SKY launches FAN PASS 2.0 with new content, pricing plans and improved technology

Forums › Sky, Neon, Lightbox › SKY launches FAN PASS 2.0 with new content, pricing plans and improved technology

1 | ... | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | ... | 57

2806 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 810

Trusted

#1367856 17-Aug-2015 11:54

grant_k:

Several other people have mentioned bad experiences with Chrome, but I don't know whether you can use Firefox on a Mac? It might be worth trying if you can, because Firefox consistently delivers the goods for me, across a wide range of VOD sites.

Yeah, it occurred to me that switching browsers may be helpful. But as I was getting far better perf with AirPlay, I stuck with that. It gave me about 29 minutes worry free 720p streaming. But it started stuttering in the last 10 minutes of the ABs match.

It also had a couple of issues in the latter half of the netball, but was still far better than using my laptop (which is a very cumbersome way for me to do it anyway).

All things considered, AirPlay worked well enough for me to consider paying for Fan Pass in the future. And it was far ahead of than any Sky Go experience I've had.

voy1d

178 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 35

#1367869 17-Aug-2015 12:23

grant_k: So does anybody know whether Netflix, Hulu, HBO or Lightbox use Flash or HTML5?

It seems to me that may be the difference here.

I believe Netflix and Lightbox use Silverlight.

sidefx

3775 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1295

Trusted

#1367871 17-Aug-2015 12:28

voy1d:
grant_k: So does anybody know whether Netflix, Hulu, HBO or Lightbox use Flash or HTML5?

It seems to me that may be the difference here.

I believe Netflix and Lightbox use Silverlight.

Netflix uses HTML5 mostly these days, though it depends on device, OS and browser:

https://help.netflix.com/en/node/23742

(Flash? Yuck. )

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

grant_k

3539 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 124

Trusted

#1367875 17-Aug-2015 12:31

voy1d:
grant_k: So does anybody know whether Netflix, Hulu, HBO or Lightbox use Flash or HTML5?

It seems to me that may be the difference here.

I believe Netflix and Lightbox use Silverlight.

I tried Amazon Prime recently and that also used Silverlight, which is curious as I noticed elsewhere that Silverlight is due to be phased out and replaced with HTML5. From what I saw with Amazon Prime, it seems that Silverlight offers smoother playback than Flash.

tdgeek

30048 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 9455

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1367878 17-Aug-2015 12:34

dclegg:
tdgeek:
iPad Airplay appears to be the best performing option. iPad video is wonderfully smooth, and its only being transferred to the Apple TV

Does anyone know how AirPlay actually works? Is the stream being downloaded from the SVOD provider to the iPad/iPhone, and then forwarded to the Apple TV? Or does it broker a special URL for the Apple TV to use, which it will then use to connect directly to the content?

Airplay is from iOS device to ATV. In house function, literally

sidefx

3775 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1295

Trusted

#1367879 17-Aug-2015 12:35

grant_k:
I tried Amazon Prime recently and that also used Silverlight, which is curious as I noticed elsewhere that Silverlight is due to be phased out and replaced with HTML5. From what I saw with Amazon Prime, it seems that Silverlight offers smoother playback than Flash.

This is my experience too. It's actually a pity Microsoft has (sorta) killed silverlight as even today it offers a lot of really cool functionality where, while HTML5 is certainly the way of the future, it just isn't quite there yet. I only scratched the surface of silverlight streaming options when working with this stuff, but Silverlight seemed to offer a lot of nice functionality from both the server side and client perspective. As a consumer it also always seemed to perform very well... (Sorry way OT I know)

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

Dyson

Shop now for Dyson appliances (affiliate link).

Killerkiwi2005

374 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 85

Trusted

#1367881 17-Aug-2015 12:37

grant_k:
voy1d:
grant_k: So does anybody know whether Netflix, Hulu, HBO or Lightbox use Flash or HTML5?

It seems to me that may be the difference here.

I believe Netflix and Lightbox use Silverlight.

I tried Amazon Prime recently and that also used Silverlight, which is curious as I noticed elsewhere that Silverlight is due to be phased out and replaced with HTML5. From what I saw with Amazon Prime, it seems that Silverlight offers smoother playback than Flash.

I tested playback through kodi (the platform is used in the us alot and there are already addons) and it works but the buffering issues seems to be upstream not part of the player. It worked mid after noon but buffered constantly for the game

Killerkiwi2005

374 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 85

Trusted

#1367882 17-Aug-2015 12:38

sidefx:
grant_k:
I tried Amazon Prime recently and that also used Silverlight, which is curious as I noticed elsewhere that Silverlight is due to be phased out and replaced with HTML5. From what I saw with Amazon Prime, it seems that Silverlight offers smoother playback than Flash.

