Watching Spark Sport (including launch and pricing)

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#2276687 15-Jul-2019 08:28

Hemi88: Is any one else having a stutter with f1 on Apple TV I noticed it yesterday just watched the Porsche race it seems to be doing it to the nba and edge channels seem fine 🤷‍♂️

I found the F1 quite juddery this weekend with some artifacting by either the mobile app or the sideloaded android tv app on my sheild...

As a note, I've had the Android TV app crash the stream a couple of times this weekend but not the actual app... keeps on running and can resume the stream from where it stopped... No error messages...

Hemi88

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Master Geek
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#2276782 15-Jul-2019 10:33

Benoire:
Hemi88: Is any one else having a stutter with f1 on Apple TV I noticed it yesterday just watched the Porsche race it seems to be doing it to the nba and edge channels seem fine 🤷‍♂️

I found the F1 quite juddery this weekend with some artifacting by either the mobile app or the sideloaded android tv app on my sheild...

As a note, I've had the Android TV app crash the stream a couple of times this weekend but not the actual app... keeps on running and can resume the stream from where it stopped... No error messages...

seems this weekend hasn’t been as good as it has been

tdgeek

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#2277223 15-Jul-2019 18:36

Benoire:

Hemi88: Is any one else having a stutter with f1 on Apple TV I noticed it yesterday just watched the Porsche race it seems to be doing it to the nba and edge channels seem fine 🤷‍♂️

I found the F1 quite juddery this weekend with some artifacting by either the mobile app or the sideloaded android tv app on my sheild...

As a note, I've had the Android TV app crash the stream a couple of times this weekend but not the actual app... keeps on running and can resume the stream from where it stopped... No error messages...

Me too. I saw this with the tennis, and F1 is the same, as if its a lower frame rate.

niallm90

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#2277228 15-Jul-2019 18:43

The last two GP have been at 30fps not 60. They are changing back to 60 soon. I have also been seeing encoding artifact myself in gravel traps and the crowds where the image appears to flicker or flash.

stuker

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#2277514 15-Jul-2019 23:39

I also observed significantly reduced quality throughout the British GP coverage (FP1-3, qualifying and race).

Different devices tried and live vs catch up made no difference.

Overall very disappointing after previous race coverage.

Spark Sport notified but no answers as yet.

skewt

752 posts

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#2277607 16-Jul-2019 09:27

I understand this is a so called 'beta' but does anyone else thinks the app/website interface still needs a lot of work and isn't ready for the influx of RWC luddites,

I feel sorry for the staff who have to manage the social media

Examples,

To find an F1 live event, you have to scroll through everything in 'whats on' and cant even go to sports - F1 since the events aren't even mentioned there

Under the F1 section, Some items are listed under 'Recently added' but then don't appear in correct category as well (F2 does but F1 doesn't)

To see any live channels, you have to scroll to the bottom of the Home page

IAAF, Blast Pro and other sports aren't even listed under 'Sports'

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Benoire

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#2277628 16-Jul-2019 09:43

Yep @Skewt. Its still a mess in the android app and the android TV app... its not coherent and doesn't flow nicely. I jumped back in to the android tv app and it dropped me in the F1 section where I could not find the live FP I was wanting to watch... had to go back to the main home screen to get it... just the whole UI is a tad broken and has been since day one... Its as bad as lightbox to be honest... the missus was commenting how bad it was compared to TVNZ / Netflix!

They really also need to sub-catagorise; e.g. Headline 'Motorsport' and then sub cats for F1, F2, F3, Porsche etc. otherwise its hard to find anything... Even then they'd be better off creating further subs below that layer for event weekends completed... e.g. Motorsport > F1 > Current weekend is in this section and then subs for Austria, Silverstone etc. and then previous years in a 2018 'folder'.

I find it clumsy an unintuitive!

event2

188 posts

Master Geek
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#2277723 16-Jul-2019 12:53

niallm90: The last two GP have been at 30fps not 60. They are changing back to 60 soon. I have also been seeing encoding artifact myself in gravel traps and the crowds where the image appears to flicker or flash.

