What's the final verdict on iFollow???

W

WGUAFC

Vital Reserves Team
Any users care to comment.

I watched the Bratfud game and the longer the game went, the worse it got with the picture juddering all the time. I have a 12mb connection so plenty fast enough to stream football but not through iFollow it would seem.

iFollow customer service were next to useless, just ferrying out scripted answers, from somewhere in the Sub Continent, that didn't really address my problems.

I ended up using the commentary service only for about £40, which at least kept me in touch with most games and came with reasonable delivery.
 
The problem with the service is if you want to cancel then you have to e-mail them and ask them to put a note on the system not to auto-renew. And if you want to have your credit card or Paypal log in details removed then you have to request it and the only way they can remove them is to completely close down your account. Or as the customer adviser told me, put in someone else's credit card details.
 
Initially the service suffered from a number of problems. Continual buffering, actually finding the right place to go was even a challenge at first.
Then we lost the ability to listen radio commentary while watching the live action.
All in all not a 'premium' service.
However for the first time in many years I was able to follow Gills home and away, get to know the players, and feel part of the club again.
Its worrying that its not so easy to cancel my subscription. I had assumed i would have to physically renew rather than cancel, a practice i consider exploitative. Again not something I'd expect from a premium service.
I'll give it a go for another season but having "scratched the itch" im not sure I'll be subscrbing in 2 years time.
 
Bit of a curate's egg, really. Terrible customer service but a product that's worth its weight in gold. The two might not be unconnected.

Like Archiepoptart, I've really enjoyed this season because I've finally actually got to see the games. In fact I only missed one this season. As an exile, it's what I've been dreaming about for years.

On the other hand, I do have gripes. Like the way they decided that you can't have the commentary and the video going at the same time, and there's literally no way you can get hold of anyone who can do anything about it. All their support people are in a call centre in India or somewhere. Perfectly nice once you can get hold of them, but there's no way of passing on complaints or suggestions.

If I'm perfectly honest, once I got used to watching the games without commentary I paid more attention and actually got more out of it, but that's not really the point.

Even if it didn't happen automatically, I'd definitely renew, and it's certainly well worth the money, but as I say, the customer service is abysmal. Not the poor sods at the end of the line, but the system itself.
 
The stream did sometimes tend to lag a little bit in the second half in some of the earlier games, but personally I've not had any problems with that for a good few months now (well, apart from the Oldham game where the pictures just went completely for about 15 minutes).

I do think it's a bit off that they don't let you watch the stream and listen to Radio Kent at the same time. Sent them an email about that point, but never heard anything back. Having said that, in the EFL Trophy (is that what it's called now, I've forgotten again?), against Oxford I think it was, they put a commentator on the video stream, and I ended up sticking it on mute as he was getting right on my nerves. Like Alderman says, you do tend to pay more attention to the game when not relying on the commentator, but the trouble is, you can only pay attention to what the camera's actually showing, and on several occasions this season (more in the away games, I found), the camera would be focusing on a beautiful blade of grass somewhere in the centre circle at the time a sub was being made. Often the first you knew of a sub having been made was when you suddenly realised that List/Wilkinson/whoever was now on the pitch when they weren't at the start of the game.

And the club really needs to sort out a camera position where you can actually see what the hell's going on in the Town End/Gordon Rd corner.

All in all, there are things that could be improved upon, but it's a great option for us expats to have. I'll be renewing again for next season.
 
There isn't the option to pay for the radio commentary annually. I don't have an issue with them holding the details and renewing every year. However since you can only pay for a monthly pass at £5 a month, then you are committing yourself to potentially £60 a year if you aren't playing attention and forget to contact them asking them not to renew that month. Last season under the prior people it was just short of £40.

What bugs me is that I asked them several times to remove my card details, they said they couldn't and I needed to put in someone else's card details. I'm not sure but I am certain if I put in someone else's card and they take money against it then some fraud is taking place. They only changed their reply when I cited the Data Protection Act and threatened legal action. The website doesn't enable you to use dummy credit card numbers and errors if you put in an invalid number.

The other thing I discovered is if you pay via PayPal, they save your PayPal log in details so that they are able to take a payment without you needing to log in.
 
Agree with pretty much all that has been said.
The synchronisation of Radio Kent audio with the camera , is not too much to ask , or technically challenging.
I have found this season strange , watching live footage. I tried it on my old pc , and I couldnt read the numbers on the players backs. Now I watch it on my fone , and it's pretty much perfect ( if only a small 5" image , 10mb internet). Watching live Gills has changed my Saturday/Tuesday behaviour.
For 15 years I have subscribed , to listen from here abroad. I could be doing other things while listening. What I have noticed is that I am more restricted ! It's almost as if I cant look away , with fear of missing something !
For the first time in many years , I feel I can accurately comment on the team , without leaving the comfort of my favourite old chair.
 
Thanks fellas. Seems a cautious positive and it's good to hear that the buffering problems went away in the end.

Thanks to Rob regarding cancelling your subscription. I sent an email last night which was acknowledged and by this morning had an email confirming that they will not auto renew, my subscription will be cancelled from 15-7-18 and how sorry they are to see me go. Not so bad to do now it would appear.

I think, next season, I'll start off on a match by match basis to see what the stream is like and take it from there.
 
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