DIRECTV to stream MLB Baseball in 4K

Bring it on!

DIRECTV continues to bring the 4K Ultra HD action when no one else can. They weren’t content to just bring you the Masters, oh no – now they’ve announced up to 25 major league baseball games to be carried live in 4K on DIRECTV — and nowhere else. As with all 4K broadcasts, you’ll need an HR54 DVR plus a C61K client or DIRECTV 4K Ready smart TV. You’ll also need to subscribe to the Premier or Ultimate packages from DIRECTV.

The first game to be broadcast is the MLB Network’s feed of the Dodgers vs. the Giants on this Friday, April 15. Personally I think this is the perfect game to start with, given DIRECTV’s relationship with Time Warner Cable, the company that controls Dodgers home game broadcasts. It brings up the terrible shame that Los Angeles fans won’t be able to hear the silky tones of home team announcer Vin Scully, because of Time Warner Cable’s bad fair business dealings and the high price TWC is charging for their Dodgers channel. You may not be able to hear the play-by-play but you can see the game in a way you’ve never seen it before.

The full schedule of games has not been announced, but DIRECTV has said that after this week’s matchup, the next games are the always epic battles between the Yankees and Red Sox on April 29 and 30. DIRECTV is expected to use its event channel 106 for these broadcasts.

It really makes sense for DIRECTV to focus on sports for 4K initially, because a lot of sports programming is actually produced on the ground in 4K already so producers can zoom in during instant replays. The use of 4K cameras allows for a lot more freedom to compose shots and cover the entire playing field. 4K can also help with the dispute process in sports that use it. Obviously having four times the resolution is going to make it easier to make any decision.

I remember, and it was really not that long ago, when you started seeing the first HD broadcasts of sporting events. It was clumsy and while you certainly appreciated the extra quality, content producers didn’t know what they were doing. HD cameras required all sorts of things that SD cameras didn’t, at least at the time. Since broadcasters have been working with 4K cameras already for a little while, you should see a much better, more polished experience in place from day 1. I personally hope that these first games will feature a new graphics package that’s less obtrusive than the one that MLB network uses currently, so that it’s possible to focus more on the game and less on the scrolling, animated graphics that overload you with too much information.

No matter, though… I’ll be glued to my seat during every game I can possibly watch. It’s not too late for you to get in on the 4K action either… call Solid Signal at 888-233-7563 to find out how you can migrate to stunningly clear 4K in time to catch the first pitch in Ultra HD!

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.