Spark Sport: Rugby World Cup 2019

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66 posts

Master Geek

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#2326514 28-Sep-2019 22:26

Fantastic game and result.

No issues with streaming here - HD quality throughout, no glitches or drop in quality. Apart from the AB-SA game, I have found the quality excellent. Current set-up as follows:

Bigpipe fibre 100/20; RB1100x2AH with Linksys EA4500 acting as a wireless AP; Spark Ap on an HTC10 casting to a Chromecast 1. The wireless AP and chromecast are only about 3m from each other, and are on a clear 5Ghz 20MHz wide channel...

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#2326515 28-Sep-2019 22:28

hio77:

freitasm:

Thanks for all these pixels, Spark Sport... The quality of JPN vs IRE is pretty bad - DishTV A2 Recorder, ethernet, Gigabit fibre:

You know things get pixilated when you blow them up right?...

Ah ah... Ys, I know but that's what I was seeing on my TV.

Sorry, false alarm. The TV and box were out of sync. Changed the source from one HDMI to another and back and the picture came perfect.

msparkus4378

17 posts

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#2326516 28-Sep-2019 22:32

Fine for me tonight. (Trustpower UFF 50/20) No interruptions or bitrate drops. I've had no problems other than during the AB v SA game. Before the WC started the Android SS app did once tell me stream could only be watched from NZ. Tried again and it worked. That is the only other glitch I've seen.
On 1 Oct I get bumped to the 100/20 plan which is going to cost $20 more per month as the 50/20 plan is being discontinued. Not thrilled about that. 50M is fine for everything I need to do.

bfginger

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#2326519 28-Sep-2019 23:58

Maybe not all devices can decode hevc?

Of course they won't but 4k TVs usually can. Streaming in one format doesn't preclude streaming in another like Youtube which has streamed in at least 4 encoding formats. Spark Sport is encoding multiple MPEG-4 streams for different bitrates as it is.

With so many people having poor wifi and powerful TVs it seems like a good fit to have a HEVC option for where MPEG-4 is too bloated to work. It'd make space available for better audio too.

tanivula

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#2326520 29-Sep-2019 00:04

The grass definately had compression issues in the JPNvIRL game, but it looked even worse in the Tonga v Argies one. Did have other issues in the earlier game, but no issues with the Japan one (aside from the grass).

I used CC initially on the Tonga game, then switched to the app on my shield.

For the JPN game I started with the app, and switched to Kodi (which looked better to me).

tdgeek

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#2326524 29-Sep-2019 06:16

Dingbatt:

I’m not familiar enough with how this all works, but if it’s coming in from overseas on a Saturday night here, when the international gaming (and probably streaming as well) is at its heaviest, would that make a difference?

Not that I can see. The issue with the AB's game had 132000 tuned in, that issue wasnt the source feed or local congestion, it was that the video config meant that only 1 of the 6 Akamai servers was in action. When 6000 hopped off it was fine, even though it was still "underfunded" with servers. Apart from 1 (maybe a couple more if I missed them) very brief quality drops last night it was fine. So if I take that as "gospel" then if it was fine for me it was fine for everyone, at least Japan to USA to Akamai to me, then the variance is the user end. As we all had the same Japan to USA to Akamai

tdgeek

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#2326525 29-Sep-2019 06:19

tanivula: The grass definately had compression issues in the JPNvIRL game, but it looked even worse in the Tonga v Argies one. Did have other issues in the earlier game, but no issues with the Japan one (aside from the grass).

I used CC initially on the Tonga game, then switched to the app on my shield.

For the JPN game I started with the app, and switched to Kodi (which looked better to me).

Ok, no grass issues for me in the JPN game. If we look at all the posts, we see variance. It has to be user end. Not saying faulty user end but not all devices and versions are the same

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Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

LH44

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2326526 29-Sep-2019 07:15

tdgeek:

Dingbatt:

I’m not familiar enough with how this all works, but if it’s coming in from overseas on a Saturday night here, when the international gaming (and probably streaming as well) is at its heaviest, would that make a difference?

