GAAGO™ the subscription-based online streaming service from the GAA and RTÉ Digital

ifah

Am very disappointed with GAA Go. Currently on holiday in Portugal. Internet speed in not great - 1mb. Bought the dublin-kilkenny match last weekend - pathetic unwatchable stream. Would play for 5 seconds and buffer for 25.

I'm using HMA proxy services for Sky Go , BBC iPlayer and ITV player for a mix of other sports , including any games Sky are showing. No issue with any of them and we've watch loads of World Cup, Wimbledon and Galway-Tipperary and Tipperary-Offaly matches on the same internet connection.

I have to say - the Sky Go service is the best of the lot - it actively downgrades the resolution to match your stream speed and picture quality is still fantastic. Also all three of those services were routing through HMA proxy servers in either UK or Ireland whereas RTÉ was a direct stream.

GAA go is a bust for me and a complete waste of 10 euro.

jommer01

munchkin_utd wrote: »

as i said above, t'is spot on in Europe.
The internet connection is key though, and as I found to my cost last year trying to watch over a stream on a holiday in Italy, often free connnection = sh1te connection (as theres dozens of people sharing a single DSL connection).
But regarding Setanta..... to be honest its their own fault they werent somehow recognised as providing the comprehensive service that they did.
They had a half arsed internet service that few knew about, and those who did were still enough to crash it for important games, and they had live cable and satelite services across the world - but again such a disjointed mish mash of multiple websites and options and prices and cable operators and who knows what, that nobody knew anything or could even find an answer on it.
That said, you now have GAA go which relies on the internet, and how the internet works is that your computer connects to the next, and then the next, and the next, in a chain till you have a connection to your host. SO.... if anywhere along that chain theres a bad/ slow connection you're knobbled - and being half ways across the world probably has more chance of a bad link in the chain happening than from Europe to be honest.

Thanks for the response munchkin. Yeah look to be honest, I'm sure their intention was to improve things for those of us living away but as it turns out, I am am one of many who is now far worse off for seeing the games. I've no experience in dealing with Setanta myself, I just turned up to the pub or a friend's house and it was as good as watching on RTE which was great. That has been the case for the last 3/4 years in North America, Oz and now Asia. I gather Setanta are on the verge of going bust anyway so maybe there was no TV station coming forward with an offer.

It just seems to me that surely in 2014 it could be done better, especially since it was before by Setanta despite it's flaws. I'm obviously biased, but isn't giving those not lucky enough to be able to go to the matches the opportunity to at least see the games on TV not as important an issue as any? In the last 12 months the GAA has gone to congress for "the black card" and made up a new rule in the middle of a game with regards to the penalty in hurling.

jommer01

ifah wrote: »

I'm using HMA proxy services for Sky Go , BBC iPlayer and ITV player for a mix of other sports , including any games Sky are showing. No issue with any of them and we've watch loads of World Cup, Wimbledon and Galway-Tipperary and Tipperary-Offaly

I'd say d wife is having a ball on her hols! Sounds like bliss to me though.. hardly saw a ball kicked in the world cup with time difference here.

Not familiar with Sky Go to be honest. Does it work for any Sky subscription and would I be able to watch anything that's recorded on the box at home? Work it work alright on iOS on an iPad?

Would love to be able to watch a recording of Sunday's coverage or the Sunday game somehow!

munchkin_utd

jommer01 wrote: »

I'd say d wife is having a ball on her hols! Sounds like bliss to me though.. hardly saw a ball kicked in the world cup with time difference here.

Not familiar with Sky Go to be honest. Does it work for any Sky subscription and would I be able to watch anything that's recorded on the box at home? Work it work alright on iOS on an iPad?

Would love to be able to watch a recording of Sunday's coverage or the Sunday game somehow!

sunday game available worldwide from Wednesday or something.

ifah, 1 meg is fairly miserable to be honest for streaming tv. When I was in italy last year I was barely getting that at the hotel, so just went from cafe to cafe till i found a quiet one with free internet that nobody else was sharing.
And are you using a laptop or a mobile device. The laptop allows you to choose a lower resolution on the flash player so it might work better

munchkin_utd

jeepers, 7 weeks since the last post and nobody complaining about GAA Go !
Maybe the problems have been fixed, or is it that fairweather fans only watch their own counties and then give up on GAA for another year?

