All-Access reply from Athletics Dep't

[lhayes]

Here's the reply I got from Jeremy Hartigan, Director of Athletics Communications, to the email I sent regarding problems with All-Access:

Dear Cornell All-Access subscriber -
        Thanks for your note, and sorry you have had problems with the service. We understand All-Access has had problems, particularly over the last year and especially with the audio feeds. We have been continually talking to CSTV about the problems, trying to find resolutions as quickly as possible.

We are aware of the problems, are (and have been) attempting to fix them, and at the same time are looking at future options for next year that will be better received by everyone.

One of our biggest frustrations has come from the large number of people our office hears from who are unsatisfied with the customer service from CSTV. That service is one that our department can't provide on a game day basis due to our responsibilities to our teams, coaches and student-athletes, and is something that is part of CSTV's responsibility. Problems sometimes happen and do with every school, from Notre Dame to my alma mater St. Bonaventure. I am a subscriber to All-Access myself and have suffered this year through some of the same problems with other schools.

Among the steps we have taken include:
* the purchase of a new audio coupler (second year in a row) to exclude Cornell or WHCU's being at fault for the continued audio problems.
* numerous conference calls, two in November, between our department and CSTV regarding the ongoing problems, including discussions about how continued problems with the service would negatively effect any future contract with their web site company.
 * continued testing and re-testing of the streaming capabilities at our various facilities with Cornell CIT department, including adjustments at Lynah Rink.
* addressing the problem of Canadian families who can no longer purchase the All-Access service due to CSTV's policy of no longer accepting Canadian credit cards.
* looking into new streaming platforms for next year.

Men's basketball has moved to an internet only radio broadcast this season (as will men's lacrosse later in the year), and there have been no problems at all dialing directly into our equipment on site, which means that the equipment we are using for games is not the problem.

Cornell became one of the first school's in the country to offer video streaming of athletic events several years ago, something we now do for more contests than any other school in the country, and we are very proud to be able to provide this for the Big Red fans across the world. I get hundreds of e-mails and calls a year thanking us for the service and the ability to watch their sons or daughters, or to be able to follow their alma mater when they are halfway across the country. I'm extremely happy about that. Please keep in mind that our video and audio streaming is not a profit-making venture ... we are offering it because that is what people want, and the cost of the All-Access subscription is only partially covering the cost of what it takes to provide the service.

Nothing, however, is harder to hear than the increased problems that have popped up in the last year or so.

Chief among the issues that we will address are the inability for Macintosh users to access our audio and video offerings. While Macs have a small share of the total computers used in the United States, a great deal more than the average number of users are Ivy League students or graduates. With the well-known advantages in audio and video quality on Macs, it only makes sense to provide that to all alumni.

A great deal of the changes with All-Access caught us by surprise this fall (new player, new charge system, inability to accept Canadian credit cards, no Macs), and we were not alerted to most of the issues above by CSTV. The ones we were aware of, there was no alternative due to contractual agreements already in place. We are taking all of that into account as we search for alternatives for the 2007-08 season. In the meantime, we ask your support and patience as we continue to work with CSTV to improve the current setup. Our alumni, family, fans and recruits are the sole reason we provide the service at all, and we are constantly trying and thinking of ways to make improvements on what we already have.

                                        Sincerely,
                                        Jeremy

[Lauren '06]

Well that was kind of him.  I surely wouldn't want a job where I had to receive floods of complaints after every weekend.

[quote lhayes]one of the first school's in the country[/quote]

I couldn't help myself.

[Jacob '06]

I'm glad they are as upset over the mac issue as we are. I hope that it will be written in to any new contract that mac users will get equal access.

[jtwcornell91]

[quote Jacob '06]I'm glad they are as upset over the mac issue as we are. I hope that it will be written in to any new contract that mac users will get equal access.[/quote]

I'm a little worried that it's phrased as a dichotomy, though.  I fear we'll end up with some browswer-sniffing that works on two specific platforms, rather than the interoperable stream we've had in past years.

[ebilmes]

The "search for alternatives" phrase makes me a little optimistic that CSTV will be gone next year.

