Nizerifin Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 The Fan Network has been an epic fail this season, as many have discovered. There are two major problems for me: 1. Upload speed 2. Low and inconsistent Quality 1. Upload Speed It should not take that long to record the show, edit the video file, then convert it into .flv for uploading. If someone was paying me to do it, I could have it done very quickly. 2. Quality After the wait, we get, what I believe to be a fairly crappy product compared to other video streams available online on other websites. I did my homework to determine the quality of a video streamed by dci. The first is Crown from Beverly, MA. Video - 512 kbps; 480x270; 51.8 mb Audio - 48 kbps; 4.75 mb The audio bitrate is god-awful. Any audio nerd would cry because 48 kbps is VERY LOW. Anything lower than 192 kbps in my book is too low, but 48 is terrible. Just wait, it gets better. I then looked at the Blue Devils video from Stanford, CA: Video - 1500 kbps; 720x404; 134 mb Audio - 16 kbps; 1.43 mb 16 kbps is atrocious, especially when paired with 1500 kbps video. I'm disappointed and I'm sure I'm not alone. I just thought I'd share these details with the less tech savvy so you too could loathe the product we've been given this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexL Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Its a huge step up over what we had before last year still, but id agree, the hype over the 'new features' and 'higher quality' of the fan network this year has kinda fallen on its face. At least its cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Smith Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 I'm cautious to add my voice the complaint because FanNetwork is what it is and I've been thankful to have it. Have you ever ordered a big drink (dare I say, "pop") in a drive-thru on a hot day and when they give it to you, it's about an inch and a half from the top? Inside you're screaming, "FILL MY CUP DMNIT! I just paid $2 for that drink. The least you can do is fill it!" But...you hold your tongue and give a courtesy smile and take your beverage from the lady as you curse about it the rest of the afternoon. If I were to be transparent, that's close to how I feel about FanNetwork this year. Will I purchase it again next year? Yep. But, am I currently a happy customer? I'm afraid not. Forgive me for being persnickety about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a marching trumpet Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 I agree from what ive seen when I watch it with my friends its not worth my money, but ti is a step up, perhaps those problems will be fixed by next year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baristeve Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 I can't even get DCI.org to work... If it continues like this for too long I will request a refund b/c it's getting ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey0487 Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 DCI's office isn't very big. Be grateful of how hardworking these guys are. I do video and sound and yes they don't have to do much editing and the quality isn't perfect... BUT I also do web design, and it is NOT easy to keep such a large web organization up to date and perfectly on time! Especially when you have to work with so many demanding fans like yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banddad1 Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 I can't even get DCI.org to work... If it continues like this for too long I will request a refund b/c it's getting ridiculous. I was having the same problems earlier today. the URL wouldnt work or go to the site. It worked after about 2 hours of constant trying. Dont know what's up but that is a major problem. I'm just hoping that they were just working on the site and it wasnt my computer, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CUDAKITE Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Add the fact that it keeps craping out altogether (like right now) and I too consider myself as a less than completely satisfied costumer. As Nizerifin pointed out, the video/audio quality of the VOD is factually POOR. It was advertised as being better quality over last year. Not the improvement I was hoping for. Also, I believe the delay we are seeing for the upload of VOD is actually intentional to make the fan network PLUS (with the live steams) package more attractive. This year's upload times are a huge step backwards from last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horizon Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 Columbia's better work, or I will start to feel really sour about this fannetwork thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexL Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 DCI's office isn't very big. Be grateful of how hardworking these guys are. I do video and sound and yes they don't have to do much editing and the quality isn't perfect... BUT I also do web design, and it is NOT easy to keep such a large web organization up to date and perfectly on time! Especially when you have to work with so many demanding fans like yourself. The quality's gone down since last year though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.