I tried a hurling match on fairly poor wifi in Italy on the iPad and it coped fairly acceptably. i.e. picture quality understandably wasnt great, but it automatically figured that the connection was suspect and adjusted to at least get a middling watchable and constant picture.

BTW, I still think its too feckin dear and I was watching on a borrowed account login
But at least doing what its supposed to.
And seeing how the TG4 website aparantly ceased to respond during the minor game, you have a good example of why a paid service that can scale up when needed is better than just allowing universal access to the existing home broadcasters.

bruschi

I have read online that it was pretty poor yesterday and wasnt reliable at all. For an opening set up, they should have drastically reduced the prices, and outlined the plan. Have it at 50% off for the first year, 25% off the second year, and full charge from then on. So at least it gives people the chance to use it, find the kinks and fix them, and then at least people can justify if it is worth it or not after that.

In comparison to the NFL gamepass, there is a world of difference for what you get, quantity of games, the presentation of it, historical access of games and shows and the quality of the stream, but for similar money.

Squareball

Was its biggest fan when it started but the quality got worse and worse as the games got more important and I assume the user numbers grew.......Ended up having to listen to the football semi finals on the wireless last weekend the quality was so bad. I watched the hurling yesterday without an issue on what I would presume is an illegal link. Will not be signing up again next year unless I can be guarenteed better quality.

munchkin_utd

Squareball wrote: »

Was its biggest fan when it started but the quality got worse and worse as the games got more important and I assume the user numbers grew.......Ended up having to listen to the football semi finals on the wireless last weekend the quality was so bad. I watched the hurling yesterday without an issue on what I would presume is an illegal link. Will not be signing up again next year unless I can be guarenteed better quality.

where are you located do you mind me asking?

Most complaints seem to have originated from folks in Asia/ west coast america, but if you're looking to stream something from servers in Ireland then theres a lot of potential for at least one of the many servers in between to throttle the hell out of your stream on its way through.
(but, that would suggest that theres a need for GAA GO to have servers worldwide rather than just in Ireland - but no details have been released on what setup they actually have)

Squareball

I'm in Philadelphia. I have to say the people running it have been very responsive but have not been able to offer me any solutions.

J DEERE

Ordered the game yesterday, cost me $20. Didn't mind as I'd have to pay that to watch in a bar here anyway and much prefer to watch at home. Easier to follow, can watch and listen to pre and post game analysis and to be honest I'm a fan of Michael duignan and ger cannings commentary so prefer to listen to them as opposed to the experts on the high stool.

Worked fine for the build up but as soon as the parade started it started cutting back to the trailers. I had to refresh the player every time this happened. The game would then play live for sixty seconds then start playing trailers again or jump back to the pre analysis of the game. Missed more or less all crucial moments of game like the penalties and the goals.

I emailed them this morning looking for a refund but was more or less told it was an issue with my device or internet connection which it wasn't. Have used it at least three or four times over the summer with no problem. It's a great idea in theory but way overpriced for what it actually provides

Squareball

That is exactly what was happening with me. Very frustrating........It is such a good idea I just don't want to walk away from it but unless they can offer some help soon I will not be buying a season ticket next year.

Where are you located JD?

J DEERE

Squareball wrote: »

That is exactly what was happening with me. Very frustrating........It is such a good idea I just don't want to walk away from it but unless they can offer some help soon I will not be buying a season ticket next year.

Where are you located JD?

I'm in NY. Happy to hear I wasn't only one experiencing it as they tried to make me believe it was a problem on my end. Think a refund is in order. Or maybe a ticket to the game 😊

Squareball

Surley your credit card will stop payment for you??

munchkin_utd

GAA go may have a point that it could be on your side.

