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Cutting the Cord

Fman99 Sep 15 2017 03:29 PM

Looking to ditch my $250+ per month FIOS bill in favor of a cable alternative, Playstation Vue being the current frontrunner. I have to move my home network equipment around a bit and shell out for some new(ish) hardware, probably a refurb'd PS3 and a few Amazon Fire Sticks. Any way to get Mets games? Sadly I am in the blackout zone, so MLB.TV won't show me the Mets. I have until April 2018 to figure this out. I wonder if I'll just end up casting them all season from streams found on Reddit, the way I've been doing the WPIX games this past year. Not ideal but it'll work.

Ceetar Sep 15 2017 03:35 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

do you know/have the trust of anyone _with_ a cable subscription? cause then just use their login for NBC Sports and stream it. I'd love to cut cable out but we do actually use it somewhat regularly between my wife and pre-recorded kids shows. The hassle to organize the various different subscriptions and places to watch each feels too annoying to me right now. Plus i enjoy the bundled landline as a garbage # to give everyone as an identifier for store accounts and what not (not that I need to still have the number for that I guess)

cooby Sep 15 2017 04:05 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

Good luck with that (Mets games) Comcast told me that the Mets themselves (doubtful that it was the players) decide on the blackout zones. We are even blacked out on ESPN. Weirdly we can't get SNY cos we're too far away, and are blacked out on ESPN cos we are too close. ALso last I checked we can't get them on MLBtv for the same reason. Any wonder I don't know what I'm talking about on here half the time?

Benjamin Grimm Sep 15 2017 04:12 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

Does your local cable provider carry WPIX? (I would doubt it, but maybe?) I can understand why you'd be blacked out in an area that carries SNY or WPIX, but it doesn't make sense anywhere else. If I lived where you live, it would be the difference between me subscribing to MLB.tv and not subscribing. This policy costs them customers and, as far as I can tell, doesn't gain them anything.

cooby Sep 15 2017 04:26 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

I don't know if you mean me or Fman, but sometimes on Friday or Saturday, MeTv will pick up the WPIX feed of Yankees or Mets. Maybe next year I will look into MLBtv again. My son, who lives 7 miles west of me (and is on a different Comcast system) can watch his Indians, and that I am happy :D

A Boy Named Seo Sep 15 2017 04:39 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

Living in NM, I'm blacked out from Rockies and DBags games. I tested a VPN on my laptop to see if I could get around the blackouts and it worked, but the VPN choked the stream and it wasn't really watchable. And I don't want to watch every game from my stupid laptop anyway. BUT if you could get it watchable through a VPN and stream it to a TV, you might be on the right track.

metirish Sep 15 2017 05:22 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

Fman99 wrote: Looking to ditch my $250+ per month FIOS bill in favor of a cable alternative, . Ha! I am chatting with them now to get my bill reduced , fuck their crzy prices and the alternative plans thy show you really don't save anything much...for sports like PPV or Mets games I google Vip Stand and follow the links .

metirish Sep 15 2017 05:25 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

keith was helpful Keith: I apologize but currentl the best I can offer you is $236.69 deal with renewal of two years including all the taxes and fees. Told him i would cancel instead..... Keith: Please contact one of our retention specialists at 844-837-2262 during the hours of 8:00 am – 6:00 pm ET (Mon – Fri) and they will provide you with better options. I doubt they will

Frayed Knot Sep 15 2017 05:48 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

I've often heard it said that pressing the cable companies CAN get you reduced rates if you're one of those folks who are good at haggling and, I suppose, are truly prepared to follow through on your threats to cancel if you don't like what you hear. Not that I have any personal experience in this area or any confidence that I'd be a good haggler. For those thinking of MLB.TV you can go to the site and find out in advance which team(s) you are blacked out of - and it won't always be the teams/cities you expect. It also has no bearing as to what channels you might or might not get. If you're in the area to be blacked from a team it makes no difference that you might not be able to get their broadcast via more standard means.

d'Kong76 Sep 15 2017 06:10 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

I call Fios (internet, phone, tv) and AT&T (phones, tablets) about every six months and com- plain that we pay too much and why are other companies offering so much more for less bbbyyy. I don't think I've ever gotten a price reduction but always walk away with higher internet speed, more minutes/data, more channels. They're so full of crap and it often takes 45 minutes or so but they always cave or send you someone else that has more power to give 'free' upgrades. I've kept the Fios bill just under $200 and we have more stuff available than we ever use. It's more during baseball season because they split the $199 Extra Innings package over a bunch of months for me. They told me last year they couldn't do that but of course they could and did ^^^ crap! The short of it is I don't see ditching Fios or conventional cable anytime soon. Too gadget-y and small screen-y for our tastes.

