The 2012 Major ague Baseball season is now under way, tech-savvy fans have more ways than ever to stream high-quality video audio at their comm. ether it’s pulling out your id on the train home, checking your Android phone at the gym, or using your Xbox 360 for more than just late-night Skyrim, you can always catch the game.

After taking stock of what’s available this year, it’s clear that M Advanced , which oversees digital development app R&D for the league, concentrated more on tweaking upgrading the overall user experience rather than throwing in more glitzy features. That’s not to say the developer should have, as the offerings were plenty impressive already, providing multiple video feeds, crystal-clear HD, access to a wide range of platforms, so forth. But it’s the smaller aesthetic changes, combined with a revamped business model, that will benefit users the most.

M continues its successful multi-tiered subscription model, albeit with a slight uptick in prices. But the killer upgrade this year is M’s embrace of the “buy once, enjoy anywhere” mentality. By applying that thinking to its most invested users, many consumer will actually save some bucks.

The pricing structure is simple to grok more universal than before. The mobile app version, called At Bat or At Bat 12 (depending on the platform), is $15 across the board; one purchase works across all like-minded platforms. So $15 on your ione also gets you the id version. Android users can pay $15 for access on their compatible Android phone, tablet, Kindle Fire. (There is also a BlackBerry new ndows one 7 version of the At Bat app.) Every app purchase comes with real-time scoring updates unlimited home/away radio streams throughout the season.

If you want audio streaming on your /Mac, that’s separate costs $20 for the year. But for those who also want unlimited video streaming, there are two subscription tiers. For $110, you get the basic home team video feed on your Mac or for each game that isn’t blacked out. (Basically, you won’t be able to watch local in-market games, since they’re theoretically being offered on a TV channel in your area. Red Sox fans in Boston, for example, wouldn’t be able to watch the Old Towne team on their computer.) That’s all you get.

For just $15 more, the $125 emium package gets you a slew of extra functionality: home/away video feeds, access to multiple connected devices like Apple TV Xbox 360, free access to the At Bat app. Aside from this being the better value, the app access is a much-welcome inclusion. st log in to your browser, mobile, or connected device with your M.com account info you’re good to go. You no longer have to spend extra dough for the mobile version, as in years past.

The M.TV prices are steeper than last year, when they cost $100 for the home team video feed $110 for the premium package. But you still get live streaming of every game that’s not blacked out, whereas the $15 mobile apps only offer one pre-selected game per day. us, the more devices you have, the more cost-effective the investment becomes. A single $125 M.TV subscription would enable video streaming on your , ione, id, Apple TV, Mac, Android phone, Kindle Fire, ayStation 3, Roku, Xbox 360.

Here’s a closer, hs-on look at some of the available platforms.

iOS

M released a slick, revamped id app last spring that cost $15 featured actual in-stadium architecture more fleshed-out TCHf/x ball simulation. This season, a single app works on either the ione id, features some nice aesthetic improvements—specifically, a cleaner ione scoreboard better placing of graphical elements on the id. (For example, when you’re watching the graphical real-time updates, the calendar now appears overhead dead center, instead of tucked away in the upper left.)

Video streams buffer up quick play without extended stutters. One noticeable change is that, while playing video, on-screen id graphics—instead of completely disappearing—revert to a translucent overlay when you bring up playback controls. It’s a small consideration, but one that may prove useful at times, especially when you want to stick with the game you’re watching.

ether you run it on the ione or id, M.com At Bat for iOS is a joy to use. This season, the ione version also moves closer to its superior id counterpart by adding in a floating linescore at the top of video streams, so you can get a sense of what’s occurring elsewhere in M. However, switching video feeds on the ione still enables a clunky menu that envelops nearly the entire screen when activated.

Next page: On Android, your or Mac, Apple TV more…

Android

ke its iOS brethren, a one-time app purchase gets you audio streaming on any compatible Android phone or tablet. For unlimited video, you have to be a M.TV emium subscriber, be sure to download the free At Bat te app for Android then log in with your M.com account. Only Android users who haven’t subscribed to M.TV emium should download the $15 version, which will also get you one free, pre-selected game a day.

Once set up, the Android version impressed with its speed response time. Video loaded noticeably faster on a Samsung Galaxy Nexus as opposed to an ione 4 or id 2, perhaps a couple of seconds saved each time. Switching video feeds on an Android phone is easier than on an ione, since a discreet rectangular box pops up from below bottom doesn’t cover the still-streaming game. However, you don’t get the ione’s helpful score ticker along the top of the screen, nor the option for wireless Airay functionality. Still, it’s an excellent option for dedicated Android users that compares favorably with the feature-friendly iOS port.

