View Full Version : The new encoder settings
trinabanks
06-09-2012, 01:38 PM
im on 3.2 i just found that out yesterday and have no clue how to get my 3.1 back....
HaydenBlue
06-09-2012, 01:51 PM
"Sports fans will dish out for HD receivers and HD TVs so that they can watch sports in HD. Our customers will do the same."
LOL they have lost their damn minds!
Camming is a luxury, NOT a necessity!
Yes the guys who already have a good set up, or who are in the smaller category of camgirl addicts/money to shell out will stay, yes. But the bulk of our income comes from multiple men who spend $10-$25 at a time. Privates - and bulk being less than $15 gold shows. Not the kind of men who will want to shell out $1,500 to invest in another computer/upgraded internet!
For as much technology as we have nowadays - people are still not completely caught up yet - our cam2cam guys don't even have HD webcams. And by the ghost blur of frenzied jack-off session's while viewing their screen - it's not something they care about.
If SM is telling their customers they have to upgrade to a brand new $1,000 - $1,500 computer, like 80% of their customers will tell them to kick rocks, I guarantee it! and either switch sites or go back to DVDs or WORSE, resort to free/stolen porn.
As an example, If your cable company said you had buy a $2,500 3D TV just to get their new channels to work - would you? Really? I would say FUCK YOU and run back to someone else who isn't trying to bullshit me. My tv works just fucking fine.
There is no logic to this, I'm just floored and pissed and omg they are insane.
Someone over there is on drugs.
DiamondCupcakes
06-09-2012, 01:57 PM
I agree. These guys are cheap as it is. Great business plan SM! I hope there is something they're not telling us that is suppose to be an upside to all this crap. Is there ever going to be a time where things are just gonna be fine and they'll stop trying to mess with things? Ugh
nemcis
06-09-2012, 01:58 PM
I still have it here, I keep everyting on my ext. hd, till I am sure it is useless, and then stilll...........................
so if I can help you with it drop me a PM
I go offline now, but see your answer tomorrow :)
im on 3.2 i just found that out yesterday and have no clue how to get my 3.1 back....
trinabanks
06-09-2012, 02:09 PM
I agree. These guys are cheap as it is. Great business plan SM! I hope there is something they're not telling us that is suppose to be an upside to all this crap. Is there ever going to be a time where things are just gonna be fine and they'll stop trying to mess with things? Ugh
its crazy shit i tell ya! liz said we must have the i7 to support the new advertised traffic they are getting to come on the site or some shit. i think she means they are doing it to have a better server...cus when my room fills up the whole screen goes crazy! its white with lotsa spaces and stuff....weird huh? and then i get the guys with the green highlighted chat spamming my room with other websites...ugh SM sucks ass right now but MFC aint much better!
kinkydirtybitch
06-09-2012, 02:13 PM
My i7 is a 27 inch iMac (desktop). Am I ever glad that I decided to go with this model when I bought this two weeks ago! I was considering the 21.5 i5 iMac solely for the cheaper price, but decided to go full Monty and go with the top of the line iMac. Paid nearly $2600 for it.
Can I come and stroke it? It's the grown up version of my 27" with the i5 - well jell!
tashataboo
06-09-2012, 03:20 PM
There is something really odd about all of this... My computer is about 5 years old, only 1 gig ram, and my upload speed is 0.97, plus I splitcam between SM and AW. I did the update and I'm still consistently on the top half of the front page with no customers mentioning trouble with audio or video. I don't understand why people with better tech than me are having so much trouble. I need to just be glad my stream is working properly and quit visiting this thread, lol. I keep waiting for the bomb to drop and all of a sudden, BAM! No more SM traffic. Good luck with everything ladies.
Missymissdemeanour
06-09-2012, 03:29 PM
That was what I thought too hun.
There is something really odd about all of this... My computer is about 5 years old, only 1 gig ram, and my upload speed is 0.97, plus I splitcam between SM and AW. I did the update and I'm still consistently on the top half of the front page with no customers mentioning trouble with audio or video. I don't understand why people with better tech than me are having so much trouble. I need to just be glad my stream is working properly and quit visiting this thread, lol. I keep waiting for the bomb to drop and all of a sudden, BAM! No more SM traffic. Good luck with everything ladies.
ManyRoses
06-09-2012, 05:10 PM
Hmmmm....I've been off sick this week, and just logged in today. I saw a lot of tweets about issues, so I was kinda freaked out (being off for a week - I am hurting for $!)....but it seems to have had no effect on me....in fact, I have actually gone UP in placement, despite being off for a full seven days. I'm thinking that maybe this is because a lot of girls aren't working because they are frustrated with issues? WEIRD.
I have decent internet (not absolutely amazeballs, but upload around 2.75), but my computer is actually kinda old...and I think that it is only a dual core (I didn't buy it, my SO built it, so I don't actually know the specs. But it is at least 2 years old, probably older, and we definitely need a new one.) I would like to buy a quad core, but at the same time, this one works, so it is not exactly high priority to spend a couple grand on the best new computer when we want to pay off our debts and put a deposit on a truck!!
The only issue is that I am not showing up with the HD icon. For some reason, the HD icon NEVER shows up for me, despite always streaming in HD. Think that I may e-mail support about that...
Now I am waiting with baited breath for the moment that something happens to fuck things up!!
ManyRoses
06-09-2012, 05:28 PM
I also don't really think that SM has some dastardly plot to stop splitcamming/put studios first/etc....I think that they just want to have the highest quality stream, and don't care if it stops some girls camming with them - there are so many girls that will keep working, update computers, etc etc that they just don't care if some get cut. Faceless corporations of porn....
OJenni!
06-09-2012, 07:58 PM
LOL they have lost their damn minds!
Camming is a luxury, NOT a necessity!
