View Full Version : Cycling.tv


sbindra
05-04-2007, 07:20 AM
Has anyone else been able to get cycling.tv working with their new portal? I love this website and what they provide but the new site does not work, is choked with ads (since I paid almost $50 for a premium package, I should not have my stream interrupted with banner ads; there are ads during the broadcast).

The Giro starts soon and they are offering the coverage through Versus. But unless they can get there act together, you'll have a lot of pissed off people. Trying to be patient.

Anyone have any better luck?

Dwayne Barry
05-04-2007, 09:53 AM
Anyone have any better luck?

I was still using the old site but the link for Romandie wasn't coming up there today, so I went to the new site for the first time. Looked O.K., no problems getting video, but I was getting a bunch of pop-ups and ads too. Hopefully, they'll fix that.

DMtbRider
05-04-2007, 09:53 AM
sbrinda,

I'm also a Premium subscriber who also cannot login to the new web portal. I've tried everything I can think of w/ no success.

Have you tried emailing them? I've two emails in with little response. I think they have a limited support team, and they are all busy trying to get the new interface up and working without bugs.

Hopefully they can get things sorted out soon.

Daniel

Dwayne Barry
05-04-2007, 09:55 AM
sbrinda,

I'm also a Premium subscriber who also cannot login to the new web portal. I've tried everything I can think of w/ no success.

Have you tried emailing them? I've two emails in with little response. I think they have a limited support team, and they are all busy trying to get the new interface up and working without bugs.

Hopefully they can get things sorted out soon.

Daniel

Did you go in and reset your password? I logged in there for the first time today and it worked, but there is message somewhere that tells you have to reset your password to be able to do this.

DMtbRider
05-04-2007, 09:55 AM
I was still using the old site but the link for Romandie wasn't coming up there today, so I went to the new site for the first time. Looked O.K., no problems getting video, but I was getting a bunch of pop-ups and ads too. Hopefully, they'll fix that.

Dwayne,

How did you get logged in. I've tried their suggestion of username with the password of "cyclingtv", but that didn't work. I tried my old username/password, but that didn't work either.

Suggestions or hints?

Daniel

DMtbRider
05-04-2007, 09:57 AM
Did you go in and reset your password? I logged in there for the first time today and it worked, but there is message somewhere that tells you have to reset your password to be able to do this.

I've tried resetting the password, but it comes back with something about the passwords being encrypted. Seems like I'm locked out.

Daniel

Cycling.tv
05-04-2007, 10:51 AM
Hi, Cycling.tv here. Our apologies to those having logging in problems. Our previous technology supplier had very poor user account facilities and we wanted to get better facilities so users can have just one account and one login. The login should work if you use your old username, the username is not an e mail address, it is a name. Passwords could not be migrated so cyclingtv will log you in and then we ask you to reset the password.

This does work and users areas you can see from the posting getting set up, but to anyone experiencing propblems please e mial team@cycling.tv and they are working flatout to get back to users. Naturally we wanted to get this ready before the Giro next weekend on the 14th and that means rolling it out now. Users buying Giro coverage now will have no issues, but ideally users should login to Premium and then buy Versus from their account and this way you will have one account for all content.

Change is always hard, but we believe that the new look, ease of use and functions will be much, much better, it's widescreen now also. It also means we can increase quality....we're going to push this up and up for users with fast connections. There should be no video adverts in Premium content. In the free content there will be.

One of the biggest problems is users who forget their usernames...if you loose this then we can't auto correct and it is this that is th emajor problem. We all get used to auto login systems and it is hard as modern life requires so many usernames and passowrds, but this new Portal does work now, it will work even better with every day and we will give a service at a cost that's second to none for bike fans all over the world. Please be patient and many thanks for your support and i hope continued support.

Simon Brydon

TurboTurtle
05-04-2007, 11:21 AM
I had a little trouble getting started. I logged in using my username and cyclingtv as the password and then changed my password. It then did not work very well (went to the wrong pages, etc.???) until I closed my browsers, went back in and logged in again.

I do not see any 'as live' or highlites for the Tour de Romandie stages though, only the Prologue (listed twice).

TF

AFS
05-04-2007, 11:52 AM
I do not see any 'as live' or highlites for the Tour de Romandie stages though, only the Prologue (listed twice).

