Spark Sport: Rugby World Cup 2019

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#2322590 22-Sep-2019 12:29

kharris:

Many people reported resolution drops but otherwise OK. So they probably stayed. The switch to Duke was also not well advertised so many wouldn’t have known about the simulcast. There was a pop up message on the stream but only late in the second half when the stream was fine. Also to that point, the stream was perfect for the last 20 minutes, so I suspect if it was a capacity issue then it wasn’t a major one and the drop of a few thousand customers was enough to resolve it though.

I am not sure we will find out the real cause though.... there is enough spin in their media releases already that I don’t have confidence of that.

Up until the AB game - all fine with me. Chrome on Wifi'd Laptop, HDMI to TV (ISP - Spark, Fibre - Akl).

In the AB game around 10 periods of short buffering (up to 5 seconds) followed by a lower resolution for no more than 2-3 seconds. Rest of it and last 20 minutes or so was perfect.

Never thought of changing to Duke.

kharris

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#2322592 22-Sep-2019 12:36

quickymart:
Problem is it's not like the next game is weeks away. As I understand, it's on tonight and after last night's experience people will be hoping for better.

The other streamed games were fine... only the all blacks match was an issue.... presumably capacity, so I suspect they have until the next all blacks match to sort it out.

Kirk

kharris

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#2322594 22-Sep-2019 12:38

huckster:
kharris:

Many people reported resolution drops but otherwise OK. So they probably stayed. The switch to Duke was also not well advertised so many wouldn’t have known about the simulcast. There was a pop up message on the stream but only late in the second half when the stream was fine. Also to that point, the stream was perfect for the last 20 minutes, so I suspect if it was a capacity issue then it wasn’t a major one and the drop of a few thousand customers was enough to resolve it though.

I am not sure we will find out the real cause though.... there is enough spin in their media releases already that I don’t have confidence of that.

Up until the AB game - all fine with me. Chrome on Wifi'd Laptop, HDMI to TV (ISP - Spark, Fibre - Akl).

In the AB game around 10 periods of short buffering (up to 5 seconds) followed by a lower resolution for no more than 2-3 seconds. Rest of it and last 20 minutes or so was perfect.

Never thought of changing to Duke.

Yep and your experience was exactly my point.

Kirk

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#2322595 22-Sep-2019 12:39

kharris:
quickymart:

Problem is it's not like the next game is weeks away. As I understand, it's on tonight and after last night's experience people will be hoping for better.

The other streamed games were fine... only the all blacks match was an issue.... presumably capacity, so I suspect they have until the next all blacks match to sort it out.

The F1 free practice 3 was also affected to some extent by this issue, kept getting quality drops so it could be akamai capacity or in my opinion will be istreamplanet and its ability to encode the streams for the price spark are paying them...

yitz

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#2322599 22-Sep-2019 12:55

I wonder if the next step if they can't move the encoder closer is for them to experiment with turning on multiple CDNs and have traffic come in internationally to the user but closer to the encoder? It would make the local Akamai capacity augment exercise a bit redundant.

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#2322603 22-Sep-2019 13:09

Just received:

Update on Spark Sport streaming issue

Following technical investigations overnight and this morning, Spark Sport is making configuration changes to the way the video stream comes into New Zealand. We believe this will resolve the video quality issues experienced by some customers intermittently during the All Blacks v South Africa match last night. These configuration changes will be implemented prior to today’s matches, which commence with Italy v Namibia from 4.45pm.

Spark will simulcast all of today’s Rugby World Cup coverage free-to-air on TVNZ DUKE so our customers can have full confidence they will be able to enjoy the matches tonight. We are confident Spark Sport will provide a good experience tonight, but if customers for any reason are unhappy with their stream, they will have the opportunity to watch on TVNZ DUKE. This is in line with the commitment we made prior to the tournament to have established procedures in place via our partner TVNZ to provide an alternative means of watching matches should there be any concerns with Spark Sport’s streaming service.

Customers who feel unhappy with their viewing experience of the All Blacks v South Africa pool match pass can receive a refund: customers who purchased an All Blacks vs South Africa Match Pass can receive a full refund; those who purchased a Tournament Pass and wish to leave the service can also receive a full refund; and those who wish to carry on with the service, can receive a partial 15% refund of their Tournament Pass price. Unhappy customers who have activated a Spark Sport subscription via a voucher code can also receive a full or partial refund.