It seems that US broadband providers like comcast use traffic shaping whenever theres network congestion
In east coast regions where theres many irish this might kick in once enough are using HQ steaming video (i.e. as throw in approaches on GAA GO?)
https://customer.comcast.com/Pages/FAQViewer.aspx?Guid=24f9d063-b8ca-4c93-a528-cb62e1fd664b#how

but still, there surely cant be that many using GAA Go that the broadband providers are throttling it/ its users.

J DEERE

munchkin_utd wrote: »

GAA go may have a point that it could be on your side.

It seems that US broadband providers like comcast use traffic shaping whenever theres network congestion
In east coast regions where theres many irish this might kick in once enough are using HQ steaming video (i.e. as throw in approaches on GAA GO?)
https://customer.comcast.com/Pages/FAQViewer.aspx?Guid=24f9d063-b8ca-4c93-a528-cb62e1fd664b#how

but still, there surely cant be that many using GAA Go that the broadband providers are throttling it/ its users.

The issue wasn't with streaming. The stream was perfect otherwise the trailers wouldn't even play. Whenever I had an issue streaming due to internet connection, the player would just stall or go dark and start rebuffering. And if this is the case, then surely the GAA should have been aware of the fact before it started offering it as a service to people living in North America

Squareball

I just heard back from GAAGO. I am using an i-pad air and Apple TV to watch this. They suggest that it might be an issue with the browser Safari?? All this technology is going way over my head, I will hand it over to my poor wife this evening.

J DEERE

Squareball wrote: »

I just heard back from GAAGO. I am using an i-pad air and Apple TV to watch this. They suggest that it might be an issue with the browser Safari?? All this technology is going way over my head, I will hand it over to my poor wife this evening.

I very much doubt it

keeponhurling

J DEERE wrote: »

Worked fine for the build up but as soon as the parade started it started cutting back to the trailers. I had to refresh the player every time this happened. The game would then play live for sixty seconds then start playing trailers again or jump back to the pre analysis of the game. Missed more or less all crucial moments of game like the penalties and the goals.

This is exactly what happened to me as well, kept skipping back to pre-match analysis or trailors

Squareball

munchkin_utd wrote: »

but still, there surely cant be that many using GAA Go that the broadband providers are throttling it/ its users.

I agree with that.

Squareball

J DEERE wrote: »

I very much doubt it

But worth a shot anyway.

The man in red and black

I watched it from Ontario yesterday and the feed was almost perfect throughout, even with the HD settings on. A great service

munchkin_utd

some thoughts from the RTÉ Director General

- As part of an international strategy we launched GAAGO earlier this year in partnership with the GAA, bringing GAA Championships matches to over 120 countries this summer.
- Before the end of the year we will launch an international premium RTÉ Player service, bringing additional content to international audiences on a subscription basis. This will be a first for us and comes after substantial development and market research.
- We are also looking at launching a TV service into Britain, also with localised advertising. This would also improve our overall offering to the Irish community in Britain, an important responsibility we have, while also enabling us to generate some additional advertising revenues.

still no word on what's new for GAA go next year, but it'll be interesting to see what happens with the new super duper rte player and whether GAA Go will be somehow part of the offering, if even just part of the same billing process with discounts for signing up for multiple services etc.
And then theres chat about a new RTE channel in Britain which opens a whole new world of possible GAA coverage, or not if they are happy to preserve the GAA-Go revenue stream.
They might think theres enough of a market for overhyped irish programmes like Love Hate or whatnot that the GAA is kept separate

munchkin_utd

For 2014 :

manutd wrote: »

Pricing
Season Pass: €110 (€60 in Britain)
Single Game: €10 (€14 per game from quarter finals onwards)

<snip>So pay per view form 14 June or pay €110 up front.

And NOW!
2015 Pricing is now out
Season Pass: €160 (€100 in Britain)
Single Game: €10 (€14 per game from quarter finals onwards)

GAAGO has rights to the 100+ games, including studio presentation and analysis, televised by RTÉ Two (HD), TG4, Setanta Sports, and Sky Sports (HD; outside GB & Island of Ireland) during the 2015 GAA season. This includes any replays that may be televised by those channels.