TF

I sent them an email about this, no response yet.

stevesbike
05-04-2007, 12:03 PM
cycling.tv is one of the best things to happen for cycling fans, so cut them some slack while they get the new system up and running. If you've watched both cycling.tv and Versus' coverage of the classics this season you know what a difference non-interrupted coverage makes (and commentators who get the riders straight as well).

bigpinkt
05-04-2007, 12:29 PM
Hi, Cycling.tv here. Our apologies to those having logging in problems. Our previous technology supplier had very poor user account facilities and we wanted to get better facilities so users can have just one account and one login. The login should work if you use your old username, the username is not an e mail address, it is a name. Passwords could not be migrated so cyclingtv will log you in and then we ask you to reset the password.

This does work and users areas you can see from the posting getting set up, but to anyone experiencing propblems please e mial team@cycling.tv and they are working flatout to get back to users. Naturally we wanted to get this ready before the Giro next weekend on the 14th and that means rolling it out now. Users buying Giro coverage now will have no issues, but ideally users should login to Premium and then buy Versus from their account and this way you will have one account for all content.

Change is always hard, but we believe that the new look, ease of use and functions will be much, much better, it's widescreen now also. It also means we can increase quality....we're going to push this up and up for users with fast connections. There should be no video adverts in Premium content. In the free content there will be.

One of the biggest problems is users who forget their usernames...if you loose this then we can't auto correct and it is this that is th emajor problem. We all get used to auto login systems and it is hard as modern life requires so many usernames and passowrds, but this new Portal does work now, it will work even better with every day and we will give a service at a cost that's second to none for bike fans all over the world. Please be patient and many thanks for your support and i hope continued support.

Simon Brydon

Thanks for Replying

The challenge I have is that the quality is not good. I can almost never maintain the 256k stream and the 100k long horrible.

When I do trace routes I find that you are serving out of the UK, do you foresee having US based servers and connectivity?

bas
05-04-2007, 12:32 PM
Has anyone else been able to get cycling.tv working with their new portal? I love this website and what they provide but the new site does not work, is choked with ads (since I paid almost $50 for a premium package, I should not have my stream interrupted with banner ads; there are ads during the broadcast).

The Giro starts soon and they are offering the coverage through Versus. But unless they can get there act together, you'll have a lot of pissed off people. Trying to be patient.

Anyone have any better luck?

Browser? OS? Hardware level? Window patches up to date? Flash player up to date?

SilasCL
05-04-2007, 12:52 PM
Thanks for Replying

The challenge I have is that the quality is not good. I can almost never maintain the 256k stream and the 100k long horrible.

When I do trace routes I find that you are serving out of the UK, do you foresee having US based servers and connectivity?
That is probably on your end...I haven't had problems up to 1200kbps, also in the US.

Dwayne Barry
05-04-2007, 03:18 PM
Simon,

Thanks for the reply and all the hard work. I've been with you guys since pretty early on and just keep telling people that it will get better and it has.

What about the pop-ups and ads? I have pretty good security at work so i never get these normally but after I logged on to the new site today I was getting a bunch of them. Stuff like "erase evidence of visiting adult web sites". Obviously not the best sort of stuff to get at work.

Will that be fixed?

And thanks again for the service.

Dwayne Barry
05-04-2007, 03:19 PM
Dwayne,

How did you get logged in. I've tried their suggestion of username with the password of "cyclingtv", but that didn't work. I tried my old username/password, but that didn't work either.

Suggestions or hints?

Daniel

Don't have any. I just used my username and the cycling.tv password and it worked. Hope you were able to get in.

bigpinkt
05-04-2007, 04:44 PM
That is probably on your end...I haven't had problems up to 1200kbps, also in the US.


Most likely not. It appears their underlying network provider is Abovenet. Abovenet is cheap for a reason, overloaded peering, oversubscribed ports.

SilasCL
05-04-2007, 05:09 PM
Most likely not. It appears their underlying network provider is Abovenet. Abovenet is cheap for a reason, overloaded peering, oversubscribed ports.
Are you talking about peak load times, such as the end of P-R and similar?

In that case, you may be right, I tend to watch the archives, not peak time...

