CueSport TV - The Blog

Ever since we launched Cuesport TV back in 2008 we have been talking about a suitable way to make videos available for download in a cost-effective way.

That time has now arrived! From today selected content from Cuesport TV will be available to download on a paid service.

At the moment we are looking at around £2.49 ($3.99 approx) to download an entire match to your hard drive.

Longer videos like money matches will command a higher fee as storage and delivery costs are increased.

As fans of the site you are going to have to tell us what videos you want to download. Only selected content will be available at any one time and certain videos may only be available for limited periods.

The downloaded file comes as a ZIP file, within the compressed zip the actual WMV videos files will be contained that you can play back on your PC or Laptop.  MAC users will need to download VLC media player or Windows Media PLayer 9 for MAC. VLC is a great player and plays almost any video file thrown at it!

With your purchase you get 48 hours access to download the video files. Once on your computer they last for as long as you want them to.

Payment can be made with credit or debit card but you will need to login in order to purchase.

Currently available in the download store:

Craig Marsh v Kristie Caulfield - EBA Masters Final 2010

Tony Drago V Jayson Shaw - GB9 British Grand Prix 2009 - HD

Chris Melling v James Kay - GB9 British Grand Prix 2009 - HD

We need your help to make this a success, please download the videos this will help towards keeping live and on-demand video free. If you want to see a certain match/video available then please drop us an email or comment on this blog.

General 8-ball, 9-ball, billiards, cuesport tv, downloads, pool, snooker, video

Last month we provided a live pool webcast from Vegas Bar in Wakefield. Those that follow the UK scene will know that the club is owned by GB9 Tour player Andy Appleton, he approached me about making a regular show called Money Match TV.

The first one was such a success that we are now looking into providing these live pool webcasts every month. The second in the series is this coming Saturday (24th July) when two matches will once again be on the card.

Money Matches offer a different kind pressure for the players than a regular tournament and in my opinion head-to-head matches are the essence of sporting contest. Whether this be pool, snooker, darts, athletics, cycling or any other sport. Two evenly matched opponents battling it out for a big cash stake is going to sort out the wheat from the chaff.

This weekend we open up the live event at 1pm UK time with Dave Bagg v Jamie Yates. Dave has only been playing 9-ball for around 6 months and last time out beat Simon D’Vali on the outside table. His match has been moved to the undercard on the main TV table this time around.

The headline match on Saturday will see Chun Hao Man take on new challenger Craig Dixon, this match on paper looks to be a cracker. Chun beat Jonny Copper on the outside table last time and has also been promoted to the TV table.

The headline match starts a bit earlier at 5pm UK time, last event the main match started at 7pm so should finish at a reasonable time and allow for a few drinks afterwards!

The format for all Money Match TV events is a race-to-21, winner breaks, minimum £500-per-man, the winner will ’stay-on’ and face a new challenger at the next event.

If you fancy having a go or nobody somebody that does then drop us an email.

What are your thoughts on Money Matches in general and the two matches mentioned above? Please comment below.

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As if we would let you you forget, this weekend it is the return of the GB9 Tour.

The third event of 5 in this years calendar takes place in Daventry and will be live on Cuesport TV. You can watch it for free on the 17th and 18th of July.

The tournament will feature Karl Boyes, fresh off the back of his first Eurotour victory, plus Daryl Peach, Darren Appleton, Mark Gray and more…

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Just giving you all an early heads up on the live events in July.

First up we have the 3rd installment of this years GB9 Ball Tour from Daventry. This hotel based series features the likes of Darren Appleton, Daryl Peach and Karl Boyes.

This will be live (and free!) on Cuesport TV on the 17th and 18th July from around 11am both days.

A week later, after the success of the first one in June, we return to Wakefield for the second money match tv event. Players are to be announced so keep checking back.

Two matches race-to-21 will be available for free live viewing from 1.30pm Saturday 24th July.

Visit http://www.Cuesport.tv to watch videos from previous events

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Great weekend!

What an awesome job the GB 9-ball Tour have done in putting together this years tour. The hotel was very nice, the tables are fantastic and everything went very well indeed.

Speaking with Jonathan Mathers the tour Chairperson he indicated there were a few teething problems, but I think with any new projects that is always going to be the case, we didn’t actually see any.

I did not hear one single complaint from any of the players at this event, usually there are massive rumblings about the quality of this or that. On this occasion I think everyone involved in the tour can be very proud of what they have achieved.

From my point of view it was also an historic weekend. Buxton was the first time that Cuesport TV have been able to broadcast live from the GB 9-ball Tour, and on first reflextion it seems that the viewers liked it as well.

We had one problem during the final when the stream dropped out, this was partly due to only being able to use a wireless connection and also because the processor in the computer got seriously hot.

In this regard we need to find a solution to the PC issues we have had recently, it is no longer powerful enough to do what we ask of it without problems.

