

 n years past, I messed with a VPN and got mlb.tv but that's complicated, annoying and I didn't get pre-game or post-game shows.

This year, I did DirecTV streaming. It's amazing. I highly recommend it. It's like $90 or $100 a month but you can cancel when the season is over (I switch to youtube tv when the eason is over as it's a little cheaper but it doesn't have MASN). Plus you get basically all the cable channels as well (You need their chocie package or higher to get MASN).

But you just stream it on your tv or ipad. YOu aren't paying for a box and there is UNLIMITED DVR. You can tell it to record all orioles games, all pre-game shows, all post-game shows. Hell I think you can tell it to record all MLB games that are on any channel and it will do it.

And you can watch it from your phone. So I can go to the park with my 5-year old and watch the game. You can watch it at work. You can watch it on vacaton, etc.

It's basically a cable package but you stream it.

[Sports Guy]

46 minutes ago, Rojo13 said:

 n years past, I messed with a VPN and got mlb.tv but that's complicated, annoying and I didn't get pre-game or post-game shows.

This year, I did DirecTV streaming. It's amazing. I highly recommend it. It's like $90 or $100 a month but you can cancel when the season is over (I switch to youtube tv when the eason is over as it's a little cheaper but it doesn't have MASN). Plus you get basically all the cable channels as well (You need their chocie package or higher to get MASN).

But you just stream it on your tv or ipad. YOu aren't paying for a box and there is UNLIMITED DVR. You can tell it to record all orioles games, all pre-game shows, all post-game shows. Hell I think you can tell it to record all MLB games that are on any channel and it will do it.

And you can watch it from your phone. So I can go to the park with my 5-year old and watch the game. You can watch it at work. You can watch it on vacaton, etc.

It's basically a cable package but you stream it.

But if you leave the area and go to a non MASN viewing area, you won’t be able to get it.

[drjohnnyfever1]

This is excellent info, guys!  Can DirectTV be streamed on a Firestick or Roku?  I have 5 connections around the house and would need at least 3 to be on sticks of some type.