I enjoyed the few hours of One Pocket I was able to watch, think TAR did a good job on what I had time to see.
Can someone comment on what was really going on early in the week re JL. I tuned in too late to hear the off camera voices. Had Sunny had a few? The chat only further confused the root issue. Contractual? Who's? Resolved later in week?
My only complaint was that they were obviously talking about a game/table that the camera was not on at the time and the game was not PPV, I think.
One other thing, some well-known players were badly, and I do mean badly, disrespected in the chat and nothing was done about it. At the same time somebody did say something about not posting chat in caps.
I think TAR is a good idea. In fact I think PPV streams are the only chance pool has in making any progress. But only a well run businesses can survive.
I'm sure the people at TAR are well-liked and standup guys. And that their hearts are in the right place. Strong commitment and the like.
But in business you don't get to blame someone else. You don't get to complain about being short staffed. You don't get to explain your misfortunes to your customers. You're just out of business. And people who rush to their defense when the slightest complaint occurs are just enablers. They have no stake so they can say it's ok. Are they going to pay TAR's bills?
Assuming the biggest factor in the make or break over your business opportunity (bandwidth) is going to be fine is business failure 101. The failed broadcase for the customer is not the hotel's fault it's TARs. When I paid my $50 it says received by Justin not the hotel. You dont get to make a mistake like that in the real world. Successful businesses run into problems too but they overcome them without whining to their customers.
Another crucial error is don't oversell and under perform. Oh and stuff like allowing people to get tasered in their production, 15 year olds drinking while their commentating. allowing other people on the mic to dog others behind their back. i guess that's all funny in the pool world. It goes on and on. This is a sign of people playing at business not actually running a business.
I want TAR to survive. I find what they do interesting and affordable enough. but if they're going to make it they need to make real customers (not their pool buddies and the hardcore) happy. the future of the business is not the 20 people in the chatroom it's the thousand who watch for free.
So if you want to help TAR survive put that energy in fighting with their detractors to good use. Offer them some business acumen and guidance in how to run an efficient and professional business. I believe TAR has a viable opportunity but it can't be run by pool guys. It needs serious business people. I want them to make that transition because otherwise pool is going to go farther underground in this country. I wish them good luck.
Could you clariy which issue you are asking about? I'm sure I have an answer, but there were several issues that came up with Jeanette throughout the week.
Jeanette on Camera - I interviewed Jeanette in the booth and she simply said that the reason why she didn't wish to be on the stream was for a couple of reasons. She didn't know where the WPBA stood on the issue of blatant gambling and she wasn't sure what positives could happen with the stream. Just a peak at the immature chat members confirmed her thoughts. It was a request from her not to be streamed, not a demand. She didn't try to strong-arm her fame (pardon the pun).
TAR put up signs that said that if they were to play in the TARPIT, expect to be streamed. She never said a word. She came in the room, understood the rules, didn't question them, and she played both on the bar box and the 9-ft main table. And the TAR audience was able to watch her. End of that story.
Fred
"I believe TAR has a viable opportunity but it can't be run by pool guys. It needs serious business people."
The problem with this statement is that most of the damage done to the pool world has been by "business people" trying to make a buck. The "pool guys" are a necessity to keep things in check. They know what pool fans and players want. I agree the business people are needed to raise the funds. But remember, the "pool people" are the ones who came up with the idea because of their love of the game.
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1: One other thing, some well-known players were badly, and I do mean badly, disrespected in the chat and nothing was done about it.
2: At the same time somebody did say something about not posting chat in caps.
Could you clariy which issue you are asking about? I'm sure I have an answer, but there were several issues that came up with Jeanette throughout the week.
Jeanette on Camera - I interviewed Jeanette in the booth and she simply said that the reason why she didn't wish to be on the stream was for a couple of reasons. She didn't know where the WPBA stood on the issue of blatant gambling and she wasn't sure what positives could happen with the stream. Just a peak at the immature chat members confirmed her thoughts. It was a request from her not to be streamed, not a demand. She didn't try to strong-arm her fame (pardon the pun).
TAR put up signs that said that if they were to play in the TARPIT, expect to be streamed. She never said a word. She came in the room, understood the rules, didn't question them, and she played both on the bar box and the 9-ft main table. And the TAR audience was able to watch her. End of that story.
Fred
I paid $63 to watch accustats. I ended up paying $54 to watch TAR. I had problems watching accustats one day. I had problems watching TAR everday. Accustats I could listen to professional commentary. On TAR i got to listen to Sunny Day. Oh and joey, scoobie and Fred dissing Jeanette Lee for three nights straight. That would never happen on accustats. The biggest name gambling match was on accustats. Got to watch that. No problems.
CaliRed,
I appreciate what TAR does and I understand the fustrations of live streaming. I consider my 50 bones as a contribution for what they bring me. The one thing that I think would make it better for the viewer is more updates as to what's going to happen and what is happening right now. Lots of the time it just seemed as though they had a camera pointed at a table with no one at the wheel to let me know what's up. Streaming is good for pool, I love it just let me know watup.:thumbup:
I am fortunate to be able to work with Accu-Stats and the TAR crew. Let me say this, I enjoy doing both as time allows. I was pretty busy this DCC with the One Pocket Challenge and the Fatboy Challenge. But I did find time to work on the Archer-Efren Ten Ball match for Accu-Stats and do part of the Shuff-Breedlove match for TAR.
On Accu-Stats I worked alongside Mark Wilson who I think is a fabulous pool commentator and on TAR I sat next to Beav who was equally good in his analysis of the match. Beav has a great voice and gives a very clear presentation of what is happening.
With Accu-Stats it is abundantly clear that Pat Fleming is running the show. In the commentary booth if we get off track, Pat will remind us (on our head set) to get back to the match. Likewise if we make a mistake, Pat will tell us that also. On TAR the same can be said for Justin and Chad. They have a clear view of what they expect from the players and what is acceptable behavior. More than once they put a stop to something that was beginning to get out of hand. They look out for their players and when Justin (or Chad) talks the whole room listens.
I am quite aware that the shows are very different, one is strictly tournament play and the other is strictly "action" play. So I adjust my commentary accordingly. In a tournament match, player history, position in the brackets, number of losses and other criteria is important. In a gambling match, the size of the bet, who is betting on who and how they have matched up becomes more important.
All in all, I like doing both shows for the variety they offer a pool fan like me. As long as there has been pool, the debate has gone on between who gambles best and who wins tournaments. Every era has only a handful of players who do both well.
The caps issue I recall was a result of the staff trying to learn which chat posters had PPV and thus had a bigger stake in which game should be streamed. Those not on PPV didn't know what the staff had told the PPV members.
You did a great job with both Jay. You are a huge asset to the pool community.
Thanks
Kevin