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Active: 3315 users

GOMtv actively blocking alternative clients?

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
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Anyone posting without reading at least the OP will be warned or banned
Bumblebees
Profile Joined August 2010
United States328 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-14 13:23:40
March 14 2011 13:21 GMT
#1
As you can see here: http://www.reddit.com/r/starcraft/comments/g3lyp/fixing_vlc_issues_with_live_gomtv_streams/ among other places, it appears that GOM has been actively blocking and stopping non-windows users from accessing their streams. Every time a new method is found to view the stream, it is disabled quite quickly. (there have been discussions on IRC about a few other methods, which were all disabled within ~15 minutes of being figured out)

I'm very confused by this. The GOM player for mac will not play the GSL stream, and there is no GOM player for linux. Are we relegated to simply paying for VODs and not even being able to enjoy a feature of the GSL that users of a specific platform get for free!?

I can't imagine this sort of thing being good for their business or e-sports in general. Disallowing paying customers from using your service post-purchase is quite outrageous.
-Archangel-
Profile Joined May 2010
Croatia7457 Posts
March 14 2011 13:23 GMT
#2
I am sorry to burst your bubble, but MAC users are even more rare then Windows Vista users.

I really see no reason for them to really support Mac to gain 100 viewers.

User was temp banned for this post.
Norada
Profile Joined August 2010
China482 Posts
March 14 2011 13:24 GMT
#3
It's still banned in china too >: cant watch any gsl streams T.T I feel your pain
Bumblebees
Profile Joined August 2010
United States328 Posts
March 14 2011 13:27 GMT
#4
There are a lot more than "100 viewers using alternative platforms, not just mac. Beyond that, there are many windows users who for various reasons can not use the GOM player. Have you ever noticed how littered GSL threads are with "What's the VLC link?".


The main point is that they're doing this in the midst of the season, after users have already paid for the service, and they're doing it without warning or explanation.
Rannasha
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Netherlands2398 Posts
March 14 2011 13:29 GMT
#5
On March 14 2011 22:23 -Archangel- wrote:
I am sorry to burst your bubble, but MAC users are even more rare then Windows Vista users.

I really see no reason for them to really support Mac to gain 100 viewers.


There's a difference between not giving support and going out of your way to block them.

Mac and Linux users were quite happily using VLC to watch the GSL matches. It all goes via GomTVs website, their login, up to the point where you click the button to watch and instead of opening in the GomPlayer, the stream would open in VLC. No illegal activities such as restreaming needed. Granted, it took a bit more effort to setup, but it worked fine.

And now GomTV is spending time and money to make sure that the few Mac/Linux viewers, who had been watching through official channels, can't watch anymore.

Bad business decision if ever there was one.
Such flammable little insects!
Zaphid
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Czech Republic1860 Posts
March 14 2011 13:29 GMT
#6
On March 14 2011 22:23 -Archangel- wrote:
I am sorry to burst your bubble, but MAC users are even more rare then Windows Vista users.

I really see no reason for them to really support Mac to gain 100 viewers.

In Europe maybe, in USA definitely not.

I don't know how hard or how expensive it is to make a mac/linux client, but they shouldn't take a dump on any part of their audience.
I will never ever play Mech against Protoss. - MVP
Candles
Profile Joined February 2011
United Kingdom103 Posts
March 14 2011 13:31 GMT
#7
Yeah I got burned by this today as well. I think you'd be surprised how many Mac users want to view the matches.
Matkap
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
Spain627 Posts
March 14 2011 13:31 GMT
#8
On March 14 2011 22:23 -Archangel- wrote:
I am sorry to burst your bubble, but MAC users are even more rare then Windows Vista users.

I really see no reason for them to really support Mac to gain 100 viewers.


That is just so ignorant I have to lol. I am tempted just to start a poll to see how many mac users there are on teamliquid and how many have to go through strange methods to watch some games, which some of us have even payed for. ( I have pc at home so I can watch Hd vods fine, but at work I do have Mac and sometimes I have time to watch some games Live ).
A man tells his stories so many times that he becomes the stories. They live on after him, and in that way he becomes immortal.
Chaosvuistje
Profile Joined April 2010
Netherlands2581 Posts
March 14 2011 13:34 GMT
#9
On March 14 2011 22:23 -Archangel- wrote:
I am sorry to burst your bubble, but MAC users are even more rare then Windows Vista users.

