Poll: How long a wait for downloads?

[Jeff Franz]

All,

As hinted elsewhere, we are preparing to launch a multi-media section of Ekartingnews, one that will feature video shorts and the occasional audio interviews. Video footage from the Canby ProMoto event, the Rock Island Grand Prix, and the World Finals are scheduled to debut in the very near future.

My question to the forum members is...

How long would you be willing to wait while a video file loads? (As an example, the hypothetical video clip is 30 seconds long) Would you wait 2 minutes for that footage? 5? 10? 30 minutes?

There are a number of options available to us at this time, some of them are especially user-friendly, other options take more time to provide the viewing pleasure.

Kindly respond here, along with what type of connection you use.

Thanks much,

Jeff Franz

[Gary Kozuma2]

Jeff,

Is there a way you could post both hi res and a bandwidth impared version?

[Dave Stevens]

quote:

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Originally posted by Jeff Franz:
How long would you be willing to wait while a video file loads?

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Are you streaming, or downloading? What are the formats you are considering using?

If you are streaming, go with Real or Quicktime. If you are downloading, go with MPEG, that way most all clients can view them.

Ditch the audio. Unless it's professionally done, it just takes up bandwidth. If it's an interview or something, then you have to have it. If it's karts racing, forget the audio. We all know what engines sound like.

Video would be great. I think you'll find most here are either on a dialup, or perhaps cable. A few like me will have big pipes at home, but don't count on it for most.

Look at your logs and see where the users are coming from (lot's of folks surf from work on big pipes), and what browsers and platforms they are using. Dither it down to as small as you can get it and still have it be decent.

Dave

[Tony Gaylord]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jeff Franz:
All,

As hinted elsewhere, we are preparing to launch a multi-media section of Ekartingnews, one that will feature video shorts and the occasional audio interviews. Video footage from the Canby ProMoto event, the Rock Island Grand Prix, and the World Finals are scheduled to debut in the very near future.

My question to the forum members is...

How long would you be willing to wait while a video file loads? (As an example, the hypothetical video clip is 30 seconds long) Would you wait 2 minutes for that footage? 5? 10? 30 minutes?

There are a number of options available to us at this time, some of them are especially user-friendly, other options take more time to provide the viewing pleasure.

Kindly respond here, along with what type of connection you use.

Thanks much,

Jeff Franz

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---------------------------------

Jeff (and all of EKarting)
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Right on! Love the idea of video footage, hell anything with video and karting. Can't wait to see it.

A couple of things:
Please, I don't know about all of you, but me personaly, can't stand to watch blocky,pixely video. If it's poor quality, I wont even watch it. Period.

I think that a 'low band' and 'hi band' would be a good option for all of us. Us spoiled little brats with broadband connections, don't like to watch choppy/poor quality footage. So to please the dial-up connections and the broadband's, a hi/low band downloading option would be a good thing

What in the *ell am I doing up this early..... coffee......

*TG*

[Jack Burroughs]

Two min. is probably it. audio? forget it, like the guy said we all know what the sounds are. I.M.H.O. The kids today, well my kids when they were younger had /have an attention span keyed to the duration and format of a MTV Music Video. they also wouldn't watch anything in black&white not even war documentary.

[Marc Miller]

With all due respect, keep audio in... the statement "we all know what it sounds like" is a pretty lame saying as we also could then say "we all know what it looks like".

The fact is, ekarting news, with it's link to speedvision and their ability to reach a larger audience that have no idea what the look and sounds of the karts are like will gladly benefit from seeing AND hearing what many of us get to see and hear on a regular basis.

For every one of us that "knows" what it is like, there are 200 unlucky folks that have ZERO clue, give them every opportunity to see it and hear it, then hope that the businesses involved in karting will be able to capitalize on that excitement.

My .02,

Marc Miller

[Jeff Franz]

In regards to audio, I am thinking more along the lines of driver interviews, not of a microphone held at track level.

As ever, I appreciate all of your inputs, but kindly keep in the mind the question that was asked.

You can be certain that we will do everything possible to accomodate as many of our readers as possible, keeping in mind the wide range of bandwidths and utilities.