Yes the guys who already have a good set up, or who are in the smaller category of camgirl addicts/money to shell out will stay, yes. But the bulk of our income comes from multiple men who spend $10-$25 at a time. Privates - and bulk being less than $15 gold shows. Not the kind of men who will want to shell out $1,500 to invest in another computer/upgraded internet!
For as much technology as we have nowadays - people are still not completely caught up yet - our cam2cam guys don't even have HD webcams. And by the ghost blur of frenzied jack-off session's while viewing their screen - it's not something they care about.
If SM is telling their customers they have to upgrade to a brand new $1,000 - $1,500 computer, like 80% of their customers will tell them to kick rocks, I guarantee it! and either switch sites or go back to DVDs or WORSE, resort to free/stolen porn.
As an example, If your cable company said you had buy a $2,500 3D TV just to get their new channels to work - would you? Really? I would say FUCK YOU and run back to someone else who isn't trying to bullshit me. My tv works just fucking fine.
There is no logic to this, I'm just floored and pissed and omg they are insane.
Someone over there is on drugs.
Furthermore I would venture to guess that many (if not the majority) of our customers are married men who keep this little hobby from their wives. Thus are most likely using personal laptops.
Also many people access us from work.
Cammi
06-09-2012, 08:07 PM
Ok, so as many people might remember I have really bad tech issues with my internet bandwidth and the encoder. But somehow I can manage to run the new settings after about 1am, however it doesn't seem to be effecting my placement and I was told it didn't make the quality any better whatsoever. So cause I've that I've gone back to my old shitty settings and since then my placement has gone up back to row 4-8. I dunno if this is just cause a week's work after 2 months off has let me return back to normal or if I'm getting some kind of boost from the encoder settings but it does show you don't need to be using the new settings to get a high placement
ManyRoses
06-09-2012, 09:08 PM
I asked the man-beast, and discovered that I have a better computer than I thought!! quad core, comparable to an i5. So maybe that is why I haven't had issues yet, or maybe the worst of it has been ironed out.
Anyway, thought that I would mention that I screwed up with my tech numbers!
Cam_Model_Jess
06-09-2012, 10:09 PM
Ok, so as many people might remember I have really bad tech issues with my internet bandwidth and the encoder. But somehow I can manage to run the new settings after about 1am, however it doesn't seem to be effecting my placement and I was told it didn't make the quality any better whatsoever. So cause I've that I've gone back to my old shitty settings and since then my placement has gone up back to row 4-8. I dunno if this is just cause a week's work after 2 months off has let me return back to normal or if I'm getting some kind of boost from the encoder settings but it does show you don't need to be using the new settings to get a high placement
SM support did not say that you currently need to be running with these settings. They claim that you WILL need to run with these settings in the near future. So, while you may be experiencing no placement issues with your current settings, do not be surprised if this is not the case in the coming weeks.
Melonie
06-10-2012, 10:09 AM
Great business plan SM! I hope there is something they're not telling us that is suppose to be an upside to all this crap.
We've covered this a number of times in different threads, but it doesn't seem to be sinking in.
For a fact, SM and other webcam hosts earn major money from top ranked camgirls. SM and other webcam hosts earn some money from average camgirls. And SM and other webcam hosts actually LOSE money due to marginal camgirls. The reason for this is that the internet backbone bandwidth costs as well as streaming server costs for SM and other webcam hosts don't vary much between top ranked camgirls and average camgirls and marginal camgirls, but the amount of 'earnings' that SM and other webcam hosts get 'paid back' via collecting a percentage of camgirls' paid sales varies widely. Arguably, the percentage of earnings $$$ collected from top ranked camgirls winds up 'subsidizing' the costs of providing a mostly 'free' video stream to marginal camgirls with comparatively low paid sales conversion rates, while the percentage of earnings $$$ collected from average camgirls basically results in a small profit for SM and other webcam hosts after the costs of providing the average camgirls' 'free' plus 'paid' webcam streams are paid for. If SM or other webcam hosts can 'convince' marginal camgirls to stop camming of their own accord, SM or other webcam hosts plus the remaining camgirls will all make more money !!!
SM and other webcam hosts 'forcing' the issue of HD video stream capability ... which arguably requires that all camgirls invest in premium speed ISP service plus invest ~$1000+ in new HD compatible computer and camera hardware ... will accomplish precisely that objective !!! And it will do so without forcing the webcam host to take any direct action that could be perceived as negative i.e. outright 'firing' marginal camgirls, changing to an hourly hosting fee structure, etc.
If SM is telling their customers they have to upgrade to a brand new $1,000 - $1,500 computer, like 80% of their customers will tell them to kick rocks
Perhaps, but if an analogy can be drawn with the strip club business model, the top 20% of customers are responsible for 50%+ of total strip club spending. This is why 'upscale' strip clubs which attract the highest quality dancers also attract big spending customers. Conversely, run of the mill clubs with average and marginal dancers tend to attract lots of customers who consume seats in the club but who don't spend very much money in comparison. However, unlike strip clubs, where a webcam host is concerned, having lots of low spending customers consuming 'seats' in free video chat costs the webcam host more money in bandwidth and streaming server costs than they are able to 'earn' back via their percentage of paid sales $$$ collected from the 'marginal' camgirls the low spending customers tend to frequent. Or put bluntly, just like an 'upscale' Manhattan strip club not shedding a tear if low spending customers start frequenting clubs in Brooklyn and Queens, an 'upscale' webcam host and the top ranked camgirls working at that webcam host will actually benefit financially if the low spending 'seat warming' webcam customers take their business elsewhere.
