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Bob Collins
07-25-2011, 01:45 PM
This is the first year I've missed AirVenture for other than work-related reasons so I'm listening to EAA Radio and watching on its webcam. They're doing a great job. This morning's interview with Ken Griffey Jr., was so great; he seemed like just another guy who wanted to talk about airplanes.

Way to go, EAA Radio!

PaulDow
07-25-2011, 05:47 PM
Technically and informationally (sp?) it's great. I do have a request to let us know more frequently who is on the air. Just like Red Barber used to have an egg timer to remind the audience of the baseball score, would you say "This is Xxxx Xxxxxx, and I'm speaking with Yyyy Yyyyyy about (subject)" at least when going to, and coming out of breaks. Perhaps at the mid-point during longer segments.

Thanks

Ken Finney
07-28-2011, 10:38 AM
I guess I'm the loyal opposition; I'm really disappointed with EAARadio this year. I don't want to sound too negative, but I have some major problems that could easily be fixed, and I hope the "powers that be" take my issues seriously. During Airventure, I listen to many hours each day, and these things can get really grating.

I realize that EAARadio has a couple of really diverse audiences: People at the show, and people listening everywhere else. These diverse audiences have different needs and wants, but I don't think either of them are being served very well. In no particular order, and without arranging my thought beforehand, here are the main points/issues I have.

1. The automation this year really sucks. Loops being played over and over, some with cut-outs in the middle of interviews. Commercials for Airventure running way too often, and over the top of interviews. Out of date schedules being broadcast; Thursday morning, I was still hearing forum schedules for Tuesday. I've had problems with these things in the past, but it seems a lot worse this year.

2. There are software issues that I've never had before. I don't know if it is new codecs at the EAA end or stronger firewalls and security at my end (and probably a little of both). But I have a solution I'll post later.

3. I think the studio video feed has taken a lot away from EAARadio. There is only so much nervous energy available, and when it is split, quality suffers. Switching back and forth between the the studio video and EAARadio. It almost seems like the focus is on the studio video, and the EAARadio feed is an afterthought. I'm more interested in the studio audio, but the video is so bandwidth intensive and has a lot more breakups, so that I give up. I don't really understand why the same material isn't being broadcast at the same time on both outlets, but I'm guessing that it is an attempt of provide more material, and let the audience decide which they want.

4. I tried the app for Android, and it took over my phone. Even when I turned the 3g link off, it kept trying to reconnect and run down my battery. I had to uninstall the app to get it to stop.

5. While there are a lot of changes I could suggest, the main one that would solve most of my issues i would be the addition of a simple clean mp3 audio stream of both the EAARadio feed AND the audio from the studio video. Having these streams would allow listeners to choose, shouldn't really increase the bandwidth (would probably actually decrease it (how many people are only streaming the video to listen?), and would eliminate the need for special software on PCs or phones.

Thank you for your efforts, but I'm one frustrated listener!