Cool!

I've been reading MR since I was 13, and still enjoy every single magazine. I am very excited about the video magazine, so I think I have to order that as well

MR Video Plus

They were having some bandwidth problems yesterday but I acessed the site today and they seem to have corrected most if not all.

Joe

So far so good.....

A lot of the information is pretty basic stuff right now though. I've been watching  "The Thin Branch" series.

Michael

This is the magazine!

Since I began reading this electronic magazine I find the others generally lacking in terms of quality and quantity. As to subscribing and paying for something that should have probably come with the magazine in the first place, I am not interested. A large amount of their material is rehashed and repackaged previous material. It seems that they have taken things from the magazine and packaged them into annuals and special issues and in effect sold us the goods multiple times. I still buy one magazine from them and the track planning and great model railroad annuals but that is it.

I do not remember how I discovered this magazine but rate it as truly one of the great finds I have made.The folks here have far surpassed the print magazines.

Rob

Thanks but no thanks...

They not only reuse a lot of material, I also discovered that they have actually removed the full screen viewing option on the MR Extra videos, which is described as "a premium subscriber content", only to make you pay extra for their new Video Plus feature. Two times I created a new thread on their forum asking if this was the case, or if it was a glitch with their new media player, and both times the thread was deleted without any explanation or notification at all. As a subscriber I thought this was a perfectly legitimate question, as it directly affected my subscriber benefits in a negative way. I also sent a message to the customer service asking the same thing, and haven't heard from them either...

Overzealous moderators I can tolerate, but downright arrogance I will not. I've been a subscriber for over ten years, but this time it's goodbye MR.

Sorry for the rant, just had to get it out of my system. The mods here are free to delete this reply if they feel it violates any forum rules.

Svein

As a long time Kalmbach customer

I have subscribed to MR since the early 70s, and subscribe to Trains and Classic Trains (best of the bunch IMHO). I also subscribe to RMC and NGSLG, my personal favorite and of course MRH. I pick up copies of Westlake Publishings books and the Sn3 magazine. I will not subscribe to Video Plus. I agree with Scotty Mason's recent podcast discussions on this subject: the modeling by MR's staff is far from being inspirational or demonstrating leading edge techniques. It's subpar for the staff of a major publisher. I'd rather purchase more Mike Confalone videos and watch the videos posted on this site to learn from or be inspired by quality modeling. This is not meant to bash MR as I will continue to be a subscriber. This is not meant to demean anyone who subscribes to Video Plus and enjoys; there is room for everyone in our great hobby. Maybe its because I've been in the hobby for a long time and their material is more focused on folks getting started or back into the hobby; good for them.  It's just that Video Plus is not for me.

The Real Problem?

Ernie - like you I'm not here to bash MR, and I continue to subscribe, but I agree with you and Scotty on this.  That may be a big part of why I haven't seen the value of MR Video Plus.  I compare the work from MR's current staff like Cody, Steven Otte and David Popp to what I see from Joe F., Charlie Comstock, and now Don Hanley, plus regular contributors like Mike Confalone and Tom Patterson and find the quality and forward thinking here at MRH to be superior.  While I'm not much of a video guy, I'd consider paid content from the MRH regulars way before I'd consider paying for MR Video Plus.

I keep wondering...

Why are there some who seem to always want to discuss MR here?  MR has their own forum you know.  Is there a reason why this discussion wouldn't or shouldn't be discussed over at their forum?

Kevin, my take is..............

.........if you're here and discussing them "over there", you at least have seen both sides.  If you discuss them "there" you might not have seen what's here.  I think that's right.  Huh?

Peter

I appreciate the broader view

While there's certainly value in discussing MR's content "over there", I find value from discussing it here too because we get a broader view (MR vs MRH). As long as we're civil, the contrast and compare is useful.

The kudos are nice, but what's more interesting to me is that MRH's passion for the hobby comes through better from our staff. I know (because I was on contract with MR from 2005-2007 to produce video content for them) that MR hires journalists first and model railroaders second.

Our feeling is hobby niche content is *passion-driven* and for that reason it's very important to us we hire model railroaders first and journalists second. I feel it's vital to hire MRH staff in this order because then the passion comes through much better. That's one reason we ended up with Don Hanley as our new assistant editor. We got resumes also from journalists who were willing to learn to speak model railroading, but that didn't suit our priorities.

This discussion is helpful to me because it's proving out the wisdom of this approach.

This also means MR is well-positioned to crank out higher quality content from a journalistic perspective, but the "passion meter reading" on that content may be lower. But then MR's deliberate focus (also taken from discussions with them while on contract with them)  is BUILDING LAYOUTS rather than building models. As much as they can, MR pulls in hobby vendor products when they can, which does create more of an infomercial feel to their layout projects.

Not trying to say MR is bad, just that they serve a bit different audience than we do: more beginner to intermediate. MRH's focus is more the intermediate to advanced modeler, but without completely alienating rank beginners.

It is what it is.....

I was going to re up my MR subscription in the digital format anyway. The extra to add MR Video plus didn't seem all that bad so a took a chance on it. If after a year I don't think it was worth it, I'll let it lapse and go back to being a "regular" MR subscriber. I'm hoping that as time goes on, the content will start to improve, it's pretty basic stuff right now. My biggest pet peeve with MR digital magazine is the carrier, Zinio, but I'm trying to cut down on all the paper publications in the house so I decided to live with it.

