What I Think About The Future Of Pool

[!Smorgass Bored]

I think what pool needs to become very popular and accepted is a cable TV channel all it's own and I said so years ago. A channel that is on 24 hours a day. A channel with hosts for two or three hour stretches. A host that can have a guest (or two) speaking about their recent match or their tournament win at the WPC, U.S.Open, DCC, etc.

Two hours later, a new host with new in studio guest poolplayers. Not only Pros, but League champions, Team captains, etc.
Each League BCA, VNEA, APA, USPPA, Wheelchair League could have their own segment and guests.

Early morning hours can be re-plays of new or Vintage players involved in matches. The host can question a guest player on his cue, his case, his break cue, glove, bridge, etc. and why they chose them.

The cable station could be funded with advertising, not only from Billiard products such as tables, lights, cues, balls, spectator chairs, wall hangings, etc., but with poolroom, host hotel/motels, beer companies, etc.

I'm talking about POOL in all it's aspects and not just re-playing the same match or tournament over and over. Something new each night. Perhaps phone calls, e-mail or texting from viewers with questions during certain segments.

Have Celebrity guests that play pool as well, on with a certain host. Have a two hour segment with lessons on breaking or patterns or jumping or strategy or kicking at balls. Lessons given by knowledgeable players such as Billy I., Grady, SVB, Scott Lee, hell....Hal Houle, Earl, etc.

Analog TV is a thing of the past and HD cable is what's available at present. There are channels for everything, such as Court Trials, Cooking, Fishing, Cartoons, Religious Evangelists, so why not Pool & Billiards 24 hours a day.

Think about it and then do it. Before I die, please.... imo

Doug
( nothing funny here )

 

[catscradle]

My heart is all a flutter over a serious post from Smorg.

 

[corvette1340]

I think what pool needs to become very popular and accepted is a cable TV channel all it's own and I said so years ago. A channel that is on 24 hours a day. A channel with hosts for two or three hour stretches. A host that can have a guest (or two) speaking about their recent match or their tournament win at the WPC, U.S.Open, DCC, etc.

Two hours later, a new host with new in studio guest poolplayers. Not only Pros, but League champions, Team captains, etc.
Each League BCA, VNEA, APA, USPPA, Wheelchair League could have their own segment and guests.

Early morning hours can be re-plays of new or Vintage players involved in matches. The host can question a guest player on his cue, his case, his break cue, glove, bridge, etc. and why they chose them.

The cable station could be funded with advertising, not only from Billiard products such as tables, lights, cues, balls, spectator chairs, wall hangings, etc., but with poolroom, host hotel/motels, beer companies, etc.

I'm talking about POOL in all it's aspects and not just re-playing the same match or tournament over and over. Something new each night. Perhaps phone calls, e-mail or texting from viewers with questions during certain segments.

Have Celebrity guests that play pool as well, on with a certain host. Have a two hour segment with lessons on breaking or patterns or jumping or strategy or kicking at balls. Lessons given by knowledgeable players such as Billy I., Grady, SVB, Scott Lee, hell....Hal Houle, Earl, etc.

Analog TV is a thing of the past and HD cable is what's available at present. There are channels for everything, such as Court Trials, Cooking, Fishing, Cartoons, Religious Evangelists, so why not Pool & Billiards 24 hours a day.

Think about it and then do it. Before I die, please.... imo

Doug
( nothing funny here )

Smorg,
I actually think that you are on to something here and if you made the "Billiards" Channel a part of some sort of extended cable package along with golf channel and others then it would garner attention and soon develop a following. The only problem is the start up cost and finding someone willing to front the chips necessary to get it started.

 

[James]

I don't have TV at home. The other night I was at a neighbors house and he was in charge of the remote.

At one point we watched a reality show called "groomer has it" which was a battle between dog groomers.

We also watched a reality show where crab fisherman were battling it out to catch the most crabs (there's a joke here but I'm leaving it alone...)

If shows like this can come to fruition I don't see what is stopping pool!

 

[shanesinnott]

My heart is all a flutter over a serious post from Smorg.

I was thinking the same thing. AZ is really going downhill when Doug posts something that doesn't make me laugh

But seriously, nice post Smorg and good idea, I know that the original Billiard Channel guys (Russel and JR IIRC) were planning on doing this but it never happened.

Billiard Club Network planned to go in this direction too I am guessing but not sure if they still are trying to make this happen.

Would be great if it ever came to fruition but I think it will take a group of people with lots of drive and lots of $$$$

 

[matcase]

Hell yeah I would watch everyday. I wonder if the same so called image problem pool has would hamper the various providers from even offering it though. It is a fine idea though.

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

We could call it The Billiard Club Network! I'll reserve "www.billiardclub.com" right now.

Okay, seriously... Smorg's vision is pretty consistent with what BCN has been trying to do for years. I'm still waiting.