Games available include all GAA Championship** and Allianz League matches as televised in Ireland and selected Club, U21 and Minor games.

So costing more than before but also getting more than before.

http://gaago2015.rte.ie/

Squareball

Can't see myself doing this again. Fool me once etc. etc.

irelandrover

The quality needs to be sorted out. Some games were great quality wise. The more popular games were almost unwatchable.

I don't think ill be paying for a season ticket until I know that all the games offered will be of sufficient quality.

munchkin_utd

irelandrover wrote: »

The quality needs to be sorted out. Some games were great quality wise. The more popular games were almost unwatchable.

I don't think ill be paying for a season ticket until I know that all the games offered will be of sufficient quality.

the problem I have is that theres no feedback from RTE Digital as to the problems and whether they have a solution.
You can compare that to the BBC who have a blog on the developments in their digital systems

Now, the problems dont seem to be massive here in Europe and seem to be proportional to the distance from Ireland, but still for at least one of the cork games the feed kept stuttering and jumping .

irelandrover

munchkin_utd wrote: »

the problem I have is that theres no feedback from RTE Digital as to the problems and whether they have a solution.
You can compare that to the BBC who have a blog on the developments in their digital systems

Now, the problems dont seem to be massive here in Europe and seem to be proportional to the distance from Ireland, but still for at least one of the cork games the feed kept stuttering and jumping .

I'm based in Holland so distance to Ireland really shouldn't be an issue. I found that the Munster final and all Ireland final would pause for a few seconds every minute, and then skip a few seconds to catch up wit live play. A few times a match I could understand. When it happens every minute it makes the game almost unwatchable. Even missed a goal because of it.

munchkin_utd

more concrete info being drip fed out

heres whats actually on offer:

The Sunday Game highlights show (20 shows)
GAA Football & Hurling Senior Championships (45+ matches worldwide, 25+ in GB)
Allianz League (44+ matches)
Electric Ireland GAA Football and Hurling Minor Championships (6 matches - semi-finals and finals)
AIB GAA Senior Club Finals (Football & Hurling – 2 matches)
Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling U21 Championship (1 match)
GAA Football U21 Championship (1 match)

http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2014/1204/664636-gaago-more-than-doubles-international-games/

bruschi

Personally, as someone who has no need to get it, I think that is poor value. ITs too expensive. They would be better off leaving it at the €110 and ensuring they get the whole service right before upping prices so dramatically.

In comparison to the American Football season pass, there isnt a patch on the content nor the quality of stream and service to what the GAA are offering, but the NFL one is costing €100 or so with discounts freely available, giving a better stream and far, far more content.

Mountainlad

I've streamed the game on RTE player and had issues before in Ireland!! Think this will take time before they get it right.

Fr Tod Umptious

bruschi wrote: »

Personally, as someone who has no need to get it, I think that is poor value. ITs too expensive. They would be better off leaving it at the €110 and ensuring they get the whole service right before upping prices so dramatically.

In comparison to the American Football season pass, there isnt a patch on the content nor the quality of stream and service to what the GAA are offering, but the NFL one is costing €100 or so with discounts freely available, giving a better stream and far, far more content.

It's hard to compare it with the NFL though, the NFl is a huge organisation with billions of dollars at it's disposal.


Does the AFL have a international streaming service ?, that would be a better comparison I think, smaller market but locally and internationally than the NFL but closer to the GAA

bruschi

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

It's hard to compare it with the NFL though, the NFl is a huge organisation with billions of dollars at it's disposal.


Does the AFL have a international streaming service ?, that would be a better comparison I think, smaller market but locally and internationally than the NFL but closer to the GAA

yup. have got that before too, and its decent, not exceptional (enough games on ESPN and highlights show to do me without it). Probably, by the sounds of things, still a level above the GAA as they show every game, and have every game after with highlights and other shows. Cost? €99. Much the same as the NFL one, and where I'd be pitching the price should be too.

theteal

I'm sorry but that's crazy money. A ghostVPN sub is about £30 for the year. That'll get your RTE player working as well all your other geo-blocked internet needs!

