Watching Spark Sport (including launch and pricing)

Forums › Online streaming services › Watching Spark Sport (including launch and pricing)

1 | ... | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | ... | 180

321 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2199110 15-Mar-2019 20:32

Sorry if already covered in this post, but is there a way to watch the replay of free practice 2.

I missed it live earlier and was gonna sit and watch it now. Or will it be up later to watch on demand.

Using the App on IOS.

Edit. Ignore this post, re started app and now I see the replays.

Benoire

2798 posts

Uber Geek

#2199112 15-Mar-2019 20:35

Talkiet said it could take up to 4 hours to be appear on demand after the event has finished.... So sometime around 10pm I'd expect.

Shindig

1585 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2199133 15-Mar-2019 21:03

FP2 VOD is available now.

The little things make the biggest difference.

Shindig

1585 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#2199134 15-Mar-2019 21:06

The VOD stream , win10, i7 surface book 2 - chrome - stream is lovely!

The little things make the biggest difference.

stinger

628 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#2199257 15-Mar-2019 23:28

Benoire: Talkiet said it could take up to 4 hours to be appear on demand after the event has finished.... So sometime around 10pm I'd expect.

Is this a technical limitation of the iStreamPlanet system? I know with Kayo we can watch replays from any point after the start of the broadcast including immediate after it has finished. For live programs, this is complete with ad breaks and the live channel watermark.

Apsattv

2388 posts

Uber Geek

#2199276 16-Mar-2019 00:02

some geek stuff.

Linear streams in spark sports.. url's begin with spark.akamaized.net

There's a DASH .mpd stream and and HLS .m3u8 stream both of which also have the usual -b backup akamai servers.

There is also the VOD created version for events, which uses, sparksports-vod.akamaized.net

Content is protected with Fairplay and widevine DRM

KDee

71 posts

Master Geek

#2199347 16-Mar-2019 09:28

Talkiet:

Quick clarification. After the event it may take up to 4 hours for the VOD asset to be created.

You can however watch the event from the start if you join while it's still running.

Cheers - N

As I suspected, this is one of the big downsides to streaming sports. Not being able to record one game while you watch another and then watch the recorded game straight after is going to suck when there are those days packed full of sport -and- those sports are on the same streaming platform.

I don't understand technically how you can start watching halfway through and choose to watch it from the start, but not join 10 minutes after it has finished and not be able to do the same.

The stream/video/file/data - whatever - is already sitting there on the server. A 4 hour delay sounds like some sort of downloading/saving/processing is done to make it available on demand. Whatever the process is does not sound very efficient.

Is this correct? Or is it more of a rights issue?

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.

event2

188 posts

Master Geek

#2199352 16-Mar-2019 09:40

Last night between 10pm and 12am I was unable to get the F1 one practice replays to stream full screen without the video pausing while sound continued, worked fine when not full screen in Firefox, DRM error edge and chrome was choppy in normal and full screen. This morning it's playing in full screen mode 1080p/60 via Firefox without any issues and it looks amazing!

I also found out that my 2nd gen Chromecast does not support 1080p/60 so that may be getting upgraded ;-) as the 60fps stuff looks to good to be missing out on.

Another thing I found that helped picture quality was turning off 100hz motion plus when viewed via our TV/chromecast.

KDee

71 posts

Master Geek

#2199354 16-Mar-2019 09:49

Talkiet:

It's nothing to do with rights. In _very_ simple terms the platform treats live and VOD (Video on Demand) assets differently. It still allows viewers to seek within the live asset while it's active, but when the live event finishes, the video from the live event is repackaged into a VoD asset. I don't know how much work is done to the file between the 2 formats but it's not an instantaneous process I'm afraid.

Cheers - N

Thanks for the clarification.

Two more questions if you don't mind:

1) How are you getting on with the audio mix for todays sessions and the race tomorrow? Hopefully the commentary/track levels can be sorted?

2) How would I go about knowing what my stream quality is in terms of resolution and fps?

