This morning we watched the ICC 2011 Cricket World Cup inaugural ceremony live in the U.S.
Here’s SI’s experience:
First, we logged on to Willow.tv ($129 for worldcup package) on the PC/web at 7:12AM ET a couple of minutes before start of the ceremonies. No issues, went through smoothly.
But we were keen on watching it on TV so we logged off and turned on our Samsung 40-inch LCD TV connected to the Internet (Wi-Fi) through a Roku set-top box. Despite clicking on the channel several times, we couldn’t get it to load.
Maybe, we hadn’t left enough time between logging out on PC and trying to connect via the TV. Who knows.
Remember to log out from PC/Web, because you can’t simultaneously connect to Willow from multiple devices.
Smooth on PC
Since there was little time, we rushed back to the PC/Web and logged on again.
Overall smooth quality on PC. We suffered buffering/interruptions a total of six times.
Except for the first instance when the telecast slipped for over 20-seconds (we switched to the source 2 option provided on the right side of Willow.tv home page and could connect immediately), the other interruptions didn’t last for more than a couple of seconds.
By the way, there are three streaming sources for PC/web Labeled Source 1, Source 2 and Source 3.
If one source slips, try the next.
Willow Experience on TV
Toward the end just as Canadian rock star Bryan Adams was performing, we decided to go back to the TV and see how the whole thing (dazzling lights and all) would look like on a big screen via Roku. First, we logged out from our PC/Web.
To our pleasant surprise, the picture quality on TV via Roku (Wi-Fi) was quite good. Not a single interruption till the end.
Bottom Line, we found the live telecast quality of Willow.TV on both PC and TV to be of decent quality.
For the first match (scheduled for Saturday), we intend to watch mostly on TV. We’ll let you schmucks know how it turns out.
SearchIndia.com recommends Willow.tv.
Willow.tv ICC Worldcup Live on Roku & PC Review – Decent Quality added by SearchIndia.com on
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How do you rate India’s chances in the World Cup?
Semis….Finals… or Victory?
SearchIndia.com Responds
Unfortunately, our crystal ball is in the repair shop. 😉
IT ALL ABOUT TO BEGIN IN 4 HOURS TIME!! I JUST CANT WAIT
COME ON INDIA! YOU CAN DO IT WE ARE ALL WITH U!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
http://www.searchindia.com/2011/02/19/willow-tv-down-bastards
Willow TV is a rip-off. Exorbitantly priced, the “hi-def” stream almost never works, and on big games it often goes to “stream not found” even on the non hi-def streams. On top of that, you have a million ads, and ads cutting into commentary and replays. Horrible experience, not worth the money. If they want to show so many ads then they shouldn’t charge subscription fees.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We agree it’s pricey.
Yes, too many Ads. And The ‘Matrimony’ ads are sickening.
But Willow works fairly well on the PC and on TV too (via Roku wireless). We rarely ever have problems. You might want to check your router. We had an old Linksys all-in-one modem+wireless router that used to cause problems. After we changed to a new modem and router, things are so much better.