PKIDelirium Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Okay, it had been a little while since I'd last downloaded a TPR video, but I just downloaded the Blackpool one... WTF?! it's WMV, the worst video format ever. I use a Mac, and have iTunes and hopefully soon to have a video iPod. Now, without trying to figure out some converter that dumps on the quality, I won't be able to import them to iTunes. What gives? What was wrong with the previous .mpg format? At first glance, the quality of the video as a .wmv is not as good as that of the .mpgs. (If you couldn't tell from the above post, proprietary video formats really piss me off. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Go get your ****in shine box Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Okay, it had been a little while since I'd last downloaded a TPR video, but I just downloaded the Blackpool one... WTF?! it's WMV, the worst video format ever. I use a Mac, and have iTunes and hopefully soon to have a video iPod. Now, without trying to figure out some converter that dumps on the quality, I won't be able to import them to iTunes. What gives? What was wrong with the previous .mpg format? At first glance, the quality of the video as a .wmv is not as good as that of the .mpgs. (If you couldn't tell from the above post, proprietary video formats really piss me off. ) The MPG videos don't stream as well for the "lowest common denominator" system, which, sorry, it's NOT a Mac. We have several other Mac users on the board who do not seem to have an issue with the format. (Wes, want to chime in here?) We cater to hundreds of thousands of downloads each month. Sorry we can't cater specfically to "you." I personally like the Mpg format better too, but I also need to find a format that suits streaming, downloads, and doesn't require as much bandwidth. We already go through over 2tb per month on video downloads. Any idea how much that costs? Yeah....it's a lot! If you don't like the download format, you can always purchase the DVDs! --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIDelirium Posted October 5, 2006 Author Share Posted October 5, 2006 I can't put DVD's on an iPod... From your description of the attached zip file of BPB video: Zipped version for you to download to your hard drive, iPod, or PSP! Well... They can't be put on an iPod! iPods cannot play Windows Media formats, and converting them is very painstaking and results in a quality loss. If you're going to use Wincrap, at least offer a secondary download in an "iPod-Ready" format, because while Macs may be a minority, Video iPods are very popular across both platforms, and the WMV format will prevent a lot of people from being able to add it to their device. I dunno, maybe just offer to email it to people who need the iPod compatible file... Just my two cents... I've always believed in supporting people using non-Microsoft products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 ^ Thanks. We do so much for the "enthusiast community" by offering all these contant for FREE but we don't have "your support" based on the video format we choose? Ok. Fine. Whatever. Don't download them then. You do realize that many other sites CHARGE for what we are offering? You don't want this format, you don't want that format, you don't want to support one company, you don't want to buy a DVD, whine, whine, whine, whine. Do you have any idea how long it takes to do all this work? I have spent the last 4 hours capturing, creating, compressing, and uploading the Blackpool POVs so far. And you want me to make multiple versions of them? Why don't I just come over to your house and compress the videos on your computer into whatever format you want. Will that make you happy? --Robb "Is it just me or is this an incredibly petty thing to be whining about?" Alvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 http://www.flip4mac.com/wmv_download.htm This will allow you to play and stream WMV's, so you can stop whining about whatever. Robb, I will say that I'd personally prefer the zipped version to contain the MPG version like you used to do. I understand streaming requires the WMV but it'd be nice to have the download be in MPG. I'm obviously very concious of the time it takes to make and compress these things and I'm happy with whatever format you put up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIDelirium Posted October 5, 2006 Author Share Posted October 5, 2006 I'm not whining! I'm offering my opinion on the format. You should at least remove iPod from the descriptions then... Because as I said, iPods CANNOT play WMV files. I didn't say I would stop downloading them... This is my favorite site for videos. But it's a little disappointing that I won't be able to put the new videos on my iPod when I get it, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. Edit: Wes, I have Flip4Mac. That plays them just fine. Doesn't make them iPod compatible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 ^ Thanks Wes! I knew you'd be the mac users with some sense! --Robb "And you wonder why mac users get this holier than thou stereotype" Alvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 I'm not whining! I'm offering my opinion on the format. You should at least remove iPod from the descriptions then... Because as I said, iPods CANNOT play WMV files. I just did