Anybody Else getting Ripped off By DaCast? at DVinfo.net

Bruce Dempsey · November 11th, 2015, 05:35 PM

They took my money $250.00 us (337.89 cad) were unable to connect the stream from my equipment and now refuse to give my money back

Jim Michael · November 13th, 2015, 06:21 AM

Why don't you make a chargeback on your credit card?

Bruce Dempsey · November 13th, 2015, 07:55 AM

Just started that process this morning. We'll see how it goes. No doubt it will take some time but Video Streamers beware: Apart from all the complexity and stress involved in critical (for a client) live streaming, getting shafted by DaCast was not expected

Adam Grunseth · November 28th, 2015, 07:35 PM

I have used DaCast before, without any problem. It has been a while though. I stopped using them as they weren't really a good fit for what I was doing.

When I used DaCast I found the system pretty straightforward- I set up a channel, got the RTMP and stream URLs, plugged those into my encoder, and went. It is my understanding that most streaming service providers work this way, unless you are working with some kind of specific turnkey service/hardware combination system.

I am very curious about what service you bought from them that they didn't deliver? What were you expecting to get? What was your workflow?

There have been many times I have found myself helping other video companies that are trying to live stream, but don't really know how to go about it. Often, they have promised clients they can do a live stream, watch some tutorial videos or read a blog. Then, when they are actually trying to make things work, they end up calling me.

Streaming, depending on what you are trying to accomplish and what your signal path is, can be complicated sometime. A company like DaCast only provides a streaming server. You must still configure your stream settings with DaCast and have an encoder that can connect to their system. Hopefully, if you are using DaCast, you know how to do all this already.

Anyway, I am curious for more information about exactly what happened.

Bruce Dempsey · December 2nd, 2015, 04:35 PM

(I have been streaming events since about 2007-8.

Used mainly UStream ad supported in those days but clients complained about the ads and the timing of the inserts so looked for a paid version adfree which was 2012 or so and tried DaCast amoungst many others, Was using a hardware encoder by cerevo back then that used the h263 codec and mpeg audio which was totally incompatible with DaCast's system so no go but kept the account open and when I bought a new hardware encoder which produces h264 aac video, I thought I would give Da Cast another shot . I had a figureskating competition to stream in a few days so I bought their 250.00 us event package which looked like it would be ample bandwidth for the event,. Then began the process of establishing a connection etc and after 24 hours of trying and with the chat help of their support we were only able to connect a flash stream which in this day and age is entireley inadequate. My hardware and their service would not shake and co-operate. No way no how could I get a html5 stream through their server and out to the web. I was streaming to DaCast forsure but the stream stopped there.

I asked for my 250.00 us back that I had paid them just a day earlier and they refused saying I had plenty of time to check out the system before handing over my money. So tough luck.
I never gave the issue of a refund if no viable stream could be provided a second thought. In the civilized world if no service can be provided, the money is returned. It's just business
One of the bosses said he would convert the bandwidth plan to a year or two of monthly. A lot of good that woud do if the system was incompatible with mine.
Just posted this here so that some other videographer might avoid being sucker punched by DaCast like I was.

Adam Grunseth · December 6th, 2015, 05:15 PM

That really sucks, and I agree that sounds like pretty bad customer service from DaCast. Like I said, I have used them in the past because their services fit the scale of what I was doing, but next time I have the need to live stream I will re-examine what options are out there.

From a purely technical standpoint, I am very curious as to why your stream was not working. For my part, when I have streamed with DaCast, I too have used a hardware encoder- The Blackmagic h.264 encoder to be precise. With that I used a 3rd party software package, mxLight, written by a guy in the UK to capture the stream from the Blackmagic encoder and send it to DaCast. MXlight lets me configure the encoder settings, beyond what the Blackmagic software lets me do, and put in all the RTMP server and stream info that I got from DaCast when I set up the stream.

I've never had an issue myself, so I never had to deal with DaCast's customer service. I've always just had it work. It is disturbing to think that if something went wrong that they wouldn't work harder to try to make things right with the customer.

November 11th, 2015, 05:35 PM	#1
Bruce Dempsey Major Player Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Atlantic Coast Canada Posts: 599	Anybody Else getting Ripped off By DaCast? They took my money $250.00 us (337.89 cad) were unable to connect the stream from my equipment and now refuse to give my money back

November 13th, 2015, 06:21 AM	#2
Jim Michael Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 895	Re: Anybody Else getting Ripped off By DaCast? Why don't you make a chargeback on your credit card?