Mac/

For the most features, watching M.TV through your Mac or remains the best option. One new highlight is a clickable linescore that allows you to easily go to any hitter’s at-bat from any point in the game. You can also input the names of players on your fantasy teams so that when they do something noteworthy—even in a game you’re not watching—you’ll get an alert bubble that will let you pull up a video highlight. The audio overlay option allows you to substitute radio feeds in lieu of TV announcers. (You can even choose the “natural” ambient sounds from inside the stadium, if you like.) And the split-screen, picture-in-picture, “quad” views, which allow you to watch two or four games simultaneously, are also almost exclusively available on Mac/.

The biggest hangup with using your computer is that’s all Flash-based, so constant streaming is going to mean allocating a chunk of your system memory. Video playback typically isn’t as smooth as on portable devices or consoles. Frequent momentary stutters are the norm, even when viewing through the pop-up window. (If you can sacrifice the screen real estate, watching games in fullscreen is a much nicer experience.)

In the lower-left corner of the pop-up, you get smooth, unobtrusive integration of TCHf/x data, video highlights that pop up via picture-in-picture, a play-by-play summary, even a Twitter stream that allows you to post updates. However, your tweet will include matory hashtags identifying each team you’re watching, so your character count will be more inhibited than usual.

The mini-video highlights are the slickest feature, though. Click one the live game audio mutes as a mini-window pops out to play the highlight. If you like, you can even swap their respective placements, so the live action moves to the smaller window.

Even if you just opt for the $20 Gameday Audio plan, the streaming experience is very reliable, as you still get home away feeds while the free M Gameday interface provides real-time updates stats.

One new Easter egg this year: As you load either the M.TV or Gameday Audio pop-up window, the semi-obscured background will be that of the stadium hosting the game you’re loading. It comes up dark looks as if you’re peering through a dirty screen door, but any fan loading a San Francisco Giants home game will see a wide-angle view of their beloved AT&T rk.

Apple TV

Apple TV’s M interface is the same as last year’s. st sign up for M.TV emium then log in with your M.com account info. From there, the clean Apple TV menu offers access to the day’s full slate of games, updated stings, video recaps of completed games. It even offers up who the current pitcher hitter is in each game before you click to watch. The Apple TV costs $99, there are cheaper streaming options out there with M functionality, like the Roku line. The Apple TV remote also remains a clunky frustrating way to navigate the menus as well as toggle through video. Still, the menu interface is laid out smartly, the options are fairly extensive for a sub-$100 video streamer. You can also pull up the new clickable linescore feature by pressing down on the remote D-pad during a game, Apple TV’s iTunes Store integration offers easy access to purchase bundled video packages of historic M games straight from the M menu.

ayStation 3

Of all the platforms I tested, the Sony’s ayStation3 delivered the cleanest video feed, the initial setup comes via an activation code that your console provides. Input that into a special UR/a>, you’re ready to go. The main navigation page is a little busy a bit cumbersome for those unfamiliar with the 3 controller, but the HD video is stunning the clickable linescore can be pulled up navigated more easily with the 3 controller than, say, the Apple TV remote. The audio overlay option, which lets you pipe in the radio feed over the TV broadcast, is a welcome option that’s only available here on /Mac.

Best of the rest

M.TV on Xbox 360 is new this season in direct competition with the 3, although the Xbox 360 does feature split-screen video (an option only available on Mac/). On the downside, there’s also no clickable linescore or audio overlay option here yet video streaming requires an Xbox ve account, which starts at $5 a month. Video streaming on the 3 does not require any additional cost, beyond your M.TV emium subscription.

Roku also enables M.TV emium streaming offers a slightly cheaper hardware option compared to, say, Apple TV.

There’s also an At Bat 12 app for BlackBerry, as well as a ndows one 7 version, which was slated to arrive at the start of the season but was still not available as of Opening Day. Neither option is compatible with M.TV emium, but you do get score updates, radio feeds, select video highlights.

As for b-based options, Yahoo Sports offers M Full Count, a video player that promises live look-ins of games in-progress video highlights. It’s not a dedicated option like the other M.com offerings outlined above, but it could do when you need a quick fix of baseball action.