Newbie 0 #1 December 1, 2005 Looks like a good idea. Wonder what your guys take on it was? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pilotdave 0 #2 December 1, 2005 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1782169 Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LittleOne 0 #3 December 1, 2005 I saw the ad in Skydiving magazine for travelling salespeople so I checked out the website. Quality's good, concept's good, but it doesn't look like they have any customers yet. I don't know what the sales pitch or financial arrangement with the dz would be but it might take one or more major dz's buying in for the rest of the small and medium dzs to sign up. If it does become really popular, wouldn't it be great if prospective tandem customers hit this site before stumbling upon 800Skyride? It would a perfect job for me (jump! travel! work! all in one!) but I just got a new job that I would be stupid to give up (and am contractually bound anyway). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #4 December 1, 2005 My home DZ signed up last summer. They seemed happy with it, and I presume they'll continue using it into the future. Don't quote me, though. It does require a good internet connection at the DZ, which can prove problematic. DSL or comparable speeds is required. My home DZ uses a long-range wi-fi connection that's 20 miles away. I think it's a great concept and a half decent implementation. I detest the amount of flash used on the public end of it, however. _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #5 December 1, 2005 I see Doug is quoted in the last Ad in Parachutist on it about taking video sales from 60% to 90+% How much more work is it from the videographers side to do it?Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #6 December 1, 2005 Not a lot of work. With CSC's setup, they do the realXTream as a separate step from the DVD production. The transfer is done over firewire, and is captured using a custom built realXtream program. The app looks like its written in VB, and it works well. The video guy cues up his tape and starts playing. At key points in the video, he clicks buttons in the app to indicate: - start capturing - the exit - the delpoyment - the landing - end capturing. The 3 middle points are used by the software to do two things: 1), the (royalty free) music comes up automatically at exit, and ends automatically at landing, and 2) the app displays a crude altitude/speed graph, much like what you'd get out of jump-track. Of course the data-points are completely fictional, except for the 3 mouse clicks done by the video capturer. All in all, it's done in realtime and takes only as much time as it takes to play the video. CSC does not include any of the pre or post jump interviews, since real-Xtreme charges by the MB of upload bandwidth. After capturing the video, the videographer hands his tape to an editor who creates the DVD, complete with interviews, etc. _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GravityGirl 0 #7 December 1, 2005 Work? Click. Click. Send. As long as you have a good connection. Otherwise it's an extra step to bring it home and simply upload from there. Presuming you have high speed at home. Initial investment is reasonable considering the return. Also if all your neighboring DZs have it. You should strongly consider it. Word of mouth on the internet spreads faster than a brush fire in June at Byron. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #8 December 1, 2005 Considering the DZ is so far in the sticks that the fastest internet we can get is Satelite with a phone upload or pay for a dedicate ISDN circuit at a blazing 128k I don't know how reasonable this would be for us. I just dread the thought of having to come home from a weekend worth of jumping then spend the next few hours finding the jumps on the tape, cueing them up, uploading them anything else. What is the exact pay off? PM me if you don't want figures talked in public.Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #9 December 1, 2005 Well, like Doug said in the ad, it's a big increase in the number of people buying videos. Less tangible, is how the person with the video will share it with their friends, and the public site is configured in a way to drive their friends to the DZ. For example, Imagine both CSC and SDC offered the service. (edit: no longer hypothetical. SDC does offer it too) Jane jumps at CSC, Fred jumps at SDC. When Jane sends her video to her friends, the website allows her friends to "search" for DZ's in the Chicago area. The search only returns one option, CSC. When Janes friends decide to do a jump too, they invariably do it at CSC. When Fred sends his video to his friends, the website only shows them SDC. When Fred's friends do a jump, they do it at SDC. It's a good attempt at viral marketing. I really don't know how effective this aspect of it has been, you'd have to ask a DZO. _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GravityGirl 0 #10 December 1, 2005 Byron is similar. I have dial up too. But the way it was presented to us and the way we would consider doing it, would only require going home and clicking a button. PM me for details. I suck at trying to type things out in explaination. But our Video Concession owner was also concerned about time too. Once he leaves the DZ, it's family time. He seems pretty keen on it... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kelly 0 #11 December 17, 2005 Hey guys. Figured I should step in and try to answer a few questions here. It is possible to run realxstream software without an internet connection. You simply enter in the information for the student and begin the capture process. The software compresses the footage and gets the process to the point where it needs an internet connection. Repeat this for as many tandem videos as needed. Once you take the PC home and plug it into a high speed connection (or wireless) and open the software it wakes itself up and continues the process. You don't have to do anything but open the software and let it continue what it was doing before. More questions PM me or call me. Kelly Evans Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Miami 0 #12 December 17, 2005 We just started using RealXStream at Skydive Suffolk...its pretty simple to use from the videographers pov. Seems like a great idea, too...a passenger can have their video on the web shortly after their jump and have friends and family anywhere with an internet connection watch it. And it didn't hurt that they have a cool hot chick (Kelly) traveling around to demonstrate and assist with it!Miami Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kelly 0 #13 December 17, 2005 Miami, Are you cyber