PS this action by SM also by 'pure coincidence' coincides with ManWin recently purchasing essentially all of the major adult tube sites which had formerly provided SM with a 'content for traffic' barter arrangement. If SM must now pay cash money for traffic, as opposed to trading tube sites camgirl video clips in exchange for traffic in the past ( i.e. ManWin also owns dozens of adult websites that can provide 'free' content to the tube sites it now owns, eliminating any need for those tube sites to 'give away' traffic in exchange for SM or other webcam host provided camgirl video clips ), then it will be increasingly important that the webcam customers that SM must now pay cash money to attract actually spend a significant amount of money on SM camgirls once they get to SM to allow SM to recover the new expense of getting the new webcam customers to come to SM in the first place. Thus SM making a conscious 'course correction' involving fewer total webcam customers but the remaining customers being more 'upscale' and spending more money is a very logical response to ManWin's recently 'changing the rules' in regard to sources and cash money costs of SM customer traffic.
The topic of ManWin essentially 'cornering the market' on adult webcam customer traffic generating websites last January was also discussed previously in different threads, but also apparently has not sunk in either !
There is no logic to this, I'm just floored and pissed and omg they are insane.
Indeed there is cold hard economic logic behind this action. It involves significantly increasing profit margin on a potentially lower total sales volume. It involves minimizing 'non-productive' costs of doing business i.e. paying out large amounts of cash money to attract low spending new webcam customers and providing 'free' video streams to marginal camgirls whose paid sales conversion rates aren't high enough to actually cover the associated bandwidth and streaming server costs their 'free' video streams consume. And, from a marketing standpoint, it will position SM as an 'upscale' webcam host offering HD video quality streams from 'top quality' camgirls to 'upscale' high spending customers ... while at the same time 'driving away' low spending customers and marginal camgirls who tend to annoy 'upscale' customers !!! Or think of it this way ... right now Porsche and Lexus ( and their sales agents ) are earning far more money than Kia and Hyundai ( and their sales agents ), even though Kia and Hyundai have a far higher total sales volume. Right now Tiffany and Saks ( and their sales agents ) are earning far more money than Zales and JC Penney ( and their sales agents ) even though Zales and JC Penney have a far higher total sales volume.
IMHO this is a carefully measured action on the part of SM ... which should increase earnings in the long run for both SM and the HD capable camgirls that can continue to work through SM. If SM was a publicly traded company, I would definitely invest in them as a result of their 'forcing' the HD issue !
IsobelWren
06-10-2012, 11:00 AM
SM and other webcam hosts 'forcing' the issue of HD video stream capability ... which arguably requires that all camgirls invest in premium speed ISP service plus invest ~$1000+ in new HD compatible computer and camera hardware ... will accomplish precisely that objective !!! And it will do so without forcing the webcam host to take any direct action that could be perceived as negative i.e. outright 'firing' marginal camgirls, changing to an hourly hosting fee structure, etc.
The problem here is that they'll have some false negatives and end up losing girls who *are* top earners but who live in countries/areas where it's not possible for them to get the internet speeds they now need. Like Justanothercamgirl.
PS this action by SM also by 'pure coincidence' coincides with ManWin recently purchasing essentially all of the major adult tube sites which had formerly provided SM with a 'content for traffic' barter arrangement. If SM must now pay cash money for traffic, as opposed to trading tube sites camgirl video clips in exchange for traffic in the past ( i.e. ManWin also owns dozens of adult websites that can provide 'free' content to the tube sites it now owns, eliminating any need for those tube sites to 'give away' traffic in exchange for SM or other webcam host provided camgirl video clips ), then it will be increasingly important that the webcam customers that SM must now pay cash money to attract actually spend a significant amount of money on SM camgirls once they get to SM to allow SM to recover the new expense of getting the new webcam customers to come to SM in the first place. Thus SM making a conscious 'course correction' involving fewer total webcam customers but the remaining customers being more 'upscale' and spending more money is a very logical response to ManWin's recently 'changing the rules' in regard to sources of SM customer traffic.
The topic of ManWin essentially 'cornering the market' on adult webcam customer traffic generating websites last January was also discussed previously in different threads, but also apparently has not sunk in either
I don't think I saw any threads here about the ManWin thing. ;) A lot of camgirls never leave the CC subforum, so if it was in Money or Industry we didn't see it. Does one of those threads discuss what the sites ManWin bought are? Seems like they might be good places for disaffected SM camgirls to move to.
Melonie
06-10-2012, 11:34 AM
ManWin was discussed in several recent Camming Forum threads ... most notably I actually posted ManWin's 'org chart' on page 3 of that thread ...
http://images.nymag.com/news/features/sextube110207_2_560.jpg
For the moment at least, ManWin does not own / operate a webcam host site ... and IMHO it is doubtful that they ever will. They own and operate a number of 'mainstream' porn studios, a number of well known and not so well known XXX content websites, as well as the vast majority of traffic generating 'free' adult tube sites, as well as a number of adult cable channels ( most notably Playboy TV ) etc. There is some speculation that ManWin is 'selling' traffic from their tube sites to LJ ... they are definitely no longer 'trading' traffic from their tube sites with SM in exchange for video clips of SM camgirls ( which is arguably at least partly responsible for the recent reports of 'slower traffic' on SM ).
My guess is that ManWin views adult webcams in general as unwanted competition from a business strategy standpoint and actually wishes that every adult webcam host would go bankrupt - since as a business segment the customer dollars spent on webcams are customer dollars NOT spent on adult cable TV or XXX pay website subscriptions. Thus there is no webcam host site under the ManWin 'umbrella' for displaced camgirls to move to. However, if any displaced camgirls live in NY, Florida or SoCal, and don't mind appearing in XXX films / videos, ManWin can probably offer them some studio work !
