Following on from Tina's thread, I'm now having problems myself with iFollow. I'm in Germany, and I have a season pass. I've managed to log on and get the live video, but it's in slow motion all the time, and keeps buffering. My internet connection is 40Mb speed so it can't be that. Furthermore, the system now stops you opening the commentary in a separate tab, so you have the choice of slow motion video with crowd noise but no commentary, or commentary with no video. And as I write the commentary has gone off too. In other words, the system is crap and doesn't work. Fed up of messing with it now, can't use it on my phone anyway, so it looks like I'm going to have to cancel it once my current subscription expires. Having paid over £100 for a season pass I'm now reduced to following the match using the BBC live text commentary.
It's a disgrace. It's a dreadful service. I'm all for positivity but It's difficult to find positives for such a poor service.
Well, sort of in its defence, it is generally consistently good for me but I suppose it depends where you are and how strong your signal is. It always works for me here in Harrogate and I've been to Poland twice this season and had no trouble getting full commentary each time. Sounds appalling in Germany though and that really does need sorting out.
I've used it several times before with few problems. However, some things have changed - you can no longer get simultaneous commentary and video on different tabs, and you can't use it on mobile data abroad with a UK SIM. I'm going to reboot myself and my laptop, make a cup of coffee and try again. Then I'm going to combust.
I’m watching in Cyprus on a 20Mb connection and it is definitely watchable. I have the quality turned down a couple of levels.
We've been mulling over the possibility of relocating to Spain for some time and, apart from the obvious attractions, the only thing that would swing it for me would be if I could get consistently good coverage of Reds matches - live video coverage preferably. Maybe this is just first season syndrome and they will get it right some time soon. Annoying for expats though.
It won't work at all on Microsoft Edge, I have to use Chrome. On Firefox, I get a warning saying the iFollow site is "dangerous", which I have to skip to continue. Bizarrely, it's now displaying the half time substitute kick about on the pitch, in full speed and full HD quality. I'm really enjoying it.........oh **** it's just started buffering again. By way of comparison, I'm currently watching the Fulham highlights in full HD quality on YouTube, just to confirm that the problem is not caused by my connection here. It's as much use as a blindfold in a darkroom.
I'm in HK and the service was OK until (as Stahlrost pointed out) they have just inexplicably stopped us from having the video and commentary on in different tabs. It's driving me nuts... no reason for it at all. Do they expect us to subscribe twice to watch the game and listen to commentary at the same time?
Having spent a frustrating afternoon trying to get it working, I've now cancelled it. I'm half way into a 12 month subscription and I've successfully managed to watch 2 matches, 1 in Spain and 1 in Germany. The audio commentary has worked for many more, but it's not worth £100 per year just for audio. Even the audio kept buffering this afternoon. It's not my connection because I can successfully watch match replays and highlights etc in full HD quality. It's the live video that just doesn't work, for me. The last straw for me was an email explaining that I can't use mobile data on a UK SIM to access the service when I'm overseas. This restriction is not in the terms and conditions, and had I known it at the start I would not have subscribed. I live in 2 countries, and I'm happy to have the video blocked when I'm in the UK as I go to most matches then anyway. It's sad because I believe there are some new developments planned, but it's just too flaky and unreliable to pay for.
Not allowing commentary in a second tab is proper *****. No plans to change the settings back either, according to a fella from iFollow customer support. ****.
It's bizarre isn't it? Imagine watching the news on TV and having to choose between the audio or the video! Why on earth would anyone think it's a good idea to restrict in in that way. Utter buffoonery of the highest order.
The whole system needs a shake up. I understand that as one who lives around Barnsley I cannot watch live matches, but it appears that some can & do. What annoys me is that if I use Opera my browser of choice to watch highlights it wont let me because it tells me that I cant have multiple appliances logged in when I haven't. Online chat often solves it, but not before they advise me that I cannot watch live with both vision and commentary. Nowt to do with my issues and when I ask what all that as to do with the price of coal the penny eventually drops. However whenever I need to access again I have to through the same ********. They tell me that they do not support Operas so I have to remember to use chrome or Firefox. Annoying!
I will raise these issues myself tomorrow, with the providers of the stream. Thanks for the feedback.
Just a shame we weren't taken over before this new agreement was in place because I'd love us to take it all in-house and make it ours. Maybe one day.
Tell me where to sign if you do. You'd have issues at first and some people would moan, but you'd sort them out eventually. The media improvements over the last couple of seasons speak for themselves. Sadly, iFollow has not kept pace, and has actually gone backwards.
Aye it's truly dreadful. Have had loads of problems with the service and as someone who builds software for a living i'd be embarrassed to release something as buggy as this to a plethora of clubs across the football league. Do they not have a QA function? I'm regularly told I don't have a subscription to view content and get booted out while using it. Sometime I just can't get it to work as Tina has mentioned. Sometimes it will work on one platform but not another. e.g. Won't work on iOs but works ok on chrome. Not much use when out and about since they force you to the non working app. Why can't the commentary feed be sent along side the video when I'm abroad? Yeah I get there maybe some timing issues but surely that's not insurmountable in this day and age. Even if there is some technical difficulty stopping this, why on earth doesn't it let me open one tab with video and one with audio? After all I'm paying for both. I get an error saying I can't watch two streams (this did work initially) If I'm struggling with it, as a techie, god knows what other fans are making of it.
The club (well, Whitey) now release live videos of the team bus arriving at away matches, and we can admire the players' headphones in full HD quality as they get off the bus, sign a few autographs and head for the changing rooms. Then for home and away matches we can see them in the tunnel and coming out on to the field prior to kick off. All in superb HD quality. Then iFollow takes over, for licensing and rights reasons, and the entire thing becomes a great vat of serpents.
I too have a high speed connection too, 70mb+ but still it is a shaky when I try to get the highest resolutions. If I leave it on auto then its not bad at all... however I too can only have either the Video or stream or the audio ... not both. And if I put the audio on my tablet its a minute or so behind the video. You would think in this day and age of hi technology that they would be able to get this sorted. I watch matches on BT sport via internet they are crystal clear no buffering and perfect audio... iFollow is indeed crap. I too will be cancelling at the end of the current subs.
