Thinking about cutting the cable cord, but...

[btownoriole]

21 minutes ago, drjohnnyfever1 said:

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.

Yes. And as others have mentioned you can drop DIRECTV Stream when baseball season ends.

[drjohnnyfever1]

6 minutes ago, btownoriole said:

Yes. And as others have mentioned you can drop DIRECTV Stream when baseball season ends.

Excellent.  There seems to be a 2 year commitment on it now for new customers, but I imagine you can do it without commitment too?  And with the firestick/roku, once you install whatever DirectTV Stream supplies, their own stick, into the router the router then delivers that signal to the other sticks around the house?

[Etch]

18 hours ago, dystopia said:

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

This! I use NordVPN. You can get home games which, other than Streameast XYZ a "pseudo legal" streaming site, is the only way I know how to do so. 

[Etch]

Just now, Etch said:

This! I use NordVPN. Click on servers across the country until you find one that connects to an O's home game. Other than Streameast XYZ, a "pseudo legal" streaming site, it is the only way I know how to do so. 

 

[Roll Tide]

23 hours ago, btownoriole said:

Yes. And as others have mentioned you can drop DIRECTV Stream when baseball season ends.

I recently went through this and it’s painful. First, your calls are routed to Sri Lanka. Then I was called Sir John about 20 times on the call.

I had the AAA Play service from long ago at a whopping $277 per month that included 1 box, 1 router, and 3 mini wireless boxes.

They downgraded my internet, dropped off all of the movie channels, and went to the xfinity app for the secondary sets. Even though they are flat screens a few of them had to have a fire stick to get the app. 

Directv is not an option as my lot is wooded on two sides and doesn’t allow the signal strength to provide the internet I’d be happy with.

Im not sophisticated enough to try the vpn approach. We’ve had Netflix forever and have Disney and Max. Max is through Prime and the other is direct. I have the pared down package that covers MASN. Unfortunately Carroll doesn’t allow Verizon in the area so our options are limited.

So I’ve lost the movie channels, turned in 3 boxes, have to pay for Max app that was included, and slower internet. 

what I discovered is my service is limited and we aren’t really saving much at $195.

Edited October 30, 2023 by Roll Tide

[MouncastleandMcCormick]

Firestick, VPN, and other steps that can be found online.  It's not seamless, but I tried MLBtv+VPN and had even more problems.  I am happy to pay a fair price, but MLB makes it unreasonably hard to do so.

[drjohnnyfever1]

I'm going to save a ton after the initial investment of FireSticks or Roku for the TV's.  Most of the pricing is pretty reasonable for the streaming and if you pay for the year in advance, it appears like many of them give you a 20-25% discount.  The best Fios and Xfinity internet are under $100.  I would have considered a basic tv package, but then we get back into equipment rental and that adds a lot of cost and little benefit.

Can anyone shed some light on the better of the FireStick or Roku?  My only experience was with Roku about 3 weeks ago on a little weekend trip.  Seemed ok, pretty easy to figure out, but as a long time Amazon Prime guy, I think I'm just gravitating toward the FireStick.  We don't need 4k; none of our tvs are that new, but the 4k stick is only a few dollars more.

I imagine I'm going to drop Xfinity altogether and get Fios internet.  We had it when we first moved to our new house, but they wouldn't make a deal after the promo was up, so I bounced to Xfinity.  Looks like I'm bouncing back.

I wonder if anyone who streams without having any cable tv account would mind seeing if you can stream MASN with just an internet account?  You can sign into MASN Stream with a Xfinity and Fios account, but I'm assuming you need some kind of TV package to get it.  Maybe not, tho.

 

[HakunaSakata]

On 10/28/2023 at 6:30 PM, 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. 

So DTV Stream costs $150? I pay around $170ish for Verizon Fios (Cable AND Internet) with MASN so that really doesn't sound like a more affordable alternative. 

[HakunaSakata]

I looked into this (cutting the cord) and ended up just keeping Verizon (Fios) because I really didn't feel like dealing with a VPN every time I wanted to watch an O's game. I was able to scale back my Fios package a bit and got the cost down to $170ish for cable + internet. That's only marginally more than the cost of a good internet connection and a live streaming service like Hulu Live or You Tube, plus you'd have to spring for the MLB package and a VPN if you cut the cord. I know this isn't the answer you're looking for, but until MLB fixes the blackout restriction issue or MASN provides it's own streaming service I honestly think you're better of just sticking with cable if you want to watch local games. 