November 13th, 2015, 07:55 AM	#3
Bruce Dempsey Major Player Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Atlantic Coast Canada Posts: 599	Re: Anybody Else getting Ripped off By DaCast? Just started that process this morning. We'll see how it goes. No doubt it will take some time but Video Streamers beware: Apart from all the complexity and stress involved in critical (for a client) live streaming, getting shafted by DaCast was not expected

November 28th, 2015, 07:35 PM	#4
Adam Grunseth Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Eugene Oregon Posts: 393	Re: Anybody Else getting Ripped off By DaCast? I have used DaCast before, without any problem. It has been a while though. I stopped using them as they weren't really a good fit for what I was doing. When I used DaCast I found the system pretty straightforward- I set up a channel, got the RTMP and stream URLs, plugged those into my encoder, and went. It is my understanding that most streaming service providers work this way, unless you are working with some kind of specific turnkey service/hardware combination system. I am very curious about what service you bought from them that they didn't deliver? What were you expecting to get? What was your workflow? There have been many times I have found myself helping other video companies that are trying to live stream, but don't really know how to go about it. Often, they have promised clients they can do a live stream, watch some tutorial videos or read a blog. Then, when they are actually trying to make things work, they end up calling me. Streaming, depending on what you are trying to accomplish and what your signal path is, can be complicated sometime. A company like DaCast only provides a streaming server. You must still configure your stream settings with DaCast and have an encoder that can connect to their system. Hopefully, if you are using DaCast, you know how to do all this already. Anyway, I am curious for more information about exactly what happened.

December 2nd, 2015, 04:35 PM	#5
Bruce Dempsey Major Player Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Atlantic Coast Canada Posts: 599	Re: Anybody Else getting Ripped off By DaCast? (I have been streaming events since about 2007-8. Used mainly UStream ad supported in those days but clients complained about the ads and the timing of the inserts so looked for a paid version adfree which was 2012 or so and tried DaCast amoungst many others, Was using a hardware encoder by cerevo back then that used the h263 codec and mpeg audio which was totally incompatible with DaCast's system so no go but kept the account open and when I bought a new hardware encoder which produces h264 aac video, I thought I would give Da Cast another shot . I had a figureskating competition to stream in a few days so I bought their 250.00 us event package which looked like it would be ample bandwidth for the event,. Then began the process of establishing a connection etc and after 24 hours of trying and with the chat help of their support we were only able to connect a flash stream which in this day and age is entireley inadequate. My hardware and their service would not shake and co-operate. No way no how could I get a html5 stream through their server and out to the web. I was streaming to DaCast forsure but the stream stopped there. I asked for my 250.00 us back that I had paid them just a day earlier and they refused saying I had plenty of time to check out the system before handing over my money. So tough luck. I never gave the issue of a refund if no viable stream could be provided a second thought. In the civilized world if no service can be provided, the money is returned. It's just business One of the bosses said he would convert the bandwidth plan to a year or two of monthly. A lot of good that woud do if the system was incompatible with mine. Just posted this here so that some other videographer might avoid being sucker punched by DaCast like I was.

December 6th, 2015, 05:15 PM	#6
Adam Grunseth Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Eugene Oregon Posts: 393	Re: Anybody Else getting Ripped off By DaCast? That really sucks, and I agree that sounds like pretty bad customer service from DaCast. Like I said, I have used them in the past because their services fit the scale of what I was doing, but next time I have the need to live stream I will re-examine what options are out there. From a purely technical standpoint, I am very curious as to why your stream was not working. For my part, when I have streamed with DaCast, I too have used a hardware encoder- The Blackmagic h.264 encoder to be precise. With that I used a 3rd party software package, mxLight, written by a guy in the UK to capture the stream from the Blackmagic encoder and send it to DaCast. MXlight lets me configure the encoder settings, beyond what the Blackmagic software lets me do, and put in all the RTMP server and stream info that I got from DaCast when I set up the stream. I've never had an issue myself, so I never had to deal with DaCast's customer service. I've always just had it work. It is disturbing to think that if something went wrong that they wouldn't work harder to try to make things right with the customer.