[QUOTE=M. O’Connor;7241008]
WAIT, not done yet…they have to send Email confirmation…[/QUOTE]
iHigh was designed to broadcast high school sports. I think those rules/policies are in place to prevent the stupid crap high school students do to each other and because you have video and pictures of minors on the sight.
I’m through messing with three different browsers. I’ll wait for reruns in some other century.
If this is how they represent themselves (this sucky quality of this live stream) it makes me wonder where else they cut corners… My ponies, who are happily on platinum performance, will never ever even taste their Life Force stuff. Call me a bitch, but thats how I look at it.
[QUOTE=MoonLadyIsis;7241094]
If this is how they represent themselves (this sucky quality of this live stream) it makes me wonder where else they cut corners… My ponies, who are happily on platinum performance, will never ever even taste their Life Force stuff. Call me a bitch, but thats how I look at it.[/QUOTE]
Too each his own I guess. Seems silly to me to bitch about a free service and to judge and entire company based on a free service that they dont have to offer but hey thats just me. Alltech has put a lot of time and effort into trying to save this dying horse show. I dont blame them for asking USEF to not live stream it. While people may not like it, Alltech is a business and of course would want the ANHS broadcasted through something that has their brand all over it.
The quality of Alltech’s products are directly correlated to their live stream feed quality. Theyve actually run that study. R2 is 0.99999 so good call on that!
But USEF could easily have had their brand all over it. We’re supposed to be their audience, and potential customers, odd way to act toward either.
[QUOTE=lockedoutalter;7241103]
D
Which is weird. I have an incredible PC set up that streams 1080 movies no problem. I’ve been streaming USEF’s feeds for the last weeks clearly as well.
[QUOTE=lockedoutalter;7241103]
Did you guys try this link?
http://www.hrtv.com/english/alltechwebcast[/QUOTE]
I tried just now. It’s having the same issues as the Alltech feed. Blurriness and sometimes the stream drops.
Last night, since I was lucky enough to have the USEF feed, I compared it to the Alltech Feed. The differences between the two were that a) the Alltech field appears to be on a delay of about 30-60 seconds, and b) the feed is blurry (the Monet reference is a good description) on the Alltech feed and clear on the USEF. The Alltech feed also drops while the USEF doesn’t.
It was hard to be sure, due to the delay, but I think both feeds actually are/were using the same camera. Alltech’s problems seem to be on the technology side, with the streaming - the picture quality is much worse and the feed stops and starts.
The way I look at it, this is advertising for them. They get to run a ton of ads and promos. And yes, I will complain about a free service. This is more than the quality of their feed. It is the countless ads I had to sit through while the live feed was down. Yes, this horse show is dying, I commend them for attempting to keep it afloat. That being said, the US isn’t like Europe where these big indoors have packed stands. AND how is it that Usefnetwork AND many of the european shows have free live stream with much better quality? If you are going to do it, than do it right, otherwise you get situations such as this. People complaining and comparing.
As far as I am concerned, the National Horse Show was dead the minute it left Madison Square Garden.
Where are we actually in the competition?
[QUOTE=M. O’Connor;7241122]
But USEF could easily have had their brand all over it. We’re supposed to be their audience, and potential customers, odd way to act toward either.[/QUOTE]
I really confused as to why you think its an “odd way to act towards either”? The comments are all still on the ihigh site. Its not like Alltech and iHigh are saying “eff you all were doing whatever we want”. I dont know what they are thinking, but perhaps its not somethign they can fix right now.
As far was working with USEF, I think some of their partners are direct competitors so it may not be as easy as sticking Alltech’s brand on the live feed.
Im not saying the quality isnt an issue, I just think people should lay off a company that although equine is not their primary business, has put a lot of time and money into promoting equestrian events here in KY. I mean seriously, they are a business. And to say the quality of a free broadcast is directly correlated to the quality of the products the company makes? Its a freaking animal nutrition company not a tech company. I wouldnt want to spend the money to sponsor an arena and an even and then have the live stream broadcasted through a feed that has competitor’s logos etc all over. As a local, I really appreciate having these events right in my backyard.
Not to be all “And another thing!” but I’d also point out that Alltech might want to address this situation a bit at some point. Nothing is more annoying to consumers than being ignored when they’re clearly trying to open a dialog. Alltech could simply say “Hey. This is how we’re handling our branding; deal with it.”
By staying silent they leave the consumer wondering if A) their communication structure is messy and thus they’re not getting the message (which doesn’t bode well for customer service of their actual product). B) they don’t know what to say (which also isn’t particularly promising). C) they don’t care what the consumer has to say (rut roh). Saying anything remotely professional is generally better than the “La la la fingers in the ears I’m not listening” approach.
The feed is irritating, for sure. To the point where I’m not watching it at all. But I agree with Deedot, the most irritating part has been the silence. Their only responses on FB have been to link to the stream, completely ignoring the negative feedback. It would be slightly more satisfying if they just acknowledged it was ‘x’ problem, and probably couldn’t be fixed this week. JMO!
I am having much more success with the feed from Alltech’s site using Chrome and Firefox so I have my fingers crossed that it continues.
I have also stopped watching…
Maybe I spoke too soon. The ethereal (I am being kind) quality of the feed is starting a headache.
I’m going to tough it out for the present or until my Tylenol runs out.
[QUOTE=Jersey Fresh;7241146]
Im not saying the quality isnt an issue, I just think people should lay off a company that although equine is not their primary business, has put a lot of time and money into promoting equestrian events here in KY. I mean seriously, they are a business.[/QUOTE]
If they are a business and want to provide the feed then they should provide something people will want to watch. No? What is the point of providing a crappy feed if so many people are being turned off from watching it?
I said already that I appreciate that Alltech sponsored the NHS and the live feed. I saw via FB that some of the staff at the NHS were not pleased about people “sitting at home” complaining about a “free feed” instead of attending the shows that they depend on for a living.
I would LOVE to attend the NHS, but I live in New England, and it’s simply not in the cards for me to go. When I lived in the DC area, I went to WIHS several times, and when I lived in the Philly area, I went to Harrisburg several times. I paid for a ticket even though I had friends showing who could’ve given me a wrist band. I have paid for the live feed happily when there was a cost for it (in the earlier years particularly). I would pay for a live feed for NHS this year if it meant that it was viewable.
I understand that the live feed is not the priority for these shows, however, they do allow a whole lot of people to spectate who would not otherwise be able to. Look at how many of us were on here last night watching the special saddlebred/hunter swap class, and saying how much we were enjoying it! We are on here with a 15 page thread (and it’s the beginning of day 3) talking about the NHS, which has been dying for years . We are trying to support it. Yes, virtual spectators are not as good as real life ones, but we are trying to watch, and in doing so, we are seeing and hearing all the sponsor messages (and more) that we would be seeing and hearing if we were there in person.
The thing I find most frustrating about all of this is that the same comments were made about the live feed from the NHS last year. It was exactly the same poor quality feed, and nothing was done to improve it in the year that has passed. Again, I would be HAPPY to pay for a live feed that is clear and consistent, and I am happy to watch ads on a free feed that is clear and consistent. I want to watch these horse shows because I enjoy them, and I’m sorry that I can’t attend in person.
I feel like these horse shows should really start to capitalize on the whole live feed craze. I know a lot of people don’t make the drive to watch these big shows because they don’t have to. They can sit at home and watch the live feed. I would think if they all provided really excellent feeds, and everyone was required to pay some small fee like $10 for the entire horse show, it would REALLY help everyone involved. The show would benefit and be able to continue, and the viewers would have something to watch!
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