Video - Hours and Hours 2004 2005 2006 2007

chiatlard said:
gee does anyone know of any nice flv players out there?
I heard VLC is decent. Never used it though.

I do have a nice FLV to AVI converter though :D
 
Icon of Sin said:
I do have a nice FLV to AVI converter though :D
And that is?.. I'm using WinFF to convert FLV to mpeg, but it can't handle some files, and quality worsens a bit.

btw I use VLC player if I need to view FLV files. Never lets me down.
 
Vahmurka said:
And that is?.. I'm using WinFF to convert FLV to mpeg, but it can't handle some files, and quality worsens a bit.

btw I use VLC player if I need to view FLV files. Never lets me down.
i got VLC player too but it seems that i cant fast forward thru flv files.it just stops the video. do u have the same problem?
 
chiatlard said:
i got VLC player too but it seems that i cant fast forward thru flv files.it just stops the video. do u have the same problem?

I have the same problem (I'm using the Mac version). It closes the video if I try to skip ahead.
 
PKM said:
chiatlard said:
i got VLC player too but it seems that i cant fast forward thru flv files.it just stops the video. do u have the same problem?

I have the same problem (I'm using the Mac version). It closes the video if I try to skip ahead.
yep, same thing here. I believe flv's are to blame. You can't fast forward it that way, the only means being increasing speed (x4, x8, x16).
That's is one of the reasons I try to convert these to mpeg, so that I can start viewing from anywhere.
 
Vahmurka said:
yep, same thing here. I believe flv's are to blame. You can't fast forward it that way, the only means being increasing speed (x4, x8, x16).
That's is one of the reasons I try to convert these to mpeg, so that I can start viewing from anywhere.
how did u convert flv to mpeg?
 
Russ Chewning said:
Well, what can I say? I probably would be the guy to tell a store owner that kids are in the back stuffing comic books down their pants.
That's a little conceited, isn't it? The observance that you seem to think that you are the only person who would report a "real crime" seems to speak volumes about your grasp on reality.

Thievery is thievery, no matter what form it comes in.
True, however over a period of many years, society has decided that crimes come in varying degrees of seriousness. Unfortunately, the lobbyists for the motion picture and recording industry seem to have convinced our legislators otherwise.

BCN may have put the videos up, and they may well be within their rights. But until that has been established, I see anyone downloading or viewing those clips as thieves of intellectual property.
You are at a definite disadvantage in this discussion, since you can't look for yourself. Anyone who cares to click on the uploaders "home' link, prominently displayed along with the so-called "pirated" videos, will be treated to a very official looking, "BCN" YouTube page, including advertisements from BCN sponsors and links to the BCN site, among other things. It's a polished, professional effort, and having seen it for myself, I'll say this. If it's not BCN, it one helluva ruse, and would fool any casual observer.

All I know, is Pat sure as hell didn't know anyone was putting ENTIRE MATCHES on youtube...
Apparently you're correct on both counts.
First, that's all you know. (is it possible that it's all you want to know?)
Second, I'd offer that one possible reason that Pat is not aware of full-length matches being posted is because so far, I haven't found any of them to be full-length. They look like BCN subscription feeds, clipped to length, with missing games, laced with advertisements. They also seem to be quite raw in production quality as well, compared to what you'd find on an Accu-stats video product.

and you all seem to have a massive problem with someone telling him that.
You can't be serious. OK, maybe the snitch thing is part of it, but I would offer that it's the righteous, superior, and argumentative tone of most of your posts that people are having a problem with. You tend to use the word "fact" freely, however note that you made a blind assumption that the material was posted illegally, you made another blind assumption that the matches were full-length. Both seem to have been skewed, a little hasty and obviously ill-informed. You're just a "Glass-Half-Empty" kind of guy, I guess.

Further endearing yourself to your audience, you're lumping viewers of the videos in with the poster as criminals, which is a little over the top. Historically, it's seldom a crime to observe something that's there for the observing. If a particular online video is a problem (and I don't think any of these are) then the way to fix that is not by browbeating the observer, but to make that video unavailable. If that isn't possible, or the effort is abandoned because it would cost the aggrieved party more than it's worth, then cést la vie. Millions of Americans are forced to make these same types of hard choices every day, we don't need any more privileged classes.

In any case, I sincerely hope it's never a crime to click on an internet link, ever.
 
Slider said:
That's a little conceited, isn't it? The observance that you seem to think that you are the only person who would report a "real crime" seems to speak volumes about your grasp on reality.


