Watching Spark Sport (including launch and pricing)

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BDFL - Memuneh
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#2291268 6-Aug-2019 22:51

kiwiharry:

What happened?????

Thread was at 123 pages, now suddenly dropped back to 117 pages.

More frame drops /s

"Frame drops"... Someone asked to have his replies removed from the thread.

hio77

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#2291270 6-Aug-2019 22:55

DNArewind:
That's cool, your presence & following up on our feedback is very much appreciated. We really do all have a common goal here - to make SS as great as possible!

Passion gets the best of us all too often :)
When we let that passion out it can get the better of us and we make assumptions or statements that are a tad more direct than intended..

For me, spark sport is purely a dream come true. That box with the dish plugged into it might finally go.
They did go and blindside me with adding a sport I personally much prefer, esports.
My kneejerk response was I'm used to twitch. Whys it not meeting the stanard they have taken years to get to!

I had to take a step back and go actually. That's really quite cool. But I'd love to see these things looked at in future.

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

networkn

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#2291272 6-Aug-2019 23:02

Sure, that's understandable, but the difference with Twitch is that it's free and it's not the only way that people can watch that content.

Apsattv

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#2291276 6-Aug-2019 23:07

From https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12256062

"The first and second generation Chromecasts (first released in 2013 and 2015 respectively) only support up to 30fps at 1080p. (Sky says its Sky Sport Now app will automatically adjust its quality for older Chromecasts).

The Spark Sport spokeswoman added, "25/30fps is standard for most online sports providers - and all of the sporting content that we are showing on Spark Sport is only provided by the sporting body at 25/30fps. So we are not limiting the stream quality from what's being provided to us."

Bangs head on wall, Fire that lady..

1 nil to Sky also

kiwiharry

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#2291277 6-Aug-2019 23:10

Also in today's news, but think they have pricing a bit muddled up.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12256246

Spark signs up 150 schools to show Rugby World Cup for free

Less than seven weeks out from the Rugby World Cup, Spark says it is offering New Zealanders as many opportunities as possible to watch the tournament, including through 150 rural schools.

Today, Spark Sport head Jeff Latch said that while the company chose the tournament to bring tech laggards into the world of streaming, it had also registered 150 schools to show the matches for nothing.

Despite its marketing campaigns, the phone and internet company still expects about 40 percent of viewers will sign up in the fortnight preceding the tournament.

Rob Berrill, Spark's head of physical infrastructure... said infrastructure had been upgraded, but would not say how much was spent upgrading CDN nodes and domain name servers, except to say the money came from Spark's business-as-usual budget for 2019.

The technology executive says capacity would not be the constraining factor for the tournament. The company had run through many simulations, but he admitted there was no way Spark could "simulate this in a live event with New Zealanders."

"There is just not another compelling event like the rugby world cup."

Spark is using US company iStreamPlanet as its technology partner.

If you can't laugh at yourself then you probably shouldn't laugh at others.

Benoire

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#2291279 6-Aug-2019 23:25

freitasm:

kiwiharry:

What happened?????

Thread was at 123 pages, now suddenly dropped back to 117 pages.

More frame drops /s

"Frame drops"... Someone asked to have his replies removed from the thread.

heh the quotes are now orphaned and lack context, shame as all points are indeed valid and the information may have helped someone else.

mentalinc

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#2291347 7-Aug-2019 07:52

So seems poor communication or understanding by Spark early.
Using gen 1 and 2 chromecast would never have worked so should never have been supported. Using 1 I had collecting dust vs buying a new one makes little difference.. I'll just buy something new instead (but seems chromecast is least preferable option.) but now I'm in a position where there is no point as the old chromecast gets the best spark offer!

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Batman

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#2291350 7-Aug-2019 08:01

Maybe it's commercially sensitive information

surfisup1000

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#2291354 7-Aug-2019 08:17

freitasm:

Perhaps not, but Batman is basically saying "offers both and let either a) the app decide which to use or b) let users go for the high one if they want.

