The Sewing Place

Bluprint (was Craftsy) to close

Helen M

Re: Bluprint (was Craftsy) to close
« Reply #45 on: May 25, 2020, 10:56:00 AM »
Thanks, I'll have a look at it.
Stash Busting 2024 - Goal: 25 metres
So far:  1.5 metres  ------ Donated : 0 metres
Items decluttered: 55

Ryomaden

Re: Bluprint (was Craftsy) to close
« Reply #46 on: May 30, 2020, 11:09:34 AM »
I am quite miffed about this, plus the fact that with my membership lapse (last week) my credits have disappeared. I will use the video downloadhelper chrome extension to grab what I still have access to.

Vezelay

Re: Bluprint (was Craftsy) to close
« Reply #47 on: May 30, 2020, 11:50:55 AM »
I received this in an email this morning https://link.news.mybluprint.com/view/5948ef12e661f02a268b49915ed226caf291c931362e57ef/9a1e8d0c

I don't know what they mean by looking at giving us an extended period to download our classes. Afaik they can only be downloaded on and within the app and who has endless space on their phone or tablet - or for that matter the time?

UttaRetch

Re: Bluprint (was Craftsy) to close
« Reply #48 on: May 30, 2020, 12:55:39 PM »
There are third party solutions - see some of the replies above.

Vezelay

Re: Bluprint (was Craftsy) to close
« Reply #49 on: May 30, 2020, 13:08:38 PM »
Yes I saw those @UttaRetch but if that was what they intend us to do then one would expect some guidance at the very least. Many people will be confused about how to achieve this.

UttaRetch

Re: Bluprint (was Craftsy) to close
« Reply #50 on: May 30, 2020, 13:15:25 PM »
I have also received the email in which the CEO says, amongst other things:

Quote
I wanted to let you know that we are looking at various options to allow those of you who have purchased individual classes to receive a copy of your classes. This includes individual classes purchased with own forever credits. We are also planning to issue prorated refunds for paid subscribers based on the last day our service will be available, which will be communicated when that date is finalized in the near future.

I think Bluprint has handled the shutdown very badly.  It should have had means of transferring the content in place before making the annoucement.  The adverse publicity should not be under-estimated and people will remember this if ever Levisay embarks on another venture.

Ohsewsimple

Re: Bluprint (was Craftsy) to close
« Reply #51 on: May 30, 2020, 14:35:02 PM »
I’ve received the email too.....twice!  And I wondered about the downloading.  It needs to be able to be downloaded directly to your pc, mac, iPad or whatever.  No good telling us they will give us extra time to download it as it is.   And they should give instructions on how to go about this. 

Kwaaked

Re: Bluprint (was Craftsy) to close
« Reply #52 on: May 30, 2020, 17:14:37 PM »
I'm assuming a lot here, but one, third party downloads are high on space.  54 classes (of which 4 I didn't download) have taken 75GB of space and each video is in 6-12 parts.  They also can't be compressed any further, so this is how much they take up.

So they have to figure out:
1. How to make them eat less space.
2. Be more convenient to download in 1 go instead of episodes, making them user friendly and easy.
3. Encrypt them with a password so no one can post them willy nilly on the web (anti piracy), and allow NBC to able to follow copyright violations.
4.  Keep resources and CC available.

Frankly, I don't know how they can do it.  I can do part of this myself with a bit of editing (make one video, password protect it and pull the CC file) but it takes editing that has nothing to do with bluprint and is not user friendly for most people.  (As a caveat, I edit my son's you tube junk.)

Personally?  They would have been better off letting this go for another year, creating something like Threads collection on DVD/drive for sale BEFORE the announcement (for each topic) for $200 or so, then announcing they were going to close, create smaller files for those who don't want to buy all of them (because the collection would have already had a platform in use for videos), then give 6 months to download the individual purchased classes/platform.  All the work would have been done, and they would have made a tidy profit (because wouldn't you buy the whole sewing library even if you already had some of the classes?)

Thing is, "forever" only is going to work while the technology does.  They will still be obsolete in a few years for most, unless they learn to go to a virtual machine.

mudcat

Re: Bluprint (was Craftsy) to close
« Reply #53 on: May 31, 2020, 03:03:58 AM »
I've yet to receive any emails from them.  I have probably 50 courses or so.  Mine are split between cooking, sewing plus a weaving one. 

On PR there are some suggestions for downloading.  I was hoping Bluprint would provide a way to download without using a third party since I'm reluctant to use many apps but it seems that may not be an option.

UttaRetch

Re: Bluprint (was Craftsy) to close
« Reply #54 on: May 31, 2020, 08:03:19 AM »
Bluprint is working on a solution, but nobody knows what it will be.  In the meantime people are looking for and finding things that work for them.

