Flo Sports

[Kuiper]

Westminster at Marietta also had technical issues at the start.

In soccer, we've seen technical issues in lots of games, especially early in the season, even when Flo isn't involved.  It may be the host school and its operators since they are the ones who supply Flo with the feed.

[WUPHF]

Westminster at Marietta also had technical issues at the start.

In soccer, we've seen technical issues in lots of games, especially early in the season, even when Flo isn't involved.  It may be the host school and its operators since they are the ones who supply Flo with the feed.

The UChicago feed has had the weird audio problems that I would have assumed were host issues, but have heard it on multiple UAA broadcasts last season.

[Ralph Turner]

Flo completely missed a 45 yd TD pass by McMurry at Southwestern.

[jekelish]

If you want to see what Flo streaming could be, log in and check out a Carson-Newman game.  They're a D2 school about an hour north of Maryville.  Whatever they are doing, they should write the recipe and sell it.

I am very impressed with their production.

It's likely they were competent before the advent of Flo.  Until the schools step up their own games (which has been very slow to happen in the years since this rolled out) overall production quality will continue to be inconsistent.

I don't believe that to be the case. There were reports of Flo streams all over the country dealing with technical difficulties. Without pulling back the curtain too much, I know - with absolute certainty - that most of it was on Flo's end. I fear that Flo has been so focused on scaling up the number of schools and conferences that they have under their header that they forgot to actually scale up the infrastructure/servers to match the client growth, and this opening weekend was proof they weren't ready for all of the additional schools and sports all playing at once.

[WUPHF]

I fear that Flo has been so focused on scaling up the number of schools and conferences that they have under their header that they forgot to actually scale up the infrastructure/servers to match the client growth, and this opening weekend was proof they weren't ready for all of the additional schools and sports all playing at once.

I remain convinced that the economics are such that they cannot scale up adequately, but what do I know?  Otherwise, it is pretty obvious to those who follow games from more than one school that the technical problems are on Flo Sports.

[y_jack_lok]

^^^ That makes me wonder about the relationship between Flo's infrastructure and the schools' infrastructure, recalling this from last week: "The investment in production and deployment at the member institution level includes a hardware and software package that has greatly advanced streaming quality leading to 100% delivery of 60 FPS video feeds (an increase of 45% ) and a dramatic rise in uptime delivery."

[NEPAFAN]

Flo completely missed a 45 yd TD pass by McMurry at Southwestern.

FLO or the camera operator?

[Ralph Turner]

Flo completely missed a 45 yd TD pass by McMurry at Southwestern.

FLO or the camera operator?

The camera operator, I presume.
Thanks

[y_jack_lok]

I don't know if I love or hate coming on here to complain about Flo, but I hope it's worth the effort in case someone on their end, or in the conference offices (ODAC this time), is reading this stuff and trying to make things better.

First thing, and relatively minor, is that Randolph-Macon Men's Soccer is playing Johnson & Wales-Charlotte this  afternoon. On the Flo schedule page it says JWU-Charlotte vs Randolph-Macon, but on the actual game screen it says JWU-Providence vs Randolph-Macon. Hard to know who got that wrong -- Flo, or the ODAC, or R-MC??

Second, there are simply too many steps to finally get the game up on the computer screen. If you are logged-in to your Flo account then when you click on the link to watch a game (no matter where you go to access that link -- school website, conference website, Flo website) it should simply take you directly to the game instead of forcing you through several more steps, the most annoying one of which is the link that says "How to watch (insert game you are looking for here)".

End of rant.

[Ron Boerger]

I don't know if I love or hate coming on here to complain about Flo, but I hope it's worth the effort in case someone on their end, or in the conference offices (ODAC this time), is reading this stuff and trying to make things better.

First thing, and relatively minor, is that Randolph-Macon Men's Soccer is playing Johnson & Wales-Charlotte this  afternoon. On the Flo schedule page it says JWU-Charlotte vs Randolph-Macon, but on the actual game screen it says JWU-Providence vs Randolph-Macon. Hard to know who got that wrong -- Flo, or the ODAC, or R-MC??