Einstruzende
05-04-2007, 06:25 PM
The races are good, the website sucks. Sorry Simon.

The last incarnation was pretty bad, the new one is atrocious. You tried it in Firefox? How about IE7? See all those errors? And you actually require new windows for pretty much every click? You gotta be kidding me.

What pisses me off is that I have "re-upped", so I've been somewhat of an early adopter, and I cannot believe this new portal is the "improvement."

The UI is not even consistent. Look how the various program listings look in the VOD section as compared to Live.

Again, this is no attack on the actual programming or commentary. It's good and I always look forward to watching races.

Also, If I'm paying 40 or 50 a year, how about doing away with ads that have popups and or sound? Better yet, don't show me ads outside of the programming.

I want to see you guys succeed, but geeze. If this new portal is what I saw as a new customer, I wouldn't have even bothered signing up. Looks like it's run by a bunch of script kiddies.

TurboTurtle
05-05-2007, 03:13 AM
Are you talking about peak load times, such as the end of P-R and similar?

In that case, you may be right, I tend to watch the archives, not peak time...
Same here. The live times are during riding time, so I watch the 'as live' when I get home. It's not like someone is going to spoil it. - TF

FondriestFan
05-05-2007, 06:51 AM
Works pretty well so far for me.
It's not perfect, and the ads are annoying, but for $50 a year, it's worth it.
It's a great thing for cycling fans, no doubt about it.

toomanybikes
05-05-2007, 07:10 AM
Question for the folks at Cycling.tv;

LAst year I bought the Premium package in hopes of being able to watch the Giro, only to find that you did not have "broadcast" rights in Canada.

The Giro in CAnada was provided over an Italian language web feed from RAI.

Are you providing the Giro in Canada this year? Or is RAI again?

gray8110
05-05-2007, 08:38 AM
The most frustrating problem is that the video on demand just stopped after Romandie. The whole reason i got the service is because I'm either asleep or at work when races are on in the morning. I appreciate having the race there as live or at least as a highlight that evening. There have been no updates in a week.

dmw010
05-05-2007, 10:07 AM
I can't get the new Cycling.tv to work either. I logged in with the generic password, changed the password, then tried to view the "as live" TdR prologue. All I get is an extra window opening that has another copy of the site in a frame on the right side. It's like seeing double! No video player, nothing.

I'm running fully updated Windows XP, and have tried both IE 6 and Firefox 1.5. IE 7 is too bloated and slow to use. I could try Firefox 2, I just hadn't bothered to upgrade yet.

Einstruzende
05-05-2007, 11:10 AM
I can't get the new Cycling.tv to work either. I logged in with the generic password, changed the password, then tried to view the "as live" TdR prologue. All I get is an extra window opening that has another copy of the site in a frame on the right side. It's like seeing double! No video player, nothing.

I'm running fully updated Windows XP, and have tried both IE 6 and Firefox 1.5. IE 7 is too bloated and slow to use. I could try Firefox 2, I just hadn't bothered to upgrade yet.

Don't worry, it's just as bad in FF2 and IE7.

Dwayne Barry
05-05-2007, 03:22 PM
The most frustrating problem is that the video on demand just stopped after Romandie. The whole reason i got the service is because I'm either asleep or at work when races are on in the morning. I appreciate having the race there as live or at least as a highlight that evening. There have been no updates in a week.

Yeah I just realized this when I sat down to watch today's stage of Romandie. Hopefully, these are just growing pains and they'll get this worked out.

B2
05-05-2007, 06:27 PM
Don't worry, it's just as bad in FF2 and IE7.

Same experience here (FF2 and IE7). I really appreciate being able to see the races, but a huge portion of the links (inconsistently) return the following message:
Our apologies...

The item you requested does not exist on this server or cannot be served.
Please double check the web address or use the search function on this page to find what you are looking for.
If you know you have the correct web address but are encountering an error, please contact the Site Administration (http://cycling.tv/contact-info).
Thank you.
<code> 404 Not Found</code>

Here's the deal. You click on a link and a new window opens with the message above (like I was the one that created the address for the link). So you close that window thinking you'll start over again with the original window that's still open only to find that the original window now has the same "Our apologies..." message. If you want to get back to the main (home) page you have to click on the Cyclingtv icon and another window opens up. Now you have go back to close the original window with the "Our apologies..." message.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. The site is riddled with similar interface issues. It's really difficult to believe that the web page designer didn't put their most junior person they have on the job. The interface is about the most unusual and difficult to navigate that I've ever seen.

