mlbstreamer

mlbstreamer enables real-time and time-shifted viewing of MLB.tv streams.

The mlbstreamer package consists of the following programs:

• mlbstreamer - a full-featured TUI (terminal user interface) that allows you to browse the MLB schedule and open game streams

• mlbplay - a simple command-line program for watching a single MLB game

A free MLB.com account is required in order to stream any content using these programs. With a free account, you will be able to watch the free game of the day. To watch subscriber-only MLB.tv streams, you will have to be a paid MLB.tv subscriber.

Installation

The easiest way to install is using pip:

pip install mlbstreamer

To upgrade, just add -U:

pip install -U mlbstreamer

This installation method should pull down all the necessary dependencies from PyPI.

Configuration

The first thing you'll need to do is configure your MLB.tv username, password, etc. To do that, run:

mlbplay --init-config

The program should ask you for your username and password, then try to find your media player (it just looks for mpv or vlc right now.). If it doesn't find it, you can enter the full path to whatever you're using. If your player worked with mlbviewer, it should work with mlbstreamer. It'll also ask you for your time zone so that game times are displayed properly.

Using mlbstreamer

When you run mlbstreamer, you should see a list of today's MLB games. Use the left/right arrows to browse days, "t" to go to today's games, and "w" to watch the currently selected game. The log window at the bottom should tell you if there are any errors, like if the game doesn't have a stream, if it's blacked out, etc. The toolbar at the top allows you to select the output resolution and some other options.

Using mlbplay

If you just want a simple command-line interface and know the game you want to watch, you can use mlbplay. The simplest syntax to watch today's game from your favorite team is:

mlbplay [TEAM]

where [TEAM] is a three-letter team code, e.g. phi. If you're unsure of the team code, run mlbplay with a bogus team code.

To stream at a different resolution, use the -r option:

mlbplay -r 360p phi

If you want to watch a game for a different date, run with the -d option, e.g:

mlbplay -d 2018-04-03 phi

You can also save the stream to disk with the -s option, e.g:

mlbplay -s ~/Movies/mlb phi

The -b (begin) option can be used to begin playback at a specified time.

• The -b option with no arguments causes a live stream to be played back from the beginning of the broadcast.
• If you'd like to start somewhere other than the beginning of the broadcast, the -b option can take an argument of the following forms:
  • an integer number of seconds from the start of the broadcast
  • a time string in mm:ss or h:mm:ss format
  • a string like "T3" (top of the third) or "B1" (bottom of the first), indicating that playback should begin at the start of the specified half inning

For a list of additional options, run

mlbplay --help

Caveats

• Right now, only major league games are supported, though support for MiLB (minor league) games is planned.