I really see no reason for them to really support Mac to gain 100 viewers.


If 1/10 mac users pays you 10 dollars for the HQ stream, and you suddenly cut off their ways of getting the service, you effectively get 100 dollars less for something that can easily be prevented by allowing mac another client.

Its a stupid thing for a software designer to leave out potential customers especially if your target area is as niche as E-sports.

I think its largely due to koreans only owning PC's and having Internet explorer. I don't think GOM optimalizes for foreigners but rather for their market. Which is silly considering that we pay the most for watching streams compared to korea.
Mr Tambourine Man
Profile Joined September 2010
Netherlands190 Posts
March 14 2011 13:34 GMT
#10
On March 14 2011 22:23 -Archangel- wrote:
I am sorry to burst your bubble, but MAC users are even more rare then Windows Vista users.

I really see no reason for them to really support Mac to gain 100 viewers.


Of course, I don't know the situation in Croatia, but at my uni there are very many students with macs. I have a mac and think this news is horrible.
Bumblebees
Profile Joined August 2010
United States328 Posts
March 14 2011 13:35 GMT
#11
I wonder if GOM realizes this will just force people to watch re-streams, and many angered people will just do so and not pay.

They're not only losing business, but they're making the demand for high-quality illegitimate distribution much higher. This will quite certainly put a dent in their business on another level. A lot of people simply pay because they don't know how to find re-streams or are too lazy to do so. When the demand for them rises, so will the ease of finding them and the organization of those who make them available.
Martijn
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Netherlands1219 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-14 13:38:45
March 14 2011 13:35 GMT
#12
sigh

I can understand your frustration, but just to play devils advocate. Of course they want people to use the GOM Media Player for the GOMtv Star League. Promoting their client is part of their core business. Saying that they're going out of their way just to ban mac/linux users isn't fair, it's an unfortunate side-effect. The missed revenue from mac/linux users isn't going to make up for the "missed revenue" (lets just call it that for simplicity) from all the windows users refusing to use the gom client.

Point out they could be earning both if they had more support. It might be more constructive to demand that the gom player for mac can actually watch these broadcasts and that a linux version is released.
http://www.glhf.tv fighting! Former WesternWolves & LowLandLions operations manager.
Bumblebees
Profile Joined August 2010
United States328 Posts
March 14 2011 13:38 GMT
#13
On March 14 2011 22:34 Chaosvuistje wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 14 2011 22:23 -Archangel- wrote:
I am sorry to burst your bubble, but MAC users are even more rare then Windows Vista users.

I really see no reason for them to really support Mac to gain 100 viewers.


If 1/10 mac users pays you 10 dollars for the HQ stream, and you suddenly cut off their ways of getting the service, you effectively get 100 dollars less for something that can easily be prevented by allowing mac another client.

Its a stupid thing for a software designer to leave out potential customers especially if your target area is as niche as E-sports.

I think its largely due to koreans only owning PC's and having Internet explorer. I don't think GOM optimalizes for foreigners but rather for their market. Which is silly considering that we pay the most for watching streams compared to korea.


It's even MORE silly because there is a GOM player for mac already! The GSL website simply does not support it.

Not only do they not support it, but it DID work for a couple weeks and they released a forced upgrade that made it no longer work with the GSL stream.

Here's a thread with people talking about it working, and a download link: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=179197
IrT4nkz
Profile Joined May 2010
229 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-14 13:39:11
March 14 2011 13:38 GMT
#14
GOM should just re-stream the live one on standard quality on popular streaming websites e.g. ustream / livestream officially for those that don't want to use the GOM player instead of banning every single re-stream done (even on SQ).

Doesn't make sense from a business POV.

I myself stopped watching GSL cause of the crappy GOM player and re-streams being banned. I'll watch it again if they allow re-streams, official / unofficial to raise the viewer count.
twoxmachine
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
United States50 Posts
March 14 2011 13:38 GMT
#15
The non-GOM player options do not showcase the ads that pop up on the official program, is that right? In addition to the season tickets, Gretech must also want the revenue generated from ad views.