True, however over a period of many years, society has decided that crimes come in varying degrees of seriousness. Unfortunately, the lobbyists for the motion picture and recording industry seem to have convinced our legislators otherwise.


You are at a definite disadvantage in this discussion, since you can't look for yourself. Anyone who cares to click on the uploaders "home' link, prominently displayed along with the so-called "pirated" videos, will be treated to a very official looking, "BCN" YouTube page, including advertisements from BCN sponsors and links to the BCN site, among other things. It's a polished, professional effort, and having seen it for myself, I'll say this. If it's not BCN, it one helluva ruse, and would fool any casual observer.


Apparently you're correct on both counts.
First, that's all you know. (is it possible that it's all you want to know?)
Second, I'd offer that one possible reason that Pat is not aware of full-length matches being posted is because so far, I haven't found any of them to be full-length. They look like BCN subscription feeds, clipped to length, with missing games, laced with advertisements. They also seem to be quite raw in production quality as well, compared to what you'd find on an Accu-stats video product.


You can't be serious. OK, maybe the snitch thing is part of it, but I would offer that it's the righteous, superior, and argumentative tone of most of your posts that people are having a problem with. You tend to use the word "fact" freely, however note that you made a blind assumption that the material was posted illegally, you made another blind assumption that the matches were full-length. Both seem to have been skewed, a little hasty and obviously ill-informed. You're just a "Glass-Half-Empty" kind of guy, I guess.

Further endearing yourself to your audience, you're lumping viewers of the videos in with the poster as criminals, which is a little over the top. Historically, it's seldom a crime to observe something that's there for the observing. If a particular online video is a problem (and I don't think any of these are) then the way to fix that is not by browbeating the observer, but to make that video unavailable. If that isn't possible, or the effort is abandoned because it would cost the aggrieved party more than it's worth, then cést la vie. Millions of Americans are forced to make these same types of hard choices every day, we don't need any more privileged classes.

In any case, I sincerely hope it's never a crime to click on an internet link, ever.

Okay, there you go, then.. If it is BCN, then I stand corrected. How the matches seem to be edited coincides with the BCN agreements I discussed with Pat Fleming.

But look at it from my point of view. I expressed mere concern at first, and then told everyone I had contacted Pat about this to insure his interests were being served.

Then, people start calling me a$$hole (that was Blackjack, a so-called "professional".. that doesn't seem professional to me), penis, jerk, etc.

For what?

For telling Pat. It seemed to me that if all this was legal and above board, that no one would have a problem with me contacting Pat. The fact that I am immediately attacked tended to give me the impression that those attacking me thought they might not be in the right.

And I ran with that.

I do know for a fact that people other than BCN and Pat Fleming HAVE posted entire matches on youtube. And those links have been put on the forum. Are you disputing that? And I told people it was wrong. And the same people in this thread told me to get bent. And that does piss me off. And I am not apologetic for it. Pardon the hell outta me if I assume, once a thief, always a thief.

The idea that entire Accu-Stats matches HAVE been put on youtube before, and Pat NEVER knew, even though those were linked on this forum tells me that quite a few people in the pool community care more about their own entertainment than keeping the guy in business who brings them that entertainment.

Note.. Just about every time someone posts links like these, the FIRST thing I ask is "Are any of the links Accu-Stats? And does Pat know about them?", and no one on the forum ever wants to answer the question. Or, if they do, they'll say yes, they are Accu-Stats, and that they don't know if Pat knows or not. And since Pat only found out recently, it seems forum members weren't breaking their necks to find out if they had been pirating his stuff.

I don't think people realize how thin Pat Fleming's margins are. His equipment costs a LOT of money. He charges $26.00 a DVD. Assuming each DVD costs him $6.00 to produce and deliver, door to door, he has to sell 3000 DVDs to have a $60,000 a year income. That's not even accounting for having to replace broken/outdated equipment..

Let's assume 4000 DVDs sold per year is the magic number. That's over 100 DVDs per day, for something like a $60,000 a year income.. That seems like an EXTREMELY thin margin, and that assuming a FULL $20.00 profit on each DVD.

And people like Dave Sapolis say if Pat doesn't put his videos online for purchase, he can sit back and watch them get downloaded for free. (In so many words) Is Dave planning on paying for the bandwidth costs that Pat would incur? Is he planning on paying for network storage of thousands of hours of video? Is he planning on buying a streaming video server for Pat?