Frayed Knot Sep 15 2017 07:11 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

And of course simply the fact that there is, at least in some places, competition out there where there used to be none (FioS vs Cable vs Dish(es) vs Sling, etc) and that these one-time monopolies are now losing subscribers, gives them extra incentive to keep you as a customer, even if it's at a reduced rate or by offering extra bells and whistles for the current price. What they count on is that people keep services out of habit because changing services is a pain, but if you're willing to upend what you've got and get used to a new normal then you can make that work for you.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 15 2017 07:16 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

Frayed Knot wrote: If you're in the area to be blacked from a team it makes no difference that you might not be able to get their broadcast via more standard means. That's the part that makes no sense at all. If cooby were able to get Mets games on her MLB.tv package, she might decide to subscribe. MLB would benefit, and I don't see how any party would lose out.

Ceetar Sep 15 2017 07:35 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: If you're in the area to be blacked from a team it makes no difference that you might not be able to get their broadcast via more standard means. That's the part that makes no sense at all. If cooby were able to get Mets games on her MLB.tv package, she might decide to subscribe. MLB would benefit, and I don't see how any party would lose out. SNY/Comcast which if it was deemed worthwhile, would want to force SNY on everyone in her area. I honestly don't know why they don't. I assume whichever branch/city of Comcast/FIOS/whatever that provides the cable (I think I'm FIOS of Paterson?) opted to leave out SNY when it factored out the packages. But they own that swatch of people and don't want to give it up. And they pay a bazillion dollars to MLB/the teams.

Frayed Knot Sep 15 2017 08:18 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: If you're in the area to be blacked from a team it makes no difference that you might not be able to get their broadcast via more standard means. That's the part that makes no sense at all. If cooby were able to get Mets games on her MLB.tv package, she might decide to subscribe. MLB would benefit, and I don't see how any party would lose out. The 'territories' are carved out to cover those areas that might get certain games depending on local conditions or which particular service you use. But say you subscribe to one service which doesn't carry that team's channel while another service does - then you'll still be shut out via MLB.TV Or maybe the games are carried only sometimes in your area -- not all teams televise every game or maybe they'll carry games of out of town Team X on their regional sports channel only if nothing of local interest is using that slot. In either case, once your area is deemed to be part of a particular team's "area" then you're SOL as far as MLB.TV is concerned whether you in fact get all, some, or none of the games. Punch your Zip Code in Here to find out which team(s) you'll be blacked out from via MLB.TV

Benjamin Grimm Sep 15 2017 08:31 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

Yeah, that's kind of why I was asking about WPIX. I could see the Mets being a blacked out team if there was a cable provider in cooby's area that carried the WPIX signal, even if SNY was totally unavailable. And maybe that's the case. It's a shame, though. As a fan of an out-of-town team, I'm glad that I haven't been affected by that, even though I live closer to New York than cooby does, and maybe closer than Fman too.

Methead Sep 15 2017 08:47 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

A Boy Named Seo wrote: I tested a VPN on my laptop Yeah, I've been watching through a VPN on my PC this season and it's been fine. And for 3 bucks a month the VPN is worth it. Last season I had a GPS-location-spoof workaround so I could watch games on my tablet, but I think they got wise to that this year.

cooby Sep 15 2017 09:34 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

Thanks FK for the link! However: The following Club(s) is within the searched home television territory, and is subject to MLB.TV blackouts in the U.S. for all live regular season games: Pittsburgh Pirates New York Yankees New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies Approximate Zip Code: 17779 Ben Grimm, when my daughter lived in Drexel Hill, she could watch Mets games. Way closer than where I am.

themetfairy Sep 15 2017 09:37 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

Where I live the Phillies are blacked out of my MLB package, but I can get the Mets and Yankees (which means that if I'm interested in the MFYs playing the Red Sox I can watch on NESN rather than having to watch the YES announcers). The fact that they're not blacked out for me but are blacked out for cooby is nonsensical.