[HakunaSakata]

18 minutes ago, drjohnnyfever1 said:

I'm going to save a ton after the initial investment of FireSticks or Roku for the TV's.  Most of the pricing is pretty reasonable for the streaming and if you pay for the year in advance, it appears like many of them give you a 20-25% discount.  The best Fios and Xfinity internet are under $100.  I would have considered a basic tv package, but then we get back into equipment rental and that adds a lot of cost and little benefit.

Can anyone shed some light on the better of the FireStick or Roku?  My only experience was with Roku about 3 weeks ago on a little weekend trip.  Seemed ok, pretty easy to figure out, but as a long time Amazon Prime guy, I think I'm just gravitating toward the FireStick.  We don't need 4k; none of our tvs are that new, but the 4k stick is only a few dollars more.

I imagine I'm going to drop Xfinity altogether and get Fios internet.  We had it when we first moved to our new house, but they wouldn't make a deal after the promo was up, so I bounced to Xfinity.  Looks like I'm bouncing back.

I wonder if anyone who streams without having any cable tv account would mind seeing if you can stream MASN with just an internet account?  You can sign into MASN Stream with a Xfinity and Fios account, but I'm assuming you need some kind of TV package to get it.  Maybe not, tho.

 

They're pretty similar, but Roku is generally considered to be more user friendly. I have Roku built into my SmartTV, but used a Firestick beforehand. 

You can't stream MASN without a cable subscription (I've tried). It will prompt you for your Comcast, Xfinity, or Fios login when you try to watch content. I'm not even sure why they have the app, it's pointless and redundant since they don't offer it as a separate stand alone service.

If you opt for a live streaming service (Hulu Live, You Tube, etc.) I'd strongly suggest comparing the cost versus the cheapest available Fios package that includes MASN because it's really not that much cheaper. Cutting the cord was much more economical 4 - 5 years ago, but now that the streaming prices have crept up so much it's not always case unless you REALLY want to go bare bones with your viewing options. 

[drjohnnyfever1]

40 minutes ago, HakunaSakata said:

They're pretty similar, but Roku is generally considered to be more user friendly. I have Roku built into my SmartTV, but used a Firestick beforehand. 

You can't stream MASN without a cable subscription (I've tried). It will prompt you for your Comcast, Xfinity, or Fios login when you try to watch content. I'm not even sure why they have the app, it's pointless and redundant since they don't offer it as a separate stand alone service.

If you opt for a live streaming service (Hulu Live, You Tube, etc.) I'd strongly suggest comparing the cost versus the cheapest available Fios package that includes MASN because it's really not that much cheaper. Cutting the cord was much more economical 4 - 5 years ago, but now that the streaming prices have crept up so much it's not always case unless you REALLY want to go bare bones with your viewing options. 

Yeah, one option is still to get the most basic cable package, that solves MASN and the local channels, but then the equipment rental flat out pisses me off.  But there is one plus to doing that - the way my audio is set-up on two of the spots requires rca cables to old AV receivers, one in our LR and the other in the FamilyRoom.  Don't know how that gets resolved from a stick, but I imagine I can rig something up with the TV connections to the AV.

My kids don't even use the channels on cable, they just watch basic YouTube and the other streaming I pay for thru their phones and laptops. 

[fansince1988]

1 hour ago, HakunaSakata said:

So DTV Stream costs $150? I pay around $170ish for Verizon Fios (Cable AND Internet) with MASN so that really doesn't sound like a more affordable alternative. 

It's around $100 per month for DTV Stream. Plus your cable internet package, which varies from $50-80/month depending on where you live. So a minimum of $150/month if you want to stream MASN in-market. I agree, it doesn't seem like a great reason to cut the cord. 

[Tony-OH]

On 10/28/2023 at 5:49 PM, RZNJ said:

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.

Ho do you watch Redzone? Is that an online option?

 

[Tony-OH]

Anyone ever heard of this? https://www.freecast.com/#home-solution

 

[RZNJ]

20 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Ho do you watch Redzone? Is that an online option?

 

Again, I can watch over the air channels that my had antenna picks up and I have Netflix and Prime video streamed through fire sticks.  I don’t know anything about red zone.