Edmonton Rovers

Edmonton Rovers are a mens' team who play in the Waltham Sunday League just to the north of London. Club Secretary Laurence Hughes has filmed virtually every Edmonton Rovers match on a professional basis since 1990 when he started up Hughes Video Services, and indeed selling copies of Rovers' match videos & DVD's to opposing Club Secretaries and players has been a vital part of the business ever since.

Over the years, the club have had quite a bit of T.V. and media exposure due to Hughes Video Services filming all their matches. The first piece of publicity to come their way was in 1991 when Danny Baker hosted a regular weekly programme (The Game') on ITV which showed some clips of Rovers in action. When the first Compilation Video of an Edmonton Rovers season was produced later that year, Rovers then found themselves being featured regularly on BBC Radio 5's 'Sunday Brunch' arts programme which saw presenter Mariella Frostrup phoning the pub every Sunday lunchtime to get a post-match report live on air from Laurence Hughes and interview some players.

The best publicity to come Rovers way though was undoubtedly between September 1994 and early 1999 when Sky Sports 2's ' Sunday morning 'Soccer Extra' show started a 'Sunday League Soccer' feature in which a spoof commentary (by their own 'Steve & Jonty') was dubbed on to video footage sent in by Sunday League clubs. Rovers match highlights were then consistently shown on the programme every three or four weeks on average and with the show rapidly attaining cult status when it switched to Saturday mornings to become 'Soccer A.M.', the club became so well-known that their players even found themselves being recognised by people in the street !

Several magazine and newspaper articles then followed, but in recent years the club have relied mainly on it's excellent website for publicity, while since 2009, highlights of matches have been appearing on the Hughes Video Services’ You Tube channel.

More details on the club’s Video History can be found on the Club Website.

HOW OUR EDMONTON ROVERS DVD’S ARE FILMED, EDITED & PRODUCED

Edmonton Rovers matches are all filmed from the half-way line, usually at ground level using just the one camera on a tripod, but for Sunday League Football this is actually quite sophisticated compared to the wobbly hand-held palmcorder or mobile phone camera that is often used by other teams when attempting to film their games.

Thankfully, the perennial Sunday League problem of spectators on the touchline getting in the way of the camera is quite rare at Edmonton Rovers matches (mainly because quite often they are only watched by 'a man and his dog'), but all Home matches are filmed from a portable 'scaffolding' raised four feet off the ground which solves the problem completely and gives a much better view all round. We used to use a large wooden box (See picture left), but somebody 'nicked it' from the changing rooms during Council refurbishments ! As you can see from that picture, we also film Edmonton Rovers matches in all kinds of weather !

All Edmonton Rovers matches filmed before April 2001 were recorded using an S-VHS camera which produced a decent quality image, but all matches since then have been filmed using Canon XM1, XM2 and more recently XHA1 Mini-DV cameras which have a vastly improved picture quality.

From Season 2007-2008 onwards (since purchasing the Canon XHA1), all Edmonton Rovers matches have been filmed, edited & produced in the widescreen (16:9) format. All matches filmed before then are in the ‘old’ 4:3 format. In the future, we are hoping to start filming and producing matches in high definition on Blu-Ray discs. The Canon XHA1 camera can already film in that format, but Blu-Ray recorders and players are still too expensive at this moment in time.

Matches filmed up until May 2003 were edited & produced by feeding the footage from the camera master tape into a stand-alone non-linear editing suite which was not DV-enabled. This means that the edited master copies of all matches filmed before then are in the S-VHS format and DVD copies for customers are run off from that. Although the copies of those matches are of reasonable quality, the acquisition of computer-based editing software in July 2003 resulted in us being able to produce vastly improved copies of matches filmed from the start of Season 2003-2004 onwards, as the source footage and edited version is kept in a loss-free digital format which is of television broadcast quality. Slow-motion replays and titles have been increasingly enhanced since then, while DVD’s of all matches filmed from the start of Season 2003-2004 onwards include menus and chapters whereby the goals can be accessed at the click of a button rather than by rewinding and searching. (DVD's of matches that were edited & produced before Season 2003-2004 are straightforward copies from S-VHS master tapes, so they do not include menus and chapters).