Second, there are simply too many steps to finally get the game up on the computer screen. If you are logged-in to your Flo account then when you click on the link to watch a game (no matter where you go to access that link -- school website, conference website, Flo website) it should simply take you directly to the game instead of forcing you through several more steps, the most annoying one of which is the link that says "How to watch (insert game you are looking for here)".

End of rant.

Agree.  It's a major PITB to get to whatever gamecast you want.  They need to invest in their UI.

[MCScots2013]

I agree.

The logo/name thing is an irritant of mine.  Act like you care, person-at-Flo.  I get there are a lot of Bethels, Northwesterns, hell--even two Maryville's.  But come on.

I noticed the number of steps Saturday, too.  I downloaded the Flo app on my tv thinking it would be faster, but nope.  Way too many clicks.

[Kuiper]

I wasn't sure what you folks were talking about in terms of number of clicks, but I realized that on my laptop I just start typing Flo and it brings up the link for the Men's Soccer events that day (which is what I watch on Flo the most).  My log-in info is already saved on my computer, so I'm automatically logged in right away.  I assume I'm bypassing a bunch of clicks this way and it's probably faster than using the App.

https://www.flocollege.com/sports/12787069-mens-soccer

Then I just choose the game for that day (for the first time in forever, Dallas @ Hardin-Simmons looks interesting based on their respective starts to the season!).

[WUPHF]

At least one league commissioner stated that part of the appeal of Flo Sports was the ecosystem... that a random know it all from St. Louis would partake in the smorgasbord of live streams, further bolstering viewership. 

The platform is not great for that.  For example, when I go to the UAA conference page, it is just a boring old calendar list of games that require the viewer to advance through the days.

But obviously, it works for some.

[y_jack_lok]

I wasn't sure what you folks were talking about in terms of number of clicks, but I realized that on my laptop I just start typing Flo and it brings up the link for the Men's Soccer events that day (which is what I watch on Flo the most).  My log-in info is already saved on my computer, so I'm automatically logged in right away.  I assume I'm bypassing a bunch of clicks this way and it's probably faster than using the App.

https://www.flocollege.com/sports/12787069-mens-soccer

Then I just choose the game for that day (for the first time in forever, Dallas @ Hardin-Simmons looks interesting based on their respective starts to the season!).

I know there are multiple ways one can get to a given event on Flo, so perhaps I haven't yet found the most efficient route to some of what I watch. But it seems to me that if you are already logged in to Flo (I am, as you seem to be) then the simplest way ought to be to go to the link to watch your event of choice on the school, conference or Flo website, click on it and the screen for the game should come up. Then you might have to click on the "play' triangle. That's about as much work as one should have to do. But it doesn't usually work that way. I will keep pluggin' away in the hopes that I'll perfect a more efficient system.

[Kuiper]

I wasn't sure what you folks were talking about in terms of number of clicks, but I realized that on my laptop I just start typing Flo and it brings up the link for the Men's Soccer events that day (which is what I watch on Flo the most).  My log-in info is already saved on my computer, so I'm automatically logged in right away.  I assume I'm bypassing a bunch of clicks this way and it's probably faster than using the App.

https://www.flocollege.com/sports/12787069-mens-soccer

Then I just choose the game for that day (for the first time in forever, Dallas @ Hardin-Simmons looks interesting based on their respective starts to the season!).

I know there are multiple ways one can get to a given event on Flo, so perhaps I haven't yet found the most efficient route to some of what I watch. But it seems to me that if you are already logged in to Flo (I am, as you seem to be) then the simplest way ought to be to go to the link to watch your event of choice on the school, conference or Flo website, click on it and the screen for the game should come up. Then you might have to click on the "play' triangle. That's about as much work as one should have to do. But it doesn't usually work that way. I will keep pluggin' away in the hopes that I'll perfect a more efficient system.

Perhaps this is a school or sport issue, but if I go to the Redlands' men's soccer schedule and click on the "Watch" link, I immediately get to the Redlands v. Emory game later today:  https://www.flocollege.com/live/268381.  I think a lot of people find links that way because they are only watching their team's games.

I'm assuming other people just go to the Flo site or app and navigate from there, which seems to require lots of clicks to find your sport, team etc.  I find that annoying on other streaming sites too (and don't get me started on the search options that require you to click on one letter at a time), but I guess it's difficult for them to find a "Guide" option that isn't overwhelming given the large amount of content available.