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View Full Version : Video costs?


comet52
12-27-2010, 01:40 PM
I know there are some ADW folks around like HPB and PTC, maybe you and anyone else who knows can tell me. How much does it cost to provide the video feed for your players? I mean, relative to what they bet. I don't need an actual dollar breakdown, I'd just like to know how much of the b.s. Xpressbet constantly feeds me about this is real. I suspect none but don't really know.

They have constantly lied to me over the years about this and when I catch them in the lie they just go silent or lie some more. Recenlty they have said they only give 5 hours a month of video to their players. I'm assuming they mean "small" players of which I am one.

At one time this kicked in at the start of the month. Now they tell me it kicks in when you wager at least 250 bucks. They used to give me a lot of video time for wagering an amount that I guessed was about 500/month, but they would never tell me. Unlike other adw's who appear to at least list what their video requirements are in terms of wagering, Xpressbet will not tell you. Everything is a vague lie backed by another lie, etc.

Recently they cut me off from video and said I would have to wait for the next eval period to start. At the time I had made about 1700 in wagers in the first 15 days of December. I thought it was ridiculous to cut me off and I complained. They started the lies and the song and dance.

In the past they had said any race you bet on you can watch and it doesn't count towards your total usage. Now they came at me with usage figures, made up as far as I could tell. They reinstated the video for me when the date turned and 2 days later had me using a huge amount of it already when I had barely watched anything except some races I had bet on.

So these guys really piss me off and told them it was obvious they treat me like this because I'm a small player, and they really don't want my business it seems. So I'm going to shop for a new adw but in the meantime, I'm just curious why they do business like such a bunch of clueless assholes and what the video really "costs" them.

How can a player doing 2-3k a month in wagers need to have a video "review" and then get told all he gets is 5 hours a month, and then be given a clearly dishonest accounting of that useage immediately thereafter? What a way to run a railroad, as someone once said.

I could give them credit for some things - they introduced free replays finally and deposit from a checking account is free. They always want to tell you how they have no membership fees but with video becoming a luxury and a clueless customer service regimen, that hardly matters.

comet52
12-27-2010, 01:46 PM
I have to add, the kicker is I don't use that much video. Mostly watch races I bet and rarely turn a feed from a track just to watch, if I do it's because I'm about to make a wager or trying to get info for one. But I don't sit there and watch races all day on their dime, far from it. They mostly don't interest me unless I have money them.

adwplayingfool
12-27-2010, 04:43 PM
I completely agree, I used to use youbet and recently switched to xpressbet because I am not a fan of twinspires. I have wagered 5k this month already and am on "Viideo use review" and I only watch video of tracks I bet with them. So in short they are full of it, I also got my video back for two days and then put back on review. Now I just bet a 102 dollar pick 3,4,or 6 so I can watch the full card before I am prepared to bet individual races. Good luck you are not alone and I hope they change this policy.

InsideThePylons-MW
12-27-2010, 05:54 PM
If the CHRB was in charge of video streaming for an ADW, it would cost about $60,000 a day.

Tom
12-27-2010, 06:00 PM
That is pretty cheezy treatment of customers.
Next time Johnny D in on Byk's show, call in and put him on the spot live.
I never hear the show live or I would..

What is TVG's policy on video on their website?


This whole nonsense, btw, should be non-existent - there is NO RATIONAL reason why each track is not showing their own video live and free replays. They make it real hard to like this game - real hard.

mostpost
12-31-2010, 12:52 AM
That is pretty cheezy treatment of customers.
Next time Johnny D in on Byk's show, call in and put him on the spot live.
I never hear the show live or I would..

What is TVG's policy on video on their website?


This whole nonsense, btw, should be non-existent - there is NO RATIONAL reason why each track is not showing their own video live and free replays. They make it real hard to like this game - real hard.
When TVG was starting operations in Illinois they offered free video and free replays to anyone who would sign up within a certain period. Anyone from Illinois that is. That, as far as I know, is permanent. Otherwise, I think you have wager a certain amount each month.
The RATIONAL reason is because they can make money by charging you.
PA probably would not want to tell us how much it costs to maintain a website, but perhaps he could give us an idea of how much maintaining a video library on a site would increase costs. (% wise)

Dahoss2002
12-31-2010, 04:16 AM
Wow, so far I havent had any problems watching on Xpressbet. I wager about 2k a month. The last few weekends, I have left the video running all day while i watched football in another room and would come back and watch the races I had bet on. They havent cut me off yet but I guess its coming. I just started a PTC account and I'm not elgible for video yet. If worse comes to worse, I still got TVG on my directv lineup so I can catch most of the races.

egreen
12-31-2010, 11:18 AM
I don't know anything about the cost per player and such, but I do know that HRTV offered an annual subsription special for $50. I think the regular price is $100/year.

trying2win
12-31-2010, 07:15 PM
If I owned an ADW and wanted to provide live video for my customers, here's what I would do:

1. Do what www.link2bet.com does...i.e. they list several pages of free, live video stream links for their various categories...DOGS, HORSES, JAI ALAI, and HARNESS (click on those words on the horizontal menu, at the top of their homepage to see what I mean).

2. Then I would only pay a communications company for the tracks I carry, that don't provide free live video. In other words, why pay a communications company for tracks already providing free, live video! That way I could lower the amount my customers would have to bet per month, for viewing the tracks not giving out free live video.

T2W

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~"Never think IF you can solve a problem. Think HOW you can solve it."

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ShipShipandDip
01-12-2011, 04:17 PM
I switched to TVG when they first allowed Illinois residents to wager. They had a special deal where I get free unlimited video, free unlimited race replays, and I will never have to pay a membership fee for life. Guess I'm one of the lucky ones. :ThmbUp:

turfnsport
01-12-2011, 04:37 PM
I will never have to pay a membership fee for life. Guess I'm one of the lucky ones. :ThmbUp:

WTF is a "membership fee?" :lol: