[shoeless]

As a rookie to vugraph operation, I managed the broadcast from Seoul - progressing from single table to two table to four table coverage for the finals - 30 sessions in all with more than 60 tables broadcast - with no small amount of help from David Thompson and Nick Fahrer of Australia (Thanks and thanks and thanks guys). Throughout the problems that arose were either hardware or operator related. The software was flawless. Hats off to BBO for making it so easy for bridge events to take their game to the world - I am in awe.

What's amazing is that I had a few small suggestions to improve the software utility and already at least one of them has been implemented - does Fred never sleep?

[Walddk]

Nice to hear that you had a positive experience as a BBO vugraph operator, Rick. This confirms what we write in our standard vugraph guidelines:

"The most critical factor in determining the success of these broadcasts is the quality of the operators. It is vital that these people become familiar with the software before the actual broadcast takes place. The software is easy to learn and it is subsequently easy to use, but operators should spend at least a couple of hours practicing before the actual event".

Roland

[shoeless]

Right - it is crucial, no question. One thing that would be nice to have in the manual is a one page table for at-a-glance trouble shooting - "if this happens - here is how to correct it" or "if this happens - check this".

I had the rare pleasure of handing over a broadcast to a young Hong Kong player who is the keyboarding champion there. To watch him enter by keystrokes was incredible - his eyes never left the table during the auction or play. If an operator has that skill - that is definitely the preferred method. Alas, I don't.

[mrdct]

Don't under-estimate the importance of a good stable internet connection.

Cooperative event organisers is pretty handy also to get access to the hand data files, etc.

Above all, I think fairly detailed planning well before an event is the key to ensure that all of the infrastructure is right and that you have enough competent operators to do the job.