I don't have the ad problem, but that sounds pretty bad too with the full screen pop-ups and audio over the race announcers. That's just plain absurd! Who in their right mind would allow such a thing? The Innertube message board has quite a few postings from people with all kinds of issues (many really pissed off).

Cyclingtv basically has no competition. I hope they don't screw it up. I think I smell trouble brewing...

Argentius
05-06-2007, 08:09 AM
I have been trying since the new portal rolled out to get service, and I can't get in. I have emailed them a few times, but have yet to get a response. I used to get fast responses whenever I emailed them, so I am sure they are swamped, but it is still frustrating! As an Oregonian, I was super-excited to watch and see how well Horner could do at Romandie, but, I had to settle for reading about it on cyclingnews.

Blah!

I have the forgotten username problem as well, but I have tried all 4 usernames I use on everything I do, and still none of the work with the "cyclingtv" password...

32and3cross
05-06-2007, 09:13 AM
We already asked for money back after 3 days of screw ups.

bas
05-06-2007, 11:07 AM
I have been trying since the new portal rolled out to get service, and I can't get in. I have emailed them a few times, but have yet to get a response. I used to get fast responses whenever I emailed them, so I am sure they are swamped, but it is still frustrating! As an Oregonian, I was super-excited to watch and see how well Horner could do at Romandie, but, I had to settle for reading about it on cyclingnews.

Blah!

I have the forgotten username problem as well, but I have tried all 4 usernames I use on everything I do, and still none of the work with the "cyclingtv" password...


I just tried to login to the 2006 Vuelta that I purchased that is "good for 1 year". Won't work.

cx_fan
05-10-2007, 03:40 PM
Had issues with the old and new portal. I dont get any sound for any live feeds. Go to the archive section and the sound works. This is all on my desktop.

On my laptop, everything works fine. But the issue is I have to disconnect the network for the desktop and hook it up to the laptop and watch on a smaller screen.

I have emailed them and they got back to me usually within 24 hrs. I have tried every level of bandwidth and every pop setup they have and to no avail. I have tried to update all sound drivers, delete and add them back and nothing works.

Anybody have any ideas?

burdiman
05-12-2007, 06:03 AM
I am a premium subscriber to cycling.tv and this morning I figured I would wake up and subscribe to the Giro (VS channel) but I can't even get that page to come up. It times out
every single time.

Oh well so much for better, faster streaming...

Dwayne Barry
05-12-2007, 06:16 AM
I am a premium subscriber to cycling.tv and this morning I figured I would wake up and subscribe to the Giro (VS channel) but I can't even get that page to come up. It times out
every single time.

Oh well so much for better, faster streaming...

I paid for the Versus channel yesterday and I can't get it to work. After trying for awhile I finally got to the point where you click the link to nominally see the video and I just keep getting "page unavailable". I'm so F'in pissed off right now.

Finally got video but it's at a very low data rate. Missed half the stage now.

32and3cross
05-12-2007, 06:17 AM
I am a premium subscriber to cycling.tv and this morning I figured I would wake up and subscribe to the Giro (VS channel) but I can't even get that page to come up. It times out
every single time.

Oh well so much for better, faster streaming...

Aginst my better judgement we subscriped and now can't get the service to come on any of the 4 computers we own.

Cycling TV sucks big time.

Opening a paypal dispute to try and get my fee back.

At least CN coverage is reliable.

Dwayne Barry
05-12-2007, 06:34 AM
Cycling TV sucks big time.

Opening a paypal dispute to try and get my fee back.

At least CN coverage is reliable.