 

[Jason Robichaud]

I think if Joe R would do commentating at the U.S Open or another big event or do some UFC open pool event to promote pool... it would be a great jump start. People are going crazy over UFC and to have someone like Joe that enjoys pool... we should ask him to help with a little of his time.

 

[SpiderWebComm]

I can setup a state-of-the-art Internet television station, with auto-playing shows and content on demand (rotating on a weekly schedule). I have the designs, know just what to do. Setting up Internet TV is way cheaper than a broadcasted TV station.

The problem is of course (sing along everybody).......

"Ain't nobody got no mooooooooooooooneeeeeey"


Doing it is as easy as making a pop tart - paying for it is a joke. Anyone wanna send me in the box for $100k?

EDIT: Another problem is copy protection. The only way to make $ is to protect your hits. With the IPT, we saw our matches on Youtube (stolen from Euro Sport transmissions) within days, and they were only asking for $5/month (something like that). If half your audience goes to Youtube to check out your stuff, it's tough to protect your hits. *****WHICH IS WHY BCN NEVER TOOK OFF

 

[lodini]

The only problem is the start up cost and finding someone willing to front the chips necessary to get it started.

And/or advertisers.

 

[Da Poet]

I can setup a state-of-the-art Internet television station, with auto-playing shows and content on demand (rotating on a weekly schedule). I have the designs, know just what to do. Setting up Internet TV is way cheaper than a broadcasted TV station.

The problem is of course (sing along everybody).......

"Ain't nobody got no mooooooooooooooneeeeeey"


Doing it is as easy as making a pop tart - paying for it is a joke. Anyone wanna send me in the box for $100k?

EDIT: Another problem is copy protection. The only way to make $ is to protect your hits. With the IPT, we saw our matches on Youtube (stolen from Euro Sport transmissions) within days, and they were only asking for $5/month (something like that). If half your audience goes to Youtube to check out your stuff, it's tough to protect your hits.

Mr SpiderWeb,

What is the main roadblock to realtime standard television quality (Not HD but better than YouTube) for internet broadcasts right now? Is it limited by the connection hardware mostly or is it a software/compression thing?

Are we still way far off from having anything close to what we are used to as far as regular television quality on the internet?

Just curious,

Thanks!

 

[Russ Chewning]

With the IPT, we saw our matches on Youtube (stolen from Euro Sport transmissions) within days, and they were only asking for $5/month (something like that). If half your audience goes to Youtube to check out your stuff, it's tough to protect your hits. *****WHICH IS WHY BCN NEVER TOOK OFF

What? I am shocked!

Is there NO ONE amongst us who saw this coming????????

Russ

 

[DaveK]

Setting up Internet TV is way cheaper than a broadcasted TV station.

Yes, but this is a case of getting what you pay for. Until the Internet supports end-to-end quality of service and proper multicast, the quality and reliability will continue to be what it is today. I want this to be in HD .... make it happen smorg Maybe Al Gore can help

Dave

 

[Jason Robichaud]

The world snooker on the internet this year was live and awesome. I had it on large screen and looked just like regular TV. Its all about the bandwidth. The technology is there. I pool room isn't going to have a T1 connection that can handle a Gig or more. Thats the problem with TAR and some other streaming sites.

 

[Russ Chewning]

Mr SpiderWeb,

What is the main roadblock to realtime standard television quality (Not HD but better than YouTube) for internet broadcasts right now? Is it limited by the connection hardware mostly or is it a software/compression thing?

Are we still way far off from having anything close to what we are used to as far as regular television quality on the internet?

Just curious,

Thanks!

If I may...

I think is is the difference between market penetration of TV and Internet TV. A majority of Americans have basic cable TV, and ALL of them know how to use the remote control.

About 43% of Americans have high speed intenet. What percentage of them know how to find what they want online? Before you assume "most", keep in mind that the structure of the internet is such that the most RELEVANT content is often some of the hardest to find.

Consider the idea of a pool-related blogger who has never bothered to tell his/her friends about the blog. It could be 10X better than OMGWTF, (sorry, Melinda..just an example.. ) but if lots and lots of people are not visiting the page, it will never come up on search engines. if it never comes up on search engines, you will never find it.

While it IS cheaper to start something like this on the internet, many of the same costs are still there. Fees to paid commentators... Marketing. (Have to market to let people know the service is there.) Editing costs. Transportation to/from tournament venues. Camera equipment.

Keep in mind, if the quality is not up to a certain level, then people will watch the first month or two for the novelty of the concept, then they will go back to buying Accu-Stats, for the pristine video quality, and the good commentary.

I don't know what the solution is to getting pool before the masses, but keep in mind..If you put it on the internet, pretty much only pool junkies are going to search it out.

Russ

 

[Russ Chewning]

The world snooker on the internet this year was live and awesome. I had it on large screen and looked just like regular TV. Its all about the bandwidth. The technology is there. I pool room isn't going to have a T1 connection that can handle a Gig or more. Thats the problem with TAR and some other streaming sites.

