Sky Sport Now - 2019 changes

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238 posts

Master Geek

#2587700 19-Oct-2020 12:22

jjnz1: From the feedback posted, it's looking like Apple TV is quite solid, whereas Chromecast is where you have frame rate issues etc.

It would be interesting if the people without problems running on Apple TV, instead try a chromecast and see what happens?

Also, NZ cricket this season is only on Spark Sport right?

All of the cricket played in NZ is on Spark Sport - Sky Sport has everything else.

This is off Sky Sport Website:

"We have every major ICC tournament including the T20 World Cups for men and women, the U19's and the Cricket World Cup. We also broadcast all Cricket Australia home internationals (Men's and Women's, including the BLACKCAPS tour in 2021), the Big Bash Leagues for men and women, domestic matches in cricket-mad Pakistan, all international cricket played in India, South Africa and the West Indies and the action-packed Indian Premier League (currently being played in the UAE). "

JPNZ

1547 posts

Uber Geek

#2587714 19-Oct-2020 12:45

Yogi02:

jjnz1: From the feedback posted, it's looking like Apple TV is quite solid, whereas Chromecast is where you have frame rate issues etc.

It would be interesting if the people without problems running on Apple TV, instead try a chromecast and see what happens?

Also, NZ cricket this season is only on Spark Sport right?

All of the cricket played in NZ is on Spark Sport - Sky Sport has everything else.

Yeah, the current tours in NZ that Spark will have this season are NZ vs West Indies, Pakistan and then Bangladesh.

Panasonic 65GZ1000, Onkyo RZ730, Atmos 5.1.2, AppleTV 4K, Nest Mini's, PS5, PS3, MacbookPro, iPad Pro, Apple watch SE2, iPhone 15+

StNick

88 posts

Master Geek

#2587758 19-Oct-2020 14:05

jjnz1: From the feedback posted, it's looking like Apple TV is quite solid, whereas Chromecast is where you have frame rate issues etc.

I don't mean to undermine the positive experience that Apple TV users are having, but I don't believe that the framerate issues with SSN are device-related in any way. Streaming services such as SSN offer up a number of streams for any given video to cater for varying internet speeds, as well as device compatibility. It is fairly trivial for someone with minor technical knowledge to manually request a specific stream and play it back. This is most easily done for SSN using Kodi and the SSN addon. Even when manually selecting the highest bitrate stream available, and even though the video stream container itself is 50 frames per second, the actual source material appears to remain locked at 25fps. I did a number of side-by-side comparisons of the maximum quality streams this way a few months ago (results posted in this thread many pages back) comparing SSN and Sky Go, and Sky Go was vastly superior even at lower bitrates. SSN and Sky Go use completely different video streaming providers. I believe that until Sky Sports Now changes to a different provider, this problem is not going away. And since Sky Sports Now is just a re-branded version of their older Fanpass app (I assume this is true for all platforms, not just Android), I think that a complete re-write of the app is probably an exercise they are not prepared to invest in right now.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to use Kayo, then you will not look back. Kayo's streaming game is TOP NOTCH - their highest quality streams are glorious 1080p 50fps, up to 10mbps bitrate, and they looks amazing on every device. You are able to watch a live event from the start without having to first wait for it to finish. You can watch up to FOUR different streams on a single screen. Replays include points of interest on the timeline (eg. when a boundary was hit or a wicket taken). It's cheaper too.

Nevertheless, I would happily pay what Sky Sport Now is asking per month if the experience was anywhere close to something like Kayo or DSTV Now (South Africa's equivalent). Unfortunately, it is a long way off and the impression I get is that we're stuck with nothing more than an old, dated app with a fresh coat of paint.

joshyboy007

24 posts

Geek

#2587792 19-Oct-2020 14:55

Just weighing in on the recent chat:

Since the Panasonic TV app has popped up for me (2017 Panasonic TX-58EX720 I think) I have had a far better experience than casting through Chromecast to the TV or playing through the PlayStation App. (maybe 50/60hz related)

I wouldn't say it's flawless, but it has improved.

Comparing the EPL on the Spark Sport TV app and the ABs on the SSN TV app still shows a difference. As discussed before, this is likely source related. The overlays and scoreboards on the ABs match are perfect, but the actual picture is slightly less quality.

I am happier with the TV app, but nothing has compared to the 1080p look of the EPL and the smoothness of the ball being kicked.

kharris

1209 posts

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#2587987 19-Oct-2020 19:40

Chromecast is generally an issue because it defaults to 60Hz. Those that have forced it to 50Hz have has a much better experience.

Kirk

kharris

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#2587993 19-Oct-2020 19:53

I asked sky about the bit rate on different devices including the Apple TV.

They said....

For your Apple4k the settings are set to auto, you’ll get the best framerate available depending on your internet speed.
8000kbps (which is the equivalent of 1080p at 50fps) is not available on all devices as it's not needed for the smaller screens; e.g. iPhone is 720p - 4.5Mbps at 50fps or an iPad can range (depending on the model) 1080p - 8Mpbs at 50fps or 720p - 8Mbps at 50fps.

Kirk

StNick

88 posts

Master Geek

#2587997 19-Oct-2020 20:18

kharris: I asked sky about the bit rate on different devices including the Apple TV.

They said....

For your Apple4k the settings are set to auto, you’ll get the best framerate available depending on your internet speed.
8000kbps (which is the equivalent of 1080p at 50fps) is not available on all devices as it's not needed for the smaller screens; e.g. iPhone is 720p - 4.5Mbps at 50fps or an iPad can range (depending on the model) 1080p - 8Mpbs at 50fps or 720p - 8Mbps at 50fps.