I was also disappointed that we were unable to provide live commentary, this was for very practical reasons though. Our cameras and technical desk were very close to the action, couple this with a very quiet room and commentary would have put the players right off. We will be looking into this for the next event in Blackpool.

Videos from the event will be available later this week, as well as our ‘Diary-Cam’ video that we shot throughout the weekend. So please look out for them.

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It is the time of year where we once again embark on a road trip. It’s GB9 time. This year is probably the most anticipated British tour ever with the move to hotel venues and the increase in player numbers.

Top that off with 16 fantastic new tables supplied by SAM leisure, 5 of the world’s best players and you have the ingredients for something spectacular.

For the first time Cuesport TV will be able to provide a live stream of a GB9 Ball Tour event this Saturday (13th March) from 12pm UK time. It will be completely free to view and will appear on the front page when it is live.

But I didn’t really want to talk about that to be honest, one of the nicest things about the GB9 events is the craic, the players, organisers and what-not are all good to be around. It is (as ever!) a huge journey for us to undertake and due to Ange’s commitments means we cannot travel until late Friday. This is also another reason for not featuring the complete weekend, something we aim to do at future events.

This event is being held in Buxton, home of the spring water, a lovely town in the heart of the Peak District. I cannot think of a better venue for a tour stop.

You can cath up with the road trip that Ange and I make early next week, we will be producing one of our popular ‘diray-cam’ videos for your entertainment.

Anyway got to think about getting the car packed so catch up with you next week. Don’t forget the live stream at Cuesport TV from 12pm tomorrow (13th March).

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Over the last few months I have been mentioning the Four-nations Blackball event that we are going to put on in Bournemouth, Dorset.

The only problem is that at the moment we only have three nations confirmed, Wales, France and Scotland.

If you are a) English and b) think you can play Blackball at the highest level then please contact me on enquiries@cuesport.tv for further information on this great event.

The dates of the event are 8th-9th May 2010 in Bournemouth Dorset.

English/UK Pool blackball, cuesport tv, four-nations

So we have it marked down, 8th-9th May, the first ever Four-nations Blackball Cup featuring teams from England, Scotland, Wales and France.

I have been talking about it for a while and have now confirmed all teams except for England (come on boys!)

The event is due to take place in Bournemouth, Dorset over the said weekend and it will become quite historic in its make-up. Not only will it be the first time the tournament has been held but the broadcast itself will also be a first for Cuesport TV and possibly even the world.

Originally every match was going to be shown back-to-back on one table, but due to the extra team this means we have to use two tables. But do not fear we have a plan!

Part of the reason for moving the event to Bournemouth is the fact that this is the first town in the UK to receive 100meg fibre optic broadband. What we plan to do will be amazing:

• Viewers will be able to choose a match from the two tables
• Each table will have two seperate live streams
• A viewer will be able to choose between SD & HD versions dependant on their own broadband speed

Not only that but I can also release the format that is going to be used below is an example:

• Wales (A) v France (A) - Best of 17 frame singles
• Wales (B) v France (B) - Best of 17 frame singles

If both teams win one of the singles matches then we go to a decider:

• Team Wales v Team France - Best of 9, alternate shot doubles

So that is the match format but the teams will also be playing a double eliminator across the weekend until the champion is crowned on the Sunday. Do not forget, this is a Blackball rules event.

Any thoughts and comments are appreciated.

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After months of me talking about it on this blog, Facebook and Twitter, In the Frame, our magazine show, finally launched with the pilot episode today.

This first episode features Ben Davies and Mel Harley and was filmed at Snook’s in Weymouth last month.

The 2nd year Media degree students at Weymouth College were reposnsible for the filming, directing and editing and have done quite a nice job.

The only thing that lets it down is my good self in the presenters role!

We need two presenters for this show in future preferably one male and one female quite young and interested in either sport as a whole or with a specific interest in pool and snooker. If you are interested in this then drop us an email to intheframe@cuesport.tv

You can watch the first 18 minute trial episode by following this link:

Cuesport TV Launch In The Frame - You can still enter the on screen competition!

General cuesport tv, in the frame, magazine show, pool, snooker

Back last year we trialled some HD streaming using our platform and the results were very nice. The response to the videos was also excellent. It always was the plan to complete full length matches in high definition.

Due to the nature of the web and the fact that people are generally watching on a smaller screen to their TV we have opted to rollout out the full length videos in 720p high definition.

The data rates of streaming a HD video mean a download speed of around 4meg is required to watch the videos without buffering.

The first of these full length matches is now available and is the first round match (Chris Melling v James Kay) at the GB9 British Grand Prix Pro Cup event last year. Please do tell us if we are wrong but we also think that this is a web first. Cuesport TV has become the first streaming channel to provide a full length 9-ball pool match in high definition.

The rest of this tournamnt, a further four matches, will also be HD encoded.

For those viewers that struggle to watch the HD versions due to low bandwidth then a standard version is also available for viewing.

Please let us know your thoughts on the videos and if you experience any problems. The best way to find out if you can view them without buffering is to run a speedtest.

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