Fan Network Rant

[DCIHasBeen]

Instead of complaining here ... Which might make you feel better, but in the end serves no real purpose ... Complain to DCI. If they don't respond, call your credit card company, state that the goods aren't being delivered as expected, and reverse the charge. DCI gets enough chargebacks from disgruntled customers, and they might just be moved to do something.

[pags]

Expectations:

1. Some argue that we should be sympathetic to DCI and possible issues they may be having and just "be happy."
   
2. Some argue that we should be demanding of DCI because they have charged a fee for a service.
   

I happen to lean to the second point of view. Think of any of any other service you may employ, whether it's hiring a plumber or eating at a restaurant. You have expectations, and frankly you pay to have expectations. If there was a gentleman down the hall here at the home who happened to be a retired plumber and he volunteered his services to fix my bathroom sink, then my expectations are exceedingly lower than I have of a company I call who says they're going to charge me $75 an hour and will be at my home sometime before noon.

I realize that DCI is a nonprofit organization; however, that does not equate them to the same status as a church for example. A church exists solely on the donations and gifts from people. Therefore, they have have a different type of accountability than an organization that exists based on the sales of products and services.

If Burger King was a nonprofit organization, I would still complain and be upset if they left the cheese off of the cheeseburger that I ordered. Maybe I wouldn't flop on the ground and kick and scream realizing that mistakes do happen, but in an adult manner I would let the manager know that he needs to realize that I'm a displeased customer and if he doesn't resolve the problem, then I might not come back.

You are correct only in part. Paying does allow for some expectations, but it does NOT allow for ALL expectation. There is no contract on DCI's part guaranteeing the audio and visual quality. DCI posted that they would have broadcasts, APD's, and VOD's for a specified number of shows (barring circumstances like weather that would prevent them from recording). Thus far they have fulfuilled their end of the bargain. They did not specify the quality of the video or audio, nor the speed with which they would be able to get those posted. Since many people are willing to wait 2 days for the content to be loaded, and many just want a general view of the show and don't raise a stink about audio or video quality, there is no reason for them to commit to something they are potentially not capable of.

To use your example of a cheeseburger, having cheese on it is an inherent understanding by virtue of the name of product. If DCI committed that we would get HD audio and video options, we'd have reason to be upset since that would be a violation of their promise/commitment. But there is nothing inherent in how they have described what shows would be offered guaranteeing a certain quality or speed of access.

Now, (not that I want to cause problems for DCI at all) what people CAN do to remedy the situation for the future (i.e. next year), is to do what some ahve suggested and send DCI an e-mail stating that they would like a commitment from DCi next year concerning the quality of the audio/video and speed of access or they will not purchase the product. I'mm not saying it will work, though. Going back to the cheesburger example, it's one thing to go back to the manager and state you wanted cheese; it's another thing to go back and state you want all organic vegetables and meat that's cooked medium rare or you won't buy again.

Again, expectations have to be reasonable.

[Harmonious Cacophony]

Can't believe it's equipment.

Yeah, it is hard to find a decent digital camera that can not record in (at least) 640p. Many of the new digital point and shoot cameras can record video in up to 1080p. Naturally, digital video recorders have even a much higher standard of video quality. Most good digital recorders on the market today record in up to 320 kbps for mp3s.

-

My guess is that DCI is afraid that if people have average quality videos on the Fan Network, no one will go to shows or buy DVDs. I do not agree.

[CUDAKITE]

Instead of complaining here ... Which might make you feel better, but in the end serves no real purpose ... Complain to DCI. If they don't respond, call your credit card company, state that the goods aren't being delivered as expected, and reverse the charge. DCI gets enough chargebacks from disgruntled customers, and they might just be moved to do something.

There's the rub. lol

Not sure about dealing with the credit card company because the service advertised is being delivered, just delivered poorly. Certainly a letter of dissatisfaction is in order.

[pags]

Equipment? First of all, recording equipment can not be the issue. I have seen a MUCH better quality video of crown on 'tube'. and that was recorded by a camcorder. The truth is any 14 year old could borrow dad's camcorder and get a better quality video posted and get it posted faster than what we have seen on the fan network. So it has nothing to do with recording equipment or staff shortages.

The only point you might have is on the server delivery side of it.

When a video is uploaded you choose the quality/bitrate at which to upload it as. As the original post shows, a VERY poor quality is being CHOSEN. Is that to save money on storage or bandwidth? I DOUBT IT. Considering the HUGE library they offer, storage isn't the likely problem. And considering they host and allow any corps to upload any video they want AND those videos have higher audio/video quality... It would appear bandwidth isn't the issue either.

So what is the reason for the poor quality choice?

Can't believe it's equipment.

Again, unless you have knowledge of what their operational and financial capabilities are, we are not in a position to cast judgments on what they should be doing.

As for your example of the camcorder and posting it on YouTube, many of those video are shoddier than FN. The video and audio are often worse unless they are recording a given corps at a standstill, which, (duh), is going to produce a better quality video and audio. Placement of sound and body is consistent and more conducive to recording. But the videos of corps in motion and playing are worse than FN by FAR.

[Nizerifin]

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.

What does this mean? Well, [i'm not a server guy so] I hypothesize that the servers are fast and not bogged down with traffic. Their servers can stream much higher quality video to subscribers without slowing so much that it becomes choppy.

DCI bandwidth = Very Good.