a Google Search for "wmv to ipod" and there seems to be quite a few converters out there. Could someone who is not "Anti-Windows" answer the question as to if you are able to convert this file to an ipod or not? I was able to convert it to my PSP just fine using winavi mp4 video converter. --Robb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 http://www.isquint.com/ Free, fast, easy to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 ^ Again. Thank you VERY much Wes. I'm assuming it wasn't difficult to find these? I know the .wmv format might not be everyone's favorite. It's not my favorite. But ever since we started streaming, we've had to make the change. I've said it before and I'll say it again now...as much as we really, REALLY do try as hard as we can....it's impossible to please everyone all of the time. With so many different operating systems, browsers, video formats, etc out there, being 100% compatible is just not going to happen 100% of the time. If we had endless amounts of time and money, we'd be making versions for everyone out there. But we don't. Please try to understand that and at least give us some credit for trying. --Robb "That's really all I ask..." Alvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vekoma Fan Boy Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 I don't care what format it is, it's a video! The only thing your charged for is the time you spend here. (90% of my time is spent here the rest is spent at school an sleeping) And any merchandise you might order. That's it! Robb pays for all the bandwidth so he decides what format his videos are. And when i looked at the .wmv format i said: "huh"? But i downloaded it and left it at that. Just appreciate what you have. I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKlockster Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 The PC version of iTunes can convert WMV and WMA into iPod formats I believe - but the Mac version cannot. Still there is software out there you can purchase that will do it. I have the Flip for Mac codec - and it works wonderfully for playing WMV videos. Unfortunately streaming WMV does NOT work on my computer at all. I think it is an issue with Camino. I just close out of tabs when there's streaming video in it. I'm the type that is happy with my computer - and aside from Flip for Mac - refuse to go out of my way to make myself compatible with the PC world. If you look at my website with Internet Explorer - it won't display right. I know about this error - and I care not. I coded it with valid code, designed to display correctly in Mozilla/Netscape/Firefox/Camino. You could also buy the DVDs, to support the site and so you have some cool coaster DVDs to watch - and if you need to - rip the video into iPod format. I do know you can do this with freeware. I need to buy some DVDs - at least the one of the latest UK trip. And there is Quicktime streaming too - but it does make sense to use the WMV streaming. It will save a ton of money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterFanatic Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 I have been using WMV files on my site for around 4 years and you know how many complaints I have had ..... ZERO. Hard to complain when it is free. If it makes you feel better. WMV is not even a file format but instead a wrapper for playing videos in Windows Media Player. The real magic happens in the Codec underneath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbalvey Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Hard to complain when it is free. Thank you. Buy one of our DVDs, and in the rare incident that it doesn't work, you'll see first hand what we go through to make sure EACH INDIVIDUAL person is taken care of. (there are probably more compatibility issues with DVDR's than streaming media!) But for our free downloads, sorry, we gotta go with the most "common" format. And I don't believe there is any video format in the world that can't be converted into another with little effort. If you're not willing to go to that effort, sorry, can't help you there! --Robb "Like I said, we try so hard to please everyone...we really do!" Alvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkTrips Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 This is kinda funny, really. I wouldn't lose sleep if a few people on mac have problems. It's not worth the hassle. I'm an ipod tool and I figured out how to do this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnage Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 refuse to go out of my way to make myself compatible with the PC world. If you look at my website with Internet Explorer - it won't display right. I know about this error - and I care not. I coded it with valid code, designed to display correctly in Mozilla/Netscape/Firefox/Camino. Your choice of course. However if you want to run a commercial website and ignore the majority of your customer base, well then that's a really risky aproach to take. Bash windows all you want, but they are the majority. Linux/Mac does not have the same sort of userbase that windows does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKlockster Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 Yeah I know. Its just a personal blog/site though - and a place for my photo gallery. Some of my friends tell me it doesn't work