stalking me? Cause I showed up in the forums after ages of being away and suddenly you show up.... hmm..... well, at least your fun and you're into realxstream Thanks for the nice words all around Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Miami 0 #14 December 17, 2005 Damn, discovered already...Miami Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kelly 0 #15 December 17, 2005 Sorry guys, I forgot to include my contact info in that one post. My mobile is (856)625-5176 my email is kelly@realxstream.com Cheers, Kel PS: Miami, I knew I knew what you were up to Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RkyMtnHigh 0 #16 December 19, 2005 I met Mike McGrath this weekend and it sounds as though their business is booming! I look forward to checking out his website and touring the CH (Switzerland) dz..he said it's worth every penny to go back there. _________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dropdeded 0 #17 December 19, 2005 My girlfriend did a tandem and Taft put it on thier website. Pretty cool watching myself canon ball out the door too dropdeded------------------------------------------ The Dude Abides. - Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
docjohn 0 #18 December 19, 2005 So how does realXstream get paid? Is there a fee per jump? Initial start up cost? Also, when the jump is over and the footage is uploaded, we just give the passenger the web site address and walk away (ie. no DVD)? Went to their web site and couldn't find answers. . Doc http://www.manifestmaster.com/video Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kelly 0 #19 December 19, 2005 Hi guys. Wanted to remind everyone that Mike McGrath, CEO of RealXstream.com just did an interview with skydive radio. Check it out! It Answers many questions and gives lots of information about our company, what our goals and intentions are, and what it takes as a camera flyer/ dropzone operator to run RealXstream. Cheers! kel Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Miami 0 #20 December 19, 2005 QuoteSo how does realXstream get paid? Is there a fee per jump? Initial start up cost? I know the dz has to pay per minute of uploaded footage, but there may be other costs involved that I don't know about. QuoteAlso, when the jump is over and the footage is uploaded, we just give the passenger the web site address and walk away (ie. no DVD)? Nope. The passenger still gets everything they normally get from a video and stills, the uploaded video is extra, and only takes about 3-4 minutes extra to do. Kelly can really answer your questions better (her contact info is posted above)...I'm just passing on what I learned when she showed it to us. Hope this helps...Miami Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eule 0 #21 December 20, 2005 QuoteLooks like a good idea. Wonder what your guys take on it was? One of the people in the Intro/Greets forum just posted a link to their tandem video there, so I checked it out. I have cookies and pop-ups turned off (Firefox 1.5/Windows) and I first got a screen that said I needed to turn them back on. I ignored it and charged ahead. It asks you for a name, email address, country, age range, and gender before it will load the video - thankfully it doesn't validate any of these, so you just have to put _something_ in the blanks. I didn't notice any other issues that I could attribute to using Firefox. I got the video loaded up and it played OK. Video quality was reasonable, if a bit small (P4/1.7GHz/256meg/Nvida Riva TNT2 16meg AGP). The graph at the bottom of speed and altitude was cute, but sometimes as the round "target" travelled along the curves, the orange curve in particular would (moire'?) into a dashed line instead of a solid one and then go solid again. Aha- looked at it again - this is the grey 'extrapolate' line that goes over to the Y-axis crossing the solid curve. It almost looked like the graph was raster video instead of a fixed background with a moving "target". I don't know much about Flash but I think having a fixed background would help make the file smaller. I wonder if two round analog gauges at the bottom might not be easier to understand - one for speed (like a car) and the other for altitude (like a skydiving altimeter). This takes out the "time" aspect, but you could always add another display (digital or analog clock) for that. On a second look, I don't quite understand what the numbers at the bottom of the time, speed, and alti digital displays are. The speed and alti ones are stuck on '00', while the time one seems to count from 0 to 99 and reset, but it doesn't seem to be co-ordinated with the seconds display. It also seems to be logging by IP address? My first visit was with Firefox, but the second one was with IE, but the site still "remembered" the data I put in with Firefox. I think Flash has cookies separate from the browser cookies, so that might explain it, instead of logging by IP. For reference I was looking at http://www.realxstream.com/?XStreamID=4232 . EulePLF does not stand for Please Land on Face. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob.dino 1 #22 December 20, 2005 QuoteI think Flash has cookies separate from the browser cookies, so that might explain it, instead of logging by IP. Yep. If you right-click on a Flash movie, then click on Settings, you get a dialog box. The second tab allows you to set Local Storage options for that particular site. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
colinl 0 #23 December 20, 2005 Quote For reference I was looking at http://www.realxstream.com/?XStreamID=4232 . Hu, that really does work like shit with Firefox on Linux. No way to fill out the "required data fields" about me (to see a video ! :-/). In the hope the RealXStream guys will read that: don't rely on flash being available to get to the contents. Use it all you want to enhance the experience, but leave it accessible. Don't require personal informations from visitors who may just don't care enough and close the page right there. Don't popup maximised windows, this is annoying. Rely on standards and you'll have much less problems on the long term. -- Colin, undercover geek Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ripcords 0 #24 December 21, 2005 So what is the advantage of realXtream over a dz putting their own streaming video's on a separate section of their own dropzone website, that is dedicated to that application? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #25 December 21, 2005 QuoteSo what is the advantage of realXtream over a dz putting their own streaming video's on a separate section of their own dropzone website, that is dedicated to that application? Bandwidth ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
