Rugbyzone

[martin]

Hi sports fans! I'm considering making use of the rugbyzone.com services for the British & Irish Lions tours as I don't have and I don't want DSTV and I'm frankly sick of watching rugby at Spur.

I would really appreciate answers on the following:

1. What sort of connection do I need to watch a live stream? (I'm guessing 4Mb/s ADSL line)
2. What is the average size (in MB) of a 80 minute rugby match at lowest and highest quality? (I need to determine how much bandwidth I would need)
3. Is the streaming and video archives hosted locally or internationally?

All of the above would give me a good idea on the cost feasibility of getting a Rugbyzone subscription. I've sent the same questions to the support team at Rugbyzone and kudos to them, they replied within half an hour but I suspect they don't understand my questions because they only answered one of the three.

Edit:

I managed to get hold of a agent using the Live Chat link on their website. They guys could really use a bit more technical training. Here follows the transcript:

Welcome to SuperSport Support. An agent will be with you shortly. Thank you for waiting!
You have been connected to agent.
agent: Hello! Thank you for contacting SuperSport Live Support. How may I assist you today?
martin: Hi!
martin: I have three questions of a technical nature
agent: Okay.
martin: I live in South Africa and would like to buy a subscription. What sort of boradband connection would you recommend for live streaming?
agent: Any broadband connection with a minimum speed of 1mbps would do.
martin: Thank you
agent: You're welcome.
martin: What is the average size (in MB) of a 80 minute rugby match at lowest and highest quality? (I need to determine how much bandwidth I would need to buy)
agent: The average size is 400 to 500 kb.
martin: I assume that is kilobits per second you're referring to?
agent: Sorry, it is 400mb to 500mb.
martin: No problem - thanks!
martin: Final question.....
agent: Okay.
martin: Is the live streaming and video archives hosted in South Africa or internationally?
agent: For detailed information please go to this link http://www.rugbyzone.com/archive.aspx
martin: I've looked at it but can't find info on my question?
agent: Okay, go to this link again http://www.rugbyzone.com/content.aspx?id=17535
martin: I'm there. What am I looking for?
agent: Yes, most of the games are hosted in South Africa.
martin: I'm not referring to the games
martin: Let me rephrase
martin: Are the server on which the rugby games are stored located in South Africa or internationally?
agent: Yes, live streaming and video archives are located in Internationally.
martin: lol
martin: Okay, thanks
agent: You're welcome


Cost Calculations:
- A 4096kbps ADSL Telkom line: R413 per month
- 3GB of shaped bandwidth from Axxess.co.za : R180 (assuming shaped bandwidth will allow decent live streaming)
- Rugbyzone subscription: R70 per month

Total: R663 per month

At 400MB - 500MB per rugby match you're looking at watching 6 - 8 games per month for R663 (assuming you limit yourself to 3GB per month).

Conclusions:
- If you already own or need a 4mbps ADSL line with a uncapped account and have to pay for it anyway, R70 per month is not a bad deal for your rugby fix
- If you're doing this simply to watch your rugby on Rugby zone you're better off with a DSTV premium account at R500 per month.

 

[hoegh]

what was the one answer you did get?

 

[martin]

what was the one answer you did get?

Quoting their e-mail verbatim:
Broadband connection required. Speed of1mbps or higher (Dial up connection is not recommended for this offering.)

P.S: I never asked about dial-up . Also see my edit in my original post for round 2 of discussions.

 

[hoegh]

would be interesting but i have dstv already so not keen, however if it weren't for the sport i would probably drop dstv without even a second thought.

 

[martin]

would be interesting but i have dstv already so not keen, however if it weren't for the sport i would probably drop dstv without even a second thought.

The only reason I want DSTV is for the sport channels - especially SS1 and SS2 - don't care for the rest. I'm just not willing to fork over R500 per month to watch rugby.

Spur it is.

 

[hoegh]

Spur it is.

what about a pub, surely you're better off there than at the local spur???

 

[martin]

what about a pub, surely you're better off there than at the local spur???

Surely not!

Two reasons:
1. They tend to be Blue Bull fan watering holes in my neck of the woods. I have nothing against the Blue Bulls team but I don't like their militant fans - the majority of my encounters with Blue Bull's fans have been negative. If you're allowed to support your team then I'm allowed to support mine.
2. I don't much enjoy the company of inebriated people either - especially when my wife's around.

So I leave them alone and they leave me alone.

I would ofcourse prefer to watch the matches at home but Spur is okay - they have nice big flat screen tv's and I can watch there even if I only order a coke.