Web TV advice Needed

Rick,

I just wanted to take a minute and say how AWESOME this is! I think the possibilities for this are endless.

That being said, here are some of the things you were asking about.

I am on a high-speed connection...video streams ok but the quality is kinda grainy. Also (and I know there is no easy fix for this) the sound level changes from segment to segment.

In addition the game video almost seems to go too fast. As a person who does some scouting I think it is hard to digest the game and players with the pace of the video. I know you want to cut out the down time but a little more pre-pitch/ after swing would be helpful in being able to process what I just saw.

Other than that, I think this is the most revolutionary, exciting thing I have ever seen for amateur baseball. If there was stock to be bought in this company, I would be investing heavily, I think you're about to explode!

Keep up the great work!

Andy Stack
Midwest Blazers

Hey Andy,

THanks,

Yes, those are some of the issues I was thinking about and some that PG people thought needed adjustment...

More time in between pitches
Raise level of video
Reduce streaming bandwith

Keep em coming

Rick

When I viewed the video yesterday, I didn't notice any of the freezing and stopping/starting. Since going back to view again a few minutes ago, I have noticed it on Mr. Rawnsley's reports. And also when Ashley is interviewing the players/coaches, it breaks up a little. Have you done anything different since yesterday?

We are also on a high-speed connection.

Excellent job and very exciting

I liked the Ashley Anderson video. I didn't notice if it had sound...

Ok,

We're in the process of making some adjustments...hopefully they'll be up in about an hour.

What do you guys think about a bigger screen?

Rick

A bigger screen would be great! Even it was double the size of what it currently is.

One big idea here.....ad a SLOW MOTION button on the interviews!

Rick:

This is a great idea. My suggestions:
1) agree with others about screen size and audio level.
2) Is there a way the video player can have a frame-by-frame playback button? Would help if someone wants to do a little analysis of mechanics.
3) I am on a dsl connection. The video was smooth, and the buffering was pretty quick, but the vid quality is kind of grainy.

Great stuff.

Rick

Great job right out of the box

I have a DSL connection and found the video smooth--audio could be better as can the stats in the game video


The Rawnsley bit was a bit stop and start.

The interview portion with the blonde seemed a bit staged and inane to me--I almost got the feeling she knew very little if anything about the game

Overall though, like I say a great jump out of the box

4 stars on a 5 scale from this corner

My thoughts have already been covered. I think it shows a lot of class and sound business acumen to seek advice from your customers and take it constructively. I'm sure it's going to be amazingly well-received across the board.

You need to try and grab a slot on the next Apprentice!

Rick,

I think it is very smart to ask for feedback.
Probably the most important thing about your initial post.

Audio needs some work - video has all you need to see. Excellent angles.

The Ashley stuff is really bad IMO. Detracts from what you are trying to accomplish - especially for youth baseball.

I would be inclined to turn it off if I saw too much of Miss America. I would prefer baseball stuff - and not the Primetime lead in a tight fitting blouse.

My bet though - is the majority will eat it up.

Nice job. It will sell.



Good luck.

I looked at the Ashley stuff as a couple people have mentioned it and, I agree. The 'chicks dig the long ball' question to a high school athlete is pushing the limits of good taste, IMO, and I'm no prude. There are some beautiful lady sportscasters and interviewers out there who are so sharp and professional, you forget how pretty they are.....almost. I think Ashley's role should be re-defined.

My son wants Ashley's number

Looks good. I am sure as things progress, the interviewing skills of that young lady will improve.

Kellerdad - my guess is that continued improvement in interviewing skills will not be necessary.

It will still sell.

It appears the 'scout video' framework will only show what happens between pitcher and hitter. Are there plans to show plays in the field, complete throw-downs, etc??

Nice!

This is great stuff. Ok, here are the steps I'm taking right now....

I am redoing the sound design ... the sound issues are all my doing because I have to learn how it translates from my system to the final encoded audio stream. I think I'm getting it down.

We are increasing the size of the video player.

We are increasing the quality of the video...colors more bright, less fuzz. As we go this will get better and better, but as soon as we get the new videos up, you should be able to see a very noticable improvement.

We are taking out the transitions in the game footage (so it doesn't get all blurry) in between pitches.

We are reducing the bandwith of the stream which means faster load times and less frequent freezing.

Wow, from the responses, it's obvious that the Ashley approach needs to be retooled. She is probably going to be popular with the players...I figured it be something they could brag to their buddies about...getting interviewed by Ashley. Obviously we need to work on that and we definitely will. I wasn't sure about the "chicks dig" question and figured that was as far as we go so I might as well put it in to see what people think. I see that as on the line...anything past that might be suspect. Maybe I'm wrong though and that's a step over.

The main purpose of the video is to show the pitcher batter interaction, but yes, Krakatoa, we are planning on eventually filming and editing some full games (maybe for championship games and special games down the road). But you can really see a guy, how he moves, how he uses his hands, with the scout view. ALSO...we have skills videos to see guys throw from the outfield and infield/catcher pops which will will integrate soon. We actually worked on that today. So the whole package is there.

And we are going to constantly be working towards making the experience easier to navigate and find what you want, and add as much information about players as we can.

We have a goal to have the games and skills workouts be database driven, which will be awesome. So it's going to get better and better as we go.

Also, I just want you guys to know that the things you're posting here are crucial to the success of baseballwebtv. That's why this board is so great...I can get honest feedback from people without agendas and who know what they're talking about. That's going to be huge, especially in the first few months while we're making adjustments on the fly. So thank you all and keep it coming.

I thought i could get the video adjustments up today, but I keep finding little things that make it a little better and want to really make a jump in quality here. Hopefully we can get it up through the weekend, but worst case, monday.

Thanks and sorry for the manifesto.