There's no way to assess how much bandwidth costs DCI per month/year but that's the only reason I can think of as a reason to limit the file sizes of these streams.

I don't buy an anti-DVD replacement strategy because the DVDs are from finals which are never streamed in any form. DCI is smart to do this, imo, because it puts supply/demand in their control. This is off-topic though.

After reading all of this thread, I think that DCI must have made some behind-the-scenes changes of some sort to cause such a drastic change in their offerings from one year to the next.

I think we should all, if you haven't already, get in contact with dci and tell them what they're doing right as well as wrong so that we can make sure that next year won't be a repeat of this.

[CUDAKITE]

...

My guess is that DCI is afraid that if people have average quality videos on the Fan Network, no one will go to shows or buy DVDs. I do not agree.

my point exactly mate.

[AlexL]

I think we should all, if you haven't already, get in contact with dci and tell them what they're doing right as well as wrong so that we can make sure that next year won't be a repeat of this.

To be honest, ive emailed dci a few times in the past with questions on things. Never once gotten a response. Maybe its me, i dont know. We know they read dcp. Maybe not every thread, but one that stays at the top like this one has, surely has caught someones eye by now. At least the thread shows 1. the concern about the issue, and 2. many people have this problem, not just 1.

[Granny Smith]

You are correct only in part. Paying does allow for some expectations, but it does NOT allow for ALL expectation. There is no contract on DCI's part guaranteeing the audio and visual quality. DCI posted that they would have broadcasts, APD's, and VOD's for a specified number of shows (barring circumstances like weather that would prevent them from recording). Thus far they have fulfuilled their end of the bargain. They did not specify the quality of the video or audio, nor the speed with which they would be able to get those posted. Since many people are willing to wait 2 days for the content to be loaded, and many just want a general view of the show and don't raise a stink about audio or video quality, there is no reason for them to commit to something they are potentially not capable of.

To use your example of a cheeseburger, having cheese on it is an inherent understanding by virtue of the name of product. If DCI committed that we would get HD audio and video options, we'd have reason to be upset since that would be a violation of their promise/commitment. But there is nothing inherent in how they have described what shows would be offered guaranteeing a certain quality or speed of access.

Now, (not that I want to cause problems for DCI at all) what people CAN do to remedy the situation for the future (i.e. next year), is to do what some ahve suggested and send DCI an e-mail stating that they would like a commitment from DCi next year concerning the quality of the audio/video and speed of access or they will not purchase the product. I'mm not saying it will work, though. Going back to the cheesburger example, it's one thing to go back to the manager and state you wanted cheese; it's another thing to go back and state you want all organic vegetables and meat that's cooked medium rare or you won't buy again.

Again, expectations have to be reasonable.

EXCELLENT post! and I agree in large measure.

It's like those commercials where the ladies go up to the hot dog vendor and he gives them ONLY the hot dog and no bun. He says, "read the sign." It only says, "hot dogs." Or the guy who goes through the car wash but all the suds are still on the car because they didn't say car wash AND rinse.

Did those people receive what they paid for? Yes. However, one could make the case that their are implied services when you order something. Where we may be talking past each other is in the area of what did we expect were those implied services?

Hyperbolicly speaking, let's say that I paid $59 for my FN service and they did not upload ANY of the videos on demand until the first week of August. Would I have a right to complain? After all, DCI didn't promise WHEN they would upload them. But, I think there is an implied understanding that they would upload them in a timely fashion, especially since a precedent has been set.

Let me change my anaology a bit. If I order some chicken at a restaurant should I expect it to be moist or bone dry? What if it is in fact bone dry? Did I get what I ordered? Technically, yes. Should I complain? Sure I should. Will it be resolved? Maybe. Should I order chicken from there again? Depends.

[AlexL]

a post above stated the video quality was not promised. While they didnt promise a certain bitrate, the quality has gone down. compare that with what they DID promise in an email this spring:

Hello DCI Fan Network Subscriber:

We hope you are as excited as we are about the upcoming start of the 2009 Drum Corps International Tour! After working hard throughout the winter, corps members are just weeks away from joining their respective corps for spring training rehearsals before hitting the road...on the journey to Indianapolis for the World Championships in August.

Just like the corps, Fan Network programmers have been busy during the off-season as well. We are very pleased to let you know that we will be launching a brand new Fan Network user interface on Wednesday, May 6. In anticipation of its debut, we have extended your current subscription to Wednesday, May 13. We hope you will use this extra week to check out the new site and the enhancements that we've made since last August. Among some of the new features, you'll see:

• Improved video filtering and search function

• Streamlined browsing experience to access and switch between your favorite corps channels with ease

• BIGGER and better video quality

As you get ready to follow your favorite corps this summer on the Web, you'll have two subscription options:

1. The $39 Fan Network Subscription will give you access to Video on Demand of corps performances from select 2009 events, access to all current-year and historical video archives, discounts on audio and video downloads.

2. The $59 Fan Network Plus Subscription will give you all of the great features of a regular subscription, PLUS access to all Live Webcasts of some of Drum Corps International's biggest events, and more!

Be on the lookout for a complete schedule of 2009 digital broadcasts following next week's launch!

have they provided on these new features? Its a little better on the first, the 'streamlined browsing experience' isnt much when the fan network wont even load half the time, and the 'bigger and better video quality' is an epic fail.