Renegade Sewist

Re: Bluprint (was Craftsy) to close
« Reply #55 on: June 01, 2020, 07:05:47 AM »
At least you weren't all idiots like me. I've been extremely busy and hadn't gotten to downloading all my free classes with this year's subscription. Email came Saturday afternoon for me but I didn't see it until Sunday (31st) afternoon. Everything at bluprint has expired mountain time, so I would have until 10:59 PM. Idiot me didn't catch it was Eastern time on this. So when I finally got there at 9PM  all my coupons were worthless. Plus several of the classes I would have downloaded were no longer there.

I sent an annoyed email, deleted my NBC news app, have told NBC separately to never darken my door again and am just generally in an even more foul mood than before.

Now I'll go back to my Korean drama. Episode 4 of 60 in the Asian history month selection on viki. Just waiting to find it gone or subscribers only on June 1st.

Back to my hole in the ground.  :scream:
Hey Bill! Read the manual!  Hehehe.

Kwaaked

Re: Bluprint (was Craftsy) to close
« Reply #56 on: June 01, 2020, 10:17:32 AM »
They have told the state of Colorado that they are planning on shutting down on or about July 22.  Not a whole lot of time to get a solution to us, allow us to download, get the money back for subs and generally not be a huge wanker.

A WARN notice is a Workers Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, and by law with 100+ employees they have to give 60 days notice to the workers so that they can find other jobs or generally adjust to unemployment.

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2020/05/26/bluprint-formerly-craftsy-shutting-down-layoffs.html

I am editing this because there is some interesting things about WARN.  One is that they don't have to give the notice if the company is faltering and it could hurt them from seeking funds.  It's been said in other places this makes no sense, and really with this WARN they are not just doing okay enough to not be faltering, but they just nuked a whole part of their industry.

I also do know a few people in the entertainment industry, and I asked about this.  While not really their area of expertise (and a couple are actors so really out of their pay level) they all said the exact same thing: follow the money.  I have a theory on what is going on, but no proof.  But I do believe this is all hinged on NBCU's new peacock platform.
« Last Edit: June 01, 2020, 10:24:09 AM by Kwaaked »

Renegade Sewist

Re: Bluprint (was Craftsy) to close
« Reply #57 on: June 02, 2020, 04:08:54 AM »
@Kwaaked bingo. Peacock is  where everything NBC is headed. I was  researching yesterday. One has to wonder what the point of buying Craftsy and turning it into bluprint really was. Me thinks a combination of experiment,  think of us as lab rats on this, and a nice email  list of people willing to watch their streaming that have already given them permission for contact and to share with their affiliates. Peacock opens to the public July 15th. I expect an email touting my valued status and offering a great premium subscriber deal. I think it might include offering to apply my refund from bluprint to my new peacock account.

Back to the hole in the ground.
Hey Bill! Read the manual!  Hehehe.

Kwaaked

Re: Bluprint (was Craftsy) to close
« Reply #58 on: June 02, 2020, 05:07:57 AM »
Telemundo is also owned by the same branch of NBCUniversal as bluprint, FYI.  From what I understand, there is some issue of the on demand with them as well...and they are a silent partner in Hulu.  It is actually pretty amazing WHAT they have their finger in, really.

And yes, peacock opens 7-15 and bluprint is closing about 7-22. 

My conspiracy theory on this: they made the WARN and had to notify the workers, including the upper echelon, and did so the day that was filed.  Educators are technically independent contractors and thus not needed for notification.  However, Levisay sent the email to them because he himself had just found out and started a ball rolling NBC did not plan on happening.  We, the consumer and the educators, was NOT supposed to know about this.

In the WARN, they are closing on or about 7-22, with everyone gone by 8-31.  This latter date allows the IT department to change formats to peacock.

In my theory, I believe that NBC planned on the service to segue into peacock with all of us subscribers being seamlessly integrated sometime by 8-31...all our stuff and content was to be there, but they got rid of "forever" classes on the new platform.  They'd be on the platform, but access was changed to just the peacock platform, as long as you paid the sub price.

I do believe this was supposed to be hush hush, we'd get a bit of a free time out of it for the forever classes/paid subscription to bluprint, but that they would come out of it ahead financially.   I also believe that the educators weren't supposed to know so contracts could be redone, so they made a smaller amount because of the larger service and no longer on a paid per view or purchase, but smaller royalty rights per quarter based on the whole of peacock's library.

I can't prove a bit of this, and I would be surprised if it happened this way now...but I do believe this was going to benefit NBC immensely, and a fly got into that ointment.  Oh, I think some classes will wind up on peacock still (not all now)...but someone leaked and put a huge fly in the ointment for them.

UttaRetch

Re: Bluprint (was Craftsy) to close
« Reply #59 on: June 02, 2020, 08:33:45 AM »
You can never keep controversial plans under wraps.  Someone always blows the whistle.