I would also point out that ManWin's principals were big time supporters of proposed Internet Anti-Piracy laws ( called SOPA / PIPA in the USA ) along with the mainstream Hollywood movie industry, the US recording industry, the related labor unions etc. ... passage of which could have a profound negative future effect on adult webcam host sites ( and especially non US based adult webcam host sites like SM ). I mention this in the context that from a business strategy standpoint ManWin would love to see every adult webcam host put out of business in order to recover customer dollars now spent by adult webcam customers toward their copyrighted content based XXX websites and adult cable TV channels.
they'll have some false negatives and end up losing girls who *are* top earners but who live in countries/areas where it's not possible for them to get the internet speeds they now need
in point of fact, there are very few places where truly fast internet speeds aren't available from any source. The real point you are raising is that truly fast internet speeds may wind up costing $250 a month ( via a 'business' account ) instead of $25 a month ( via a consumer account ) ! This is yet another aspect of SM's drive toward HD providing an incentive for marginal camgirls to voluntarily leave SM / move to other non-HD webcam hosts. And if 'top earner' camgirls see their earnings potentially increasing by $1000 a month as the result of HD causing a transition to higher spending 'upscale' customers, I doubt they will balk at spending an extra $225 for a 'business' ISP account.
Fridays
06-10-2012, 01:52 PM
U deff know stuff that we dont know, Melonie...
u know all the secrets!!
Please, EXPOSE them!!!!!:D
I mean seriously....please......
trinabanks
06-10-2012, 02:04 PM
is it just me or does sm look like a ghost town this weekend? i hardly see anyone on and only 4 girls are running gold shows today....wtf? where is everybody? is this a glimpse at whats to come on here? is everyone going to have to find a new place to cam because we arent pornstars that have 2-3k laying around to upgrade everything? i personally dont even want to log on because i already know i will not see the hd icon, i will lag, and sometimes the guys dont even see my stream....so im feeling like why even bother at this point?! ~frustrated~
justanothercamgirl
06-10-2012, 02:11 PM
in point of fact, there are very few places where truly fast internet speeds aren't available from any source. The real point you are raising is that truly fast internet speeds may wind up costing $250 a month ( via a 'business' account ) instead of $25 a month ( via a consumer account )
Actually, with many places in Canada it doesn't matter if you drive a dump truck of money up to them, you are unable to get high upload speeds. They don't see the reason that one would need it and put artificial limitations on it. The major supplier are just now only starting to consider to roll out higher upload speeds.
sweetgapeach
06-10-2012, 02:54 PM
I have fast internet speeds.....download is 65+ and upload runs from 10-14 but my computer just cant handle the new settings, it maxes out at 100 and stays there...scared of shutting off any processes because I am not sure what is/isn't needed. And it's soo not in the budget for a new one in the next three weeks.
temptingmodel
06-10-2012, 03:12 PM
IM BUYING NEW :( I like how the email said upgrade to a i9 and MAC doesn't have a i9..I cam with a i5 and lagging like a mofo. If anyone knows where I can find this i9 please let me know.
SarahTime
06-10-2012, 03:16 PM
I actually really love the new settings and the changes being made at SM. I was using the new settings for a few days before they were announced to the general SM camgirl population and it was AWESOME.
I have been on vacation this past week but I am very anxious to log on tomorrow and get back to work. These new settings have me pumped. I shell out the money for Verizon Fios and I have a new computer that I use solely for camming.... I am a full time serious cam girl, and these changes will benefit me a lot.
Obviously this is going to discourage everyone and their mother (or marginal cam girls as Melonie puts it) from flooding cam sites hoping to make a quick buck!
Camming is no longer the "anyone can do it and make $5000/week no matter who you are/what you look like/what your speeds/equipment is" and I'm actually pretty happy about that. Bout time we start to take camming seriously and treat it like the business that it is.
I do believe Melonie has been warning us about this type of thing for a while now.........
Those of you who don't want to dish out the money to upgrade internet or your computer.... think about the saying "it takes money to make money".
naughtycamgirl
06-10-2012, 03:22 PM
I think that SM is doing this JUST to improve streaming quality and distinguish itself from other websites, and it is not an excuse to ''get rid of'' average/marginal camgirls as you call them
I would like to explain my thinking here, If Sm was doing this as a strategy to keep only top camgirls
1) The first step would be asking for some minimum requirements to accept new models ( as I know they are still accepting ALL kinds of girls without any restrictions on age, body shape, race, experience, or minimum per hour) So why don't they require a test period with a minimum earning per hour if average camgirls are causing them a loss ?
It is not reasonable for me, I think it is the same as camgirls, we make the most of our earnings from guys spending small/average amount of $$ and a small part from very high spending guys that don't bother to spend more than 100$ for a private show ( don't tell me that all your clients spend alot !!)
it is the same for sm, only 20% or less are TOP camgirls (that generate a lot of $$ and the remaining is from average camgirls)
2) Requiring an i7 and a killer upload speed doesn't mean that top models would necessarily upgrade their equipments and average camgirls would leave, on the contrary, top camgirls are more popular and have a good fan base (that follow them everywhere) so they say fuck it, I don't change my equipement, leave sm and take with them all their clients, but average camgirls might upgrade their equipement.
Not all Top models live in areas where internet is great ( most would like to pay for a better connection, but there is nothing to do if the area is not covered)
btw: I am an average camgirl, I already have an i7 and 2Mb upload speed
don't think that SM is doing this to get rid of marginal camgirls
We've covered this a number of times in different threads, but it doesn't seem to be sinking in.
