Mark Time Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I'm just thankful we even have something like the Fan Network at all. 15 + years ago the only time we ever got to see DCI outside of attending a show was the live broadcast on PBS of finals. Then it would take months before audio or video recordings of finals to be shipped. The fact that we have the ability to watch live shows throughout the season more often and then watch them over and over again is truly awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rifuarian Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 In spite of its problems, I still think that the fan network is worth my $59. 10 years ago I would have killed for live streams of Denver, San Antonio, Atlanta, and Semis, on demand videos, and videos of past finals, at whatever quality. Still, a little bit of a communication about delays in posting on demand videos, and about the low quality of the audio stream, would go a long way in assuaging complaints. Just letting us know that there is a problem and that it is being worked on would be much better than clamming up. Assuming that there is a problem of course, and not some misbegotten attempt to improve profits at the expense of quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nizerifin Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 I'm just thankful we even have something like the Fan Network at all. 15 + years ago the only time we ever got to see DCI outside of attending a show was the live broadcast on PBS of finals. Then it would take months before audio or video recordings of finals to be shipped.The fact that we have the ability to watch live shows throughout the season more often and then watch them over and over again is truly awesome. We get better stuff by complaining :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeke Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Still, a little bit of a communication about delays in posting on demand videos, and about the low quality of the audio stream, would go a long way in assuaging complaints. Just letting us know that there is a problem and that it is being worked on would be much better than clamming up. Assuming that there is a problem of course, and not some misbegotten attempt to improve profits at the expense of quality. Thanks for stating that I couldn't have said it any better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Smith Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Has anyone else written to FanNetwork about these issues? I would recommend EVERYBODY send something...even if it's a couple sentences. Also, I would encourage you to probe with a return email should they send you a nebulous/political response. Anyhow...I come back to expectations. All of us have a certain level. Some are just happy as can be to even have FN, while others think that anything short of high definition is a ripoff. That's the beauty about being a consumer who pays for a product. You have a vote and it's with your voice, your paper and pen (keyboard), or with your purse (or wallets for all you boys). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayM Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 I'm not a server tech guy so I don't know the fine details of streaming from a server, but when I'm watching a FN video it streams between 500 kbps to 1 Mbps, which is very fast. This means that a 50 mb video (like those from the Normal and Beverly shows) will load completely in 1-2 minutes. Not quite. kbps = kilobits per second There being 8 bits in a byte, even streaming at 1 Mbps is only 125 kilobytes per second, which comes out to at least 6 minutes and 40 seconds to download a 50 megabyte file. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifer Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Still, a little bit of a communication about delays in posting on demand videos, and about the low quality of the audio stream, would go a long way in assuaging complaints. I, too, agree that communication is the real problem here - it has been and continues to be the biggest weakness of DCI. They were quick to get up the news bulletin today trying to sell more subscriptions for the Denver broadcast, but where is the quick note to tell us when we can expect to see the Ogden clips? That wouldn't take but five minutes of their time. Actually, I terminated my membership of over 15 years in Friends of DCI for this very reason. In spite of continuous complaints about poor communication (and numerous promises from DCI for improvement) we were still experiencing numerous issues. A very trivial example (but one that occurred almost every year) was that they informed Friends members of the date, time and location of the annual get-together at finals VERY late. There were a few times when the wristbands they used to send for access to this event and to premium areas of the stadium arrived AFTER we left for finals. One would think that an organization would be MOST sensitive to its sources of income and donations and, at the very least, be proactive with communications to keep its customers informed and happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nizerifin Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 Not quite.kbps = kilobits per second There being 8 bits in a byte, even streaming at 1 Mbps is only 125 kilobytes per second, which comes out to at least 6 minutes and 40 seconds to download a 50 megabyte file. Excuse me. I mean MBs and KBs, and I think you know that too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2remember Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Actually, I terminated my membership of over 15 years in Friends of DCI for this very reason. In spite of continuous complaints about poor communication (and numerous promises from DCI for improvement) we were still experiencing numerous issues. A very trivial example (but one that occurred almost every year) was that they informed Friends members of the date, time and location of the annual get-together at finals VERY late. There were a few times when the wristbands they used to send for access to this event and to premium areas of the stadium arrived AFTER we left for finals.One would think that an organization would be MOST sensitive to its sources of income and donations and, at the very least, be proactive with communications to keep its customers informed and happy. Just to chime in, I too, gave up on Friends of DCI when I found that better seats were available by buying early among Non-Friends. The benefits offered just didn't warrant the costs. Instead I give that money directly to the corps. Friends of DCI was poorly organized which is troubling when it could be a great source of additional income. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin80 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 (edited) I have watched this thread with great interest. I will offer some help to you as I have intimate knowledge of the situation involved in this as we are a provider of some of these VOD videos as well as corps content. I can tell you the following: #1) DCI IS NOT throttling bandwidth at any point. They are committed to quality. #2) DCI HAS NOT specifically decided to not record certain corps and not post them to the VOD section. #3) The quality of the video and audio I can assure you is of great quality. I uploaded Beverly personally in (SD) quality in widescreen. The audio bitrate was 48khz which is better than CD quality at 44.1khz. The video was down-converted to 2500Kbps bit rate instead of the standard 25Mb bit rate. These files I am dealing with are better than 6GB a piece. They must be converted to something that can actually be uploaded through the network. It would take days to upload (1) video at full resolution. #4) IT IS NOT THE CAMERAS BEING USED. I have (5) people on the road at all times, all with matching HD Cameras. We are capturing great quality video and audio. I know for a fact that the DCI crews are using Canon XL1 cameras which are very good SD cameras. #5) In terms of upload times I can not speak for everyone only myself. In the case of the Beverly, MA show I had to fly the tapes back to Louisville and encode them for upload. They were up and ready for viewing by 5pm the following day. I am currently uploading Columbia to brightcove. These things take time. Some people have the gear to encode on-site, I do not, I have to get tapes and bring them in and re-encode them for upload. It does take time. Columbia ended last night at 10 or so. I met the corps in Orlando at 6am to start the encoding process. As we only have laptops on the road encoding takes a little longer. So based on what I am seeing right now Columbia will be ready by this evening - less than 24 hours after the show. #6) Everyone has a right to have their opinion on how this situation should work. However, those people that say they can do it faster are not on the road day in and day out working very hard for DCI and these drum corps. Internet connection is very hard to come by out on the road, specifically fast upload speeds. I can honestly tell you that anyone with better ideas to please let us know what they are because, I want it to be faster, I want it to be better, I want you to be happy. #7) I have watched all the streaming videos on brightcove and I am able to get video bitrates at a much higher quality than some are reporting here. You should also realize that brightcove decides which version of the video that receive. There are 4 different versions of the Holy Name performance in Beverly 468k up to 1500k in video quality. I don't know how you are getting your video but I am able to see all 4 versions. As far as the website uptime and other issues. I can't speak towards that as all I know is the video. I hope that helps some of your concerns. Tim Snyder Box 5 Productions Edited July 10, 2009 by Robin80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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