Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What network ports do I need to open to allow the flexicast miniPC system access to its servers. ?

A: Flexicast have multiple servers on duty at all times out of an extended pool. It is probably not practical to list all possible servers in your router config so you should consider adding an allowed service instead. The miniPCs connect outbound only on port TCP 745. They do use DNS however and will need access to the DNS server it is referred to by your router's DHCP config. If your establishment will only allow access to specific servers on port 745 then you can request the current server list by emailing support@flexicast.com but these may fall our of date unexpectedly and cause the miniPC systems to fail to connect.

Q: Our network administrators say they they cannot grant access to the units to connect out. What can I do ?

A: Unfortunately there are some sites that network administrators find it necessary or desireable to lock down very tightly. Fortunately most of these administrators have enough insight to understand that the world is moving inexorably towards using commodity public networks for many upcoming technologies and that businesses in the modern age will be disadvantaged by policies stuck in the last century if they are not capable of securing a network without severly limiting the usefulness of that network. These insightful administrators will have implemented a demilitarized network zone where appliances can reside. It will typically sit in a network segment outside of the internal private network without weakening internal security. If this has not been done by administrators and they are unprepared to grant access to the appliance on the internal private network then there is little we or indeed you can do other than request that the network administrator suggest a resolution. If there is no joy there, the only other option is to establish a secondary ADSL connection to an ISP to establish a seperate LAN with public access.

Another possibility for very strict sites is to request the MAC address of each unit be supplied so that the DHCP system can be configured to assign known IPs to the flexicast units that have special routing. For example they could be /27 sub-netted and a rule entered to allow only that subnet egress access on port 745. If you need a list of your mac addresses even after the machines have arrived, please email support@flexicast.com as we database all of these and can easily supply them. In this case however it is worth while considering a spare standby unit as getting your admins to add another mac address to the pool in the case of failure may add delay in some cases.

We maintain a list of at least 4 servers which are currently available for service as flexicast servers. If you wish to configure your router using FQDN entries instead, you should enable as many of these as you can;

• svr1.flexicast.com
• svr2.flexicast.com
• svr3.flexicast.com
• svr4.flexicast.com

Q: When I switch channels to one of the new locked to meet SR/BR/MR or locked to location channels it sometimes takes a long while before anything comes up or the screen to change. How can I speed it up ?

A: The 'Locked To' channels work on a broadcast model where those channels broadcast all data for all meetings and depending on your settings, the rest is filtered out. To keep your data costs at a minimum these channels only broadcast real time updates and when it is a long way out from the jump updates issued by each TAB could be up to an hour apart. These channels are designed to be set up before opening and if necessary switched after the last daytime race (if locked to a particular meeting). If you set them up this way and use them as they are designed you will never notice it as the previous update will be onscreen all the time until the next comes. If you have to change or in the case of a power outage or similar, nothing can be done to re-issue the update and it will come up again when one of the TABs issues a price change for the event being shown.

Q: When I start the demo, I get nothing but the first screen and an X in the bottom left corner ?

A: This indicates that the demo cannot connect to its data server. The flexicast demos connect back to the server (demodata.flexicast.com) on TCP port 5555. You may need to open your firewall to allow outbound connections to this address and port. The demos also require a browser with Adobe Flash Player Version 9. Older versions will not be able to successfully connect

Q: What sets Flexicast display systems apart from the alternatives ?

A: Flexicast systems utilise a very mature distribution platform which has been powering many of the racing industry's mission critical information users such as TVN, Australian Prices Network, Channel 9 & 7's coverage of premium racing, NZ TAB as well as Australian Racetracks, Pubs, Clubs, TAB agencies and professional punters around the world.

There are several inferior options in the market. No other system has the stunning clarity, readability and technical feature set offered with flexicast systems. Our systems make the most of your screen hardware by allowing some channels to be paired up with others on a single screen. Some displays show up to 4 channels per screen giving incredible flexibility and a much lower implementation cost. The hardware to support the system is incredibly cost effective and in many cases will save a venue a veritable fortune on upgrades to MATV systems when direct driving screens.

Many opposing systems have classic inadequacies including fixed character sizes, non scaling screens, and only one channel per screen. Incredibly some are nothing more than distributed slide shows with no on-screen animation, and no live components such as time clocks etc. These systems typically rely on periodic updates to hide the inadequacies of their distribution which can add between tens of seconds to over a minute delay between when the data exists and when it is on display. In comparison Flexicast systems are truly real-time. Our target delivery time is sub 1 second from when the data exists until a subscriber has it on-screen. Our system is totally extensible and adaptable and the content bristles with live time displays, live prices, animation and real-time event driven components. We believe there is not another system on the market that is even in the same league as our product and we encourage you to critically assess any system you may be offered as an alternative to a Flexicast product to be sure you are not being sold one of the aforementioned inferior products.

Another very significant difference is that Flexicast systems are genuinely low cost. The hardware is low cost, the cabling is low cost and the subscriptions are low cost. Our business plan calls for our products to appeal to thousands of sites and we price them accordingly. Again, incredibly, some of the inferior systems cost many many times more and fail dismally on total cost of ownership.

Finally, a huge difference is that Flexicast systems just go in and work and work and work, for you.

Q: I own a TAB outlet, can I run this demo publicly ?

A: Certainly, it is our intention to make all demostrations simple to show your customers and guage their opinions. If you contact us we could even advise how to get a demo up on a screen big enough for customers to watch free for a few of days.

Q: How much data do the channels deliver to me, will it exceed my dowload limit ?

A: The demo of this system is somewhat inefficient as it uses XML for simplicity and may deliver up to 200MB of data a day to your computer but the live system uses compressed binary streams and these are much much smaller and are likely to only require only a tiny amount of data to run. Many channels only require less than 40MB per month. Even our full LiveOddsTV core 8 screen system only requires 410MB per month to run all of those screens.

Q: Why don't the Market Hotpicks ratings come through earlier so I have more time to bet ?

A: The Market Hotpicks rating is generated from market fluctuations, deviations and momentum of money in the national pool. The algorithm needs to see data right up until 2 minutes before ARST to ensure it has access to all relevant information. After this time the algorithm treats these movements as largely reactionary and therefore are not needed, this is what sets the 2 minute schedule.

Q: I would be interested in finding out the possibility of becoming a ratings provider. Is there a possibility?

A: Strictly speaking, anyone can be a ratings provider if they have the correct professional focus on its production and the rating is of value. We take these points pretty seriously. We would need to contract you to provide it reliably and you would need to commit to its provision sufficient to exhaust any outstanding subscriptions. This means you cant try it for a bit and then decide its all too hard and pull out without notice once it has become a formal product.

If you have a genuine rating which has some quality about it then you have the first part of the equation. The second part however is whether it is marketable. If you are not a respected entity in the industry sufficient that your rating can be launched and get a reasonable following and respect you may have to prove the rating by demoing it for a couple of months, much as we have with the Market Hotpicks Rating and let the end users decide if it is of value to them, and of sufficient value to justify the subscription. The proving would be necessary before we would invest the time and effort in integrating it and marketing it to our user base.

Q: What other type of information channels can you carry ?

A: The Flexicast system is a distributed system with literally dozens of remote data collectors building data and redundancy which is then injected in to the distribution system. This model allows us to pick up new data sources of any type very quickly and integrate it into the distribution platform. We can develop live displays for virtually any information you may have including data about any market, digital advertising, infomercials, technical displays, monitoring and of course racing displays.