TVNZ DUKE is available on channel 13 or DUKE on Sky channel 23. Note that tonight’s matches will not be available through the TVNZ website or TVNZ OnDemand app.

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#2322616 22-Sep-2019 13:29

Good of them to offer refunds. They are going to lose so much money on this RWC. From stream numbers last night they are well short of breaking even.

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#2322619 22-Sep-2019 13:34

You've got to think that by providing coverage on Duke that the load will be lighter on the streaming side of things though. Those that experienced major problems last night will probably just go straight to Duke. So any configuration changes aren't really going to be tested. We had no issues during the earlier games, just the ABs match where fixtures would have been higher.
If it had been raining hard last night I would have been thankful that the broadcast wasn't via satellite.

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ResponseMediaNZ

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#2322623 22-Sep-2019 14:02

Dingbatt: You've got to think that by providing coverage on Duke that the load will be lighter on the streaming side of things though. Those that experienced major problems last night will probably just go straight to Duke. So any configuration changes aren't really going to be tested. We had no issues during the earlier games, just the ABs match where fixtures would have been higher.
If it had been raining hard last night I would have been thankful that the broadcast wasn't via satellite.

Everyone has forgotten about the rainfade and other issues sky and skygo have had in the past! And the hate because it’s spark is really bad :(

I do agree that they might not be able to fully test the changes but got to give them credit for being open and honest about things.

gehenna

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#2322665 22-Sep-2019 14:21

No-one has forgotten about the poor quality of Sky broadcasts. But there was little alternative option at that time. One would have hoped a new service on new infrastructure would take the lessons learnt by previous providers and resolve them, not introduce more problems of a similar ilk - i.e. substandard picture quality.

Bobdn

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#2322666 22-Sep-2019 14:28

Actually most people think highly about the quality of Sky's broadcast. As this chap Ben Goodale notes:

"But as a sports fan, I know the picture on Spark Sport is not as good as it would be on Sky."

Goodale says the point of technology is really to move things forward and improve the experience, but Spark simply hasn't done that in this instance.

"You have to ask whether Spark really needs to be in this space when there have been operations like Sky doing it for a long time and do it really well."

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12269788

This sounds crazy but I wonder it's worth Spark actually reaching out and getting Sky involved to help solve this problem. They're the experts here after all. I streamed the Cricket World Cup via Sky without a hitch.

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#2322669 22-Sep-2019 14:40

ResponseMediaNZ:
Dingbatt: You've got to think that by providing coverage on Duke that the load will be lighter on the streaming side of things though. Those that experienced major problems last night will probably just go straight to Duke. So any configuration changes aren't really going to be tested. We had no issues during the earlier games, just the ABs match where fixtures would have been higher.
If it had been raining hard last night I would have been thankful that the broadcast wasn't via satellite.

Everyone has forgotten about the rainfade and other issues sky and skygo have had in the past! And the hate because it’s spark is really bad :(

I do agree that they might not be able to fully test the changes but got to give them credit for being open and honest about things.

I’ve only experienced rain fade about 3 times in 10 years on Sky.
Once was snow on the dish, which a good water hosing fixed, another in a real big hail storm, and another where a lightening storm was almost on top of me, always taken more then just a bit of rain and other then the snow usually recovered within 2 minutes.

These Spark sport issues seem more frequent then Sky’s rain fade, it’s not an act of nature, something needs fixing.

gehenna

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#2322672 22-Sep-2019 14:46

Bobdn:

"But as a sports fan, I know the picture on Spark Sport is not as good as it would be on Sky."

But if the Spark picture was consistently working as it should (and can), it is better quality than Sky's broadcast because it's progressive instead of interlaced. That guy you've quoted is incorrect. Not surprising NZ Herald is publishing inaccuracies though, just to stoke the fires.

Bobdn

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#2322675 22-Sep-2019 14:50

According to this guy Sky Sport Now is in 1080p I can honestly say that the Ashes looked superb on my plasma - 25 days of cricket and not a dropped frame to be seen.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12258484

BarTender

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#2322676 22-Sep-2019 14:50

Disappointed that Spark blinked. Yes some people had problems just like some Sky customers get rain fade.
Did customers who streamed via Chromecast with a decent WiFi coverage between all three devices? I didn't see any issues via Twitter when I was searching.
Did Netflix or Google launch day one supporting all devices, no. I think Spark Sports underestimated the complexity of multiple different TVs and their differences plus supporting desktop computers and the weird and wonderful way they can behave.

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