Edmonton Rovers Match DVD's from Season 1999-2000 onwards are all edited to include the 'Full 90 Minutes' (and Extra-Time if played) whereas Match DVD's before Season 1999-2000 were edited down to a running time of between 70-80 Minutes. All Match DVD's include titles throughout the video for goalscorers, substitutions, bookings, etc., plus slow-motion replays.

Up until March 2005, all Edmonton Rovers Match DVD's included a narrated introduction describing both the Edmonton Rovers line-up and that of their opponents (if the information was provided by their opponents). However, we no longer do a narrated introduction on our Match DVD's due to a lack of time to script it, although the improved picture and editing quality more than makes up for that. There is no match commentary on any Edmonton Rovers DVD's...the spectators on the touchline tend to do this for us (unwittingly !).

All copies of Edmonton Rovers Match DVD's are supplied in presentation boxes with full colour inserts featuring still-frame shots of footage from the actual match. (See picture right).

Edmonton Rovers Season Compilations up to and including the 1997-1998 Season feature all the goals and main action from throughout the particular season with an informative and sometimes humorous narration by Club Secretary Laurence Hughes. All copies of these Edmonton Rovers Compilations are supplied in presentation boxes with full colour inserts featuring still-frame shots of footage from that particular Season. Unfortunately, we have not had time to produce any narrated Season Compilations since the 1997-1998 Season as they take too long to script, while the voice-overs often need several re-takes !!! Instead, we are hoping to eventually produce DVD Compilations for each season from 1998-1999 onwards which will consist of approximately six 80-minute volumes per season featuring 20-minutes worth of highlights per match from four matches on each volume (but with no commentary or narration). Unfortunately, due to time constraints, this is the only way that we can produce Edmonton Rovers Compilations from now on. Each volume will be priced at £10.00 each and will be supplied in presentation boxes with full-colour inserts featuring still-frame shots of footage from the matches featured. We will also make a package (‘box set’) available for all volumes at a price to be advised (depending on the number of volumes and cost of editing & production).

In addition to Match & Season Compilation DVD’s, we have also filmed a number of Club Tours and 5-a-Side or 7-a-Side competitions that the club have been involved in over the years. These are currently only on S-VHS video-tape masters though and have not yet been converted to DVD. They will appear in the Compilation DVD’s section once we have done so and they are ready for sale.

During the 1990's, we also produced a number of 'Out-Takes' Videos from our footage of Edmonton Rovers matches and Club Tours. These are only available for current and former club members to purchase (once we have converted them to DVD) and they will not be listed on this website for the general public to buy.

EDMONTON ROVERS MATCH DVD’S AVAILABILITY

At the moment, most of Edmonton Rovers matches before Season 2003-2004 are still on S-VHS video-tape masters and have not yet been converted to DVD. Once we have done so, they will then be listed in this online catalogue for ordering at £10.00 per copy (including postage & packing to U.K. destinations).

Matches filmed from August 2003 onwards have all been mastered on DVD already, and these will all be fully listed in our catalogue shortly (at £10.00 per copy).
Full Match DVD’s from the current 2011-2012 Season are now available to order here in our online catalogue.

EDMONTON ROVERS COMPILATION DVD’S AVAILABILITY

At the moment, most of the Compilations of a particular season that we produced for Edmonton Rovers are still on S-VHS video-tape masters and have not yet been converted to DVD.

Once we have done so, they will then be listed in this online catalogue for ordering at £12.00 per copy (including postage & packing to U.K. destinations). The majority of our Edmonton Rovers Compilation DVD’s have a Running Time of 180 Minutes and will therefore be supplied on Dual-Layer DVD's...hence the increased price.

HOW TO ORDER FROM OUR BACK-CATALOGUE OF EDMONTON ROVERS DVD’S

Our new online catalogue is now up and running where customers can purchase Edmonton Rovers Full Match DVD’s by credit or debit card via PayPal. DVD’s for the current season (2011-2012) are now listed here, and DVD’s for other seasons will be online in due course. Simply click on the ‘Add To Cart’ button to order the DVD(s) you require and alter the quantity if you require more than one copy. Click on ‘View Cart’ or on the ‘Checkout’ button on the drop-down cart that appears in the top right-hand corner of the page. This will take you through to PayPal where you will pay for your order securely online.