I just gave up. Finally got an 800kps link to work but it keeps jumping and now tells me I need to go to the 400kps link despite the test telling me I have 1600+kps capacity. I'll just watch it later assuming they can get the rebroadcast up before tomorrow, which given their track record is probably a big IF. As much as I try to support their service, it's one f*ck up after another with them.

fornaca68
05-12-2007, 06:45 AM
I just gave up. Finally got an 800kps link to work but it keeps jumping and now tells me I need to go to the 400kps link despite the test telling me I have 1600+kps capacity. I'll just watch it later assuming they can get the rebroadcast up before tomorrow, which given their track record is probably a big IF. As much as I try to support their service, it's one f*ck up after another with them.


ARRGGHHHH!!!!!!!! If it ain't broke, don't fix it. There was NOTHING wrong with the former portal, then they monkey around with it, and now I can't get SQUAT on the new portal today!! This is ridiculous. I'm going to get my credit card company to reverse the charge for failure to deliver services. :mad:

stevesbike
05-12-2007, 06:57 AM
OK Mr. cycling.tv rep-please help us out why you take our subscriptions but don't have the capacity for it? We didn't pay to watch a zillion pop up windows time out...

B2
05-12-2007, 02:05 PM
They definitely have some issues to sort out. I generally have everything working via the new portal (even with Firefox). However today I couldn't even get the main page to load up. Server timed out every time I tried.

The wierd thing is that after the race when I tried to open the main cyclingtv page, it opened, but all of the sign-in text was in german. A few hours later it was in english again. Sure seems like someone is in there trying desperately to tweak the code to get things to work (and without success).

I know it will be very painful for them, but maybe it's time to fire the web page designer and start over again. It just shouldn't be that hard to at least get a link to point to a viable address. You ever see a fishing reel with the line in a terrible mess because someone let the line out too fast (without tension)? Well that's the picture I have for what the code must look like for cyclingtv's website.

Einstruzende
05-12-2007, 07:29 PM
I'm glad I decided to not subscribe for the Giro coverage. After them not having recaps for Romandie, I kind of figured things were so fubar'd there that the Giro was going to go off like a lead balloon.

jeebus
05-12-2007, 10:11 PM
Had a cycling.tv subscription last year and it was hit or miss. It finally got to the point where it wouldn't even recognize my log in. I emailed them couple times and they kept asking which channel i was subscribed to...they cdouldn't figure it out ..."uh, the cycling channel on cycling.tv. What do you mean what channel am i subscribed to? The one I paid for so i could watch bike races, dillholes."

So I figured the subscription would run out after the year... uh, no... They kept trying to bill my paypal several times for a 2007 subscription renewal with no heads-up message telling me what they were doing. So again, emailed them telling them to quit hitting up my paypal acct.

I tried subscribing just to the Giro this year... BIG NO-GO! Couldn't even get the subscription page to open up. I took this as an omen that they still hadn't figured out how to run a webpage.

Avoid cyclingtv like the plague. Not worth the frustration even though there is no good alternative.

burdiman
05-14-2007, 05:20 AM
I logged into cycling.tv this morning just to see if it was any faster than previous days and I am watching the Giro.

No I have not subscribed to the VS channel. The stream is SLOW...92kbps but you can see and hear the race....pretty cool.

Maybe they figured out that they couldn't deliver on what they promised and just started giving it away.

Einstruzende
05-14-2007, 06:00 AM
The best thing is how they are completely quiet on the subject. Now that I have paid for two years worth of coverage, it sure would be nice to get a friggin' update on the website status. They working on it or not? Have they taken any of the complaints seriously?

FondriestFan
05-14-2007, 07:30 AM
Worked great for me today. No problems getting in, getting 800kbs with no issues.

Looks as though they listened and fixed the problem.

bigpinkt
05-14-2007, 08:07 AM
To explain, this is the internet..... each person will have a unique experience as each of cycling.tv customers has a unique way to reach their servers....unfortunately cycling.tv and their CDN (Narrowstep) have chosen a IP transit provider (Abovenet) with limited peering to some of north Americas broadband providers so some of you will have a significantly worse experience then others.

generally broadband to the home in the USA is provided 2 ways, DSL from a RBOC or cable modem from a cable provider.....in most of the occurrences these are huge companies with millions of customers and large networks. When you are experiencing a slow connection this is not because the cycling.tv servers are overloaded, if this was the case then everyones connection would be slow. It is also, most likely, not because you have a bad provider. The most likely cause is Abovenet has limited capacity into your provider....and are too cheap to add more.

