Cornell - CSTV webcast quality

Friday vs. Harvard when the video feed for the CSTV webcast got sent back to the studio as a broadcast quality video feed, the webcast picture quality was a whole lot better.

There were only a half-dozen freeze frames or stutter-steps of a second or two. Plus the video went out from the first intermission (midway) till a minute and a half into the next period. And a freeze of 10 seconds with 1:30 left to play when I was about to look up CSTV's control room address, grab an Uzi, and reason with them.

So maybe when CSTV says the Cornell feed sucks, blah-blah-blah, not our fault (on all other games), maybe there's a kernel of truth. It's just that CSTV is such a scummy operation in so many other ways (which deserves its own thread) that you don't want to give them credit for maybe being partly right. QOS still sucks, but it's joint suckitude - Cornell's and CSTV's.

Speaking of suckitude, anyone else notice that the game isn't archived on Almost No-Access?

Yeah i was thinking the same thing. Hopefully they will put it up later this weekend.

billhoward
So maybe when CSTV says the Cornell feed sucks, blah-blah-blah, not our fault (on all other games), maybe there's a kernel of truth. It's just that CSTV is such a scummy operation in so many other ways (which deserves its own thread) that you don't want to give them credit for maybe being partly right. QOS still sucks, but it's joint suckitude - Cornell's and CSTV's.

As a non-subscriber this year, I have no doubt its true. Here's the problem... the customer service is still awful. And if something happens at the rink, they have *no* communication to the rink (or wherever).

We've lose a period of a game because an ethernet cable gets pulled, and the camera man has no way to know it really. And when you call up after losing the feed, they tell you "we're not carrying that game tonight" (or really, half way through the 2nd, huh?), or just a generic "we're working on it". And of course, they don't give refunds.

The problem isn't their technology per say (except now for their incredibly proprietary, advertisement laden, only-exactly-what-we-say-you-can-use system). Its the chain of responsibility.

If the chain is customer <--> CSTV <--> school, then if the customer has a problem, CSTV is the public face of it, and they should have *some* form of communication worked out with the school. If we have problems with no pre-game show, and we email CSTV about it, and they tell us their working on it, how much you wanna bet that it never gets to anyone (at the school, probably) who can do a darn thing about it?

If we call and the feed is down, then they need *someone* in the backroom with the cell phone number of Andy Noel, Gene Nighman, Jason Weinstein, the camera guy, WCHU, or *something*. So they can *tell them*. I know this seems incredibly obvious, but it just isn't done.

Last year we finally decide to just send text messages to Mark when he was at the rink, so he could stand up and yell to the camera guys that something was wrong. And it was typically fixed within minutes. When you called CSTV, they'd just say "contact the school". Excuse me, how exactly am I supposed to contact Lynah rink on a Saturday night??? Talk to who exactly?!? How about *you* doing something instead of losing a period of the game until the cameraman happened to notice that the video cable got pulled out. What else are we paying you for??

I spoke to Sue Detzer about this last night. Many parents of players are upset. You should hear what Canadians have to do to get this! So the hockey office is aware. The Hockey Association is putting up money for these broadcasts. I think contact with anyone you know in the Association would be helpful. Please be pleasant with communications, they are on our side.

redhair34
Speaking of suckitude, anyone else notice that the game isn't archived on Almost No-Access?

Looks like it's archived now.

Edit: Wrong thread...

When a merchant doesn't provide what you pay for and refuses to issue a refund, you have a recourse. Document the specific problem, what you paid, what you tried to do to get the merchant to correct it, and then tell your credit card company you're not paying. If enough people suck their money back from CSTV via credit card complaint procedures, someone might notice.

mha
When a merchant doesn't provide what you pay for and refuses to issue a refund, you have a recourse. Document the specific problem, what you paid, what you tried to do to get the merchant to correct it, and then tell your credit card company you're not paying. If enough people suck their money back from CSTV via credit card complaint procedures, someone might notice.

When you pay for a service promised and not provided isn't that actually fraud?

-Will

It's only fraud if they intentionally take your money, knowing they will not be providing you the service you're paying for.

Wow, some of you people are really damn obtuse...

First off, I was at the game and Tivo'd the game - I haven't seen such crappy images on a television screen in my life. I had a hard time telling which team was which, the picture was so bad. If I didn't know Cornell attacked the scoreboard side twice I would have been totally out of luck. Even when they had the whole damn thing, from cameras on down, as Bill said, they STILL screwed up with the stream. On top of that, did any of you at the game even SEE the size of the cameras they used? I know people down in the corner were pissed because they couldn't see around the damn thing. Some folks who work at the rink said they had to cut into the table in the pressbox because there wasn't enough room for the damn things. Cornell's feed uses little mini-cams like you can buy at Best Buy. I'm guessing they are using second or third rate equipment because the top of the line stuff is way out of their price league. The other thing I've been told is that CSTV has called Cornell for every game this season with the same problems, and been given the same solutions, only they never write it down anyplace, thus continuing a vicious cycle.