This is my experience too. It's actually a pity Microsoft has (sorta) killed silverlight as even today it offers a lot of really cool functionality where, while HTML5 is certainly the way of the future, it just isn't quite there yet. I only scratched the surface of silverlight streaming options when working with this stuff, but Silverlight seemed to offer a lot of nice functionality from both the server side and client perspective. As a consumer it also always seemed to perform very well... (Sorry way OT I know)

Netflix is all html5 now it works very well much better than flash or silverlight

sidefx

3775 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1295

Trusted

#1367885 17-Aug-2015 12:42

Killerkiwi2005:

Netflix is all html5 now it works very well much better than flash or silverlight

Even on older browsers that don't support HTML5? Impressive.

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

Jaxson

8172 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1332

Trusted

#1367894 17-Aug-2015 13:11

sidefx:
Killerkiwi2005:

Netflix is all html5 now it works very well much better than flash or silverlight

Even on older browsers that don't support HTML5? Impressive.

Of which the PS3 browser and a lot of tablet browsers fall into that category. If Neulion is Flash based, then I wonder what their development plans are to update this, or is to keep the flash and release dedicated apps for various devices instead.

It's hard to describe it, but there were lots of 'micro pauses' that clearly conveyed to me that it was being streamed. As others have mentioned though, that may be hardware specific though.
Regardless, 720p is not particularly challenging these days. I'll try a different connection to the TV before the pass runs out, perhaps over basic VGA cable for instance.

For those in the know, what aspects do you think are worthwhile recording for comparison purposes?:

Internet provider and connection type (eg Vodafone VDSL)
Computer Hardware (eg MacBook Pro version xx)
Computer Browser (eg ie 11 standard - with no VPN etc)
Computer Network Connection type (eg wifi with two other phones connected)
TV Hardware (eg Panasonic Plasma model xx)
Display Connection type (eg stupid Apple displayport thingy to hdmi cable into TV Hdmi input)
TV Display Mode (Normal, not sports or Dynamic etc and no 120hZ mode)

etc etc...

grant_k

3539 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 124

Trusted

#1367900 17-Aug-2015 13:32

Jaxson: For those in the know, what aspects do you think are worthwhile recording for comparison purposes?:

Internet provider and connection type (eg Vodafone VDSL)
Computer Hardware (eg MacBook Pro version xx)
Computer Browser (eg ie 11 standard - with no VPN etc)
Computer Network Connection type (eg wifi with two other phones connected)
TV Hardware (eg Panasonic Plasma model xx)
Display Connection type (eg stupid Apple displayport thingy to hdmi cable into TV Hdmi input)
TV Display Mode (Normal, not sports or Dynamic etc and no 120hZ mode)

etc etc...

I think that's a very comprehensive list Jaxson which should hopefully help others to decide whether they're likely to have a good experience before shelling out their $ (once the free trial period finishes).

Probably worth starting a new thread with the title reflecting the content. Something like:

Sky Fanpass configurations that work (and don't work)

Geekzone

Want to support Geekzone and browse the site without the ads? Subscribe to Geekzone now (monthly, annual and lifetime options).

Jaxson

8172 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1332

Trusted

#1367950 17-Aug-2015 14:35

grant_k:

Probably worth starting a new thread with the title reflecting the content. Something like:

Sky Fanpass configurations that work (and don't work)

Done, here...

GregV

932 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 304

#1367971 17-Aug-2015 14:52

bbunnys: Interesting I just checked with Sky and it does not include the pop up channels. So thats a big negative for me as lots of the motorsport and other sports are now on pop up channels. And I bet Bathurst will be as well.

:( What Sky channel was Bathurst aired on last year?

grant_k

3539 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 124

Trusted

#1368031 17-Aug-2015 15:45

GregV:
bbunnys: Interesting I just checked with Sky and it does not include the pop up channels. So thats a big negative for me as lots of the motorsport and other sports are now on pop up channels. And I bet Bathurst will be as well.

:( What Sky channel was Bathurst aired on last year?

It was on TV3 if I remember rightly.

kharris

1209 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 327

ID Verified

Trusted

#1368082 17-Aug-2015 16:41

I am using getflix on my Apple TV in order to get Netflix from other regions. I have the getflix DNS set on all my apple devices. Phone, iPad, and 2 Apple TVs.

I found that trying to use sky fan pass with the DNS set meant shuddering and a pretty crap picture. There is no way to see the resolution in the app so I couldn't tell you. I could use AirPlay for a while and then it would freeze altogether.

If I changed the DNS on the Apple TV and my phone to the ISPs DNS then it worked much better. However I don't want to have to change that every time and there is no DNS switcher app I can find for iOS.

Has anyone else had a similar issue. I do not have this issue with any other streaming service.

I feel if we are required to pay premium prices for fanpass and don't mind doing so if the service is also premium.

When I tried the same thing at a non peek time it was flawless with the getflix DNS set.
I will not use the service if I have to change DNS setting all the time. As mentioned this only seems to be an issue with fanpass.

Kirk

1 | ... | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | ... | 57