Too me this issue is clear, cycling.tv is trying to serve the US market with a poor quality provider....and they are doing it out of the UK, you would think they would put some servers in the US.

Of course I could be wrong, but cycling.tv has yet to respond to any of my emails

32and3cross
05-14-2007, 11:15 AM
Worked great for me today. No problems getting in, getting 800kbs with no issues.

Looks as though they listened and fixed the problem.

Wish I could say the same here.
They have fixed some of their page load issues (although having to have 2 windows open is just piss poor programming and dumb) but the video feed I get is Terrible hardly worth the money I am paying. You can not tell who is who in any of the group shots and can never read the time splits I can stream other vid find so its just cycling.tv or their servers.

Also their commentary is terrible.

Mapei
05-14-2007, 12:00 PM
With the help of my computer expert wife, I can now reliably connect to the Giro coverage. The technique is worthy of Rube Goldberg.

These instructions assume that you've already paid for the service. There's no guarantee they'll work for you, though! I do it, by the way, on Explorer. It gives me a more flexible platform for viewing -- offering fast forward and full screen.

1. Connect to cycling.tv
2. Sign in, using your user name and the quote-unquote Temporary Password they provided for you. Mine is cyclingtv
3. Wait for the site to sign you in.
4. Click on the Versus Channel button.
5. Re-sign in, using your user name and the Password Which You Actually Chose when you signed up for this mess.
6. When the site lets you in, scroll down to those teeny-tiny links near the bottom. Find the one you think suits you best. Because I live on the West Coast, I choose the latest Giro stage "As Live."
7. Enjoy the tour.

In any case, yes it's all frustrating as hell. Yes, the website is so poorly designed it's almost ludicrous. It's almost as if they're deliberately trying to get your veins to pop. But in my case, I have been able to wrestle it to the ground.

stevesbike
05-14-2007, 01:22 PM
here's a better solution: watch it for free on the RAI website (link in another thread). Not only is it free, but the Giro really needs to be watched with Italian speaking commentary. I don't understand Italian beyond what I learned from Italian menus and a few trips there, but it doesn't matter-it sounds incredibly exciting and it goes with the Giro atmosphere. Best line from today, when the two got caught, 'Ciaoooooo, Giovanni,'

For Italian speakers, why is it that Italian sounds incredibly fast expect for when the commentators say Anglo names. Is there something hard about saying Robbie McEwen? It comes out as Roooobiiiiieeeee Mcewwwweeeeeeen on the commentary.

B2
05-14-2007, 05:36 PM
Worked pretty well for me today as well. Although the data rate dropped to ~400kbs for the last five minutes and with about 1km to go I started getting a series of freeze frames with the audio continuing uninterrupted. With about 200M to go the freeze frames went away and the video rolled as it should.

Too bad they had to drop the data rate in the middle of the broadcast. Most of the bad links seem to be fixed which is good. If only they could stop the multiple windows from opening now (my browser is not set up to do this either). This makes it absolutely impossible to browse their site because you have to close a window nearly everytime you click on a link.

otiebob
05-16-2007, 05:58 AM
5/16 - Cycling.tv isn't working today while I can get in to RAI.tv with no problem. The new Cycling.tv site is utter garbage so far. Did you string it together with chewing gum, bailing wire, and a prayer? Very disappointing. I plan on seeking a refund if this continues...

FondriestFan
05-16-2007, 06:17 AM
They're having problems with a few customers, I think. Steaming at 800 with no problems again today.

bas
05-16-2007, 06:08 PM
Has anyone else been able to get cycling.tv working with their new portal? I love this website and what they provide but the new site does not work, is choked with ads (since I paid almost $50 for a premium package, I should not have my stream interrupted with banner ads; there are ads during the broadcast).

The Giro starts soon and they are offering the coverage through Versus. But unless they can get there act together, you'll have a lot of pissed off people. Trying to be patient.

Anyone have any better luck?

Ok - no porn is this complicated to watch on the internet, so why is cycling so difficult??

bas
05-16-2007, 06:17 PM
Has anyone else been able to get cycling.tv working with their new portal? I love this website and what they provide but the new site does not work, is choked with ads (since I paid almost $50 for a premium package, I should not have my stream interrupted with banner ads; there are ads during the broadcast).