Again, really appreciate the help and insight you've been providing.

tdgeek

29746 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2199372 16-Mar-2019 10:27

event2:

I also found out that my 2nd gen Chromecast does not support 1080p/60 so that may be getting upgraded ;-) as the 60fps stuff looks to good to be missing out on.

Thats interesting. I missed most of yesterday avo and all night due to another issue, but when I scanned through the posts, its not consistent. Good for some not for others. Some of that might be Spark, some might by iStream or others, but some might be users gear. My experience with SS while I was on it, was great, aside from that sound issue which was fixed. I used the iPad app which I feel has always been top of the reliable tree, and a CC Ultra, which might in fact avoid me having some issues?

Just a thought, might be wrong.

dfnt

1512 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2199380 16-Mar-2019 10:40

KDee:

Talkiet:

Quick clarification. After the event it may take up to 4 hours for the VOD asset to be created.

You can however watch the event from the start if you join while it's still running.

Cheers - N

As I suspected, this is one of the big downsides to streaming sports. Not being able to record one game while you watch another and then watch the recorded game straight after is going to suck when there are those days packed full of sport -and- those sports are on the same streaming platform.

I don't understand technically how you can start watching halfway through and choose to watch it from the start, but not join 10 minutes after it has finished and not be able to do the same.

The stream/video/file/data - whatever - is already sitting there on the server. A 4 hour delay sounds like some sort of downloading/saving/processing is done to make it available on demand. Whatever the process is does not sound very efficient.

Is this correct? Or is it more of a rights issue?

FWIW, as has already been mentioned, this is a limitation/issue solely with Spark's implementation.

With Kayo you can watch on demand from any point after its started to immediately after its finished - there is no delay with the on demand version of the event being available

KDee

71 posts

Master Geek

#2199394 16-Mar-2019 10:49

dfnt:

FWIW, as has already been mentioned, this is a limitation/issue is solely with Spark's implementation.

With Kayo you can watch on demand from any point after its started to immediately after its finished - there is no delay with the on demand version of the event being available

Surely this will be fixed before the Rugby World Cup. "On Demand" needs to be truly on demand, not with the caveat of "oh we need to process the file because they are separate entities etc etc". That won't fly with My Sky users who are used to the experience of true "on demand" playback of recorded sports (well, the ones Sky have the rights to).

Interesting times. Really want Spark Sports to hit this out of the park.

Benoire

2798 posts

Uber Geek

#2199397 16-Mar-2019 10:58

To be honest they need to get it implemented before we're too far into the f1 season. I could not recommend spark sport for f1 if the on demand function isn't available for hours after the race has finished.

tdgeek

29746 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2199398 16-Mar-2019 11:02

KDee:

dfnt:

FWIW, as has already been mentioned, this is a limitation/issue is solely with Spark's implementation.

With Kayo you can watch on demand from any point after its started to immediately after its finished - there is no delay with the on demand version of the event being available

Surely this will be fixed before the Rugby World Cup. "On Demand" needs to be truly on demand, not with the caveat of "oh we need to process the file because they are separate entities etc etc". That won't fly with My Sky users who are used to the experience of true "on demand" playback of recorded sports (well, the ones Sky have the rights to).

Interesting times. Really want Spark Sports to hit this out of the park.

I think they will, and yes I do work there and yes I was a tester. The commentary here was quite harsh as things fell behind the expected timelines. Thst fair enough. Day one it was very good. The real test yesterday threw up some issues, that the experts will resolve. But most of us saw what it can be like. My old iPad Air 1 was giving me Sky like viewing. I was working, so not casted yet to TV it I know that already sweet. For me, I did see it "hitting out of the park" for my one single set of usage yesterday afternoon. Unlike yesterday as I am in ChCh I intend to be here thru FP3 and quali to see how we go, and off course to take in my fortnightly passion.

Benoire

2798 posts

Uber Geek

#2199403 16-Mar-2019 11:08

A point of clarification, the feedback has been harsh because all the media releases until last week told us it was all going to be ready in time for f1 fp1 including the vod system. The reality is the product was late to meet that and as such your dealing with frustated sports fans who must use spark sport now when it's ultimately not finished.

1 | ... | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | ... | 180