Frayed Knot Sep 15 2017 10:34 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

From MLB.TV: "the blackout restrictions are based on the exclusivity of local networks in your area. These restrictions are not solely based on your proximity to a team's central location, as local networks hold the exclusive rights to airing live games in multiple markets as per agreements with MLB. These rights are still in effect even in cases where the local networks choose not to air the games in question. These restrictions apply to both home and away games."

cooby Sep 15 2017 11:47 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

Hmmmmm

Zvon Sep 16 2017 12:48 AM Re: Cutting the Cord

cooby wrote: Thanks FK for the link! However: The following Club(s) is within the searched home television territory, and is subject to MLB.TV blackouts in the U.S. for all live regular season games: Pittsburgh Pirates New York Yankees New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies Approximate Zip Code: 17779 Ben Grimm, when my daughter lived in Drexel Hill, she could watch Mets games. Way closer than where I am. Some of the same teams were blocked for me on MLBtv. Washington and Baltimore were included. I just called 'em and said "WTF r u doin?" and they changed it. So now only the Phils/Mets (when in Phil.) are blacked out. And they are available via comcast/sportsnet so I can get those games as well, just not on the PC. themetfairy wrote: Where I live the Phillies are blacked out of my MLB package, but I can get the Mets and Yankees (which means that if I'm interested in the MFYs playing the Red Sox I can watch on NESN rather than having to watch the YES announcers). The fact that they're not blacked out for me but are blacked out for cooby is nonsensical. I agree. Call them and start bitchin' coob!

Fman99 Sep 16 2017 02:36 AM Re: Cutting the Cord

Good input, thanks all. I've decided in my mind that it's time to cut some costs, and the family is on board. They're all big on recorded content, anyway, and I'm pretty tech savvy and I have faith in my ability do pull down the content we all want and need. It's mostly about convenience in doing so.

Fman99 Oct 03 2017 10:43 AM Re: Cutting the Cord

Done deal! Bought a PS4 from a coworker who wasn't using it. Just ordered a Fire Stick for the downstairs TV (which can view all the PS Vue content over WiFi), and an HDTV antenna for the upstairs TV (which has good window access), and a PS4-savvy remote (to ease the transition, their consoles don't have IR so I had to get a BT one that will work with it). Going to call FIOS today to drop the land line and TV packages and set up my 7 day free trial this weekend. Onward! Been streaming lots of sports from Reddit streams to my Chromecast. It's an extra manual step but once it's up and running it's good to go. That will likely be the norm for me for 2018 Mets games, unless a better alternative presents itself.

HahnSolo Apr 25 2018 01:48 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

Have to look into this a bit more, but got a head's up that YouTube TV now offers SNY as part of their regular $40/month package.

Fman99 Apr 27 2018 02:06 AM Re: Cutting the Cord

Very excited! My cable provider now, finally, is carrying SNY. It magically showed up in my channel guide today. https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/playsta ... y-network/ Now I only need to stream the WPIX games. Big win for me.

Methead Apr 27 2018 02:23 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

HahnSolo wrote: YouTube TV now offers SNY Yup. I got Sling so I could watch NCAA tournament games, but quickly switched to Youtube TV once I saw they had the Mets. Plus cloud DVR which is sweet.

Benjamin Grimm Apr 27 2018 02:44 PM Re: Cutting the Cord

Fman99 wrote: Very excited! My cable provider now, finally, is carrying SNY. It magically showed up in my channel guide today. Are you able to watch Mets games, or are they blacked out? I get SNY as part of my Verizon package, but I can't watch the games. I can watch the pre-game and the post-game, or SNY original programming (like Mets Hot Stove) but not the games.

Fman99 Apr 28 2018 12:24 AM Re: Cutting the Cord

I'll have to get back to you, I am out of town for a few days. When I discovered it they were showing a replay of yesterday's matinee, in the evening, but I can't speak to live games. PS Vue also has the cloud DVR. It's the shit.

Fman99 May 03 2018 12:17 AM Re: Cutting the Cord

Fully functional feed of Mets on SNY now thanks to PlayStation Vue