I heard the Scotty Mason comments as well but since it's the first time I had ever heard of the guy or his show, I didn't know how much stock I really wanted to put in them. To tell the truth, I wasn't really all that impressed with Scotty and his guys  myself. I'll leave it at that.

Michael

Scotty's podcast is an acquired taste

Scotty's podcast is an acquired taste. Once you get to know the guys by listening regularly, it gets to be more fun to listen.

Also, Scotty has one thing down well - he feels a podcast also needs to be entertaining, and once you get to know the guys a bit, it's certainly entertaining!

I'm sure it is....

and I might can listen to something like that while working on the layout although it still seems awfully long winded. All I'm saying is  that if you are going to criticize, be prepared to accept criticism yourself. Not to be put in the position of defending MR but I still like some of the guys over there like David Popp, Jim Hediger and Andy Sperandeo and Scotty and crew were heaping pretty heavy criticism towards MR and I didn't think their "web show" was any great shakes either. I better shut up now before Scotty's minions descend upon me....

Michael

I like MR too

Yes, I like MR too. I agree with your list: David Popp is great, as are Jim Hediger and Andy Sperandeo. To that list, I would add Neil Besougloff. Under his leadership, MR is looking the best it's looked in quite a spell.

As for Scotty's podcast crew, it's hard to be objective when Jimmy Simmons is one of the MRH tech support guys and Mike Rose is one of our rotating Getting Real columnists. Can't say I know Joe Duckworth well, but he's a skilled DJ and experienced podcaster in his own right. They kid each other a lot with inside jokes - so if you're not a regular listener, I can see how it might be somewhat off-putting.

Video Comments

Getting back in to the hobby after a 30 year hiatus there is a lot of new technologies to see. I for one am very happy to see the videos and look forward to many more. For you that are old hands remember back to the time when you started, could you have used a resource like this? Not all of us who love this hobby have the "knack" or the natural skills required. I for one like seeing basic topics and look for more complicated topics covered in the future. Going from a flat top table to a wall mounted L girder system would be a no go for me without the help of a visual reference.Some people may be able to look at the newer track plans that show elevation differences and build the benchwork for it. Bet it will be a lot easier for me now that I have seen it done. Larry Harris 616 638 4665. Sorry for no separation in the sentences  but the enter key is not working

..

LOL, Scott needs no minions, but I see an MR minion. 

I listen to the show for the Mike Rose segments, but Scott's endless references to Monster drinks and 5 hour energy wasn't funny 6 months ago, but yet he still says it every episode.   (hint, hint ) 

Back to the topic, I will not subscribe to view some rehashed content that was previously free, (Hediger) and the new stuff (I'm guessing) isn't going to supersede what I have gotten here as far as video instruction. 

Not an MR minion

There are people that I like over there and a couple of people that I really really dislike too. I listed the ones I like but I've learned better than to list the ones I dislike. Some people feel that content that was free is being taken away now and charged for and I can understand how that might upset them. As for myself, I've been more interested in the completely new content than anything else and I hope as they hit their stride and produce more, it will be worth it.

To each their own I guess.....

Michael

Mixed Bag of Quality

Some of the newer material is of very good Hi-Def quality.  What I've seen of the older material (from the MR Extra material) isn't.

My original impression was that this video offering was going to be new material produced weekly.  In addition, there is no option for downloading the content for viewing offline, unlike the Digitial version of the magazine.  While a lot of people like to be permanently connected to the internet I don't. 

As to actual content, I've been watching Dave Popp's Thin Branch series.  Didn't Dave fail to read Westcott's work and or just forget to put some diagonal bracing on those lightweight legs? I also found the material a bit "thin".  It's not like they have to work within a broadcast TV time limitation.

Alan

MR Extra videos still available full screen

Not sure what Svein's problem is but the MR Extra videos have a full-screen option.  The quality isn't full screen on the few I watched (unlike the new Hi-Def content on Video Plus).
The funny thing is they are pointing people to Video Plus for a better viewing experience.  Only it isn't on the older material.

alan

Not Impressed

I also decided to try Video Plus since I am subscriber to the magazine! While there is a fair amount of new videos many are videos I have already seen on their website! It remains to be seen how often they add new videos and how beneficial they are!  So far I am not all that impressed!

disappointed

I was mostly disappointed because much of the content I had already viewed in the subscriber extras.  I was also expecting new content more frequently.  I am a complete newbie and like the magazine, so I thought I'd give the videos a try. 

Swindled is a strong word

Swindled is a strong word. What were you expecting?

In fact, I put that question to everyone - what would you expect that would make a monthly "video magazine" worth the money?

Sorry, didn't mean to use

the wrong word.  I meant only that all of the promotion before launch  was for something new and different, and most of what is there I had already seen as a subscriber.  I opted to pay extra for more new content, not reruns.  I took a chance and only spent $25 for the year, but I have bought all your videos Joe and subscribed to MRH and I guess I was expecting the same quality and quantity that I get here for the buck, 

Okay, good - what else?

Okay, no rehashed content - looking for *fresh* content.

Fresh content on what? What topics would you find most useful?