Technical Issues with Playbill's Bandstand stream

[theaterdude2]

Posted: 4/11/20 at 12:28pm

I paid my $6.99 for access to the Bandstand video on Playbill. I had no trouble watching it on my laptop (Macbook pro) but when I went to watch it on my Ipad, the page wouldn't even load. Then I tried accessing it using Chrome instead of Safari, and the page worked, but the widescreen didn't, meaning the only way I could watch was through the small window on the playbill page. 

I got a speedy response from Inplayer (the player that Playbill is using for this) but unfortunately it was anything but helpful. He gave me a few suggestions to try (many i'd already tried with no luck) but ultimately said "While it is possible to watch on other devices, we would highly recommend you use a web browser for the best experience".

It's now 2020 and with so many streaming services putting out so much content, all of it working effortlessly, (many of them have apps available to make it even easier - Inplayer does not) I am very disappointed. This also doesn't look good for Playbill, who is trying to raise money for the Actor's Fund through this. Why would they choose to use a player/company when it is so limited in it's capabilities. 

Has anyone else had this issue yet? I'd been waiting to watch this version of Bandstand for a long time, now it looks like I'll need to take my computer with me to whichever room I want to watch it in. 

[Huss417]

Posted: 4/11/20 at 12:41pm

Sorry to hear the issues you are having. I was waiting to see what others had to say before I ordered it as most times I have a hard time playing Playbill videos on my iMac and iPad. Hopefully it will be resolved. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 4/11/20 at 12:49pm

Yeah, I was thinking "Playbill doesn't have a Roku channel, so I'll have to watch this on my computer?". It's a bummer but I'll still stream it. I just wish we could buy it outright.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/11/20 at 1:15pm

I’m casting it from my iPhone right now to my smarttv and having no issues at all.

[sethepstein12]

Posted: 4/11/20 at 5:39pm

I watched it last night via casting from my Android to my Chromecast and the only issue I had was when I paused it for the 4th or 5th time (my roommate kept coming in and asking me questions), it wouldn't start back up, so I refreshed the page, and it was fine then

[suicidalmickeymouse]

Posted: 4/12/20 at 5:26pm

I had to use safari, wouldn’t work on chrome. I used an HDMI cable to put the laptop to the tv to watch.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 4/12/20 at 6:11pm

It takes a lot of tedious time to port the streaming to another platform. Shortcuts are taken.