Just throught that since we have a thread about the changes happening at NBC Universal ahead of the new season, we should also have a thread about the changes happening at Eurosport.
Eurosport Player was given a major overhaul yesterday, and it is so much better than the previous incarnation.
As you know, I have had a lot of complaints about Eurosport Player over the years. Particularly after the last update, when a lot of features that I found invaluable were either removed or cut back to the extent that they were useless.
That last update led to me no longer being able to do TV listings posts for the figure skating competitions that they showed.
Back in the good old days, there used to be TV listings for the previous 7 days, today, and the next 14 days. Then, that gradually got cut down to 3 days either side of today, and finally to 1 day either side.
Well, the listings are now back up to 7 days either side!!!
Also, the search facility that was removed in the last update has now been restored.
But, here is the best bit. You don't have to go to the bother of typing "figure skating" (or it's translations) into the search bar – there is now an actual figure skating button that takes you to a page listing all the figure skating that is being shown within the 7 days either side framework!!!
And this is also the case for other sports!
Here are the categories, and the direct links to their listings:
In the last update, the On Demand page on the British version of the Eurosport Player was given a new layout and a way of organising things which I found very confusing. Meanwhile, the other versions kept the old layout with the same categories that they always had. Well, I am pleased to report that the British version has fallen back in line with the continental versions. The page may look very different to how it used to look, but it is essentially organised the same way as we were used to. Oh, and the categories are now arranged alphabetically, which helps.
But, here is the best bit. The biggest drawback of the Eurosport Player over the years was that only things that were shown on Eurosport 1 or Eurosport 2 went into the On Demand archives. BUT, that has now been changed. Things that were not shown on the linear channels but were shown on Eurosport Player are now being put into the On Demand archives as well!!!!
So, that means that we should be able to go back and watch competitions in their entirity!!!
The only slight complaint is that it no longer tells you when the archived items are available until. But, going from the archived snooker broadcasts, it looks like it is still for 7 days after the programme was first broadcast.
Moving onto the live streaming pages, and it used to be that the video player filled the whole page, and additional information about what you were watching, and a list of the other livestreams available, were overlaid on top of the video player. Thankfully, that has now changed. The video player now appears at the top of an actual page, and all the stuff that used to be overlaid on top of it is now below it.
As for the video player itself, it has become much easier to use. The slidey bar is much more sensitive than it used to be. Plus, there are now buttons to jump back 30 seconds, and jump forward 30 seconds. And a button to go straight to LIVE.
On the other hand, they have also got rid of a lot of things that were useful. Firstly, the counter on the live streaming video screens is gone. So, if you know the specific time you want to wind back to, you can’t just take the slidey bar straight to that time. You have to experiment and try to find the point you want yourself.
But, this is made easier because of the main thing they have got rid of. Previously, you could wind back up to 3 hours on all streams. That is still the case on the additional streams. But, on the Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2 streams, you can now wind back up to… 5 minutes!!!
What is the use of that?! Like, that is not even long enough to re-watch somebody's SP after they get their scores!
They have also got rid of the option to have multiple videos displayed at the same time. I have to be honest – I only tested it out once, and I didn’t like it because they put a wide border around the videos (opening the videos in different windows and adjusting the size of the windows makes more economical use of the screen space). But, I’m still surprised that they got rid of it. Especially since they still have the additional camera angles that are made available for some sports (e.g. MotoGP).
Anyway, on the whole, the new Eurosport Player is definitely an improvement on the old one.
I just hope that these improvements to the Player are not going to be Eurosport’s excuse for not launching any new linear channels between now and February. Because it would be unforgivable if they tried to cover the Olympics with just 2 linear channels...
CaroLiza_fan
Eurosport Player was given a major overhaul yesterday, and it is so much better than the previous incarnation.
As you know, I have had a lot of complaints about Eurosport Player over the years. Particularly after the last update, when a lot of features that I found invaluable were either removed or cut back to the extent that they were useless.
That last update led to me no longer being able to do TV listings posts for the figure skating competitions that they showed.
Back in the good old days, there used to be TV listings for the previous 7 days, today, and the next 14 days. Then, that gradually got cut down to 3 days either side of today, and finally to 1 day either side.
Well, the listings are now back up to 7 days either side!!!
Also, the search facility that was removed in the last update has now been restored.
But, here is the best bit. You don't have to go to the bother of typing "figure skating" (or it's translations) into the search bar – there is now an actual figure skating button that takes you to a page listing all the figure skating that is being shown within the 7 days either side framework!!!
And this is also the case for other sports!
Here are the categories, and the direct links to their listings:
A note: It is still the case that all versions of Eurosport Player run from the eurosportplayer.com address, and re-direct to the local version. So, to avoid confusion, I have used the generic addresses in the table. The “en” in the address refers to the language the website is displayed in, NOT the language the commentary is in. The commentary is still only available in the local language on each version. :disapp:
In the last update, the On Demand page on the British version of the Eurosport Player was given a new layout and a way of organising things which I found very confusing. Meanwhile, the other versions kept the old layout with the same categories that they always had. Well, I am pleased to report that the British version has fallen back in line with the continental versions. The page may look very different to how it used to look, but it is essentially organised the same way as we were used to. Oh, and the categories are now arranged alphabetically, which helps.
But, here is the best bit. The biggest drawback of the Eurosport Player over the years was that only things that were shown on Eurosport 1 or Eurosport 2 went into the On Demand archives. BUT, that has now been changed. Things that were not shown on the linear channels but were shown on Eurosport Player are now being put into the On Demand archives as well!!!!
So, that means that we should be able to go back and watch competitions in their entirity!!!
The only slight complaint is that it no longer tells you when the archived items are available until. But, going from the archived snooker broadcasts, it looks like it is still for 7 days after the programme was first broadcast.
Moving onto the live streaming pages, and it used to be that the video player filled the whole page, and additional information about what you were watching, and a list of the other livestreams available, were overlaid on top of the video player. Thankfully, that has now changed. The video player now appears at the top of an actual page, and all the stuff that used to be overlaid on top of it is now below it.
As for the video player itself, it has become much easier to use. The slidey bar is much more sensitive than it used to be. Plus, there are now buttons to jump back 30 seconds, and jump forward 30 seconds. And a button to go straight to LIVE.
On the other hand, they have also got rid of a lot of things that were useful. Firstly, the counter on the live streaming video screens is gone. So, if you know the specific time you want to wind back to, you can’t just take the slidey bar straight to that time. You have to experiment and try to find the point you want yourself.
But, this is made easier because of the main thing they have got rid of. Previously, you could wind back up to 3 hours on all streams. That is still the case on the additional streams. But, on the Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2 streams, you can now wind back up to… 5 minutes!!!
What is the use of that?! Like, that is not even long enough to re-watch somebody's SP after they get their scores!
They have also got rid of the option to have multiple videos displayed at the same time. I have to be honest – I only tested it out once, and I didn’t like it because they put a wide border around the videos (opening the videos in different windows and adjusting the size of the windows makes more economical use of the screen space). But, I’m still surprised that they got rid of it. Especially since they still have the additional camera angles that are made available for some sports (e.g. MotoGP).
Anyway, on the whole, the new Eurosport Player is definitely an improvement on the old one.
I just hope that these improvements to the Player are not going to be Eurosport’s excuse for not launching any new linear channels between now and February. Because it would be unforgivable if they tried to cover the Olympics with just 2 linear channels...
CaroLiza_fan