Spark Sport: Rugby World Cup 2019

Forums › Online streaming services › Spark Sport: Rugby World Cup 2019

1 | ... | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | ... | 95

89 posts

Master Geek

Subscriber

#2306682 27-Aug-2019 11:55

kiwiharry:

networkn:

doobre:

Anyone here know where 'Spark Sports' streaming can be seen during the RWC, [bar, clubhouse, hotel etc...]? in AKL

All the bars I am aware of are taking advantage of the Sky Commercial offering of the RWC on Sky.

Hopefully the bars that have upgraded or modified their system and have purchased Spark's streamed feed, do actually try and use it, so they and Spark can guage real world usage for a premiere event.

Any you know of in East Auckland area..??

djtOtago

1149 posts

Uber Geek

#2306694 27-Aug-2019 12:36

doobre:
Any you know of in East Auckland area..??

A google for "east auckland sports bars" get at least 20 results. Pick one.

Jase2985

13457 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2306859 27-Aug-2019 16:51

djtOtago:

doobre:
Any you know of in East Auckland area..??

A google for "east auckland sports bars" get at least 20 results. Pick one.

and if you are still unsure call and find out

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79250 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2307442 28-Aug-2019 18:36

Just received:

Spark Sport viewers will soon notice an increase in picture quality while watching live and on demand sport, thanks to improvements in the way the platform streams video content to devices.

Head of Spark Sport, Jeff Latch, says his team is adding a feature to the Spark Sport platform to ensure viewers receive the best possible video quality rendition that works for their device. The highest rendition on compatible devices will be High Definition (1080p), 60 frames per second and a bit rate of up to 7Mb/s (an increase from the previous top bit rate of 6Mb/s).

“Spark Sport is dedicated to delivering our customers a high-quality viewing experience. We have listened to customer feedback over the past few weeks and want to deliver a higher quality picture for our customers.

Latch explains the solution optimises the video quality for each device type, “Within the next week, Spark Sport will provide the highest video quality that each device supports. This means we will be offering the best possible viewing experience across Spark Sport compatible devices in preparation for the Rugby World Cup.

“For context, when we launched in beta in March 2018, we offered a framerate of 60 frames per second. As we launched a range of Spark Sport apps to ensure that we were available on an increased range of devices, it was necessary to lower the default framerate to 30 frames per second, as some of the new devices didn’t offer a good viewing experience at 60 frames per second. In the meantime, we’ve developed a framerate selector, which will launch soon and will allow us to offer 60 frames per second to devices that are equipped to deal with it, while still offering 30 frames per second to devices that are better off at that level.

“All our existing Spark Sport customers will benefit from this and we think sports lovers will be pleased with how Spark Sport will soon show up on their screens.”

Spark Sport will launch shortly on 2019 LG TVs. However, despite extensive collaboration between Spark Sport app development and the device manufacturer, the Spark Sport app experiences significant issues playing on 2017 and 2018 LG TVs, so the app will not be made available on these devices before the Rugby World Cup.

People with older LG TVs can still watch Spark Sport on their existing TV, by using a streaming device such as an Apple TV, a Google Chromecast or a Freeview Smart VU. This is the same situation as pre-2017 models of Samsung TVs, Sony TVs and Panasonic TVs and any model of smart TV that are not one of the four brands that Spark Sport supports.

The Spark Sport team has a range of options in place to help customers who have purchased a 2017 or 2018 LG TV since 20 December 2018 (the date Spark Sport announced that LG TVs would support Spark Sport) and who also hold a Spark Sport subscription or RWC Tournament Pass. These customers should head to https://help.sparksport.co.nz/device-support/watching-on-lg-tv for more information.

With Rugby World Cup 2019 getting underway in just under a month, excitement is quickly building around Rugby’s most anticipated event.

Latch says the All Blacks are not the only NZ team being tested this RWC, “we know the New Zealand public will be watching our performance closely and we’re confident we’re going to deliver a strong performance off the back of our extensive preparations and pre-tournament testing.

“We’re well into our final preparations for RWC 2019. Our teams are strengthening our app and website, we’re running stress tests to ensure our platform hold ups throughout the tournament and we’re getting the team organised for game day.

“There’s a huge sense of excitement in the office at this point and the team is looking forward to bringing this event to Kiwis through a strong streaming performance.”

