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Real Sues Baseball Over Windows Media
westlake writes 'According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, RealNetworks has sued Major League Baseball over its use of Windows Media. The dispute began with MLB's decision to stream exhibition games in WMA format only, under its revised contract, Real claims all live MLB streams must include RealMedia as an option. The piece states: 'Windows Media Player controlled about 34 percent of the U.S. market, compared with nearly 19 percent for RealOne player and 10 percent for QuickTime player, according to January data from Nielsen/NetRatings.'"
Since real has licensed QT codecs I wonder how they figured out who has what penetration? They must be looking at what people are using to view/listen to the media as opposed to actual installed user base.
Bad Panda! No Bamboo for you! In matters of importance ACs will not be responded to. Want to say something critical,OK
I think slashdot users should take note due to platform selection. I have paid for the mlb broadcasts the last two years since I could listen to the Redsox in Baltimore at home and work. Now, with windows media being the only stream being offered, I will not be able to listen to the broadcasts as windows media player doesn't support either my linux machines (or solaris the other OS I use). So MLB take note, I probably won't renew this year if media player is all you offer.
Even better, Real is desperate to hold on to this contract, since apparently the old contract (which granted exclusivity to Real) was costing them more than it brought in. Maybe they'll finally create a profitable business model? Hey there's a good one, Real posts a profit while streaming a Red Sox World Series victory...
Depends on whose definition of season is used. What does the contract actually say? Specific dates, or just "the entire season"?
Evidently, Real believes that includes spring training. MLB seems to have a different idea.
Personally, I think the season begins at opening day, and ends on the last game of the regular season. The post-season start just after that.
But then I don't watch/follow baseball, and I'd never bother to try to watch a game on TV, much less on the PC. Having it in Real format would make me enjoy it even less.
Shame on Real for not being more specific.
As I pointed out in a blog entry today, Real's chairman and CEO (and founder) is also a minority owner of The Seattle Mariners. Thus, by Real suing MLB, Glaser is -- in part -- suing himself. Why are no reporters covering this aspect?
Freelance tech journalist for the Economist, MIT Technology Review, Macworld, and others
"Baseball season" is not a commonly used term at all. "Regular season" is the term you use when you want to describe period that excludes "preseason" and "postseason" games.
Yes, the "pre-" and "post-" prefixes usually imply that it it's a time period outside of the usual unmodified use of the word... but in terms of sports seasons this may be questionable.
The word "entire" or "regular" would have made this contract nice and clear. Since it isn't clear, that's why they go to court...
Next thing you know, they'll be suing Click and Clack from CarTalk. They recently dumped Real in favor of Windows Media because of the difficulty in getting the real "Free" Real player, and then all of the pop-ups it had. WMP was just easier and less painful to their customers and their mailbox.
Sometimes MS does get it right, at least a little bit.
No Not Again! Its whats for dinner.
<are you sitting down?>
Well, OK, maybe not right out of the box. But at least you don't have to resort to modifying registry entries, deleting executable helper apps, or deciphering ambiguously-worded menu items to make it behave.
Even better, a senior RealNetworks engineer has taken the time to provide a step-by-step guide detailing how to turn of all the annoying RealOne features!
who has the other 37% of the streaming video market ?
I'd guess standard MPEG video. Not even MPEG-2, just plain old MPEG-1, like on a VideoCD.
If you check out pr0n sites, standard MPEG-1 is a very common format for pr0n video download. Uh, not that I would know... I heard it... somewhere... um, gotta go now.
It's just ungraceful and inefficient. Oh wait, I already said microsoft.
Yes, you need a format. Some might suggest OGG, or mp3, but AIFF would work just fine.
From the source, the sound leaves ONCE!
If I listen to it, my little request packet heads towards the source. The routers along the way get the notification that I want to listen to M'Cast address xxx on port P. I get to the source as the first person. There is now a "stream" running to my machine.
If my neighbor decides to listen, her packets go upstream and hit the router we share. DONE, that router gets 1 stream in and sends it to both of our machines. (where right now with stupid cast, it gets 2 in and sends one to each machine). 50,000 people on comcast listening? Fine, the comcast cloud gets 1 feed in and sends them through the it's cloud to 50k people. If 20k are in austin and another 30k are in boston, then a stream goes to each city ONCE and the local routers send them to all the people.
Grace; elegance.
Neither Real nor MS would know crap about that, eh?
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* STD was, in fact, the FIRST BAND EVER to be played on the Internet's MBONE when they were playing at a picnic at PARC(?) at Van Jacobsen was just looking for something to blast out nearby. Google found me this. I'd hate to actually work to find this stuff...