Sports Information Dep't fails Cornell fans

[bandrews37]

Wow, this thought is so wrong on so many levels, it's hard to know where to even start....

First off, Cornell was one of the first schools around the country to even do university sponsored live video. So, to say that the SID is failing fans by thinking inside the box couldn't be farther from the truth.

Beeeej is right: other schools will request a rights fee first off since the university is making some money off it (obviously not enough to cover costs, but still). And on top of the rights fees, there's production costs; do you really want Cornell hiring Harvard students producing a webcast for your game? So now you're talking about sending a video production crew on the road - more costs (travel, lodging, meals). Contrary to what you might believe, cost is a HUGE factor. If you're talking about broadcasting every event, home and away, you're going to need a hell of a lot more cameras.

Cornell does exchange with other schools for the video rights; I watched the women's basketball game from Princeton on Friday night from Ithaca. When Princeton comes here, I'm sure they share the feed with Princeton. They've shown they're willing to work with other schools - only other schools haven't shown the same cooperation.

Proving that you know nothing, Cornell has broadcast each home wrestling meet this season, and did the final games of the season for volleyball. Obviously, you've never been to the soccer field, because if you had, you'd realize there's no power or internet connection at the field, making it hard to broadcast a game.

As far as CSTV goes.... They're owned by CBS, which also owns Showtime. Which do you think they care more about, Showtime or CSTV? And before you try and slam their decision to use that company, have you SEEN what else is out there? Have you seen the crap program that Harvard/Dartmouth/Princeton/Columbia use? I'm sure your response to that would be that Cornell should do it in-house. Well, I work in website design-the startup costs would double the athletic department's current debt. And then, you'd still whine and bitch that the athletic department is too cheap to use a national company like the other major programs around the country do. Basically, what I'm saying is, nothing they can do will please you.

From what I've heard from Detzer in the hockey office, the campaign you guys started about six weeks ago to write letters to Andy Noel and the CHA yielded fewer than a dozen complaints - and most of them self-admitting that they don't actually subscribe to the All-Access program. I've also heard that the department loses upwards of $20,000 a year to provide the current lineup of audio and video. Yet you still claim it doesn't cost money....

The quality of stuff that comes out of the SID office is pretty good. The guides are good and the programs are good (let me guess, you probably don't buy those, either).

Obviously, you've got some type of personal beef with someone or something in the athletic department. I suggest you take it up with them. Or - even better, since you seem to think you know everything - try POLITELY talking with someone in the department about your ideas instead of attacking them constantly on a forum that, given your post, nobody can honestly take seriously.

[Beeeej]

I guess you haven't been around here too long, or you'd know that one of the primary reasons people around here complain about the poor quality of the current commercial offering that costs them money is that a fan used to do it better, and without charging.  So we know for a fact that it could be done better, and for less money, than it's currently being done, despite the "professionals" who are supposedly doing it now.

But feel free to keep acting superior and smarmy about how little we know.

[Al DeFlorio]

[quote bandrews37]Proving that you know nothing, Cornell has broadcast each home wrestling meet this season...[/quote]
Interesting comment from someone who acts like he knows everything.

There've been two home wrestling meets so far this season, and one (Ohio State) was not webcast.  The webcast of the second (Penn State) was announced on CornellBigRed.com late in the evening the night before the meet (and five days AFTER billhoward's posting above noting the absence of wrestling videocasts).  I suspect few even knew it was available.  Without accompanying audio, you couldn't tell who was wrestling unless you were familiar with the rosters of both teams.  I guess that's what you'd call "thinking outside the box."

You might also want to keep in mind that the first audio webcasts of Cornell hockey happened as a result of prodding by the regulars here on eLynah, and we kicked in funding to pay for the PC required to support those initial broadcasts.

[Robb]

[quote Beeeej]  So we know for a fact that it could be done better, and for less money, than it's currently being done, despite the "professionals" who are supposedly doing it now.[/quote]
Don't try to confuse bandrews37 with your "facts."  He knows everything there is to know about webcasting - just ask him!