Not that I can see. The issue with the AB's game had 132000 tuned in, that issue wasnt the source feed or local congestion, it was that the video config meant that only 1 of the 6 Akamai servers was in action. When 6000 hopped off it was fine, even though it was still "underfunded" with servers. Apart from 1 (maybe a couple more if I missed them) very brief quality drops last night it was fine. So if I take that as "gospel" then if it was fine for me it was fine for everyone, at least Japan to USA to Akamai to me, then the variance is the user end. As we all had the same Japan to USA to Akamai

The NZvRSA game actually had 136k viewers and you're right it wasn't anything to do with source or local congestion, It was a akamai midgress traffic routing issue as a result caused poor load balancing on content distribution from their edge nodes. As a result "some" customers had issues not all. This routing issue has been fixed but I think we would get a better indication if its all sorted on wed with the next AB's which will likely draw more than 100k least.

I experienced mild bit-rate drops when I was connected to 2.4Ghz wifi on Wales vs Georgia game and as soon as I switched to 5Ghz and assigned an unused channel, I experienced no issues since, Flawless 1080p 60fps. Also cannot stress the importance of having low latency in live streaming.

sbiddle

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#2326527 29-Sep-2019 07:23

It might have been mentioned elsewhere previously but can anybody actually confirm Spark Sport is broadcasting in 60Hz? And if they are, why?

I know lots of people on here keep referring to 60Hz, but I was told a few weeks by a good source this is definitely not the case and their streams are 50Hz. Master 1080 and 4K feeds out of Japan are 60Hz because Japan is a NTSC country, but I was told the master streams to iStreamPlanet are 50Hz because they're converted by TVNZ and the same source feed is used for the Duke and TVNZ1 feeds after the 50Hz conversion locally. It would therefore seem strange you'd actually have a need to have both 50Hz and 60Hz feeds out there.

LH44

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#2326531 29-Sep-2019 07:56

sbiddle:

It might have been mentioned elsewhere previously but can anybody actually confirm Spark Sport is broadcasting in 60Hz? And if they are, why?

I know lots of people on here keep referring to 60Hz, but I was told a few weeks by a good source this is definitely not the case and their streams are 50Hz. Master 1080 and 4K feeds out of Japan are 60Hz because Japan is a NTSC country, but I was told the master streams to iStreamPlanet are 50Hz because they're converted by TVNZ and the same source feed is used for the Duke and TVNZ1 feeds after the 50Hz conversion locally. It would therefore seem strange you'd actually have a need to have both 50Hz and 60Hz feeds out there.

Perhaps they are getting confused with 60fps? Can confirm its HD-SDI 1080i@50hz converted at TVNZ who adds the production elements before being delivered to istream

sbiddle

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#2326532 29-Sep-2019 08:11

LH44:

sbiddle:

It might have been mentioned elsewhere previously but can anybody actually confirm Spark Sport is broadcasting in 60Hz? And if they are, why?

I know lots of people on here keep referring to 60Hz, but I was told a few weeks by a good source this is definitely not the case and their streams are 50Hz. Master 1080 and 4K feeds out of Japan are 60Hz because Japan is a NTSC country, but I was told the master streams to iStreamPlanet are 50Hz because they're converted by TVNZ and the same source feed is used for the Duke and TVNZ1 feeds after the 50Hz conversion locally. It would therefore seem strange you'd actually have a need to have both 50Hz and 60Hz feeds out there.

Perhaps they are getting confused with 60fps? Can confirm its HD-SDI 1080i@50hz converted at TVNZ who adds the production elements before being delivered to istream

I wrote that a little too early in the morning! When I said 60Hz I meant 60 FPS

Obviously TVNZ internally are doing the 60 FPS to 50FPS conversion and then broadcasting in 1080i/25

Jase2985

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#2326534 29-Sep-2019 08:19

can we please refrain from posting the results/winners

@Dingbatt looking at you.

LH44

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#2326540 29-Sep-2019 08:31

sbiddle:

LH44:

sbiddle:

It might have been mentioned elsewhere previously but can anybody actually confirm Spark Sport is broadcasting in 60Hz? And if they are, why?

I know lots of people on here keep referring to 60Hz, but I was told a few weeks by a good source this is definitely not the case and their streams are 50Hz. Master 1080 and 4K feeds out of Japan are 60Hz because Japan is a NTSC country, but I was told the master streams to iStreamPlanet are 50Hz because they're converted by TVNZ and the same source feed is used for the Duke and TVNZ1 feeds after the 50Hz conversion locally. It would therefore seem strange you'd actually have a need to have both 50Hz and 60Hz feeds out there.

