Apple did a great job marketing its new iPhone 6 announcement.
So good that I had downloaded this graphic reminder from the company so I would not miss it!
I started the Apple iPhone 6 livestream at 9:48am Pacific Time. It loaded fast and was a beautiful picture. They had sweeping shots of the crowd and journalists filing in. The excitement was building.
And next thing I know it’s 9:59am. And this pops up.
In the broadcast business we call this “color bars” or, because there was a title, we might call it a “slate.”
I know all about these showing up at unexpected and unwanted times because I’ve spent 23 years doing live shots as a field reporter and meteorologist.
And on several occasions I’ve had producers yelling in my ear, “We’re in bars…we need to see you, now!”
So how does this Apple Livestream glitch happen?
Someone in the live truck probably pushed the wrong button on accident and did not even know they’d done it. Often times you’ll be looking at the live feed coming into the truck and you may not be monitoring or always be able to see the output at the same time.
That button controls the output from the truck: is it the live camera or the color bars going out to the world? We know what the answer was at 9:59-10:02am – that is for sure!
Then once the camera was streaming again, the livestream itself quit and created error messages like these:
I bet Apple later admits the web traffic was just too far above expectations and that just overwhelmed the system.
For the record: I was answering client emails on my Mac Book Air when I came across the Apple livestream problems.
And I’d just finished updating a client testimonial video using an Apple editing program. You can watch the short video here.
I cannot wait until my ‘upgrade date’ in November so I can get my new iPhone 6.
Was I bummed the livestream did not work? Yes.
Am I still amazed at the excitement and buzz a single company can generate? Yes.
Not to mention the fact I did this entire post on my iPhone. That’s amazing, isn’t it?
Perhaps most amazing, though, is how Denny’s took advantage of the whole situation!
Bruce – you do such an excellent job of explaining all the issue. So glad you are still doing this as I always learn something. If you do not have a child at home, keeping up with the technology is daunting. Keep up the good work and I hope you find something here in Portland. We rarely watch KOIN now.
Nancy:
Thank you for taking time to post a message. Technology is something else, isn’t it?
Great hearing from you!
Bruce
Always a joy, to read the real things that are going on, And know, that you know what you are talking about.