Wheelbarrow01

1723 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Chorus

#2307560 28-Aug-2019 22:54

I logged in to Spark Sport today on my laptop at work over wifi and watched coverage of the live team naming announcement. I found both the picture and production values to be on par with anything I have seen on Sky. Ahead of the actual announcement they played a great montage set to music in the same way that Sky and other sport broadcasters do, and all in all I couldn't fault it. I have no idea how many other subscribers chose to tune in so can't say if this was any real test for Spark or not in terms of capacity.

I previously tested their app on my Panasonic TV at home (on WiFi). My fiancee was watching Netflix on the bedroom tv, I was streaming a 1080p Youtube video on my tablet, and the Spark Sport app streamed coverage of the world rally championship - all simultaneously with great clarity and not a hint of buffering on any of them. I have an Enable 100/20 fibre connection at home.

I realise there is no test quite like 100,000 or more households trying to tune in all at the same time, and that cannot be simulated/tested ahead of time, but I am rooting for Spark to pull this off successfully. We'll know in just 23 days...

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd

hio77

12999 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lizard Networks

#2307563 28-Aug-2019 23:03

Wheelbarrow01:

I logged in to Spark Sport today on my laptop at work over wifi and watched coverage of the live team naming announcement. I found both the picture and production values to be on par with anything I have seen on Sky. Ahead of the actual announcement they played a great montage set to music in the same way that Sky and other sport broadcasters do, and all in all I couldn't fault it. I have no idea how many other subscribers chose to tune in so can't say if this was any real test for Spark or not in terms of capacity.

Knowing how bad chorus wifi can be with the amount of chorus folk that drop off calls.. that's quite a feet ;)

i think 'capacity' is going to be a touchy one should any issues come up, given the way it's delivered over Akamai for the content itself..

#include <std_disclaimer>

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

Wheelbarrow01

1723 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Chorus

#2307564 28-Aug-2019 23:05

freitasm:

"'Terrible' NZ Internet prompts concerns over how to watch All Blacks at World Cup".

Wow, I had a good laugh at that article.

“If you live 150km from a town, are you going to drive in to watch it? Personally I don’t even like the atmosphere at bars. A lot of people are the same.”

Does anyone in NZ live 150kms or more from the closest town? I stand to be corrected but I wouldn't have thought so - NZ is hardly the Nullabor is it?

And the sort of person who doesn't like the atmosphere of bars is by default also unlikely to enjoy the atmosphere of rugby stadia, and therefore can't be much of a fan in the first place....

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

Billyspleen75

80 posts

Master Geek

#2307640 29-Aug-2019 10:06

Wheelbarrow01:

And the sort of person who doesn't like the atmosphere of bars is by default also unlikely to enjoy the atmosphere of rugby stadia,

No.

Wheelbarrow01:

and therefore can't be much of a fan in the first place....

MAAASSIVE NO.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79250 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2311170 5-Sep-2019 13:37

Interesting release from Opinion Compare, the sibling company to Broadband Compare (leaving out the last paragraph where it mentions you get a better RWC experience if you use BC to switch providers...

When it comes to watching the All Blacks and the Rugby World Cup, the message is clear… if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.

The survey, which was completed by a total of 1,250 New Zealanders and has been weighted to represent age, gender and the regional profile of New Zealand delivered some thought provoking insights.

Of those that completed the survey, upon hearing they would need a Spark Sport subscription to watch the Rugby World Cup this year, most respondents indicated a negative response (57%). Most likely to be negative to the news were the 65+ age group (67%).

31% were annoyed, 16% were angry, 8% devastated, 7% sad and 18% just mildly displeased.

Just 14% of respondents were positive - 8% were happy, 8% were optimistic, 3% relieved and 2% thrilled. Those under 35 were most likely to be positive about the news (26%).

As an interesting subset, Sky customers were significantly more likely to have had negative feelings (69%) upon hearing they need to be subscribed to Spark Sport to watch the Rugby World Cup and 56% of those Sky customers were not planning on signing up for a Spark Sport subscription.

But what about the Spark Sport product?

68% of over 65’s that are planning on watching the World Cup said they are NOT planning on signing up to Spark Sport. Considering the survey showed they are the most likely to be watching games at home this is going to be an issue with only limited matches available on terrestrial TV.