Their operation sucks... frankly, I'm glad Cornell is even offering the games in spite of the crappy service. Catching only five minutes of the game, while aggravating, sure beats not catching any of it. Would I like them to do away with the subscription for it? Sure, but not if it means going the route of SLU and only keeping 75 streams available. Could athletics do a better job and provide a better picture? Sure, if someone were willing to pony up the cash to do the job properly with the right equipment. Instead, though, some of you would rather just bitch and moan about it and not offer any constructive solutions. If you're all so much better, then step up to the plate and contribute in some way. Donate enough money so that the thing doesn't have to be subscription based. Donate technical expertise to the operation (hell, at least that'd get you into the game for free). Donate better equipment if you don't trust Andy Noel with a nickel, let alone any real amount.

My point is, do something about it other than just whine like a Sucks fan. Am I personally in a position to change things? No, so I'll accept things as they are for the time being because I don't have access to a better solution (money, equpipment, expertise). The time for complaining to CSTV is over. Athletics uses them probably because as shitty as they are they're the best thing out there. To that end, it's time to do something to help athletics not have to use them.

But given the lack of any reasonable thought on here, I'm sure you'd all just rather bitch about it.

Are you not aware that people have offered to help Athletics produce a free webcast in the past?

jtwcornell91
Are you not aware that people have offered to help Athletics produce used to offer a higher quality, more reliable, free webcast in the past?

FYP.

Big TV cameras can be a sign of high quality or generation-old equipment. Can't believe Cornell hasn't built a center-ice camera perch high enough that you can see more of the near-side corners and don' have fans heads get in the way.

Cornell is wrapped up in a multiple-media CSTV deal - the video feeds, the occasional actual TV broadcast, Gametracker, and website design and management. Plus Cornell gets money for handing all this off to CSTV/CBS. So if a group of interested Cornellians said it could do a better webcast for free, that might not be good enough.

It would be nice though if CSTV/CBS had some serious competition, much the Sirius keeps XM honest and vice versa.

I do agree with the comment elsewhere on this thread that the Cornell video feed, no matter how bad, is still better than none at all. And I was also impressed (reminded) that there's another constituent group, the players' parents, for whom this is a lifeline into their sons' lives except for the few games where they get to campus or Florida. Not all are as fortunate as David McKee that the family moves to Ithaca. Or maybe Carl McKee just had got fed up with the video feed.

billhoward
Plus Cornell gets money for handing all this off to CSTV/CBS. [/Q]If so how come as I have previously stated, the Cornell Hockey Assoc. has been asked to contribute money for the webcast?[Q] And I was also impressed (reminded) that there's another constituent group, the players' parents, for whom this is a lifeline into their sons' lives except for the few games where they get to campus or Florida.

That's true, except, as I've also posted, it doesn't do a Canadian parent any good if CSTV won't accept their money.

The Friday 12/1 game for me, over Comcast broadband:

- no pregame video
- no video at start of game. Webcast finally available around 7:15 about 5 minutes into the game
- lost feed for the second period right at the start
- video back for the third period
- main camera placement unable to see near left corner (corner nearest Schoellkopf Field); blocked by something I hadn't seen in previous games
- CSTV doesn't store, or chooses not to use a cookie that knows you've already seen the commercial the comes up when you click play, so I saw it 20 or so times ... the # of times I attempted to load and reload the video

If this was a movie theater where I could walk up to the manager in the box office, I would have asked for my money back for this game.

Others (a couple others): Post you comments too on the RPI webcast, incuding if you did get the feed just fine.

My experience was exactly the same as Bill's as far as the video and lack thereof.
I had called earlier in the day to re-sign up for the monthly rate, and even agreed to auto-renewal (that's optional this year) figuring it was easier. They did a good job of handling that transaction. When there was no video a few minutes before the game, I called to let them know. I was told that I needed to disable my firewall and clear my cache in order to get the picture. I explained that that was not the problem and that I've gotten video before and others were having the same problem. I was told that different streams have different issues and she insisted that this is what I needed to do - which I ignored since those on elynah and the game chat had the same problems.
After the game I called and explained the problems and they quickly processed a refund of my monthly subscription, which I was willing to do since I'm not available to watch live tonight anyway, and I was really paying the 6.95 just to watch last night.
They were real courteous and quick with the signing up and cancellation, but technically they have no clue.

Bill, Jeff,

Did either of you send this information to Cornell in a polite email like Jim has asked?

I sent a note to Andy Noel in anticipation of Jim's request. It was before the season started, in fact. I'm sending another one, also polite, this weekend.

The purpose of this topic, started a month ago, was to be a more or less dispassionate reporting form for problems with the webcasts. If one person says his/her feed was down, CSTV might blame Cornell or Comcast or Firefox or the firewall. But if a bunch of people from differing geographies report similar problems, then the problem may be the one that's not on CSTV's list: CSTV and its partners such as Cornell.

DeltaOne81
Bill, Jeff,

Did either of you send this information to Cornell in a polite email like Jim has asked?

Yes I did.

Thanks to all that have helped. There is still time for more of you to email your help. Please do so tonight during the game.