Rick

Also,

I'm checking into the frame by frame option...not sure it's possible with flash but if it is, we're doing it.

Rick

Rick,
You know everybody here wishes you all the success in the world and we can't wait to see OUR kids on there someday (or some even right now!) I know we all want to see your vision exceed your wildest dreams. This is a great adventure and have fun with it!!

Rick:
Just my 2 cents but I think the Ashley segments can be salvaged. There is always room for a little aesthetic relief.

I think the key will be using her interviews in ways that add value to the reasons people will watch the segments. For instance: if recruiters are your primary audience, they will benefit from seeing/hearing one of their prospects interviewed as long as the interviews reveal something about the kids that they wouldn't otherwise see just from the video of them playing.

So, why not try to figure out ways that Ashley's interviews can be actually informative about the players she's talking with?

That way you get a 2fer - the segments will be useful AND fun to watch.

And Ashley will be the Shana Hiatt of BaseballWebTV!

Hey Rob,

That's a great idea and could be the key to her involvement with Baseballwebtv. It's obvious she needs a function more than just "pretty girl with a microphone" and if we do that, scouts and recruiters will love it. And we can turn it around too, have her interview the scouts and recruiters getting the info the kids and parents want. Nice

Rick

Rick,

One other thought - on the video.

It would be nice to see the players hometown or high school on the screen.

Dont know if that would be too much info to put on the screen - but just a thought.

Regards

Some adjustments have been made...the screen is bigger, the picture sharper, and the bandwith needed lowered. Let me know if you guys like this better.

Also, It's in the,

We're definitely going to incorporate that too once we get to database driven info.

Rick

Hello everyone, My name is Tim and I'm working with Rick to get BaseballWebTv.com off the ground. I do all the computer work and website updates so if you have any technical questions please feel free to post them here.

A few things to note:

Frame-by-Frame - I'm checking into this and doing some testing. We had this idea even before it was brought up here. A big "Slow Mo" button that plays the video at 1/10 the normal speed. I am working on it and will definately make you all aware if it is something to work on.

I have a question for you all who have gone out there. Is anyone having any issues with pop-up blockers not allowing the video window to come up?

Also, how many of you have had to go out and download the flash player in order to watch the video?

I'm very glad you all are enjoying BaseballWebTv.com so far and are looking forward to more content and Jupiter games.

Looks MUCH better !!!! very nice.

No problems with pop-up blockers.

Didn't have to d/l the flash player, but I'm also a computer geek.

Great stuff, and really, I don't think Ashley's stuff is that bad.

I also think Ashley adds a little relief from the seriousnous of the site.

Rick,

I use the Mozilla Firefox web browser, when I went to open the video it did not open. (seemed like it locked up) When I switched over to Internet Explorer it worked fine. Any chance one of your techs can take a look at what might be causing the problem with the Mozilla browser?

One suggestion would be to allow viewers to see who is in your database prior to subscription so that we can see if our guy is included in your video library. I would think that if mom and dad sees that Jr. is featured they would be more apt to sign up.

Looking forward to seeing your team in action at the PG Underclass National Showcase

Jerseydad,

Can you please tell me which version of FireFox you have?

I tested the site with FireFox's latest version and IE. Even now I can get the site to work in FireFox and I know Rick is a big FireFox guy, so I'm thinking it's a versioning issue. At least that's the place to start.

Tim,

It looks like I am using Firefox version 1.5. Hope this helps

Hey Jersey Dad,

I use mozilla too. What I did is went to tools, options, webfeatures, and where it says "allowed sites" beside block popup windows, I clicked there and wrote in baseballwebtv as an allowed site. However, I've got into the habit of using IE for video sites like mlb.com because with mozilla there are always little bugs.

We're also going to work on a way to be able to search a player and have the games/skills videos that he appeared in. When the actual games go up, we have scorecards, play by play, ect links in the video player that you can pull up while you're watching.

And the advantage of the player Tim made, is that you can use the scrubber to place yourself anywhere in the video. So if a scout wants to see a pitcher, he can open the video, click on the scorecard, and skip around to see his action.

Look for all new videos on monday.

Rick

Rick.....good stuff!!

Jerseydad,

Did Rick's Recommendation to you for FireFox work? Let me know if that did not solve your problem.

Tim

New Videos are up

Hey Rick,

I couldn't get to Jupiter - get me some Farrah's Builders up there!!! Thanks.

It looks GREAT. Cant wait.

I am pretty happy with the way this is going. Today some more new stuff went up and there's been big improvements since Friday. The real big improvements are scheduled for later.

Rick, Matt, and Tim have led the way working unbelievably long hours. Everyone is working very hard to produce the best possible viewing.

I really love the idea of using the HSBBW as a form of advisory committee. Couldn't think of a better group to make suggestions.

Remember, there will always be free stuff to view, so I hope all the HSBBW people join in with recommendations and ideas. Please do not ever feel obligated to subscribe. You don't have to spend a dime to be welcome and to be a part of this fun project.

Our goal has always been to revolutionize scouting and recruiting. I think I might live to see that now, with the help of Rick, Matt, Tim and many other important and talented people.

Everyones input is important and will be valued greatly.

PGStaff, it's great to be able to put a face to the name! You look like a great guy (as we know you to be). You're not as easy to look at as the gal, but not too shabby

Tim,

I did try Ricks recommendations and while they didn't work on my browser, I found that I had to disarm the "ad blocker" setting and that did the trick. Thanks for the follow up, if you find another solutions please keep me posted.

Looking forward to seeing more of the project.

Typically if you hold the shift key when clicking a link it will allow it to spawn a new window. By you holding the shift key you're telling the computer, "I know what's coming"...it's cumbersome, but it gets the job done.