Perhaps they are getting confused with 60fps? Can confirm its HD-SDI 1080i@50hz converted at TVNZ who adds the production elements before being delivered to istream

I wrote that a little too early in the morning! When I said 60Hz I meant 60 FPS

Obviously TVNZ internally are doing the 60 FPS to 50FPS conversion and then broadcasting in 1080i/25

Yeah so it is 1080p 60fps delivered on the SparkSort Platform on capable devices, im not 100% sure how or what determine this but I've noticed a few androids and some browsers struggling to decode and play content with no network speed/latency issues, perhaps this is something that is contributing to some end user issues as well.

frednz

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#2326542 29-Sep-2019 08:41

sbiddle:

It might have been mentioned elsewhere previously but can anybody actually confirm Spark Sport is broadcasting in 60Hz? And if they are, why?

I know lots of people on here keep referring to 60Hz, but I was told a few weeks by a good source this is definitely not the case and their streams are 50Hz. Master 1080 and 4K feeds out of Japan are 60Hz because Japan is a NTSC country, but I was told the master streams to iStreamPlanet are 50Hz because they're converted by TVNZ and the same source feed is used for the Duke and TVNZ1 feeds after the 50Hz conversion locally. It would therefore seem strange you'd actually have a need to have both 50Hz and 60Hz feeds out there.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12262957

From the above:

Some better news for Spark: its streaming service is returning to full-blooded video.

Earlier this month, after some fans complained about what they thought was degraded video quality, Spark Sport admitted it had downgraded its video stream from 60 frames per second to 30 frames per second.

The rationale was that the lower video quality was less likely to cause grief on older laptops, and older models of Google's Chromecast widget - which is used to stream pictures from a computer, phone or laptop to a TV.

But some users howled about the move on social media - and it was a bad look given that Sky was able to launch its upgraded Spark Sport Now app at 60fps.

But this afternoon comes some good news for Spark Sport subs.

The service will be returned to 60fps at full high definition (1080p HD) within a week, Latch says.

So, presumably, the best setting for Spark Sport on an Apple TV is 1080p 60fps and not 1080p 50 fps? Well, actually, the settings say 60Hz or 50 Hz, not fps.

sbiddle

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#2326546 29-Sep-2019 08:57

frednz:

sbiddle:

It might have been mentioned elsewhere previously but can anybody actually confirm Spark Sport is broadcasting in 60Hz? And if they are, why?

I know lots of people on here keep referring to 60Hz, but I was told a few weeks by a good source this is definitely not the case and their streams are 50Hz. Master 1080 and 4K feeds out of Japan are 60Hz because Japan is a NTSC country, but I was told the master streams to iStreamPlanet are 50Hz because they're converted by TVNZ and the same source feed is used for the Duke and TVNZ1 feeds after the 50Hz conversion locally. It would therefore seem strange you'd actually have a need to have both 50Hz and 60Hz feeds out there.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12262957

From the above:

Some better news for Spark: its streaming service is returning to full-blooded video.

Earlier this month, after some fans complained about what they thought was degraded video quality, Spark Sport admitted it had downgraded its video stream from 60 frames per second to 30 frames per second.

The rationale was that the lower video quality was less likely to cause grief on older laptops, and older models of Google's Chromecast widget - which is used to stream pictures from a computer, phone or laptop to a TV.

But some users howled about the move on social media - and it was a bad look given that Sky was able to launch its upgraded Spark Sport Now app at 60fps.

But this afternoon comes some good news for Spark Sport subs.

The service will be returned to 60fps at full high definition (1080p HD) within a week, Latch says.

So, presumably, the best setting for Spark Sport on an Apple TV is 1080p 60fps and not 1080p 50 fps? Well, actually, the settings say 60Hz or 50 Hz, not fps.

I read that story at the time, but it still doesn't convince me that they're actually broadcasting in 60 FPS. The majority of the world is 50Hz and therefore TV content is at 50 FPS. In the case of the RWC it is 60Hz / 60 FPS master feeds because it comes from a NTSC country. All of their UK football feeds on the other hand are 50Hz / 50 FPS because they originate in a PAL region.

I'm just genuinely interested that Latch (and others) keep referring to the RWC in comments such as the one above as being 60 FPS and yet technical people I know insist the feed going out to iStreamPlanet is 50FPS after the conversion from 60FPS to 50 FPS and then local editing at TVNZ.

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