Jason,

Are any of those matches online and available for streaming? I haven't got to watch any snooker since I was living in Germany...

Russ

 

[SpiderWebComm]

Mr SpiderWeb,

What is the main roadblock to realtime standard television quality (Not HD but better than YouTube) for internet broadcasts right now? Is it limited by the connection hardware mostly or is it a software/compression thing?

Are we still way far off from having anything close to what we are used to as far as regular television quality on the internet?

Just curious,

Thanks!

The codecs are there... the technology exists. Many companies are out there with "Internet TV" intellectual property. The reason why MANY pool webcasts go south is because no one spends the money for a dedicated T1 from the delivering location.

The hotel internet (whichever it is) is no good, the casino internet is no good, the conference center internet is no good and the pool hall internet is no good. It costs a few thousand for a super-short term dedicated T circuit from a tier-1 provider to be brought into a location-- everyone tries to duck that (as they usually HAVE to because everyone is paying this out of their pocket).

If that line gets congested, EVERYONE's video will suck. For TV, 30fps video (full screen) you need about a committed 1.5 Mb/s. Now, before you say your cable line is 6 Mb/s or whatever, that's uncompressed and unaccelerated speed (raw speed). The % of retail internet lines that can handle that is small. That's why you see smaller video windows that can expand to full screen (like youtube, for example) - and they just increase the pixel size to accomplish this. Of course, it's a little blocky - but not bad.

The future of television is Internet TV, by the way. If you guys remember what it was like to first have satellite TV or HD ....you're gonna think back to this and say, "Do you remember when TV actually came through Cable or Satellite???????"

Fiber will be coming to the home, eventually, and everything will be on the internet...everything. It's coming sooner than you think, and it's coming hard.

 

[metallicane]

I was lucky to be in Rome this year during the World Snooker championships and was able to watch a lot of matches live. It was awesome. I would watch pool ahead of snooker so I think it would work in the states. Money is the issue. You need some financial backing to get it rolling.

 

[!Smorgass Bored]

My computer is broken and i only have about 3" of viewable screen (on the left side). I cannot read the threads, PMs, e-mail or any other sites. There are big colored sections full of colored lines blocking the view.

I will return when i have taken my computer somewhere for repair or purchased a new computer. I hate buy an entirely new computer, because i paid over $1800 for this Dell just over 2 years ago.

Excuse any poor spelling or missed words, as i cannot see the words I'm typing (other than a feww on the very left side of my post.

Doug
(c'ya when i c'ya.... dammit)

 

[DaveK]

...If that line gets congested, EVERYONE's video will suck. For TV, 30fps video (full screen) you need about a committed 1.5 Mb/s. Now, before you say your cable line is 6 Mb/s or whatever, that's uncompressed and unaccelerated speed (raw speed). The % of retail internet lines that can handle that is small. That's why you see smaller video windows that can expand to full screen (like youtube, for example) - and they just increase the pixel size to accomplish this. Of course, it's a little blocky - but not bad.

The source line and the sink line are only two links in a chain that is potentially very long. For a quick view into the issue, just open up a DOS window on your Windows XP machine and type in "tracert www.azbilliards.com". You will see a string of replies from each router between you and the server that supports AZ. My packets go through the following cities :

Edmonton AB Canada
Winnipeg MB Canada
Montreal PQ Canada
New York NY USA
Chicago Ill USA
Los Angeles CA USA
Phoenix AZ USA

This path is through 4 different carriers, via 4 peering points, using 19 routers. You can interpret the host names of these routers fairly easily.

This is not the normal path my packets take, usually they go through Vancouver to Seatle and then down to LA. All it takes is a glitch or an overload anywhere along the path and real-time data gets whacked to some extent. If it gets whacked too bad then the viewer gets fed up and quits.

The future of television is Internet TV, by the way. If you guys remember what it was like to first have satellite TV or HD ....you're gonna think back to this and say, "Do you remember when TV actually came through Cable or Satellite???????"

Fiber will be coming to the home, eventually, and everything will be on the internet...everything. It's coming sooner than you think, and it's coming hard.

Fibre to the curb has been a goal for some carriers for a long time. The trouble is that the business model does not support the infrastructure costs. The cost of fibre interfacing is 3 to 4 times the cost of copper interfacing, and I don't think that customers are keen on paying for this upgrade when there is little benefit over cable. Our phone company is in the process of spending many millions to upgrade their plant to support gigabit ethernet over copper into peoples homes so that they can deliver 2 (or is up to 3 now) simultaneous HD channels on SaskTel MAX television service. My shaw cable delivers several hundred channels, including dozens of HD channels simultaneously, as well as a fairly fast IP connection.

As you can tell I am not a big fan of real time data on best-effort systems like todays Internet. Maybe I'll change my mind when IP V6 comes along and everyone upgrades and we can get reasonable assurances of bandwidth along with consistent latency, but until then I want this 24x7 pool/billiard/snooker channel in HD on cable, please Doug, imo.

Dave