Thanks,

Jeff

[Rhonda Mims-Brown]

My patience would only allow two minutes, max.

[John Neilson]

Jeff,
I know this would take up server space, but how about multiple levels of resolution?
Take a look at MSNBC video, I believe they offer dialup, and T1 options.

[Roy Randolph]

I believe 2 minutes is going to be your limit.

Obviously your going to be able to get a lot more information in two minutes with a broadband connection like Cable or DSL.

So offer choices for BOTH, you would be suprised how many folks have access to Broadband now days.

[Dave Stevens]

quote:

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Originally posted by Jeff Franz:

As ever, I appreciate all of your inputs, but kindly keep in the mind the question that was asked.

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Opps, sorry dude......

I don't know that "how long would you wait" is the right question. I could download a 20 or 30 MB file in that time, while the dialup folks won't get even a MB in that time.

Perhaps the questions are, what are your connection speeds, which video player do you use, and what size and resolution is your display.

As for the other posters comment about leaving out the audio "lame", he has a good point that not everyone knows what a kart sounds like. However, audio generally adds fairly significant "weight" to the download. The tradeoff is larger files (and longer downloads), or that same size file with reduced video quality.

Dave

[Nick Weil]

As one of the members of what appears to be an elite society that has Cable Internet, there is not much I can't download in about 10 minutes, 15 at most. If it pertains to karting and has some decent entertainment value I would be willing to download for 15 minutes easy. Of course, the real key there would be the speed on the E-Karting end of things. I have downloaded in excess of 100MB's in 15 minutes when connected to the right computer. I would second the suggestion that you use .MPEG video though. I dislike RealPlayer with a passion after some Customer service issues in the past, and will not reinstall their software.

Nick Weil

[Paul McKenzie]

I have many downloads of racing footage that I have waited upwards of 10-15 minutes for. Generally I minimize the download window and do other things on the web while I'm waiting. But more importantly, I think that once the download has taken place that it be in a format that can be saved to your hard drive if you want to view it in the future. I don't think I would ever download it a second time if i know that once it was opened, I couldn't save it. Does this mean that I am now a pirate, as in Napster, er I should say Kartster!?

[Tony Gaylord]

Paul, it doesn't have to be in any specific format for it to be a file that can be 'saved'. Any can be saved, the real only way that it couldn't is if a site turns-off the 'right click' feature AND it was an exclusive 'streamed' file. And I've only seen it maybe twice in 3 years or so.

Whenever you see a link to something ya just need to 'right click' then click 'save target as' then choose it's destination ie:desktop, whatever......

Personaly, even if there was a 'vote' to who had dialup and who had broadband, your not ever going to see it supercede dialup, just can't happen. With nearly EVERY computer made out there with a dialup modem and most using it, your prolly not going to see more broadband/cable/isdn users over people that already have a modem in they're system.

Someone mentioned different resolutions, well its kinda the same thing I mentioned, it will give you a lot smaller resolution AND the number of pixels within the video and possibly 8bit or mono sound. EEEEEeekk!!!

A 150kbps/300kbps selection will get you near full screen, a higer resolotion and the size of the video and better audio.

The way I look at it? In this day and age of communication and the insane amount of growth in broadband connections accross the US, for a site NOT to have something for the folks with broadband connections, it's almost like someone didn't do they're homework.

Thinking here........

I want to plop the link but I dont want to drag a site through the mud but there's a site thats got karting starts and videos. After the quick (600+kbps here ) D/L the video starts and heres a video that comes on thats about the size of a book of matches, horrible mono audio and nasty 'pixlys'.

I didn't even bother to finish the vid.

And with doing all we can do to promote and further excell the growth of the sport, in whatever manner it comes, we can't have no little tiny vids promoting karting and the sport we dig

The bigger the better bay-bee!

Back to the garage.
PS: At anyrate, id be happy honestly with whatever, but slapp my *ss and call me Sally if we had 640x480, full stereo videos of karting!!!!! Would be awesome.

Excuse the ramble

*TG*

[ September 09, 2001: Message edited by: Tony Gaylord ]

[Dave Malloy]

I have a 56K modem and would be glad to wait 5 minutes for some racing footage to download.