Comments on: Did MLB.com's video player strike out on opening day?

The technology unit of major league baseball says a small number of subscribers saw stalled or stuttering video and some blame Adobe.

[joelFiser]

I suppose it draws readers to ignite a Flash / Silverlight flame war - however, the reality is, the problems in either case probably lie with the way the Players were coded rather than the technology behind the code.

You can code a good Player with Flash / Silverlight and you can make a Player that doesn't function properly using either technology. I've been making them for a living for the past 3 years (dsc.discovery.com/videos) and, like any piece of software, it's easier to get wrong than right - but it definitely can be done right using Flash. I assume the same for Silverlight.

If it's not working properly, they just need a better geek.

[RobinTheBoyWonderingWTF]

I also found it wanting. I watched, tried to watch I should say, Dodgers and Padres and the sound was so out of sync with the audio, and earlier in the night, I was freezing every 10 seconds. I did not even bother today.

[RobinTheBoyWonderingWTF]

II meant to say, the audio was out of sync with video. even though one expects the video to laq behind the audio, it was the opposite in this case.

[HeyJoeJoe]

I, like Charlie Wagner, have subscribed to MLB.TV for 3 years. This year is BY FAR the best launch of the last 3. Picture quality is better, game switching is better and in-game updates are better.

The "special" Silverlight update for MLB.TV last year was a complete joke. No other Silverlight using web site recognized the update, like CNN Video, so you had to re-load the previous version of Silverlight to watch other video (Microsoft's suggestion!) then load the "special" version to watch MLB.TV again. Yeah, I'm going to take the time to do that. NOT.

Kudos to Bob Bowman and MLBAM for making the switch to a more stable environment. Last year I spent a week in MLB.TV's discussion forums working out issues. This year, I've just watched MLB.TV.

[ewelch]

What Microsoft shill started this rumor about it being Adobe's fault?

It's freaking opening day! Let's hear how its going in a bout a month, okay? What a lame hit piece done at the behest of Ballmer.

[gregglewa]

It is not only video, the Gameday Audio is having lots of problems too.

I subscribe to hear the Cubs on WGN radio. So far this year there has not been a SINGLE Cubs home game on MLB.com, so that means no archive either.

Also, the Silverlight fiasco last year was pretty bad. I could never seem to get it working well. Possibly it was my hatred of all things Microsoft, but adding Silverlight seemed to bog down my computer. I quickly removed it and used the Classic Player.

[DonBurnett]

There is such a thing as server delivery issues and bandwidth over the net. I suspect both flash and silverlight aren't immune to them. I also don't understand why MLB doesn't support both flash and silverlight, and give people a choice and let them decide. It would be much more democratic.

[Dalkorian]

You want to allow the convicted monopolist into the game to be more democratic? Are you on crack? Silverlight should be taken behind the woodshed and beaten to a bloody mass with a Louisville Slugger. It has no other purpose in the world except to attempt to take over where someone else is enjoying some success. M$ has *NEVER* played well with others and never will, so asking for them to get a fair shake in anything rings hollow with everyone who hasn't prostituted themselves on the altar of Ballmer.

[monkeyfun14]

@Dalkorian

Its called competition stop being so anti-microsoft for one day.

[tm_anon]

"While Flash 9 may have high penetration," Sklepowich wrote...

Didn't Flash update to v. 10 at MS? I've been using it for close to 3 months already and I have several friends who just updated to v. 10 a month ago after being prompted on Youtube.

I think MLB.TV has improved at the expense of Gameday Audio. The archives from opening day were finally posted last night, but the new Flash media player lacks any kind of playback control such as fast-forward or even pause. Say you've been able to listen to the game all the way up to the bottom of the ninth and then hit an internet glitch which pops you off for a second. Instead of being able to re-start the game from that point (as you could in previous years), you are forced to sit through the entire broadcast again (often including 30-40 minutes of pre-game coverage). Unacceptable!

I agree that Silverlight was bad, but I hadn't heard of anyone having trouble with the Windows Media Player version in previous years. I'm not sure why they had to change Gameday Audio.

[bray_john]

The last commenter is exactly right. Gameday Audio - a great product - has been destroyed for no apparent reason. And, the "no apparent reason" is certainly applicable when you consider that MLB is still using WMP for the Spanish broadcasts and those are working just fine.

I really am upset with the quality of the picture. Everything is fine for a few minutes, then the big freeze. Still haven't heard from MLB.com tech. support. I have not been able to watched 1 full game yet, and that includes all spring training games. I attempted to get help from tech support 4 days ago. I was sent a canned message that said they are workig on it, and I could ask for a refund if I have not had MLB.com over 5 days. Real helpful, firget their tech support..
This thing is really the pits. I am back to hearing the the games on local am radio. Hey MLB.com. You struck out again......Worst product on the internet.

[gefitz]

Wow. No archived video yet? "We couldn't test it live from ballparks because teams were in Arizona and Florida"?! You've got to be kidding. Take a picture of the groundskeepers and dummy up some sound, for heavens sake...Give me a break!