in their Internet Explorer - and I tell them to download Firefox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tacoking Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 It's sad that more people haven't switched to FireFox yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darklingscribe Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 I'm not sure if it's just my computer/browser or if it is the fact that I am also on a Mac but yeah WMV streaming video has never worked for me. I just prefer to download everything and I'll be happy as long as Robb continues to give a download option whatever the format. As for converting DVDs to the iPod format there are plenty of free programs out there. Here is the one I use: http://handbrake.m0k.org/ It only works for Mac and Linux. Once It's done converting the files Import them into iTunes and then right click on them and choose Convert Selection for iPod. iTunes will do the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesdillaman Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 ^ The streaming video doesn't work on my Mac, either, but I complain not, as it's easy to download and watch the videos. Everything else about this site is great. I am a Mac user, and i DID switch to a mac because I realized the OS was IMO better, but I never complain about stuff for windows, as with the right freeware, my computer seems to handle any pc files just fine. -James "Anyone who's looked at the pricetags knows why there are so many pc's in the world " Dillaman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStig Posted October 7, 2006 Share Posted October 7, 2006 I can't put DVD's on an iPod... From your description of the attached zip file of BPB video: Zipped version for you to download to your hard drive, iPod, or PSP! Well... They can't be put on an iPod! iPods cannot play Windows Media formats, and converting them is very painstaking and results in a quality loss. Ummm are you serious? I JUST converted a video for my iPod, do you know how "painstaking" of a process that was? It took me an entire 3 clicks of the mouse and a whopping 2 minutes to convert, it was seriously the hardest thing Ive ever had to do. Colin"Some people just blow things into proportion wayyyy to much"C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewbari Posted October 13, 2006 Share Posted October 13, 2006 ^ Thanks. We do so much for the "enthusiast community" by offering all these contant for FREE but we don't have "your support" based on the video format we choose? Ok. Fine. Whatever. Don't download them then. You do realize that many other sites CHARGE for what we are offering? You don't want this format, you don't want that format, you don't want to support one company, you don't want to buy a DVD, whine, whine, whine, whine. Do you have any idea how long it takes to do all this work? I have spent the last 4 hours capturing, creating, compressing, and uploading the Blackpool POVs so far. And you want me to make multiple versions of them? Why don't I just come over to your house and compress the videos on your computer into whatever format you want. Will that make you happy? --Robb "Is it just me or is this an incredibly petty thing to be whining about?" Alvey Its a free country, people can talk about, what they want to talk about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imhotep Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Its a free country, people can talk about, what they want to talk about. Oh god.. There always has to be one person that chimes in with one of these comments.. Yes, we are all aware of everyones constitutional right to talk about whatever they want, yadda yadda. Its also TPRs right to offer you something free of charge something that most other sites would probably make you pay for considering the amount of time it takes to put together most of this content, and keep this messageboard up and running and free of spam, etc. Its also Robbs right to get frustrated if he offers help and alternatives to a perticular users issue, and all he gets back are excuses. Wouldn't you agree? And I would also say, that once you sign up for the site, you can talk about what you want as long as it falls in compliance with the TOS, once again set up by TPR. I can only imagine how frustrated you guys (Alveys) can get sometimes when all your hard work and effort to try to make everyone happy is met with flak.. However I think these "its a free country" comments -considering they are only there to add fuel to the fire- are equally as frustrating and are more annoying than anything. *whew* maybe that should have gone in the rant thread, -Imhotep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBannedKid Posted October 17, 2006 Share Posted October 17, 2006 Actually, if I'm not mistaken, the free country comment won't work on these forums or any other forums. TPR is the property of Robb and Elissa Alvey. It is their own private site in which the government cannot tell them what to allow and not allow. If you notice, they do not allow cursing in the posts. That was up to them to decide and them alone. So if they decide they don't like retarded comments like yours, or people with blonde hair, they can ban those who apply and its all legal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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