People don't realize (or care) that Pat Fleming is supporting an industry that is not necessarily supporting him. Pool players as a general rule, are "broke as a joke". Which means that Pat has to target a relative minority of the pool playing population that has decent money to buy $500-$600 worth of DVDs per year.

Anything that bites into the relatively small profit that Pat makes risks putting the man out of business.

Russ
 
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Russ Chewning said:
Then, people start calling me a$$hole (that was Blackjack, a so-called "professional".. that doesn't seem professional to me), penis, jerk, etc.

I think I made the correct call. I didn't call you a penis. Its not that I disagree, I just didn't think of it first.

I am a professional, remember? Dance monkey, dance.

You're really proud of your phone call to Pat aren't you?


Russ Chewning said:
And people like Dave Sapolis say if Pat doesn't put his videos online for purchase, he can sit back and watch them get downloaded for free. (In so many words) Is Dave planning on paying for the bandwidth costs that Pat would incur? Is he planning on paying for network storage of thousands of hours of video? Is he planning on buying a streaming video server for Pat?

That's ok. Tell Pat to send me the bill. Not many players are making money off those tapes and DVD's anyway. Yes, I said it.
 
I'll post another post, the other was getting too long.

The real issue I have is with people both uploading protected content and those downloading it.

Granted, that's not the case with the BCN content specifically, but I guarantee a lot of Accu-Stats stuff is being uploaded and shared on YouTube. How do I know? I saw a guy advertising this service on Ebay when I was looking for Accu-Stats stuff.

You want to know what the consequences of this sort of anti-commercial behavior can be? Well, lemme give you a clue.

Given that I live in Florida, that has tons of top notch talent, and lots of matches between top pros, I have been considering starting up a business offering HD pool matches for sale. High Definition cameras are becoming affordable enough to make this a realistic plan. ($4000-$5000)

There are a few pool room owners in Florida that I think would be willing to let me set up equipment and film some matches at some of the Florida tour events. The Seminole Tribe could be included in the deal for some advertising revenue.

I was thinking about bringing Grady Mathews on board to do commentary. I am SURE he would LOVE to do color commentary again.

And now, I look at the fact that the pool cummunity will gladly download a low rez version of the matches, and care not one wit about the guy bringing the matches to them.

And I begin to think to myself, "You know what? This HD would never make money. Not enough people are willing to PAY for the service. Would they WANT the service? Heck yeah! But they won't PAY for it."

THAT's the real cost to stealing commercial content. You kill the incentive for new businesses to provide that content. So the same old established companies get to do business the way they want, because the barriers to entry are too high.

Russ
 
Blackjack said:
I think I made the correct call. I didn't call you a penis. Its not that I disagree, I just didn't think of it first.

I am a professional, remember? Dance monkey, dance.

You're really proud of your phone call to Pat aren't you?




That's ok. Tell Pat to send me the bill. Not many players are making money off those tapes and DVD's anyway. Yes, I said it.

Hey Dave,

You think the young, popular pros have minded getting invited to invitation-only events because they were seen on TV? Maybe it was a good trade off? Hmmm?

The promoters of the tournaments are the ones who make deals with Accu-Stats. The players are going to play on film if they want to win the money in the tournament. If they don't feel they should play on film without getting paid, they can refuse.. And accept the consequences. That's the way it is. Deal with it.

Russ
 
Poor Jorge

Russ Chewning said:
I'll post another post, the other was getting too long.

The real issue I have is with people both uploading protected content and those downloading it.

Granted, that's not the case with the BCN content specifically, but I guarantee a lot of Accu-Stats stuff is being uploaded and shared on YouTube. How do I know? I saw a guy advertising this service on Ebay when I was looking for Accu-Stats stuff.

You want to know what the consequences of this sort of anti-commercial behavior can be? Well, lemme give you a clue.

Given that I live in Florida, that has tons of top notch talent, and lots of matches between top pros, I have been considering starting up a business offering HD pool matches for sale. High Definition cameras are becoming affordable enough to make this a realistic plan. ($4000-$5000)

There are a few pool room owners in Florida that I think would be willing to let me set up equipment and film some matches at some of the Florida tour events. The Seminole Tribe could be included in the deal for some advertising revenue.

I was thinking about bringing Grady Mathews on board to do commentary. I am SURE he would LOVE to do color commentary again.

And now, I look at the fact that the pool cummunity will gladly download a low rez version of the matches, and care not one wit about the guy bringing the matches to them.

