I've always been slightly amused at the thought of Ciara struggling to get her web cast going and then finding out it was Sunderland she was listening to. (Sorry Ciara, but it does make me smile).

Tonight was different. Clearly the lack of television overloaded the ability of the radio webcast to cope. Who ever is responsible for the nufc.co.uk site clearly had no inkling of what was going to happen, nor any idea what to do about it if they had realised something was amiss.

I will be contacting the club tomorrow (Wednesday) to ask for an explanation. I'm not holding my breath in anticipation of any meaningful answer. I have copied all your comments together and will use them in evidence.

As I already had MS Media PLayer installed so I'm not clear what the problems were with it, could someone explain, thanks.

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

Answers

Appalling Provision

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

Thanks for taking the initiative Mac. I wasn't even able to get close to logging on, I had one of our pc guys try and figure out the response I was getting and he said that the site was too busy and therefore wasn't repsonding. Mega frustrating, I am sure if I had been listening we would have won.

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

Mac, there's a dent in my computer where I bashed my head against it on all 3 occasions of being horrified by the mackem rubbish. ;-))

Thanks for bringing the issue up with the club. I wish I could remember where I read it, but a few weeks ago I saw something about them having gotten 1000 listeners for one of our first Toto matches. They must realize how common webcasts are and how many people will actually listen in. If they don't, I'm sure they could speak to whoever does other PL club sites. Or better still, go through Yahoo Broadcasts(or whatever it's called now). ManU, Arse, Derby, and maybe 1 or 2 other clubs use them and their webcasts are usually fine. That company is used to huge volume, so could handle our matches easily.

Also, most PL clubs are now archiving their matchday webcasts so folks can listen in later. I don't see why our lot can't do the same. It would mean the world to folks who have to work or are out of town and can't listen live. Also be great for those who want to relive our glory nights. (which are coming!!) :-)

I'm determined to see our website pulled kicking and screaming into the 20th century! (I'd say 21st, but one step at a time here...)

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

The message I received when the webcast went down on me was that the output computer was overloaded. Of course this was generated by the Microsoft software. I think Real networks was able to cope last year with what I imagine were similar sized audiences - so I would want to consider the software. But a systems person should be able to analyze how many were logged in.

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2001

The server that hosts the webcast was simply hopelessly overloaded. More bandwith is needed. Aren't NTL a broadband provider? Broadband my ar*e.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2001

You misheard...ALICE-band. Sole suppliers to Andrea Andersson.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2001

(Buffering 76%) krz......Me. t...oo.was... frust...rated yest...er...d..ay list...ening.... the... w...eb....cast....B.....u...t...(Buffering 1%)....then...thougt....it...cou..ld..... have...be....en....eve.n... more....frustra...tin....g...to....actu...ally....he....ar..wh...at..h appened.......(Connecting server)....(Buffering 2%)...Stil.l...no.....nufc.co.uk.....pr..o.tect...ing.. the fans......excus..es........abs... dis...aster....(Logged off)

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2001

Sounds like to had better reception that I did Jussi. Tell me the secret of your success.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2001

Markus,

Are ntl: responsible for this cock up then ? I basically designed their residential broadband service. I'd appreciate any feedback that would suggest ntl: were at fault. Although I'm no longer directly involved with that product, I'd be able to escalate it to the relevant people and hopefully get the wheels moving in the right direction.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2001

I'm sure that the switch to Windows Media Player is a factor in this disgrace. As there's no 'industry standard' for web broadcasting, we have a similar situation with the web browsers a few years ago. MS sorted that one out by [neatly] packaging IE with just about every machine sold. As far as i can tell, Quicktime and Real Player are the leading lights in this race - so why WMP player was even considered amazes me...

Macbeth - MANY thanks for taking this issue up. Good luck. The club should really take this VERY seriously. If Sky's TV broadcast consistently froze or showed a Sunderland game - can you imagine the uproar? It's quite simply a farce that's been left to go on for far too long already...

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2001

I might reveal the secret of the success but what if Microsoft will find out that I'm circulating free information regarding illegal broadcast-charger. Certainly Bill Gates would sue me instantly. But well what the heck helping fellow toon army is what makes this life worth living even in jail so here it comes: for better connection during tha games you should try to form an human antenna. Stand on the keyboard, take a firm grip of your ears and rotate slowly.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2001

Homer, sorry I was just getting rid of my frustrations of last night. I just would have thought that if we are sponsored by a broadband company, they should be able to sort us out with a decent web cast. However I have no idea if NTL are actually involved. It's simply a question of bandwidth, it's not really important if it's Real Media, Windows media or Quicktime. Though offering a choice of all would obviously be the best solution. I notice nufc.com have published some e-mail addresses.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2001

Markus, nee problem. It would seem to make sense for ntl: to be in partnership with NUFC for media offerings. Maybe that'll be one of the options the club look at if they actually take any notice !!

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2001

LOL Jussi

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2001

From what I've noticed, Media Player doesn't seem as stable as Real Player for streaming audio, so I wouldn't be surprised if that's part of the problem.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2001