For a fact, SM and other webcam hosts earn major money from top ranked camgirls. SM and other webcam hosts earn some money from average camgirls. And SM and other webcam hosts actually LOSE money due to marginal camgirls. The reason for this is that the internet backbone bandwidth costs as well as streaming server costs for SM and other webcam hosts don't vary much between top ranked camgirls and average camgirls and marginal camgirls, but the amount of 'earnings' that SM and other webcam hosts get 'paid back' via collecting a percentage of camgirls' paid sales varies widely. Arguably, the percentage of earnings $$$ collected from top ranked camgirls winds up 'subsidizing' the costs of providing a mostly 'free' video stream to marginal camgirls with comparatively low paid sales conversion rates, while the percentage of earnings $$$ collected from average camgirls basically results in a small profit for SM and other webcam hosts after the costs of providing the average camgirls' 'free' plus 'paid' webcam streams are paid for. If SM or other webcam hosts can 'convince' marginal camgirls to stop camming of their own accord, SM or other webcam hosts plus the remaining camgirls will all make more money !!!
SM and other webcam hosts 'forcing' the issue of HD video stream capability ... which arguably requires that all camgirls invest in premium speed ISP service plus invest ~$1000+ in new HD compatible computer and camera hardware ... will accomplish precisely that objective !!! And it will do so without forcing the webcam host to take any direct action that could be perceived as negative i.e. outright 'firing' marginal camgirls, changing to an hourly hosting fee structure, etc.
Perhaps, but if an analogy can be drawn with the strip club business model, the top 20% of customers are responsible for 50%+ of total strip club spending. This is why 'upscale' strip clubs which attract the highest quality dancers also attract big spending customers. Conversely, run of the mill clubs with average and marginal dancers tend to attract lots of customers who consume seats in the club but who don't spend very much money in comparison. However, unlike strip clubs, where a webcam host is concerned, having lots of low spending customers consuming 'seats' in free video chat costs the webcam host more money in bandwidth and streaming server costs than they are able to 'earn' back via their percentage of paid sales $$$ collected from the 'marginal' camgirls the low spending customers tend to frequent. Or put bluntly, just like an 'upscale' Manhattan strip club not shedding a tear if low spending customers start frequenting clubs in Brooklyn and Queens, an 'upscale' webcam host and the top ranked camgirls working at that webcam host will actually benefit financially if the low spending 'seat warming' webcam customers take their business elsewhere.
PS this action by SM also by 'pure coincidence' coincides with ManWin recently purchasing essentially all of the major adult tube sites which had formerly provided SM with a 'content for traffic' barter arrangement. If SM must now pay cash money for traffic, as opposed to trading tube sites camgirl video clips in exchange for traffic in the past ( i.e. ManWin also owns dozens of adult websites that can provide 'free' content to the tube sites it now owns, eliminating any need for those tube sites to 'give away' traffic in exchange for SM or other webcam host provided camgirl video clips ), then it will be increasingly important that the webcam customers that SM must now pay cash money to attract actually spend a significant amount of money on SM camgirls once they get to SM to allow SM to recover the new expense of getting the new webcam customers to come to SM in the first place. Thus SM making a conscious 'course correction' involving fewer total webcam customers but the remaining customers being more 'upscale' and spending more money is a very logical response to ManWin's recently 'changing the rules' in regard to sources and cash money costs of SM customer traffic.
The topic of ManWin essentially 'cornering the market' on adult webcam customer traffic generating websites last January was also discussed previously in different threads, but also apparently has not sunk in either !
Indeed there is cold hard economic logic behind this action. It involves significantly increasing profit margin on a potentially lower total sales volume. It involves minimizing 'non-productive' costs of doing business i.e. paying out large amounts of cash money to attract low spending new webcam customers and providing 'free' video streams to marginal camgirls whose paid sales conversion rates aren't high enough to actually cover the associated bandwidth and streaming server costs their 'free' video streams consume. And, from a marketing standpoint, it will position SM as an 'upscale' webcam host offering HD video quality streams from 'top quality' camgirls to 'upscale' high spending customers ... while at the same time 'driving away' low spending customers and marginal camgirls who tend to annoy 'upscale' customers !!! Or think of it this way ... right now Porsche and Lexus ( and their sales agents ) are earning far more money than Kia and Hyundai ( and their sales agents ), even though Kia and Hyundai have a far higher total sales volume. Right now Tiffany and Saks ( and their sales agents ) are earning far more money than Zales and JC Penney ( and their sales agents ) even though Zales and JC Penney have a far higher total sales volume.
IMHO this is a carefully measured action on the part of SM ... which should increase earnings in the long run for both SM and the HD capable camgirls that can continue to work through SM. If SM was a publicly traded company, I would definitely invest in them as a result of their 'forcing' the HD issue !
SarahTime
06-10-2012, 03:30 PM
It is most likely that the top cam girls ALREADY have the equipment and speeds necessary to keep their placement at the top of the site. I really don't think this is going to create some crazy shift in placement where you see top cam girls at the bottom (or leaving) and random girls at the top who ONLY have good speeds/equipment, yet don't give good performances based on ratings and don't generate a high percentage of income in the time they are online.
We can still reasonably assume that the biggest factor in placement will continue to be the total amount of money made during your time spent online, or basically your percentage of time spent in paid chat.
Peachesxo
06-10-2012, 03:49 PM
Urgh. I've taken a few weeks off (BAD PEACHES!) and am starting back up again tomorrow night... I'm sure my placement has already taken a hit.
NEW ENCODER SETTINGS TO DEAL WITH EXACTLY WHAT I NEED WAHOOOO (not)
....
After reading this thread I am very happy I at least upgraded by internet while I was away.
Shmeh.
naughtycamgirl
06-10-2012, 03:57 PM
ok, but even if sm is doing this for the reason tha melony said, I don't think that they would increase top camgirls earnings %%
They would rather keep the difference in their pocket
It is most likely that the top cam girls ALREADY have the equipment and speeds necessary to keep their placement at the top of the site. I really don't think this is going to create some crazy shift in placement where you see top cam girls at the bottom (or leaving) and random girls at the top who ONLY have good speeds/equipment, yet don't give good performances based on ratings and don't generate a high percentage of income in the time they are online.