We're not arguing that Cornell should do it in-house.  We're arguing that Cornell should get out of the webcasting business altogether and let Age do it again - more reliable, for free, with better service, by someone who cares whether the viewers are getting what they want.

You can't argue that it can't be done.  It has been done.

[bandrews37]

Sure, anyone can do it without charging when they are illegally using the university's resources. Age just started doing it, never asked for permission, and used whatever resources he felt like. I've heard that it wasn't athletics that requested he be shut down, it was the resources he was using over in Biotech.

Imagine where the whole thing would be if he'd approached someone in athletics about doing this, offering and volunteering his services. I'm pretty sure that didn't happen, because they're not about to turn down someone offering to do something for free.

Like it or not, rules are rules. If they've got a set of rules, you've got to abide by them, no matter how ridiculous they are. There's NCAA rules considerations to be taken into account as well. My suspicion is that there was some NCAA rule that Age's broadcast would be in danger of violating.

My point is, don't just blame Cornell about the video - Age himself is also not without fault here. If he'd done things through the proper channels, maybe we'd be watching his glorious SANCTIONED feed tonight.

[Robb]

[quote bandrews37]Sure, anyone can do it without charging when they are illegally using the university's resources. Age just started doing it, never asked for permission, and used whatever resources he felt like. I've heard that it wasn't athletics that requested he be shut down, it was the resources he was using over in Biotech.

Imagine where the whole thing would be if he'd approached someone in athletics about doing this, offering and volunteering his services. I'm pretty sure that didn't happen, because they're not about to turn down someone offering to do something for free.

Like it or not, rules are rules. If they've got a set of rules, you've got to abide by them, no matter how ridiculous they are. There's NCAA rules considerations to be taken into account as well. My suspicion is that there was some NCAA rule that Age's broadcast would be in danger of violating.

My point is, don't just blame Cornell about the video - Age himself is also not without fault here. If he'd done things through the proper channels, maybe we'd be watching his glorious SANCTIONED feed tonight.[/quote]
Riiiiight.  I'm sure Age just busted into the pressbox and spliced into the team's video camera without talking to anyone.  And that nobody in athletics or biotech knew about it during its successful run.  

Of course.  That just makes so much more sense than any possible alternate explanation.

Bandrews37 then: It's soooo hard and costs zillions of dollars.

Bandrews37 now: It's so easy that anyone can do it.  The university has plenty of resources - just get the permission and it's a done deal.

Which is it?

[billhoward]

It's nice that Cornell offers some video of some sports events at home but not on the road, and that it works some of the time, for a fee. You can always fall back to audio. Others do less and others do it better and for free. Thank you, Clarkson video feed. Before Cornell stepped into the picture, it was done for free at Lynah. How much bandwidth did this suck up from Cornell's total bandwdidth? If it was on Friday and Saturday nights, that's probably not a time when IT resources are being strained.

The original point was that Cornell needs to think outside the traditional press box. Why shouldn't sports information go beyond the old-fashioned press-releases-and-stats mode now that it could provide sports information up to and including video of the games? It's not just for us eLynah blowhards. It's also a nice touch for player families who aren't as fortunate as the McKees to be able to move to Ithaca.

Cornell shouldn't worry about every single activity having to be revenue neutral. Whatever it costs, it shouldn't be that much. Case in point: Our class just kicked in a couple thousand dollars to start a Christopher Reeve scholarship fund. That seed funding has been matched and raised to about $50,000. Our class doesn't get any of the seed money back, so it wasn't revenue-neutral to the class, but it sure worked well for Cornell.

[RichH]

[quote billhoward]It's nice that Cornell offers some video of some sports events at home but not on the road, and that it works some of the time, for a fee. You can always fall back to audio. Others do less and others do it better and for free. Thank you, Clarkson video feed.[/quote]

Also, St. Lawrence had free video.  You know, St. Lawrence University.  That school with the huge computing resources.  Oh wait.

To be fair, the past two seasons saw Dartmouth offering free video webcasts of their hockey games.  They have moved to a pay service provided by either XOS or College Sports Direct, per the notice posted here:

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~mhockey/webcast/index.html

I can't vouch for the quality or reliability of the new Dartmouth service.  Like we've been saying all along, most of us would gladly pay for a subscription that provides a good quality and reliable product.