The Giro starts soon and they are offering the coverage through Versus. But unless they can get there act together, you'll have a lot of pissed off people. Trying to be patient.

Anyone have any better luck?


I can't even get a good stream rate.

It's trying to bump me to 56k and I'm on a 6 meg modem connection. WTF.

This is really pissing me off. This is freaking horrible.

It's 10:30 pm EST. Who the hell else is on.


I fast forward and i lose the crappy horrible staticky sound.

ARGH.

How do I get a refund?

Einstruzende
05-16-2007, 06:18 PM
Ok - no porn is this complicated to watch on the internet, so why is cycling so difficult??

Because they got an inferior web designer and / or content provider. You have DRM to partially blame for this.

John
05-25-2007, 12:57 AM
I've been messing with cycling TV for more than a week now. I will say that they respond to my email, but do nothing to help out. Where the video should be is nothing more than a screen of green. I have tried everything and have essentially given up. What a waste of $24. Funny how the pop of for cannondale tells me to "feel the green"....I payed some green to see green.

really tics me off.

JChasse
05-25-2007, 05:11 AM
The races are good, the website sucks. Sorry Simon.

The last incarnation was pretty bad, the new one is atrocious. You tried it in Firefox? How about IE7? See all those errors? And you actually require new windows for pretty much every click? You gotta be kidding me.

What pisses me off is that I have "re-upped", so I've been somewhat of an early adopter, and I cannot believe this new portal is the "improvement."

The UI is not even consistent. Look how the various program listings look in the VOD section as compared to Live.

Again, this is no attack on the actual programming or commentary. It's good and I always look forward to watching races.

Also, If I'm paying 40 or 50 a year, how about doing away with ads that have popups and or sound? Better yet, don't show me ads outside of the programming.

I want to see you guys succeed, but geeze. If this new portal is what I saw as a new customer, I wouldn't have even bothered signing up. Looks like it's run by a bunch of script kiddies.

That just about says it all from my perspective. (And i'm paying for both Premium and VS :( )

QCWheelman
05-29-2007, 11:46 AM
I'm glad I'm not the only one. I'm an absolute cycling fanatic. Cycling.tv has pushed it too far even for me. I've been a premium subscriber for over a year and it's been riddled with bugs from day one. I never get a straight answer from them on tech issues...their tech person only ever tells me to adjust my datarate and POP server in response to any question. I was willing to put up with it until they automatically billed my account for a subscritption renewel and cancelled my subscription anyway. Repeated emails were ignored and I'm now in Paypal dispute with them. As far as I'm concerned, they committed mail fraud by stealing 19.99 GBP from my bank account for no reason.

I'm part of their core constiuency, and even I would advise against ever giving cycling.tv your money. Simon, if you're reading this, I don't care what else you're doing wrong...if you're going to automatically bill your customers you had better be damn sure you automatically take care of them.

DMtbRider
05-30-2007, 11:06 AM
I've been messing with cycling TV for more than a week now. I will say that they respond to my email, but do nothing to help out. Where the video should be is nothing more than a screen of green. I have tried everything and have essentially given up. What a waste of $24. Funny how the pop of for cannondale tells me to "feel the green"....I payed some green to see green.

really tics me off.

John,

I had the same problem. Contacted cyclingtv and they had no idea. I checked around on the web and found out that my Intel Video chipset needed updated drivers. Updated the drivers and it solved the problem. I'm at work, so I can't give you my chipset parameters. But yours may not be the same anyways.

I sent in the solution to my 'green screen' problem to cyclingtv, but I doubt they are using software for tracking problems and solutions.

Hope this helps...

Daniel (still wishing I was watching the Giro instead of reading about it)

FondriestFan
05-30-2007, 07:11 PM
Guys, I don't think the problem's with cycling.tv.

I updated my modem and wireless router and it completely changed my online experience.

I stream 1200kbs with zero interruption now.

I think their feed is excellent, but some computers need updated software or have video card issues. Just a thought.

fornaca68
05-30-2007, 10:11 PM
Guys, I don't think the problem's with cycling.tv.

I updated my modem and wireless router and it completely changed my online experience.

