AWS 39 - Coventry - November 3rd, 2012

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joey_picus
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Re: AWS 39 - Coventry - November 3rd, 2012

Post by joey_picus »

(bear in mind that sleep got to me before I could watch the main AWS, so if something mentioned here worked better then I might be making a redundant point)

My biggest overall problem with the stream was the chat server simply did not work and so I had no interaction with the people there other than texting Harry, I don't know if that was a problem for other people though. Other than that the stream itself worked well and it was a fun experience :)

The commentary...I may be a bit biased as personally I prefer no commentary at all (I doubt the option exists for the viewer to turn it off though!) but I thought the actual commentary, or that which I heard of it at least, was very well done and informative and Scott and Dave W in particular are masters of the art of explaining what is happening accurately and concisely. I do think the sound balance needs adjusting though - the volume during the FWS seemed to be a bit too weak so the background arena chatter was creeping in, and the audio should be balanced in favour of the commentary to make it a bit easier to follow if there is going to be commentary.

If the option were available to watch the matches without commentary and just the arena sound if the viewer wanted (is it possible to switch between audio feeds on ustream?) it would be perfect and I would be even more willing to pay, but as it is it's pretty good. Working chat though please ^^;
Joey McConnell-Farber - Team Picus Telerobotics - http://picus.org.uk/ - @joey_picus
"These dreams go on when I close my eyes...every second of the night, I live another life"
EpicentrE
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Re: AWS 39 - Coventry - November 3rd, 2012

Post by EpicentrE »

Joey;

I can only assume the chat issues were something to do your PC/browser/internet setup. Many other people were using the chat successfully, and ustream is a huge, very popular site, so I find it unlikely that there'd be any issues with it.

I had originally intended to have a microphone specifically for recording arena sounds, but unfortunately the laptop I was using for streaming had a stupid headset port (instead of a standard microphone port), and I couldn't get an adaptor for it in time, so I just had to use the microphone on the webcam, which picked up a lot more background noise. This would be the sort of thing I'd be sorting out with any money from donations.

As far as I know ustream doesn't have any options for different sound channels, however with proper equipment it should be possible able to record the video and sound channels seperately, and then, after the event, upload a version to YouTube with and without commentary.

Champion Dave;

I wouldn't want to make a guess at this time, because it would be just that; a guess. I'm more just gauging interest for the concept of having a regular streaming service funded, at least in part, by donations, and seeing whether that's something people would be interested in. I can look at things in more detail if we decide that it's worth going ahead with.

All;

The other thing to consider is that, if we were streaming an event (rather than just recording it), we'd need access to a reasonable internet connection in the venue. In some of the kinds of venues we use (such as schools and universities), I wouldn't imagine that would be a problem, however it would be more difficult in things like scout huts, village halls, etc. The same equipment could be used to just do the recordings (with commentary) which we would still upload afterwards, but I feel advertising and enticing people to watch something that is live is easier than doing the same with something that is recorded.

The other option would be to use a 3G dongle for streaming (or 4G when it gets rolled out), but my experiences with 3G is that the speeds are fairly damn slow, even in areas with good coverage, and also it would be quite an expensive option.
Scott Fyfe-Jamieson, Captain of Epic Robotics. Champion of AWS38/41/42.
http://www.epicrobotics.co.uk
razerdave
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Re: AWS 39 - Coventry - November 3rd, 2012

Post by razerdave »

Any luck with the FWS video ?

BTW Scott, your youtube account says you have 2 vids but only shows up one ?
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