The problem with this approach though is John Doe doesn't understand 720 x 1080, 30 fps vs 60 fps. If their under-powered device start failing during a game while trying to play the 60 fps stream, they will blame Spark Sport. And if a user with a current, modern device watches something on 30 fps they will blame Spark Sport.

Now imagine users with those crappy Android TV devices sold a few months back with pirated streaming pre-installed, then try to install a downloaded APK and complain their under-powered, unsupported devices have problems...

Basically doomed if you do, doomed if you don't.

There is no reason why spark cannot transcode the live feed into 4 resolutions (1080/720/540/320) at both 25 and 50 fps. So, that would be 8 streams in total, and the spark client app can use playback metrics to optimise to the selected stream.

eg, dropped frames, and use some 'fuzzy' logic such that the stream is not jumping all the time.

Similarly to youtube, the user can choose 'auto' or override to a specific stream. I'm sure spark could come up with a suitable nomenclature to make it easy for customers to know what they are doing. Auto should work anyway.

grimwulf

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#2291507 7-Aug-2019 10:38

Apsattv:

From https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12256062

"The first and second generation Chromecasts (first released in 2013 and 2015 respectively) only support up to 30fps at 1080p. (Sky says its Sky Sport Now app will automatically adjust its quality for older Chromecasts).

The Spark Sport spokeswoman added, "25/30fps is standard for most online sports providers - and all of the sporting content that we are showing on Spark Sport is only provided by the sporting body at 25/30fps. So we are not limiting the stream quality from what's being provided to us."

Bangs head on wall, Fire that lady..

1 nil to Sky also

Yeah +1.

That 'spokeswoman' has no clue. Not only is sports content filmed at 60fps or above - but the standard streams from the main sports providers are all 60fps - the end leg to the consumers is dependant on the provider (in this case Spark) who encode the final stream and the device the consumer is using.

Spark were ALREADY broadcasting content at 60fps and dropped it to 30fps - this was already admitted both previously in this thread and on social media and in the actual media - and people can tell the difference.

If the content was being provided by the sporting body at 30fps, how the flying feck did Spark previously supply it at 60fps? Technology is good - but it's not that good - it can't magic up new frames and insert them. And if it was a 30fps source being upped to 60fps it would look waaaay worse... and why would you do that?

So sorry lady spokesperson - it doesn't pass the BS test. You're either ignorant, or this is a marketing double speak lie. The truth is, the content is supplied to Spark at 60fps and Spark downscale it to 30fps - for reasons that have already been outlined in this thread.

Just be truthful about it - a bunch of people won't be happy with that answer, myself included, but at least it's the truth - at present Spark are just ruining what little goodwill they had and digging the hole deeper with the attempts to obfuscate.

kornflake

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#2291629 7-Aug-2019 13:31

Wow, just watched 5 mins of a football (Soccer) match on SparkShorts, horrible experience to say the least.

tdgeek

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#2291634 7-Aug-2019 13:41

kornflake:

Wow, just watched 5 mins of a football (Soccer) match on SparkShorts, horrible experience to say the least.

Probably better to say which title and what platform.

kornflake

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#2291666 7-Aug-2019 14:06

tdgeek:

kornflake:

Wow, just watched 5 mins of a football (Soccer) match on SparkShorts, horrible experience to say the least.

Probably better to say which title and what platform.

Fair Call, viewed at both Noel Leaming and Harvey Normans out of interest whilst at lunch (I do not have a SparkSports account). Not sure how NL Streamed it, HN used a SmartVu. With both places the stream was going to every big screen on display, some panels were better than others but still Blurred on all. The Match streamed was the Real Madrid Vs Atletico Madrid

demeter23

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#2291816 7-Aug-2019 17:22

Had another short conversation with Spark on twitter earlier and they confirmed that no changes are expected in the immediate future. Pretty disappointing, but I guess expected. Maybe time to consider my options, not sure I can watch football with that judder.

Benoire

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#2291817 7-Aug-2019 17:26

They haven't repsonsed to my questions about their recommendations to solve the issue. I will have to prompt them...

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