[billhoward]

[quote RichH]I can't vouch for the quality or reliability of the new Dartmouth service.  Like we've been saying all along, most of us would gladly pay for a subscription that provides a good quality and reliable product.[/quote]
I'm at the point where fifty bucks a year isn't a big issue because it costs four times that to drive to Ithaca to have dinner, see a single game, and drive home, let alone staying overnight. But I hate to be taken advantage of, and indifferent service is a big turnoff. (CSTV doesn't even put much of a veneer on pretending to be sorry their service is so variable.)

Right now my hot buttons are getting our son into Cornell and seeing every home hockey game in person or on TV. Since the kid's not yet out of middle school, button No. 1 needs to be on the back burner. I'm worried Cornell and CSTV have quality video in the same place.

[bandrews37]

Yeah, how'd you like those 75 streams from good ol' SLU? You know, the same limit that won't even allow one section's worth of people at Lynah to view the feed?

And if you you think Cornell's feed is bad, whoo boy, just wait until you try Dartmouth's.... yeesh.... I've checked out their feeds, they make CSTV look like HDTV on a 72 inch plasma screen.

[jtwcornell91]

[quote bandrews37]And if you you think Cornell's feed is bad, whoo boy, just wait until you try Dartmouth's.... yeesh.... I've checked out their feeds, they make CSTV look like HDTV on a 72 inch plasma screen.[/quote]

How does that fantastic CSTV feed look on your Mac or Linux box?

[KeithK]

[quote bandrews37]Yeah, how'd you like those 75 streams from good ol' SLU? You know, the same limit that won't even allow one section's worth of people at Lynah to view the feed?

And if you you think Cornell's feed is bad, whoo boy, just wait until you try Dartmouth's.... yeesh.... I've checked out their feeds, they make CSTV look like HDTV on a 72 inch plasma screen.[/quote]Your attitude seems to be that the Cornell feed is the best thing since sliced bread and we should just shut up and enjoy it.  Sorry, it's not.  Folks here have legitimate complaints about the service that could be remedied if CSTV or Cornell cared enough to do so.  The fact that other schools have problems with their feeds/services doesn't change this fact.  As paying customers (well I'm not, but many of us are) we have a right to expect good service.

[RichH]

[quote bandrews37]Yeah, how'd you like those 75 streams from good ol' SLU? You know, the same limit that won't even allow one section's worth of people at Lynah to view the feed?[/quote]

I enjoyed it a lot.  I had no problem connecting, disconnecting, and reconnecting.  I didn't even know there was a stream limit until I read about it here.

And if you you think Cornell's feed is bad, whoo boy, just wait until you try Dartmouth's.... yeesh.... I've checked out their feeds, they make CSTV look like HDTV on a 72 inch plasma screen.

Well, if it's anything like the Quicktime feed they used for the last 2 seasons (for free), it must be quite good.  And cross platform to boot.  One Saturday evening 2 years ago, I had video up from Clarkson and Dartmouth (both muted) while listening to Cornell's opponent's free audio.  What a way to keep tabs on action around the league!  It's a shame Cornell's Athletic Department opted to quit trying.

[billhoward]

One of the Cornell goals for the Far Above campaign, the one that wants $4 billion from alumni and friends (let's figure in the eLynah share and then add a 15% tip), is that Cornell will be the best (best apparently as in world's best) undergraduate education that can be had at a research university. I would hope that means excellence in everything Cornell does. Including the bleeping video feed.

[Beeeej]

[quote billhoward]One of the Cornell goals for the Far Above campaign, the one that wants $4 billion from alumni and friends (let's figure in the eLynah share and then add a 15% tip), is that Cornell will be the best (best apparently as in world's best) undergraduate education that can be had at a research university. I would hope that means excellence in everything Cornell does. Including the bleeping video feed.[/quote]

See, please, just about every other post I've ever made regarding development and specialized athletics projects.  I can practically guarantee you:  This is not a priority for the Far Above Campaign.  But if someone approached the university with it, they would at least have to consider whether to make it a priority.