[oceanst41]

[quote Section A Banshee]Well that was kind of him.  I surely wouldn't want a job where I had to receive floods of complaints after every weekend.

[quote lhayes]one of the first school's in the country[/quote]

I couldn't help myself.[/quote]

Good, I wasn't the only one.

The tough thing for Cornell is that there aren't many options out there as alternatives. It sounds like it's either go with CSTV or do it themselves. Who knows, they might be leaning towards the latter.

[CowbellGuy]

[quote ebilmes]The "search for alternatives" phrase makes me a little optimistic that CSTV will be gone next year.[/quote]
Don't get too optimistic. I wrote directly to Andy again this year, offering to take over/help improve/do anything at all regarding the webcasts and, once again, it didn't even garner a response. I did suggest, even if nothing at all was done, to send out some formal response to try to appease the masses. Maybe he took that bit to heart.

[Rosey]

[quote CowbellGuy]Don't get too optimistic. I wrote directly to Andy again this year, offering to take over/help improve/do anything at all regarding the webcasts and, once again, it didn't even garner a response.[/quote]
Well, considering the axe with your likeness on it that Andy evidently has been grinding for several years, it doesn't surprise me that he didn't respond to you.  I mean, we already know the guy's a jerk; whether or not he is feeling sufficient pressure to solve the webcast problems is another story... and at least this response from athletics offers me some hope in that area.

Kyle

[DeltaOne81]

[quote jtwcornell91][quote Jacob '06]I'm glad they are as upset over the mac issue as we are. I hope that it will be written in to any new contract that mac users will get equal access.[/quote]

I'm a little worried that it's phrased as a dichotomy, though.  I fear we'll end up with some browswer-sniffing that works on two specific platforms, rather than the interoperable stream we've had in past years.[/quote]

Agreed. I'm very happy to hear they care about that. Alumni relations is not a for-profit business (at least not in the same way CSTV is) and foresaking a smaller portion of the market carries bigger impacts than just the immediate revenue.

I think its a fair point that you make, John, and I definition think you should write to them on the subject. It is true, however (is it not?) that any machine is at least capable of running either Windows or OS X, so supporting both at least isn't forcing anyone into any new hardware. Still, an open solution is definitely preferable as it would make it easier to ad more platforms and harder to remove them later.

Age, have you tried writing to Jeremy? Just a thought.

[Chris '03]

[quote oceanst41]

The tough thing for Cornell is that there aren't many options out there as alternatives. It sounds like it's either go with CSTV or do it themselves. Who knows, they might be leaning towards the latter.[/quote]

Princeton and Dartmouth started using these folks this year:
http://www.collegesportsdirect.tv/

Dartmouth charges $60 for 12 months or $8/month. Princeton also offers a forty buck 6 month pass. I have no way of vouching for the live quality, but there are some free clips up at: https://www.nmnathletics.com//flexReg/doReg.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10600 (just click any of the links to open the player and looks for ones labeled as free) it's another player, it puts up old games (you can see princeton/ucla from '96 appraently), and is mac friendly.

The grass is always greener...

[RichH]

[quote oceanst41]The tough thing for Cornell is that there aren't many options out there as alternatives. It sounds like it's either go with CSTV or do it themselves. Who knows, they might be leaning towards the latter.[/quote]

Well, geez, yeah!!  I've been thinking this for a while now.  CU has some of the best resources available for things such as this.  Many of us have already proven that we'd happily pay to fund such a service as long as it's 1) reliable and 2) universally accessible.  Local ownership and accountability would solve a good amount of #1...at least give us a dedicated "who to call when something is wrong."  Webcasting audio was very stable, reliable (and free) when it was started about 10 years ago.

Assuming politics has taken certain volunteers out of the equation, there still very capable people on campus who, if compensated appropriately for their time and effort could do a wonderful job.  The right combination of CIT and ECE students/staff has vast resources in both equipment and knowledge on hand.  Make it work/study for some students to maintain and run on game days.  There's reason Dartmouth can make this happen and Cornell has to contract a company who when called can do about as much as an at&t operator.  CSTV is probably more concerned with getting out Kansas Jayhawks basketball anyway.