We can still reasonably assume that the biggest factor in placement will continue to be the total amount of money made during your time spent online, or basically your percentage of time spent in paid chat.
justanothercamgirl
06-10-2012, 07:19 PM
Obviously this is going to discourage everyone and their mother (or marginal cam girls as Melonie puts it) from flooding cam sites hoping to make a quick buck!
I do believe Melonie has been warning us about this type of thing for a while now.........
Those of you who don't want to dish out the money to upgrade internet or your computer.... think about the saying "it takes money to make money".
Sadly, it isn't only marginal cam girls that are going to be pushed out. The only company in my area that could offer me the types of upload speed that SM is asking me to reach only wanted a mere $2000 a month. (That isn't a typo, yes two THOUSAND dollars a month.)
DiamondCupcakes
06-10-2012, 07:24 PM
Sadly, it isn't only marginal cam girls that are going to be pushed out. The only company in my area that could offer me the types of upload speed that SM is asking me to reach only wanted a mere $2000 a month. (That isn't a typo, yes two THOUSAND dollars a month.)
Whoa....I thought I paid a lot for internet:O
laurielegs
06-10-2012, 07:49 PM
Sadly, it isn't only marginal cam girls that are going to be pushed out. The only company in my area that could offer me the types of upload speed that SM is asking me to reach only wanted a mere $2000 a month. (That isn't a typo, yes two THOUSAND dollars a month.)
OMG!!! What upload do you have now?
There isn't a business class one that's affordable? Download speed doesn't matter that much really.
KarinaGiselle
06-10-2012, 08:18 PM
I've said it countless times: Learn how to buy computer parts. With $1,400USD you can build an amazing computer that will pay itself in short time if you're smart enough. Hell, with $800 you can do that!
If you don't know about computers, then go to forums such as overclock.net and ask or help! I'll just this:
* Don't buy macs if you want to spend your money efficiently to make more money
In this business you have to be tech saavy and stay updated if you want to make good money. Remember that.
OJenni!
06-10-2012, 08:59 PM
* Don't buy macs if you want to spend your money efficiently to make more money
In this business you have to be tech saavy and stay updated if you want to make good money. Remember that.
While I do agree with this to some degree (it depends on which apple product), apples are not always more expensive. In fact I have seen a $1500 imac out perform a $2000 PC. Furthermore the windows OS seems very intrusive, what I mean by that is windows seems to take up more memory and thus things like boot time, time it takes to open a program, etc is that much longer. There seems to be more processing power spent on the OS then say Apple's Snow Leopard. There is a reason why Apple has been the choice of artists/creative people for so long and its not just the trendy marketing on behalf of Apple that has been taking place over the last 10 years. Although the marketing has always been there to some degree or another (I seem to recall ads from the 90s from Apple saying "it just works"), Apple has just become a "hipster" brand in the last 10 yrs or so. I never had an Apple until 2005, but I recall my best friend's parents having them as a child. Her father was a full time professional photographer and her mother a graphic designer. I recall back then that her parents probably would have never understood why people like themselves would want to use anything but a Mac. To this day her parents (and now her) still have macs. I very much doubt her father would say these computers have been an inefficient investment in his line of business.
That said, I honestly do not understand why anyone who does anything that requires a high amount of processing power would want a macbook air or mac mini. And if you want an Apple on the cheap and are hardware/tech savvy, you can always make a Hackintosh!
Marina Starr
06-10-2012, 09:03 PM
http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/o632/Marinastarr/oprah.gif
I've said it countless times: Learn how to buy computer parts. With $1,400USD you can build an amazing computer that will pay itself in short time if you're smart enough. Hell, with $800 you can do that!
If you don't know about computers, then go to forums such as overclock.net and ask or help! I'll just this:
* Don't buy macs if you want to spend your money efficiently to make more money
In this business you have to be tech saavy and stay updated if you want to make good money. Remember that.
OJenni!
06-10-2012, 09:13 PM
I've said it countless times: Learn how to buy computer parts. With $1,400USD you can build an amazing computer that will pay itself in short time if you're smart enough. Hell, with $800 you can do that!
Now this is something I can agree with if you are going the windows or linux route (although my preference is linux in this case). Stores like like Best Buy or Future shop charge an arm and a leg for an "ok" computer.
OJenni!
06-10-2012, 09:19 PM
http://i1151.photobucket.com/albums/o632/Marinastarr/oprah.gif
Well I know you are a mac fan, but I do have to agree with Karina to some degree on the "Don't buy macs if you want to spend your money efficiently to make more money". I am admittedly not a huge fan of the macbook air, mac mini and some of the macbook pros. While the macbook pro is generally my choice for laptop, I don't particularly like how the 13' and 15' are ventilated and cooled down (the fans). These are things to consider when buying a laptop if you are webcamming, video editing, designing.
The operating system is what wins me over with Apple computers.
temptingmodel
06-10-2012, 10:01 PM
Can someone who has a computer that is working well with the new changes screenshot there settings? Thank you, bb! My pc is fine. i5 500mbps upload 3.1 encoder (switch back if your on 3.2 and having issues) My stream problems came from my shitty internet company knocking in and out.
I am still going to play merry go round with computers. I'm putting my sm to another site and the newest pc will now be with sm. One thing I can say is it is my only gig and I have to be up to par no matter what. Other companies are catching up with streamate so I have a pretty round excuse to buy a new one.
I do not split cam so I can not give feedback with that.
KarinaGiselle
06-10-2012, 10:39 PM
Let's see...
* HEC 63R3BB Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121120) $35
*ASRock B75 PRO3 LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157314) $79
* XFX FX-775A-ZNP4 Radeon HD 7750 Core Edition 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150612) $120
* CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2 600W ATX12V v2.3 Power Supply Unit (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028) $69
* Intel Core i5-3550 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz Quad-Core CPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116505) $200 This is an Ivy Bridge CPU, it's one of the best out there for the price.