I noticed the sames flicker\encoding artifact issues watching via chomecast 2nd gen that were particularly bad on crowd shots.

I normally watch via a laptop hooked up to the TV and am really looking forward the 60FPS stream returning. Anyone know why they stopped supplying it? I'm not sure how the broadcasting side of things works but it must still be captured at the higher frame rate as the videos on the F1 YouTube channel appear at the higher frame rate.

Benoire

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#2277744 16-Jul-2019 13:16

Encoding time and cpu usage will likely be higher at higher FPS rates... So it depends on the contract Spark Sport have with their provider... To complete 1080p60 in an acceptable time might involve more money for cpu performance which they attempted to reduce by encoding at 30fps... not sure but the quality has suffered as a result.

niallm90

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#2277752 16-Jul-2019 13:39

event2:

I noticed the sames flicker\encoding artifact issues watching via chomecast 2nd gen that were particularly bad on crowd shots.

I normally watch via a laptop hooked up to the TV and am really looking forward the 60FPS stream returning. Anyone know why they stopped supplying it? I'm not sure how the broadcasting side of things works but it must still be captured at the higher frame rate as the videos on the F1 YouTube channel appear at the higher frame rate.

They reduced the frame rate to try and fix the flickering that many people observed. I think they have found more people complaining now so are going to switch it back.

I'm not sure what the problem is with the encoding flickering I had only see than this weekend and at Austria. You can see it quite badly at the start of the second Austrian F3 race.

tdgeek

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#2277755 16-Jul-2019 13:44

niallm90:

event2:

I noticed the sames flicker\encoding artifact issues watching via chomecast 2nd gen that were particularly bad on crowd shots.

I normally watch via a laptop hooked up to the TV and am really looking forward the 60FPS stream returning. Anyone know why they stopped supplying it? I'm not sure how the broadcasting side of things works but it must still be captured at the higher frame rate as the videos on the F1 YouTube channel appear at the higher frame rate.

They reduced the frame rate to try and fix the flickering that many people observed. I think they have found more people complaining now so are going to switch it back.

I'm not sure what the problem is with the encoding flickering I had only see than this weekend and at Austria. You can see it quite badly at the start of the second Austrian F3 race.

IIRC some posted here that the flickering was a 50Hz/60hz issue on some devices

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niallm90

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#2277759 16-Jul-2019 13:48

tdgeek:

IIRC some posted here that the flickering was a 50Hz/60hz issue on some devices

The issue I'm talking about is a strange encoding problem that I don't see related to 50/60fps. I could be wrong though as I'm not an expert. I am able to repeat it on a number of devices at any refresh rate I configured. I will post screenshots tonight.

sm1ff

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#2277825 16-Jul-2019 17:06

Spark sports has no 5.1 audio they have confirmed. Absolutely devastating that we not getting it.

ianajmes

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#2277875 16-Jul-2019 18:28

Have been playing with tv settings(Samsung 55" 4k) and Apple TV settings over the weekend and have actually found that at the moment I am getting better Spark Sport quality on the Samsung app. Both the tv and the Apple TV I have connected by Ethernet (fibre) but with both the F1 and the Premier League (using the 18/19 goals as the tester) getting better quality on Samsung. The usual suspects, Lightbox, Netflix etc no issues.

IJD

niallm90

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#2277920 16-Jul-2019 20:02

This is what I have been talking about seeing. I have observed it numerous times over the last two race weekends. The examples here are just the two I could remember off the top of my head. I don't think this is device related as I see this on my Shield (casting), my Sony TV (casting) and on the PC with Firefox. I have tested some on a verity of frame rates (50hz, 60hz and 144hz).

Hopefully nobody gets there knickers in a twist over copyright as this should come under fair use in my opinion. The clips are short and are only used to highlight the encoding errors.

Example 1

Austrian F3 Race 1
Note its flickering slightly at the start then it gets way worse on the cut to the back of the grid. Finally it gets somewhat better when they cut to the front of the grid.
Spark Link at 02:53

Example 2

Austrian F3 Race 2
Note there is no flickering until the starting grid graphic then.
Spark Link at 18:21

Edit: Proofreading.

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