Can anyone remember how i2sports was when they handled the first (paid) video webcast?  They were based out of Syracuse, and from what I remember, was more reliable and accountable than the CSTV XXXXXXXXL monster sports machine.  Local ownership.  Local accountability.

[CowbellGuy]

[quote DeltaOne81]Age, have you tried writing to Jeremy? Just a thought.[/quote]
I did last year with the same result. He also repeatedly turned down requests for media credentials when I was trying to shoot for USCHO/CHN quite directly "because it was me." Obviously Laura left some sort of mandate. FWIW, Jeremy was an interim replacement for Laura. Even though the "interim" bit was dropped, he's still in over his head.

Andy (and Anita for that matter) has always been very friendly and chatty when I've run into him, so I figured he would at least be open to a dialogue. But I suppose he could simply have had no idea who I was. It's hard to read the vacuous gaze.

[Jim Hyla]

[quote RichH][quote oceanst41]The tough thing for Cornell is that there aren't many options out there as alternatives. It sounds like it's either go with CSTV or do it themselves. Who knows, they might be leaning towards the latter.[/quote]

Well, geez, yeah!!  I've been thinking this for a while now.  CU has some of the best resources available for things such as this.  Many of us have already proven that we'd happily pay to fund such a service as long as it's 1) reliable and 2) universally accessible.  Local ownership and accountability would solve a good amount of #1...at least give us a dedicated "who to call when something is wrong."  Webcasting audio was very stable, reliable (and free) when it was started about 10 years ago.

Assuming politics has taken certain volunteers out of the equation, there still very capable people on campus who, if compensated appropriately for their time and effort could do a wonderful job.  The right combination of CIT and ECE students/staff has vast resources in both equipment and knowledge on hand.  Make it work/study for some students to maintain and run on game days.  There's reason Dartmouth can make this happen and Cornell has to contract a company who when called can do about as much as an at&t operator.  CSTV is probably more concerned with getting out Kansas Jayhawks basketball anyway.

Can anyone remember how i2sports was when they handled the first (paid) video webcast?  They were based out of Syracuse, and from what I remember, was more reliable and accountable than the CSTV XXXXXXXXL monster sports machine.  Local ownership.  Local accountability.[/quote]I personally think this would be the ideal solution. Afterall we might then have some response to problems. I also think that people would be more understanding of problems if they thought that someone was actually goint to try and fix them. How novel.

[Jacob '06]

I think there is one problem that doing it in house will not handle well. The cameras that they are using on some-access are not good enough to acclimate to changing light patterns across the rink as quickly as they are panning to follow game play (not counting the fact that they suck at following game play). I think if its done in house, we are definitely not going to up the quality of the camera, and this might even get worse. However, I don't know that much about cameras and it may just be some setting you can change to make it work better.

It would also be nice if we had cameramen that had ever seen a game of hockey before so they could anticipate how a play will develop and not have to pan as quickly. Also, as I know was mentioned a lot last year, a wider angle shot won't hurt that much. Most of us have watched enough hockey in person that we can tell where the puck is just by seeing how players are watching, and it is more fun to see what other people on the ice are doing too.

[RichH]

[quote Jacob '06]It would also be nice if we had cameramen that had ever seen a game of hockey before so they could anticipate how a play will develop and not have to pan as quickly. Also, as I know was mentioned a lot last year, a wider angle shot won't hurt that much. Most of us have watched enough hockey in person that we can tell where the puck is just by seeing how players are watching, and it is more fun to see what other people on the ice are doing too.[/quote]

Well, an on-campus solution would ideally have people with enough interest in customer satisfaction that they would be available and reachable for feedback.  Unless you believe that emailing or calling any customer service representative for CSTV with a "could you please not zoom in so tightly in the Cornell-Colgate hockey game?" message would actually get such a specific request forwarded to anyone who gave a crap.

Wasn't it last year (or the prior year) where we had the camera guy stop in here for suggestions on his own volition?