* 2x PNY Optima 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model MD8192KD3-1333 (16GB in total) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178333) $77
* Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769) $74
* Logitech C525 USB 2.0 HD WebCam (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104472) $60 And this webcam is more than enough for camming.
This setup will cost you around $718USD from Newegg. Add a monitor, keyboard and mouse and you'll pay around $200 more maybe less if you know what to pick. Add a Windows 7 Home Premium license if you want to pay for original software (Although we all know we can get it "for free" ;) especially if we're college students through Microsoft DreamSpark).
Speaking of performance, this system will destroy ANY iMac out there considering the price/performance ratio of this build, and it'll be perfectly capable of HD streaming as long as your upload speed is good.
Why pick a Mac when I can have more bang for less buck? Remember girls: this is a business!
OJenni!
06-10-2012, 11:29 PM
Let's see...
* HEC 63R3BB Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121120) $35
*ASRock B75 PRO3 LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157314) $79
* XFX FX-775A-ZNP4 Radeon HD 7750 Core Edition 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150612) $120
* CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2 600W ATX12V v2.3 Power Supply Unit (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028) $69
* Intel Core i5-3550 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz Quad-Core CPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116505) $200 This is an Ivy Bridge CPU, it's one of the best out there for the price.
* 2x PNY Optima 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model MD8192KD3-1333 (16GB in total) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178333) $77
* Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769) $74
* Logitech C525 USB 2.0 HD WebCam (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104472) $60 And this webcam is more than enough for camming.
This setup will cost you around $718USD from Newegg. Add a monitor, keyboard and mouse and you'll pay around $200 more maybe less if you know what to pick. Add a Windows 7 Home Premium license if you want to pay for original software (Although we all know we can get it "for free" ;) especially if we're college students through Microsoft DreamSpark).
Speaking of performance, this system will destroy ANY iMac out there considering the price/performance ratio of this build, and it'll be perfectly capable of HD streaming as long as your upload speed is good.
Why pick a Mac when I can have more bang for less buck? Remember girls: this is a business!
While that is wonderful, I would venture to guess most cam girls are not in to tinkering around the insides of their computers let alone building one. Heck, based on the questions I have seen around here and many posts from ladies claiming their bf is a computer techie, I would venture to guess that most do not even know how to install ram or even know what type of ram their computer takes.
HaydenBlue
06-10-2012, 11:35 PM
While that is wonderful, I would venture to guess most cam girls are not in to tinkering around the insides of their computers let alone building one.
^ Exactly. I'd love to build my own computer. I have no idea how.
I also don't have room for another desktop. (no desk atm) So a laptop is more functionable for me.
KarinaGiselle
06-10-2012, 11:36 PM
Why not? It's as simple as putting together lego's and it's pretty straightforward. It's something you can do with help from folks of forums such as overclock.net so again, why not try it out? The satisfaction of building your own computer cannot be described with simple words and like I said, it's pretty easy and straightforward :)
EternalRose
06-11-2012, 12:32 AM
Why not? It's as simple as putting together lego's and it's pretty straightforward. It's something you can do with help from folks of forums such as overclock.net so again, why not try it out? The satisfaction of building your own computer cannot be described with simple words and like I said, it's pretty easy and straightforward :)
While I do agree it is pretty easy to assemble / dissassemble a compter, knowing what parts to use, and witch wont work is a whole nother matter. And personally I'm a "paranoid" person/cam girl so trusting some random internet stranger to help me spend hundreds of my hard earned cash to build a comp, yeah no. I let a friend of mine who know what he was doing irl help me build one years ago and it was still a pain in the ass. But again I dont trust strangers when it comes to big purchases.
kinkydirtybitch
06-11-2012, 12:53 AM
THIS!
I've just been out & spunked £2k on a brand new i7 PC SOLELY for camming including the two separate super fast broad band business packages (one for each PC), and the super whizzy black magic S-Video card AND since i was on a roll, treated myself to a touch screen monitor to go with. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the new settings (when I get my HD symbol like I did again yesterday on my i4) & this was my homage!
I DON'T think my PC could quite keep up hence the upgrade which after being in this lark for a few years, I do tend to do every 5 years, after buying the absolute creme de la creme each time it pays for itself MANY times over and it's tax deductible.
There is something a little dark about being relatively forced into such obscene acts of spending (I tell myself that to make myself feel better about such an indulgent overspend!) but I'm quite happy to do it because I have an addiction to shiny geeky things that make me money.
TracyBlade
06-11-2012, 01:37 AM
While I do agree it is pretty easy to assemble / dissassemble a compter, knowing what parts to use, and witch wont work is a whole nother matter. And personally I'm a "paranoid" person/cam girl so trusting some random internet stranger to help me spend hundreds of my hard earned cash to build a comp, yeah no. I let a friend of mine who know what he was doing irl help me build one years ago and it was still a pain in the ass. But again I dont trust strangers when it comes to big purchases.
Thank god I live with an IT guy who built my computer and can make changes :-D
Melonie
06-11-2012, 03:31 AM
but even if sm is doing this for the reason tha melony said, I don't think that they would increase top camgirls earnings %%
I never said that the payout percentage would be increased for top camgirls ... only that total payout dollars would increase. This will be the result of SM attracting more 'upscale' webcam customers and drawing in fewer 'cheap-ass' webcam customers.
There is something a little dark about being relatively forced into such obscene acts of spending (I tell myself that to make myself feel better about such an indulgent overspend!) but I'm quite happy to do it because I have an addiction to shiny geeky things that make me money.