There’s also not a lot of confidence in Spark Sport’s ability to deliver a seamless World Cup experience for customers. Just 11% of those planning on watching the World Cup indicated that they were extremely confident (rated 8 or 9 on a 9 point scale) it would go well. Those under 35 are the most confident - with 14% extremely confident in Spark’s ability, but just 8% of those over 55 are confident.

Half (50%) of Sky customers are not confident that Spark Sport will deliver a seamless experience for the World Cup, rating between 1-4 on our 9 point confidence scale.

Spark Sport customers are still on the fence about Spark Sport offering a seamless experience. 47% rated between 5 and 7 on our 9 point scale with an additional 37% being unconfident (rated 1-4).

For those that already have a Spark Sport subscription or that are planning to get one before the World Cup, 60% will wait to see how Spark performs to decide whether to keep their subscription or not.

Potentially worrying for Spark is that 31% of those that have a Spark Sport subscription or that are planning to get one before the World Cup are going to leave immediately after the games finish and New Zealand flies home with the Webb Ellis Cup.

Talkiet

4792 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2311193 5-Sep-2019 14:07

freitasm:

Interesting release from Opinion Compare, the sibling company to Broadband Compare (leaving out the last paragraph where it mentions you get a better RWC experience if you use BC to switch providers...

Sorry what? Could you paste that last paragraph as well please? Or link to the release? I can find no reports on their site...

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

mentalinc

3225 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2311243 5-Sep-2019 14:23

I read as the last paragraph is just an advert

CPU: AMD 5900x | RAM: GSKILL Trident Z Neo RGB F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC-32-GB | MB: Asus X570-E | GFX: EVGA FTW3 Ultra RTX 3080Ti| Monitor: LG 27GL850-B 2560x1440

Quic: https://account.quic.nz/refer/473833 R473833EQKIBX

nzkc

1571 posts

Uber Geek

#2311294 5-Sep-2019 15:56

Was it sponsored by Sky? A lot of reference back to Sky Sport customers being unhappy. Well yeah that's not a surprise (to me)... They'd want it on a medium they already have!

Jase2985

13457 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2311360 5-Sep-2019 17:11

i don't have an issue with it being streaming, my issue is the late notice and unpreparedness of spark. should be hurrying to release apps or test different streaming weeks out from the tournament. nor needing to stream FTA on TVNZ.

just bad timing.

ockel

2031 posts

Uber Geek

#2311406 5-Sep-2019 17:51

Jase2985:

i don't have an issue with it being streaming, my issue is the late notice and unpreparedness of spark. should be hurrying to release apps or test different streaming weeks out from the tournament. nor needing to stream FTA on TVNZ.

just bad timing.

Spark won the rights in April 2018. How long do you think is appropriate to be prepared for the tournament?

Selected a provider in November 2018.

It launched in Feb 2019.

Seems like plenty of time, doesnt it?

Sixth Labour Government - "Vision without Execution is just Hallucination"

Mb2007

46 posts

Geek

#2311501 5-Sep-2019 21:13

ockel:
Jase2985:

i don't have an issue with it being streaming, my issue is the late notice and unpreparedness of spark. should be hurrying to release apps or test different streaming weeks out from the tournament. nor needing to stream FTA on TVNZ.

just bad timing.

Spark won the rights in April 2018. How long do you think is appropriate to be prepared for the tournament?

Selected a provider in November 2018.

It launched in Feb 2019.

Seems like plenty of time, doesnt it?

I think they have left it way to late. One full year in advance the app would have needed to be out minimum.

They don't seem to have an understanding of what they can offier. Keep changing the quality of the app, unclear what platforms the app works on. There development is way behind. They should have teamed up with a providor and had a hdmi stick or something. Like an amazon fire stick or now tv roku stick.

The apps interface is crap it is not clear what's on when no schedule and slow to update new content. And the downgraded coverage of the primer league shows they do not have a gd understanding of the product.

The boss of spark said on newstalk zb on Monday in response to people saying the highlights package had no commentary. He planed the primer league tv, with is crap spark should be on top of this. Outher countries can get commentary.

I fear big problems in a number of areas for spark come the world Cup,

Toney

1 | ... | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | ... | 95