NYRA Video Streaming With Roku

[Tara73]

Anyone have connection issues on Saturday? The streaming was okay all week but went out Saturday and didn't connect until the 8th race.

[SansuiSC]

Don't rely on it 100%. It's still in beta and is buggy. I noticed more dropouts Saturday than during the week. Nice HD picture, but you have to have something ready be it the NYRA cable tv or online. The worst is a drop during a race.

Make sure your unit is hard wired when watching NYRA. Video takes up a lot of bandwidth on home networks. It's one thing to have a Netflix movie drop & buffer while watching but a live race :eek:

Why they chose the Roku platform is very puzzling. WDTV Live is much better product.

Saturday was especially brutal as far as drops. I was never "out" though. The card sucked too lol.

Call NYRA support and ask for Carmine, (if he's in) he's well versed since day 1. A friend of mine worked with him over an hour on the phone one day about 6 weeks ago only to find his Roku is too old. He has multiple ways to watch races so he wont buy a new one for one channel.

I just hope the developer of the app didn't give up on the product and makes it so it is more stable.

Growing with technology sux sometimes.

GL

[JimG]

I think overall it is an excellent app for the Roku. There are occasional issues but pretty rare. As far as why they also support Roku? There are many more Roku customers than WD Live. It is nice not to have to sit in front of the computer all the time and I would like to see other tracks create streaming feeds for the Roku and other devices. However, horse racing is always the last to jump into technology. Kudos to NYRA for leading the way on this.

Jim

[titans1127]

While I do not have a Roku, I do like to stream the HD feed from the NYRA Rewards site on my laptop. Since the Belmont, the feed has been doing nothing but stuttering and locking up. The SD feed does not have an issue. I could understand for Belmont day it being buggy due to the amount of users, but I would think it would be fixed already.

[Tara73]

Thanks for the replies. Yes very frustrating when the stream goes out during the race. Just seems strange how it can work perfectly one day only to be useless other times. Just wish I knew the technical reasons for all this happening. To much usage?

[garyoz]

I had problems all day Saturday with the ROKU Stream--but worked ok for the part of the races that I was able to watch on Sunday. It is beta and it is free.

I think it is a great move and I hope that other tracks will consider doing it. I'd pay a modest monthly fee for a Keeneland or GP HD feed on Roku that is reliable. Although the Internet streaming alternatives have gotten consistently better with a good Internet connection (IMHO). You need more outs than one provider for video, just like when you are betting.

[the little guy]

Just to let you know, we are aware of the problems, and obviously apologize, but are working on them and hope ( and expect ) to have them resolved very soon.

[BIG49010]

I'm not a geek, but have a Ruku that I use for movies, and I thought I read somewhere you can set up a private channel and steam video from your computer to the Ruku.

Anybody doing this with the races or other stuff?

[jk3521]

I'm not a geek, but have a Ruku that I use for movies, and I thought I read somewhere you can set up a private channel and steam video from your computer to the Ruku.

Anybody doing this with the races or other stuff?
You can also stream the video through the Chromecast device from your PC.

[Storm Cadet]

You can also stream the video through the Chromecast device from your PC.

I just bought the chrome cast but it does not work because the NYRA feed opens up in a separate window that does not have the chrome logo in the top right

[JimG]

I just bought the chrome cast but it does not work because the NYRA feed opens up in a separate window that does not have the chrome logo in the top right

I tried Chromecast but preferred my roku setup. I sent it back and was refunded. Anyhow, as I recall, you need to chromecast the desktop, not just what is in the tab. Here is an article that explains how.

http://allaboutchromecast.com/chromecast-how-to-guide/how-to-use-chromecast-to-share-desktop-screen-and-audio-to-tv/

After doing this you will just need to maximize the video window and you should be good to go. Hope that helps.

Jim

[Storm Cadet]

I got it to go full screen but the picture is not smooth. Sound is ok. But video either freezes or is to jumpy to watch. Might be better to go back to video input cable to tv for NYRA video

[Tara73]

The past few days it's been better but not perfect. I had to reconnect a few times to eliminate buffering. Appreciate the comments from TLG acknowledging the situation. Andy mentioned they are working to improve things. From a technical aspect, I'm just curious how improvements can be employed. More broadband?

[levinmpa]

How do you stream NYRA on Roku? Do you have to be a NYRA account holder?

[JimG]

How do you stream NYRA on Roku? Do you have to be a NYRA account holder?

Yes.

[Tara73]

It's been totally useless the last few days. Why does NYRA feature this on their Web site when there are so many problems.

[garyoz]

I gave up and didn't try it again until the 9th race. No problems with buffering during the last two races--actually no problems at all. I'm not sure, maybe it is a demand problem and everyone gave up by the end of the card?

I still say it is great they are trying and are calling this a beta version. They will get there eventually.

As an aside, I read on the FAQ's on the HRTV site that they are going to make their feed available on ROKU--they said to "stand-by" for an announcement.

I wonder what the back-end expenses are for making a channel available on a streaming service like ROKU? You have to develop the service for peak-load demand--like the big racing days--so there has to be excess video server capacity. This has been the same problem the phone carriers have dealt with forever--delivering dial-tone on Mother's Day--what is acceptable "blocking" or inability to deliver a signal (dial-tone).

Horse-racing like all sports is evolving to streaming and device agnosticism with HDTV quality. That's good for everyone but the aggregators like TVG and HRTV. The tracks may need to get better control of their signals--and the ADW relationships will probably get messy. Who controls the customer--the content provider (e.g., NYRA, Keeneland, etc.) or the ADW? Sorry I'm digressing...

[Canarsie]

I still say it is great they are trying and are calling this a beta version. They will get there eventually.