If you prefer the old-fashioned way, you can still order DVD’s from our catalogue by CLICKING HERE to download and print off a PDF Order Form which you can then complete and post off to our office address with a cheque or a postal order. You can also CLICK HERE to download the Order Form as a Word Document which you can then type your order into and e-mail it to us as an attachment. You can also pay for your order directly into our account by BACS (Internet Banking) and you can find our account details on the Order Form.

All postage & packing for U.K. destinations is completely free of charge, irrespective of how many DVD’s you are ordering.
If you require your DVD order to be posted overseas, please note that you will need to pay an extra £1.50 per DVD. An ‘Add To Cart’ button for this purpose is at the bottom of every list of DVD’s in our online catalogue. Customers from outside the U.K. are also advised that our DVD’s are supplied in the PAL format only.

Personal callers to our office address who wish to collect their DVD orders (and pay in cash) MUST make an appointment. We do not have a shop and our office is in a residential road with very little car parking space.

Please also note that we are not VAT-registered.

DELIVERY INFORMATION

For U.K. deliveries, all orders of 1-2 DVD’s will be posted off using normal First Class mail. Orders of 3-4 DVD’s will be posted off using Royal Mail Recorded Delivery (First Class). For orders of five DVD’s or more, we will use Royal Mail Special Delivery (Next-day before 1.00.p.m.).

In general, all orders for DVD’s that are listed in this catalogue should be fulfilled and posted off within 7-10 days of receiving your payment, although it may take slightly longer during the months of March, April, May & June, as that is our busiest time of year (when we are filming Cup Finals & Tournaments).

PAYING FOR COPIES AT EDMONTON ROVERS MATCHES

Opposing Club Secretaries, players and indeed Referees can order a copy of the fully-edited Match DVD from the game they have just taken part in by paying Laurence Hughes £10.00 in cash on the final whistle. The DVD will then be posted off to them within 7-10 days. Teams who are due to play Edmonton Rovers in a forthcoming match can also contact us to order any back-catalogue DVD's listed on this website. These can then be brought along to the match and you can pay Laurence Hughes in cash for them on the day.

Please place your order at least 7 days in advance to ensure the DVD’s you require can be run off in time.

UNSURE IF YOU PLAYED IN A PARTICULAR MATCH ?

We have kept details of the Edmonton Rovers team line-ups for every one of their matches filmed since 1990, and in most cases we also have details of who played for their opponents.

That means if you are unsure as to whether you (or somebody you know) played in a particular match that we have listed, you can contact us first (preferably by e-mail) to find out before you go ahead and place your order. For more recent matches (since the start of Season 2010-2011), you will be able to view team line-ups on a PDF linked from the DVD listing in our online catalogues. Just click on the yellow ‘Match Details’ button.

RETURNS POLICY

All DVD’s we produce are checked for errors before they are distributed, and thanks to modern technology it is very rare that we have any faulty DVD’s returned to us. Should you receive a faulty DVD, please return it to our office address with the details and we will send you a replacement if the fault is genuine. Please enclose a copy of your receipt and details of your name & address.

Please note that in almost all cases when we have had a DVD returned as faulty, the shiny side of the disc has been covered in scratches or finger marks and that has been the reason why the DVD has failed to play properly. All DVD’s we produce are distributed in mint condition, so please make sure you clean the shiny side of the DVD with a soft lens cloth before you confirm that the disc does not play back properly. We will not replace any DVD’s that are returned to us with scratches on the shiny side of the disc or with bits of food stuck on to it...which is a common problem !

Please also note that we will be unable to replace any DVD’s you may have ordered in error.

For all other returns enquiries, please contact us.

LEGAL INFORMATION

PRIVACY NOTICE...Hughes Video Services will not seek to profit or otherwise gain from distribution of the personal data you submit when ordering from this website.

COPYRIGHT...All content included on this website is the property of Hughes Video Services and is protected by U.K. & International copyright laws.

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