In reality, it's not a lot different than dancers at 'upscale' strip clubs being forced to invest in 'high class' gowns and costumes, plastic surgery etc.
is it just me or does sm look like a ghost town this weekend? i hardly see anyone on and only 4 girls are running gold shows today....wtf? where is everybody? is this a glimpse at whats to come on here? is everyone going to have to find a new place to cam because we arent pornstars that have 2-3k laying around to upgrade everything?
Dancers who can't / can't afford to meet an 'upscale' strip club's minimum hiring standards don't get hired and don't get access to the 'upscale' club's higher spending customers. So they move to other less 'upscale' strip clubs, and try to earn money from less 'generous' customers.
For better or worse, this would be consistent with my speculations as to what's really going on in regard to ManWin owned tube sites no longer trading traffic with SM. It's also consistent with my speculations in regard to the effect of SM's new ranking algorithm heavily weighting the use of their new HD encoder software plus the ability to source HD video stream bandwidth by SM camgirls.
justanothercamgirl
06-11-2012, 05:11 AM
OMG!!! What upload do you have now?
There isn't a business class one that's affordable? Download speed doesn't matter that much really.
No, there isn't a business class one in my area that is affordable (thus the $2000). Internet and cell phone service in Canada is a completely different breed of beast that it is in the United States. You wouldn't believe how much we pay through the teeth. There are many internet packages that I can recieve 'all I can eat' download but they don't understand why anyone would want high upload speeds and therefore aren't really offering that option.
Edited to add: I forgot to say, I have 0.7 right now. I had to upgrade and pay a pretty penny for that. I used to be a 0.4!!!
justanothercamgirl
06-11-2012, 05:20 AM
In reality, it's not a lot different than dancers at 'upscale' strip clubs being forced to invest in 'high class' gowns and costumes, plastic surgery etc
In my view, it is a lot different. At least if you were in a single city then all you would need is money to be able to invest to compete with others because you all have access to the same resources.
If I want higher upload speeds I am going to have to literally pack up and move out of an apartment I love and into another part of the city. If I am having these types of problems when it comes to accessing the upload speeds that are required I can only imagine what will be happening to people in rural cities or even rural countries.
naughtycamgirl
06-11-2012, 08:07 AM
Update ! I logged on today after being off for 5 days or so, I have an i7, I tested my upload speed before and it was 2.20Mb
I was online for less than 1 hour and half, only got like 10 guys in my room at the same time, but reached almost half my goal, I also had the HD icon ( audio icon was not showing even if I do have audio and guys were able to hear me)
Melonie
06-11-2012, 08:57 AM
If I want higher upload speeds I am going to have to literally pack up and move out of an apartment I love and into another part of the city. If I am having these types of problems when it comes to accessing the upload speeds that are required I can only imagine what will be happening to people in rural cities or even rural countries.
Internet and cell phone service in Canada is a completely different breed of beast that it is in the United States. You wouldn't believe how much we pay through the teeth.
Again, for better or worse, with the 'upscale' strip club example you're not going to find 'upscale' strip clubs located in small towns !!! Top notch dancers who wish to maximize their earnings potential by working at 'upscale' strip clubs are thus forced to move to larger metropolitan areas ( or spend a ton of money on travel ). The available internet upload speed issue is really no different for camgirls where small towns versus large metropolitan areas is concerned.
As to Canadian internet and cell phone performance, since these are still fully regulated by the Canadian gov't your comments aren't really surprising.
I have an i7, I tested my upload speed before and it was 2.20Mb
I was online for less than 1 hour and half, only got like 10 guys in my room at the same time, but reached almost half my goal. I also had the HD icon
thanks for providing info that supports my point ! Indeed 'upscale' webcam customers ARE willing to spend quite a bit of money, providing the camgirl is top shelf and the video stream is true HD.
A few comments from the point of view of a webcam host and ISP's ...
- the webcam host has no legal mandate that they must provide HD capable video stream bandwidth and HD capable streaming video server access ( which perhaps costs the webcam host $5 per hour per camgirl ) to every girl who signs up. This is particularly the case where the webcam host's average percentage split of paid webcam sales for some camgirls is less than the cost incurred by the webcam host for bandwidth and streaming server hosting.
- the webcam host has no legal mandate to start spending cash money ( now that 'barter' trading traffic in exchange for recorded camgirl video content is no longer possible ) in order to attract 'traffic' to their webcam site which marginal camgirls are the most heavily dependent on.
- ISP's have no legal mandate that they must provide unlimited data transfers at > 1 meg upload speeds to 'residential' customers at low monthly rates.
Decalyn
06-11-2012, 09:32 AM
I know it's shitty JustAnother, but if you do end up moving, use BHell's service tool to check addresses before you even consider them. If you can find a place with the wiring to hookup to Fiber Optics, you'll be golden. :(
SarahTime
06-11-2012, 09:33 AM
I've said it countless times: Learn how to buy computer parts. With $1,400USD you can build an amazing computer that will pay itself in short time if you're smart enough. Hell, with $800 you can do that!
If you don't know about computers, then go to forums such as overclock.net and ask or help! I'll just this:
* Don't buy macs if you want to spend your money efficiently to make more money
In this business you have to be tech saavy and stay updated if you want to make good money. Remember that.
While I am a Mac girl all the way, I will only use a PC for camming for various reasons. And I totally agree.... I would NEVER buy an "out of the box" PC!!! My husband builds mine to get me exactly what I need to have a top notch camming computer and it is SOOO much cheaper to buy the parts and put it together yourself - if you know how, or can learn! The PC we just built cost just over $800 when it was said and done. You don't have to have an "i7" which is an intel.... any quad core processor is going to be sufficient.
I have an AMD quad core processor and I run TWO encoders, one at the new SM settings and one at the standard cams.com settings. I also run Skype and do screen sharing with my husband WHILE camming, and yahoo messenger. Never had an issue, everything runs flawless. So, yah you don't have to go run out and buy an "i7".