Squareball

munchkin_utd wrote: »

the problem I have is that theres no feedback from RTE Digital as to the problems and whether they have a solution.
You can compare that to the BBC who have a blog on the developments in their digital systems

Now, the problems dont seem to be massive here in Europe and seem to be proportional to the distance from Ireland, but still for at least one of the cork games the feed kept stuttering and jumping .

To be fair any time I e-mailed them they quickly got back to me. They offered many solutions but nothing seemed to work.

kala85

Just goes to show you that the GAA really is grab all association.

Where exactly is all the money going??? Our club never got any money from Croke Park for anything . We are just plagued with bills for insurance, team entry, money to the county board.

Fr Tod Umptious

bruschi wrote: »

yup. have got that before too, and its decent, not exceptional (enough games on ESPN and highlights show to do me without it). Probably, by the sounds of things, still a level above the GAA as they show every game, and have every game after with highlights and other shows. Cost? €99. Much the same as the NFL one, and where I'd be pitching the price should be too.

NFL gamepass cost me approx e160 (4 x e40 installments) this season. It was my first time getting it , I know there are other discounts etc but that's what I paid without looking around too much.
Remember that the GAA Go's main target market is the US, where disposable income in a good bit higher than here

theteal wrote: »

I'm sorry but that's crazy money. A ghostVPN sub is about £30 for the year. That'll get your RTE player working as well all your other geo-blocked internet needs!

But all ghostVPN is is a workaround to get access to geo-blocked content on the RTE Player, an online streaming service from a sports organisation is a far different offering.
Most people out there are not IT savvy enough to use any sort of vpn tool to get them access to the RTE Player.

I always watched NFL games on illegal streams until this year I got sick of hunting around for a good stream at 6pm every Sunday, so i decided to fork out for the full gamepass service, and I will never go back.

bruschi

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

NFL gamepass cost me approx e160 (4 x e40 installments) this season. It was my first time getting it , I know there are other discounts etc but that's what I paid without looking around too much.
Remember that the GAA Go's main target market is the US, where disposable income in a good bit higher than here



But all ghostVPN is is a workaround to get access to geo-blocked content on the RTE Player, an online streaming service from a sports organisation is a far different offering.
Most people out there are not IT savvy enough to use any sort of vpn tool to get them access to the RTE Player.

I always watched NFL games on illegal streams until this year I got sick of hunting around for a good stream at 6pm every Sunday, so i decided to fork out for the full gamepass service, and I will never go back.

:eek: should have logged into the AF forum. It was €120 one off payment with a 15% discount offer making it €102 for the full season pass. Add on the hola plug in on chrome and you get full uninterrupted gamepass.

I still dont think they should have increased the price. by all accounts last year was a shambles with the quality, so I dont know how they can justify making an increase in price. Fix it, make it a necessity for those abroad, and then up your price.

munchkin_utd

theteal wrote: »

I'm sorry but that's crazy money. A ghostVPN sub is about £30 for the year. That'll get your RTE player working as well all your other geo-blocked internet needs!

using trickery is all very good but in the end the success depends on the VPN (or other technical means) not being known or detected by the geoblocking service.
RTE and other broadcasters have an awful habit of perfecting the geoblocking just before a major event. And thats ignoring simple capacity issues that make watching big games unwatchable.

and anyhow, this package includes over 50 live games on setanta and Sky so you'd not only need a jiggery pokery subscription, you'd need a sky sub and a setanta sub - and rely on them not geoblocking agressively (or is setanta even available online in Ireland, or are they not the same as the inept premier sports whose uselessness led to the "need" for GAA go?).