I stream 1200kbs with zero interruption now.

I think their feed is excellent, but some computers need updated software or have video card issues. Just a thought.

You've identifed (and in your case solved) part of the problem. The other main problem is how incredibly complicated and messy their new web site is. Their old web site was relatively easy to navigate through; the new web site has several more prompts and is a maze; sometimes the password prompt even comes out in German or French. Then they've added these advertising banners on the sides that are annoying. I subscribed to the Giro and yet on the recent stages I watch the RAI feed (in Italian, which I don't speak) because it just takes a few seconds to bring up on the computer.

Greggb
05-31-2007, 05:44 AM
Here's my $.02. The new webinterface SUCKS! Anytime you click on a link it opens a new window and then attempts to play a commericial in that new window. So at any given time you have 5 different screens playing something completely different.

And on top of that, most of the time I cant even see the video, I only here the sound. This is with a 3m up/down connection.

Even though the old portal was slow at least it worked.

FondriestFan
05-31-2007, 06:54 AM
I dunno. I don't have that same problem. It takes just a few seconds to log on and start playing the video. I'm on a brand new computer though, so that might have something to do with it.

I use Firefox.

upstateSC-rider
05-31-2007, 10:40 AM
Here's my $.02. The new webinterface SUCKS! Anytime you click on a link it opens a new window and then attempts to play a commericial in that new window. So at any given time you have 5 different screens playing something completely different.

And on top of that, most of the time I cant even see the video, I only here the sound. This is with a 3m up/down connection.

Even though the old portal was slow at least it worked.

I agree 100%, don't know how many times I've found myself sorting thru tabs and windows to find the "current" window.
Lou.

sbindra
06-14-2007, 12:48 PM
It is now several weeks later and I am still having the same issues. The new web portal is absolute rubbish. I was able to watch all the classics using the old portal with absolutely no problems at 800 kbps. Now I cannot even get any video to come up. Cycling.tv really screwed up a good thing by not having their new interface really ready to roll out. I contact them asking for a refund.

FondriestFan
06-14-2007, 08:37 PM
Well, I've been able to watch the classics, the Giro, the Dauphine, all for a total $75. I think that's a pretty good deal. I'm happy so far. I use Mozilla with no problems. At this price, I'll definitely sign up again when my premium's up next year.

Olancha
06-14-2007, 09:20 PM
The first week and a half were sketchy with the new web portal for me, but after that I was able to log on easily(a bit more link clicking than I like though) and see the race live at 800kps or 1200kps. All of the Dauphine races have been at 1200kps. My computer is about a year old and I use IE and Mozilla.

burdiman
06-16-2007, 05:50 AM
I used to get at least an 800kbps video stream. Now it is much lower and yes I have updated chip drivers and a kickin' video card.

The issues people keep bringing up are valid and are very frustrating:

1. Automatic renewal and there is no where in my account where I can turn this off. Nice interface cycling.tv

2. The new windows that pop-up every time you navigate to a new section of the site...nice job.

3. The stream rate is now horrible. I am on the left coast and I used to consistently get 800kbps now it just looks terrible.

Just my 2 cents. I will not renew next year.

FondriestFan
06-16-2007, 06:01 AM
Did you run a speed test on your connection?

mquetel
06-16-2007, 06:06 AM
1200 kbs stream from the west coast right now. Coverage of the DL has been great. :thumbsup:

burdiman
06-17-2007, 02:42 AM
6331 kbps download
364 kbps upload

FondriestFan
06-17-2007, 07:21 AM
Strange. You shouldn't be having any problems with the stream.
I wonder if it's a software issue. Can you try another site and see if it streams well? If not, it might be an indication of a computer, rather than a cycling.tv issue.

Einstruzende
06-17-2007, 08:21 AM
Well, I've been able to watch the classics, the Giro, the Dauphine, all for a total $75. I think that's a pretty good deal. I'm happy so far. I use Mozilla with no problems. At this price, I'll definitely sign up again when my premium's up next year.

You'll have no choice because they'll charge you anyway.

FondriestFan
06-17-2007, 10:13 AM
You'll have no choice because they'll charge you anyway.

All you have to do is email or call and cancel the service, which I have no plans of doing, but I can see your point.