And I begin to think to myself, "You know what? This HD would never make money. Not enough people are willing to PAY for the service. Would they WANT the service? Heck yeah! But they won't PAY for it."

THAT's the real cost to stealing commercial content. You kill the incentive for new businesses to provide that content. So the same old established companies get to do business the way they want, because the barriers to entry are too high.

Russ


Gee, I thought that Jorge Torres was already doing that at the Seminole's Florida Tour stops on ProPoolVideo.com
Doug
( you just gonna knock him outta the way )
 
Smorgass Bored said:
Gee, I thought that Jorge Torres was already doing that at the Seminole's Florida Tour stops on ProPoolVideo.com
Doug
( you just gonna knock him outta the way )

Doug,

Do you know what HD stands for?

Russ
 
Russ Chewning said:
Then, people start calling me a$$hole (that was Blackjack, a so-called "professional".. that doesn't seem professional to me), penis, jerk, etc.

For what?

For telling Pat. It seemed to me that if all this was legal and above board, that no one would have a problem with me contacting Pat. The fact that I am immediately attacked tended to give me the impression that those attacking me thought they might not be in the right.

And I ran with that.

Russ

Nope, the reason that you felt like that you are being attacked and seemed so by members here is for behaving like a little 5 year old girl who's fave line is "I'm gonna tell". the idea here Russ is you don't have to broadcast to people here on what you're gonna do since no one here is going to stop you nor will it stop you from doing so. nor would some people here stop or scare them away from viewing these materials. it's evident that you are creating yourself a blackhole. you are just getting much ire from people here. and it seems, honestly speaking that it appears to them that you wanted some attention (no offense). if you are that concerned about Pat's business, you could have just simply told him and kept the matter between the two of you. no need for such publicity here. unless of course you want to present yourself to be crucified. :D
 
You Aren't The Lone Ranger You Pretend To Be

Russ Chewning said:
Doug,
Do you know what HD stands for?
Russ


Yes, High Definition. I'm also one of the very few people online that's met you and played pool with you and I know what YOU stand for too.
It must be nice to get paid the big bucks while in Iraq and stay online stirring the pot while getting paid. Do you do any actual work or are you stealing from your employer ?
Doug
( and I know other things that I've refrained from posting here )
 
Smorgass Bored said:
Yes, High Definition. I'm also one of the very few people online that's met you and played pool with you and I know what YOU stand for too.
It must be nice to get paid the big bucks while in Iraq and stay online stirring the pot while getting paid. Do you do any actual work or are you stealing from your employer ?
Doug
( and I know other things that I've refrained from posting here )

Doug, you don't know anything about me.. When I played down in Planet 9 Ball, the only thing you know is that you won, while I was giving you a huge spot, and I was out of practice. That's ALL you know. You never saw me do anything dishonest. Ever. Not once. I gambled once in a while down there, and at that time in my life, wasn't hitting em well, so I lost a little bit of money. And always paid off. Nobody ever had any personal trouble with me at a pool hall. Anywhere.

Anything other than that that you know is because I said it on here.

What? You gonna telllllllllllllllllllllll everyone I sold you all my VHS Accu-Stats? And I suppose you think I copied them, and you got "dirt" on me? Nope.. It would go against everything I stand for to copy something then sell the originals.

So, go ahead.. Tell these people something they don't know about me.. Go ahead, Doug... PLEASE......

Russ
 
Russ Chewning said:
What? You gonna telllllllllllllllllllllll everyone I sold you all my VHS Accu-Stats? And I suppose you think I copied them, and you got "dirt" on me? Nope.. It would go against everything I stand for to copy something then sell the originals.


Russ




hmmm...

I never thought of that! Thank you Russ!
 
Russ, since you are so concerned, you should be delighted that the clips are being posted here.

Anyone who wants to compile a list of billiard links purportedly in violation of copyright need only search "video" on this site. This site is a force for good. Beats the hell out of trying to find the stuff on youtube, wading through all the crap that is posted there.:D

By your own admission, Pat was oblivious to what was being put up on youtube.

You keep complaining about the gutting of video sales. But the videos are also on sports networks, attracting advertising dollars, and, presumably, earning money for the producer. One wonders which is the more lucrative - broadcast rights or video sales? But if billiards attracts viewers on TV, one suspects that they want to watch current competitions, not ancient history. Perhaps the best use of old videos is promotion. Certainly it took a lot of horsepower to put up all those long videos in such a short period of time.
 
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