Watching Spark Sport (including launch and pricing)

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Ultimate Geek
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#2295002 12-Aug-2019 19:05

td geek.....watched on laptop looked better cast to tc from laptop..awful...laptop def better though...to be honest i want to watch on tv though...im keeping the app no other way to watch,,,but hope tv gets better

foxy

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#2295029 12-Aug-2019 19:11

foxy38:

td geek.....watched on laptop looked better cast to tc from laptop..awful...laptop def better though...to be honest i want to watch on tv though...im keeping the app no other way to watch,,,but hope tv gets better

Can you check the WTA Rogers Cup Final and see what you think. On TV? Im picking it will be good

foxy38

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#2295079 12-Aug-2019 19:32

tdgeek:

foxy38:

td geek.....watched on laptop looked better cast to tc from laptop..awful...laptop def better though...to be honest i want to watch on tv though...im keeping the app no other way to watch,,,but hope tv gets better

Can you check the WTA Rogers Cup Final and see what you think. On TV? Im picking it will be good

it was quite clear...still not sky sport clear.....tennis ball looked slightly jittery..not quite real..

foxy

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#2295080 12-Aug-2019 19:40

foxy38:

tdgeek:

foxy38:

td geek.....watched on laptop looked better cast to tc from laptop..awful...laptop def better though...to be honest i want to watch on tv though...im keeping the app no other way to watch,,,but hope tv gets better

Can you check the WTA Rogers Cup Final and see what you think. On TV? Im picking it will be good

it was quite clear...still not sky sport clear.....tennis ball looked slightly jittery..not quite real..

I find it Sky clear, apart from the ball. In fact F1 before this issue was sharper than Sky, motion was the same. Tennis ball yes, not ideal. Ive seen a change, others here have said what they see is good (device dependent Id say), lets see what happens. newer content does seem better

Back to the soccer. Putting this judder issue aside, Ive seen the soccer before this issue, it wasn't silky smooth by any stretch. It was slightly jerky. It seems sharp enough, maybe 720p, but less frames. This was before this issue. The Heineken rugby is quite poor. What Im feeling is if this 60fps issue was resolved, the soccer isnt at that level, as IIRC it never quite was.

Benoire

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#2295082 12-Aug-2019 19:45

What's the current Android TV app version number? Want to see if there are any updates to ensure that a later apk hasn't changed anything.. Unlikely as my phone app casted still produces the same issues as the android TV app and also via Web browser on my laptop.

Amosnz

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#2295100 12-Aug-2019 20:06

Benoire: What's the current Android TV app version number? Want to see if there are any updates to ensure that a later apk hasn't changed anything.. Unlikely as my phone app casted still produces the same issues as the android TV app and also via Web browser on my laptop.

According to the play store there is a new version released today, 1.2.0 (1.2.1 for non AndroidTV).

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.sparksport.androidtv

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#2295105 12-Aug-2019 20:17

@Tdgeek yes you’re correct, Hz not FPS. If you go down to additional resolution there is also the option for 24 or 30 Hz.

Unsure on when the highlight videos were uploaded.

In terms of Hz, from my understanding, is the refresh rate per second - so I’ve just gone on the assumption during my testing that if the spark sport streams are at 30fps, having the Apple tv outputting at 30hz May be beneficial. No idea if I’m on the right track or not however. And as far as I know the tv has motionflow turned off (Sony Bravia)

sbiddle

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#2295112 12-Aug-2019 20:20

I'm puzzled why everybody keeps saying all their feeds are 30 FPS. Surely most will be 25 since they originate in PAL countries?

Benoire

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#2295113 12-Aug-2019 20:21

Is someone able to extract the latest android TV apk and post here?

dan

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#2295138 12-Aug-2019 21:20

Benoire: Is someone able to extract the latest android TV apk and post here?

here is the new 1.2.0 version (although it says 1.1.1 inside the app)

tested on SHIELD works OK

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ckfmd6v25jri5sz/nz.co.sparksport.androidtv-1.2.0.apk?dl=0

niallm90

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#2295139 12-Aug-2019 21:25

sbiddle:

I'm puzzled why everybody keeps saying all their feeds are 30 FPS. Surely most will be 25 since they originate in PAL countries?

The streams indicate they are 30/60 FPS and so did Spark at the NZ NOG. Could just be that they use 30/60 even for 25/50 content though.

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Deano004

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#2295140 12-Aug-2019 21:27

Well credit where credit is due. Spark may not be engaging here, but it appears they are listening. The streams have most definitely improved. In my opinion anyway.

That WTA final does seem better. The Chelsea vs MCU game (that I'm watching right now, thanks to the dude who gave away the score earlier) seems significantly better than the Man City game when I watched it. Even the 2016 Belgium grand prix seems smoother. F1 still seems the worse for some reason.

Unless the source is extremely high quality I tend to watch everything with my tv's motion mode set to "standard". It is a little bit of black magic, but I think it adds a interpreted frame, and also a black frame which helps trick the eye into seeing smooth motion. It strikes a good balance between smoothing out the motion without introducing much artifacting, or that horrible soap opera effect.

Prior to tonight I couldn't find a motion setting that helped sparks streams. I think it is a good sign that the same settings I use for everything else now work with spark.

It isn't perfect. A higher frame rate would be nice. The flickering still fatigues me watching, but no where near as bad. I described it as unwatchable a couple weeks ago. Now, thankfully it is watchable, and dare I say enjoyable. That shocking judder seems to be mostly gone.

Couple things. I think the streams are the same on all devices, it is just that any problems are magnified on a large TV screen. I didn't really have a problem with the streams on my phone even earlier because judder and the like are, well smaller. Your eye can more easily fill in the gaps. I could still see the judder but it wasn't a real problem. On the TV it was exhausting to watch because your eyes and brain were working so hard to fill in the gaps in motion. Also, I have a feeling different people are more sensitive to the judder and flicker than others, more so when viewing on a large screen like a tv. It was so bad before that I thought that it must be my eyes that were the problem but my wife, who couldn't care less about picture quality couldn't watch spark sport either. Now she can (not that she will)!

I don't want to give too much praise because I think it could and should be better. It isn't on par with sky yet. But, Spark. If you are reading. Good stuff! Get 60fps back and you'll have the best looking sport content available

lxsw20

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#2295142 12-Aug-2019 21:29

Are you getting the Sky UK pundits as part of Spark Sport, or is it just the match?

ianajmes

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#2295145 12-Aug-2019 21:35

lxsw20:
Are you getting the Sky UK pundits as part of Spark Sport, or is it just the match?

Just the match.. no pundits, no analysis at all. I know last season BEIN had studio pundits.

IJD

dan

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#2295146 12-Aug-2019 21:37

my guess is one of the reasons why they are not doing 25/50 is they dont want to implement display mode switching into the apps, which they would really have to do or it would look even worse that it does now for motion

having it at 30 means they can get away without the need to switch the display mode since 30fps works OK @ 60

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