Give props to NYRA for being the first out of the box to put their signal on Roku. Of course there are going to be lots of kinks but the fact that they are attempting it gets five stars from me. Within a year every track should be following their lead otherwise it's a disservice to their customers.

After the small initial investment Roku serves all platforms you don't get shafted if you own a product that's not supported. You get to see the track feed in high def and pick up some stuff you might otherwise miss.

[garyoz]

For what it is worth, had no problems (buffered twice or maybe three times for less than 10 seconds) during 6.5 hours of use on what was a big day at Belmont. Video was perfect high def. They are getting it together. Hope that other tracks follow.

[JimG]

As an aside, I read on the FAQ's on the HRTV site that they are going to make their feed available on ROKU--they said to "stand-by" for an announcement.



Sign up for skitter tv on line. Then load the private channel on the roku and hrtv on the roku is included. $4.99 per month is the fee for the national channels.

Jim

https://skittertv.com/channels.php

[BIG49010]

Bumped thread, just wondering how this is working these days?

Thanks

[JimG]

Bumped thread, just wondering how this is working these days?

Thanks

Funny you ask. Works great on the computer, ipad or android. Good steady hd picture for hours. However, on the roku 3 it behaves strangely. It will go good for about 5 minutes usually, then the sound will drop out, then the loading screen will come on, if it reloads, then sound is fine and the picture good for a couple of minutes, then it will say reloading. Sometimes it gets stuck sometimes it reloads. Occasionally it will work great for another 10-15 minutes until it gets stuck on reloading and I have to go out of the app and back in.

I have a fast connection 50mb download, and no issues with anything else on my network or on the roku 3. Long story short, it is worse on the roku 3 than it was at launch, for me.

With that said, I do love the hd signal and am very glad NYRA has provided it. I generally just load it on my computer, which is hooked up to the tv via hdmi and I can stream an entire card without a hiccup.

Jim

[garyoz]

Same problem as identified by Jim G. Great when it works, but having problems with ROKU 3. Haven't configured a work-around like Jim did though.

[Canarsie]

Funny you ask. Works great on the computer, ipad or android. Good steady hd picture for hours. However, on the roku 3 it behaves strangely. It will go good for about 5 minutes usually, then the sound will drop out, then the loading screen will come on, if it reloads, then sound is fine and the picture good for a couple of minutes, then it will say reloading. Sometimes it gets stuck sometimes it reloads. Occasionally it will work great for another 10-15 minutes until it gets stuck on reloading and I have to go out of the app and back in.

I have a fast connection 50mb download, and no issues with anything else on my network or on the roku 3. Long story short, it is worse on the roku 3 than it was at launch, for me.

With that said, I do love the hd signal and am very glad NYRA has provided it. I generally just load it on my computer, which is hooked up to the tv via hdmi and I can stream an entire card without a hiccup.

Jim

Have you disconnected the roku 3 from its power plug recently? Sometimes when I do that it magically corrects the situation while other times I'm still left scratching my head.

If you haven't give it a shot a five minute process can sometimes do the trick.

[jk3521]

Have you disconnected the roku 3 from its power plug recently? Sometimes when I do that it magically corrects the situation while other times I'm still left scratching my head.

If you haven't give it a shot a five minute process can sometimes do the trick.
That's right , it is on all the time, no on/off button.

[SaratogaSteve]

...I've had occasional buffering events, which I assume is on my end, and the sound will drop out occasionally too. Besides that, it's great.

I wish there was a way to access the day's feed on a 24/7 basis - watch the race prattle, listen to Maggie, recap the betting patterns when I'm home from work, etc.

Applaud NYRA for pushing the envelope here! Would love to have a Chromecast option available as I sometimes work from the non-Roku TV.

[garyoz]

I timed it today. Three buffering events during 3 hours, the first 19 minutes into the service. No sound problems today. This is after I rebooted a Roku 3 receiver by disconnecting from the AC for 10 minutes.

As I think about it, I find it difficult to hypothesize that it is a Roku 3 problem. I watch MLB.COM and NHL Gamecenter on Roku 3 in HD and rarely (like almost never) have a buffering event. I don't know the backend issues of the video servers and how Roku prices bandwidth and bandwidth priority. Maybe NYRA has a lower priced access rate with a lower tier of service? I have no idea and that is pure speculation.

It seems worse on weekends and higher demand times. But that could be coincidence.

Besides all that a big thumbs up to NYRA for being innovative and the video is beautiful when there are no problems--

[Tara73]

The buffering and loss of sounds always seems to happen at the beginning of the production. Almost like warming up before it gets going properly. Then I'll get a good 3 hours and then it's back to buffering and then its time to go to TVG.

[BIG49010]

I happen to be at a friends house, he has the Amazon Fire TV. It seems quite a bit more advanced than the Roku, anyone know if you can get the NYRA feed on it? He did show me racing streams from the UK, they were kind of blurry, but they are available on that system.

[OTM Al]

I happen to be at a friends house, he has the Amazon Fire TV. It seems quite a bit more advanced than the Roku, anyone know if you can get the NYRA feed on it? He did show me racing streams from the UK, they were kind of blurry, but they are available on that system.

It is Roku only as specified on the NYRA Rewards setup page. I got a Roku stick for Christmas and it is pretty cool. Looks really good, very little buffering (though I have a high end router) and was pretty cheap and very easy to set up.

[thespaah]

Have you disconnected the roku 3 from its power plug recently? Sometimes when I do that it magically corrects the situation while other times I'm still left scratching my head.

If you haven't give it a shot a five minute process can sometimes do the trick.
Any piece of electronics that has a processor must be rebooted....Just a cold fact of life