Have these concerns been brought up on the GOMTV official forums? I'm not sure how high the priority is on making the GOM player compatible with multiple OSs, but losing season ticket customers might raise a few eyebrows.
"...if while you're playing Halo, you do some genius move and then you realize that the microwave is about to go off in two seconds so you have that perfect timing, then at the same time you, like, figure out how to do the..." ~Tyler "NonY" Wasieleski
Bumblebees
Profile Joined August 2010
United States328 Posts
March 14 2011 13:40 GMT
#16
On March 14 2011 22:35 Martijn wrote:
sigh

I can understand your frustration, but just to play devils advocate. Of course they want people to use the GOM Media Player for the GOMtv Star League. Promoting their client is part of their core business. Saying that they're going out of their way just to ban mac/linux users isn't fair, it's an unfortunate side-effect. The missed revenue from mac/linux users isn't going to make up for the "missed revenue" (lets just call it that for simplicity) from all the windows users refusing to use the gom client. Point out they could be earning both if they had more support.

It might be more constructive to demand that the gom player for mac can actually watch these broadcasts and that a linux version is released.


The GOM player for mac WAS able to watch broadcasts, and then it was disabled (or unintentionally broken?) for some reason.
hmunkey
Profile Joined August 2010
United Kingdom1973 Posts
March 14 2011 13:41 GMT
#17
I don't understand why GOM doesn't just make a deal with Ustream or Justin.tv to be a streaming partner. I'm sure both would jump at the chance, it would make the stream far more accessible to viewers, and they could run local targeted ads. On top of that, GOM would still have reliable viewer numbers for their sponsors if they have an official restream.

The only reason I can think of for them not doing so is to force people to use their proprietary software, which is horribly outdated and less efficient than many modern alternatives, namely VLC.
CTStalker
Profile Blog Joined November 2004
Canada9720 Posts
March 14 2011 13:42 GMT
#18
On March 14 2011 22:23 -Archangel- wrote:
I am sorry to burst your bubble, but MAC users are even more rare then Windows Vista users.

I really see no reason for them to really support Mac to gain 100 viewers.

Don't post ignorant bullshit like this.

Really disappointed in gom. Not supporting mac/linux for live viewing is one thing, but actively blocking user work-arounds? ridiculous
By the way, my name is Funk. I am not of your world
Rannasha
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
Netherlands2398 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-03-14 13:44:39
March 14 2011 13:42 GMT
#19
On March 14 2011 22:35 Martijn wrote:
sigh

I can understand your frustration, but just to play devils advocate. Of course they want people to use the GOM Media Player for the GOMtv Star League. Promoting their client is part of their core business. Saying that they're going out of their way just to ban mac/linux users isn't fair, it's an unfortunate side-effect. The missed revenue from mac/linux users isn't going to make up for the "missed revenue" (lets just call it that for simplicity) from all the windows users refusing to use the gom client.

Point out they could be earning both if they had more support. It might be more constructive to demand that the gom player for mac can actually watch these broadcasts and that a linux version is released.


What's the point of pushing their own media player? It's available for free, there are no advertisements in it, what do they gain if more people use it? Also, I've never heard anyone swapping to the GOM Player as their main media player. It's an okay piece of software and it plays the GSL matches just fine, but it is outclassed by all the mainstream media players out there.

So again: Why would GOM want to push their own player rather than focus on their core business: producing and broadcasting awesome games.

edit: I just read that apparently the GOM player does display ads, shows how long it's been since I've used it. Regardless, they can easily embed the ads into the free stream rather than relying on an external program to display them. It's what pretty much every other broadcaster does as well, with good success.
Such flammable little insects!
Martijn
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Netherlands1219 Posts
March 14 2011 13:43 GMT
#20
On March 14 2011 22:40 Bumblebees wrote:
The GOM player for mac WAS able to watch broadcasts, and then it was disabled (or unintentionally broken?) for some reason.


Quite, I realized as much. Don't you think that's the issue you should be pushing here then?
http://www.glhf.tv fighting! Former WesternWolves & LowLandLions operations manager.
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