[sandonet]

gefitz,

the spokesman told me that there isn't anyone staffing video or other important functions in the stadiums until opening day. Just an FYI

[stwheeler]

I'm a UK based baseball fan and have used internet radio and tv coverage via mlb.com since the very first broadcasts.

I'm convinced this video player will be the best once the kinks are ironed out, BUT.......the audio player in archive mode is almost unusable, and sadly i'm not exaggerating.

Listening live, maybe no problem. But with games at 3am UK time almost all my listening is archived. There is no fast forward, rewind, pause or indeed any other user controllable function. not even a timer to let you know how long the archive lasts or show elapsed or remaining time. So unless you can set aside at least 4 hours without being disturbed, you're out of luck.

In archived mode It is, in effect, a car without a steering wheel.

The failings are so fundimental as to be shocking. Has no-one heard as consumer testing?

[mooney101]

The big problems are the fact that most people are using outdated hardware or their system is so flooded with junkware it can't run.

[krriley]

No, the Gameday Audio issues are not a hardware or system performance issue. The archived audio for the April 6th games (Opening Day) wasn't available on the MLB Media Center site for the better part of and a half days.

I agree with bray_john and stwheeler concerning the apparent sacrifice of Gameday Audio for the MLB.tv options. One can tell based on the layout of the player and its options (or lack thereof) that it is geared for video subscribers. The lack of controls for archived audio is very shortsighted. Having been a Gameday Audio subscriber for over five years, I would have been happy to beta test Gameday Audio for the new player. Based on other comments from the MLB Support forum, I don't believe this player was adequately tested.

Mr. Sandoval, thanks for bringing attention to this matter. I hope this article will help ensure the folks at MLB work to rectify the issues for all of its subscribers.

[AMK0326]

Silverlight and Flip4Mac worked perfectly for me during the 2008 season. One major advantage was my ability to cable my MacBook Pro to my HDTV via Quicktime and get Full Screen on the HDTV. The new MLB service got of to a wretched start, but I have now had excellent performance the past two days watching Red Sox/Rays. Stuttering, re-buffering, and freezes have disappeared from this feed. However, despite numerous attempts, I have not been able to get usable video on my HDTV.

MLB's removal of its entire informative blog is inexcusable. Many loyal subscribers had supplied helpful comments during the extended beta test. Bad judgment on MLB's part.

[gwood3]

I've subscribed to Gameday Audio since the first year it was offered. Living in Europe, most games are played when I'm asleep, so I have to listen via on-demand the next day. Even when the archived games finally showed up, they were almost impossible to listen to because of the lack of fast forward, rewind or pause controls. Since MLB.com seems to start recording an hour before the games actually start, you have to have a fast forward to actually get to the game.

Who ever heard of a media player without basic navigation controls?

[fenwayguy]

Opening day? We're now a week into the season, and MLBAM still hasn't figured out their donkey from their elbow. It's way more than "stuttering and stalling video while watching on Monday." The problems with their video and audio products, for which subscribers have paid as much as $110 each, appear chronic and pervasive. Customer response is virtually non-existent.

Visit the MLB.TV video and Gameday audio support forums* to see how "satisfied" their customers are. There are calls for class-action lawsuits, the elimination of media blackouts, the repeal of MLB's antitrust exemption and the firing of Bob Bowman. The MLB.TV fiasco is turning into a MAJOR embarrassment for MLB.

* http://www.mlbsupport.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=1

[Monkeydoes]

Less than 1%??? Who is he kidding? All one has to do is go to the MLB 'Support' Forums and see that place is on fire with irrate customers and not just from opening day it's continued all week and has stretched the spectrum of media (MLB-TV and Gameday Audio) and all levels of service as well as across the league. I had one Customer Support person try to blame the 'stadium' as the cause of the problems before I had to inform him that the feed that MLB sells to XM radio was working just fine (as opposed to their streaming online audio).

Goulds comments that the problems were rare and minor goes beyond marketing spin and into the realm of outright lying. The problems were widespread and involved MANY games plus when the audio feed was actually up and running the player would then cut out every 20 minutes or so and require a person to shut it down and restart it ... again looking at the 'support' forums it wasn't just me so ... as CS tried to tell me again ... it likely Was NOT my system or inadequate capabilities etc etc etc

From Gould's comments it is clear to see where Customer Support gets their direction and philosophy ... blame the customer first hopefully they'll go away or the problem will magically fix itselt.

Congress? It's time to break up MLB's illegal broadcast monopoly over the game of baseball! A little competiveness might result in actual service and a usable product ... ironically for making that comment in the support forum I was 'warned' to stop making insulting posts. STOP THE MLB Broadcast MONOPOLY!

[Monkeydoes]

As a footnote .. tonight after one half inning between the Cards and DBacks the Adobe Audio Player did what Matt Gould says it doesn't do and simply cut out and went dead requiring the window to be closed and going back to the media center and restarting the audio.

In the for what it's worth column ... the Adobe flash player has <not> malfunctioned for every single game I have <not> listened to since opening day including <not> tonight too.