EDIT: regarding the price point.
I also regard it as damn saucy, but there was surveys done before the service was launched where folks in USA (maybe also middle east and the likes) said what they'd think a fair price would be. So last year the price was pitched accordingly.
There was also a survey after the season where 60% regarded the price as fair value or better (I'd be part of the 40%!), so to expect more for the same price would be probably a little unrealistic, especially when included in the extra games are 40 games only available on subscription in Ireland.

keeponhurling

So I see the price for this year is €160.

I'm considering getting it again, but it's pricey enough, especially when there can still be technical issues from tune to time

Anyone renewing ?

munchkin_utd

the fixtures have been announced for the first month of GAAGO with 17 games covered in the next 5 weeks (although its simply the games that are already announced for TG4 and Setanta!).

to answer the last question, I'm getting it, and its an added bonus that the local club gets 10% through the clubs scheme.

davegrohl48

Pretty serious price hike. What about those Irish living and earning in low value currency counties? Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.
This will reduce the possibility of non-Irish casual viewers.
Supposedly this was all about helping to grow the game internationally.
What was the revenue earned on GAAGO?
As far as I'm aware no 2014 figures were released but we have the increased 2015 prices released! Very unfair to expect people to cough up an increased fee without being able to see more transparency. I don't believe GAA Annual Accounts 2014 were published yet?
In terms of the costs of GAA GO, in 2013/14 they had the website and streaming technicals to develop. They had a fairly big marketing campaign to get it launched. They had to setup requisite customer support.
However in 2015 costs should be reduced. Technicals are up and running. Doubt it requires the same level of marketing. There shouldn't be as many technical hitches and hence volume of customer support issues should not increase with increased viewership.
At the end of the day the stream is simply the RTE player stream as I understand. Hosted on a website which takes care of the customer login/account/payment etc.

howiya

How did people find it last night? Won't be buying a season pass but will be paying for the odd game here and there

RGM

howiya wrote: »

How did people find it last night? Won't be buying a season pass but will be paying for the odd game here and there

It tripped up a couple times, but overall it was fine. If Donegal somehow manage another banner year, I might be kicking myself for not buying the season pass, but chances are I'll save some money going game-by-game.

keeponhurling

It is a serious price hike ok, 45%.

Sure there are some extra games, such as the league, but they aren't of the same value as championship games.

irelandrover

My problem is that the quality at the start of the year last year was good.

However for the more popular games such as the semi final and final it was almost unwatchable. Constantly freezing and skipping. I don't trust it enough that it will be good enough to watch the big games and combining that with the price hike then it is just not worth it.

munchkin_utd

irelandrover wrote: »

My problem is that the quality at the start of the year last year was good.

However for the more popular games such as the semi final and final it was almost unwatchable. Constantly freezing and skipping. I don't trust it enough that it will be good enough to watch the big games and combining that with the price hike then it is just not worth it.

funny thing is that RTE digital served a gigantic amount of streams during the soccer world cup (thanks maybe to infrastructre improvements paid for by irish abroad through gaa go???) and there wasnt a complaint.

so it seems to be a problem with getting the streams to all corners of the world (without being throttled by intermediate servers) more than having capacity at RTE HQ.

munchkin_utd

The season is now in full swing and it seems the problems haven't abated with this service.
Problems seem to follow when Dublin or Cork are playing, and for me this time there was no breakage but the stream couldn't cope with fast passages of play and went unwatchable for a second or 2 fairly regularily.
Even for the sunday game there was issues (and there the demand shouldnt be as high as for the live game)

BTW, it seems that the streaming is outsourced by RTE to StreamAMG (aka StreamUK) , so RTE digital aren't to blame directly for the problems.
http://www.streamuk.com/streamamg-rte-partner-deliver-gaelic-games-global-audience/

Xenophile

Season pass this year is 160€.

On this scheme if you do not watch the match live can you watch it later?

Hibbeler

Xenophile wrote: »

Season pass this year is 160€.

On this scheme if you do not watch the match live can you watch it later?

Yes they are still available afterward. I'm not sure for how long though

munchkin_utd

Hibbeler wrote: »

Yes they are still available afterward. I'm not sure for how long though

Till November or so as far as I know