Yeah that pretty much matches the streams that the Kodi addon exposes. These are just the containers though. The problem is that the source appears to be 25fps, even with the 8mbps 1080p50 stream. Not so with Sky Go.

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kharris

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#2588006 19-Oct-2020 21:07

StNick: Yeah that pretty much matches the streams that the Kodi addon exposes. These are just the containers though. The problem is that the source appears to be 25fps, even with the 8mbps 1080p50 stream. Not so with Sky Go.

How can the source video for the Rugby test be different frame rates? Sky record the content. Surely the same source video is given to the different streaming providers to encode?

Kirk

StNick

88 posts

Master Geek

#2588013 19-Oct-2020 21:30

kharris:
StNick: Yeah that pretty much matches the streams that the Kodi addon exposes. These are just the containers though. The problem is that the source appears to be 25fps, even with the 8mbps 1080p50 stream. Not so with Sky Go.

How can the source video for the Rugby test be different frame rates? Sky record the content. Surely the same source video is given to the different streaming providers to encode?

I wish I knew the answer to that. It could just be that the streaming provider is butchering the encode. I've been waiting for one of the SSN representatives here to comment for months but they tend to avoid the issues of comparisons between Sky Go and SSN.

If I'm right and this isn't fixable without a major overhaul or switch to another provider, I suppose it would be suicide for them to admit as much.

jjnz1

1363 posts

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#2588089 20-Oct-2020 08:17

All very depressing news regarding SSN. 😭

I watched an awesome day of sport on Kayo on Sunday through my Nvidia Shield (MTB, Bathurst, then rugby) and it was bloody awesome! 10/10.

However the rugby went from 10/10 to 2/10 only due to bloody aussie commentators aarrhh! They said at one point the Perenara was the most annoying rugby player in the world haha. Picture and sound was 10/10 though 😊

My main goal is to provide an easy solution for my grandmother to watch sport including cricket, netflix, hgtv and freeview and maybe get her to stop spending $160 per month on Sky.

So far I am testing:
Nvidia shield tube
Harmony hub
Kayo
Tivimate with freeview channels (thanks Matt H)
Philo for HGTV etc VOD
Netflix
Tvnz on demand
Three on demand

I have tested SSN and it's not a great experience.
And I can't get Spark Sport to work so may need another cricket provider?

JPNZ

1547 posts

Uber Geek

#2588101 20-Oct-2020 08:49

jjnz1: From the feedback posted, it's looking like Apple TV is quite solid, whereas Chromecast is where you have frame rate issues etc.

It would be interesting if the people without problems running on Apple TV, instead try a chromecast and see what happens?

Well I did some further testing last night, I don't have a chromecast and I'm not buying one just to test. I did run SSN through the app on my TV (2019 Panasonic GZ1000 OLED) and Apple TV on a replay of the AB's game. I was amazed at the results, the apple tv was sharper and clearer everytime. The biggest difference was switching between the sources the TV app was blocky and slightly out of focus and took 15-20 seconds for everything to catch up. The apple tv suffered none of those issues. I think this all boils down to Ethernet vs Wifi. I know my ATV is hardwired but I think the TV is wifi as I ran out of ports on my switch.

Either way apple tv is as close top perfect for SSN, now if only the apple remote was a bit easier to use, its swipe up to flick between channels but the channel boxes at the bottom of the screen cant be swiped back away and take ages to disappear.

Panasonic 65GZ1000, Onkyo RZ730, Atmos 5.1.2, AppleTV 4K, Nest Mini's, PS5, PS3, MacbookPro, iPad Pro, Apple watch SE2, iPhone 15+

kharris

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#2588129 20-Oct-2020 10:01

I watched the replay of the rugby last night via my AppleTV and it looked great. No issues at all.

AppleTV4K Ethernet connected.

Kirk

StNick

88 posts

Master Geek

#2588261 20-Oct-2020 12:13

kharris: I watched the replay of the rugby last night via my AppleTV and it looked great. No issues at all.

AppleTV4K Ethernet connected.

Damn, I really do need to try SSN on an Apple TV - sounds like it is definitely the best experience.

I have created a new thread on the framerate issue, as it has been dredged up so many times in this thread's 37 page history that is is constantly getting lost in the void.

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=106&topicid=278508

dougierydal

327 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2589775 21-Oct-2020 14:47

jjnz1: All very depressing news regarding SSN. 😭

I watched an awesome day of sport on Kayo on Sunday through my Nvidia Shield (MTB, Bathurst, then rugby) and it was bloody awesome! 10/10.

However the rugby went from 10/10 to 2/10 only due to bloody aussie commentators aarrhh! They said at one point the Perenara was the most annoying rugby player in the world haha. Picture and sound was 10/10 though 😊

My main goal is to provide an easy solution for my grandmother to watch sport including cricket, netflix, hgtv and freeview and maybe get her to stop spending $160 per month on Sky.

So far I am testing:
Nvidia shield tube
Harmony hub
Kayo
Tivimate with freeview channels (thanks Matt H)
Philo for HGTV etc VOD
Netflix
Tvnz on demand
Three on demand

I have tested SSN and it's not a great experience.
And I can't get Spark Sport to work so may need another cricket provider?

Depends how much domestic based NZ converage you're after, Kayo will pick up all NZ International games for certain, but I can't see them showing the 20/20 Super Smash, so if it's international cricket you;re after Kayo will see you through...

aschteev

80 posts

Master Geek

#2591461 24-Oct-2020 17:28

Watching HB vs MAN on SSN ATV 4K and stream keeps pausing every few minutes. Very frustrating. Tech support suggested uninstalling and reinstalling the app, but still experience the issue.

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