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All,

Setanta Broadband now carries AFL and is "multiplatform".  I say this in quotes as Setanta has chosen the .wmv steaming format which is a Microsoft Windows proprietary format and does require work-arounds for other operating systems to see or use it.

Service:
Setanta Broadband
Cost 14.99 USD$ (No Contract Required - Month to Month)

What you will get with this service:
Streaming Broadband coverage with AFL / NRL / Rugby / Soccer
Match Archives of *some* rugby and football matches
Ability to watch in both Firefox and Safari (WebKit)
Viewing size of Standard and 150%
email based tech-support


What you will NOT get with this service:
Full Screen Viewing Natively (See Below)
Match Archives of AFL games
ALL weekly AFL Matches
phone-base tech support

Note: the Schedules listed on the main Setanta Page and the one presented on the Setanta Broadband page sometimes differ.  Use the one on the Setanta Broadband page.   (Ed. note:  generally the live AFL coverage will always match... it has to!  Trust our schedule page first as we update it more often.)

OSX Setup (Only Tested on Intel based system with 10.5.2):
Need Browser:  Firefox or Safari (Included with OSX)
FlipForMac ( http://www.telestream.net/flip4mac/overview.htm ) {This is the component need to view the video stream}
Need VLC (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html ) for Full Screen

Once you have installed the FlipForMac player (Free version works just fine) you should be good to go.  Some quirks however do exist:
You will only be able to choose 100% (Standard) or 150% (Enlarged) size for viewing
The video play button controls at the bottom of the window in the yellow areas does not work. Use ONLY the play and pause at the bottom of the video image
I recommend logging in in a separate window (command-N) as the web page forces a resizing....

This should work with no issues.

Notes:
Full Screen:

OK with the hints from Matt below I have a way to get Full Screen for Mac Users!  Here are the steps:

Login to Setanta Broadband
Click on "Currently Showing"
Wait for it to load
Once you see the play/pause controls in *GRAY* (Not the yellow.. those always show)
right-click on the yellow part below the video
Choose "View Page Info"
Click on the "Media" Tab
Look for the Address with the type "Embed"
Right-click that address and choose copy (the URL will look like this:  (Ed. note: link removed as no longer working)
Open VLC and hit command+N
Choose the HTTP/FTP/MMS/RTSP and past the Address that you copied above into the URL field
Click the play button on the VLC controller (you will get errors...  just click "dismiss"
If you want full screen hit command+F

Note:  stop or pause the player in the web browser...

Beaver

Posted by Beaver on May 23, 2008

Here is the final answer back from Setanta..:

Dear Michael,

thank you for your mail.

Unfortunately, we are bound by licensing agreements to stream in WMV
format.

Best regards,

Setanta Broadband Customer Service

This guy worked it out:
http: //www. tomatosaucemarketing.com/ setanta-on-mac-full-screen-windows-media-player/  (Ed. note:  link no longer works so disabled).

I don't have a mac so cannot test it.
Regards,
Matt

Posted by Beaver on June 03, 2008

Original Setanta Emails regarding full screen issues....

Here is the Setanta response on the lack of full screen and my responses to them:

<----- SNIP ----->

Thanks for the response.  I will be posting a Mac "How to" on this service.

Also Note:  This NOT related to lack of software on the Mac but a choice on the part of Setanta to use a Windows Proprietary streaming format that causes users of NON-Windows platforms to find work-arounds for the this lack of compatibility in the WMV format...

Thanks for your response.


Michael Beaver

On May 22, 2008, at 9:02 AM, ServeCast Support_na wrote:

Dear Michael,

thank you for your mail.

Unfortunately, there is no other option available as the Flip4Mac plug in will not allow the full screen function of a WMV stream otherwise.

Please note, that this is not a feature of our service but a lack in the software for Mac.

Sorry for any inconvenience.


Best regards,

Setanta Broadband Customer Service

-----Original Message-----
From: Beaver
Sent: 21 May 2008 17:15
To: ServeCast Support_na
Subject: Re: SetantaUS helpdesk

So if I understand this correctly, Mac Users have to Zoom their ENTIRE screen and have NO use of the "full screen" option provided to windows users?  DO you have an estimated time for fixing this "work around"?




On May 16, 2008, at 10:42 AM, ServeCast Support_na wrote:

Dear Mr Beaver,

Mac users have to use the Zoom option:
Click on Apple > System Preferences > Keyboard and Mouse > Mouse (tab) > tick Zoom using scroll wheel while holding.

Best regards,
Setanta Broadband Customer Services

-----Original Message-----
From: SupportNA [at) setanta [ dot } tv [mailto:SupportNA [at) setanta [ dot } tv]
Sent: 16 May 2008 00:07
To: ServeCast Support_na
Subject: SetantaUS helpdesk

Subject: Setanta Broadband on Mac



Message:
It appears that the "Full Screen" option is not available to mac users in either Firefox or Safari.  Is there a way to get this that I am unaware of?

<----- SNIP ----->

Hope this helps...  and if anyone does have the ability to speak with/influence Setanta... PLEASE ask them to support standards based multi-platform streaming for future efforts.

Beaver

Posted by Beaver on June 04, 2008

Well... watched the last two games using the "full screen" method via VLC and ...  VERY Happy... wish it was a tad better quality.. but for now.. it is good!

And.. (Not sure on the legality of this soo..... feel free to edit this out) using VLC you *could* save the stream for later viewing.. ala DVR-ish...  (Ed. note:  probably legal for personal use only and never for sharing or distribution.)

Beaver

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