BBC iPlayer 4k support in time for the World cup?

[ajwool]

So, will we finally get Bbc iPlayer support in time for the World Cup? Announcement coming imminently:

https://www.whathifi.com/news/bbc-4k-hdr-world-cup-confirmation-week-away

[rgledhill]

Yep 30fps seems to cause no problems at all.

I think we've now nailed the problem - the BBC will have to offer a 25fps feed, rather than 50fps, for our TVs (and probably many other similar ones that we don't know about here) and then we'll be fine.  While they stick with 50fps, we won't be able to watch it.

Similarly Google and Sony haven't done anything about the YouTube App which exhibits exactly the same problem and has been reported to both companies for over a year - now that does make me mad!

[stormyuk]

Yeh I am tending to agree, it's shocking that these expensive TVs cant cope with this data transfer stream coupled with the video processing. The crappy Android OS cant help and using crippled Mediatek chipsets probably is the death of it. Damn. What a total disapointment.

[romipat]

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@rgledhill wrote:

Ok, found one that runs at 4k at 60fps ("Death Stranding TGA 2016 4k [60FPS]").  It uses around 20MBps, I'd say (about 50% network activity from 40Mbps connection) and has a few dropped frames, but it's definitely jerky, so this is a good example of what I'm talking about.

If you're looking at a different one, I'm keen to try it...

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 is the stats or nerds bit only  available whilst watching using the iplayer app?

 also just to  clarify if we areall on thesame page.mine is the  65 xe9305 with the  x1 extreme processor and im  wired at 100 +  MB I havent noticed any dropped frames or jerkiness  thestays for nerds may  show dropped  frames I havent checked but  if there are dropped frames im certainly not seeing  or noticing them. its handled everythig  that Ive thrown at it.  getting back to the   worldcup. i think ive got a workaround im on virgin and have a  v6  box I played the  planet earth  II  demo loop  using the bult in iplayer app on the v6 and it worked  fine. Virgin have confirmed that I should therefore beable to watch the 4K HLG HDR  worldcup  games using the iplayerapp  on the V6 box

[jan.hansen957]

Perhaps if anyone could rip out an APK from the 2018 model we could buy a Xioami Mi Box and watch it there. A real ATV box. Much faster than the Sony

[copicke45]

I had subscribed to this thread but have to remove it because of email overload today!

I know people (particularly football fans) are upset - I am too after buying my XE9005 late last year, but I would highlight again that live 4K HLG HDR @ 50fps using MPEG-DASH transport is a new and unique technique for broadcast of 4K content over the internet. It is only being done by the BBC in the UK. 

Nobody should have any expectation of a right that this should work on their TV because this technique is not standardised. The BBC want to make it a worldwide standard (and this trial may go some way to achieving that) and Sony are I am sure trying their best (hence their attempt at a firmware update recently) but it is still a trial at the present time.

If this is a processor loading issue where it can't cope with Android and 50fps display concurrently then the best we are going to be able to hope for is the BBC making a lower resolution or lower framerate version available for our models down the road, or else relying on a seperate plug-in device. (NB: 25fps is pants for fast ball sports as any Now TV Sky Sports subscriber can testify - the ball often disappears mid-flight).

Personally I wish there was some way to revert from Android to the basic Sony firmware (the one you see when you go to do basic functions like a retune). Android has no benefits for me over the other devices I have available; i'd rather have a fast responsive TV than one laden down with a bloaty buggy OS. I hate having Android on my work phone, and am now hating it even more on my TV......

[BigUglyGac]

well after having a look through a few of them videos as far as my set 65xd9305 goes. 4k 30fps is fine, it can stream down at 65meg no problems what so ever. but come 60fps and my connection speed jumps between 30-44meg, which while it seems to build up a buffer not as much as on the other one so im guessing its just too much information for the set to handle. so congratulations sony you sold a set that cant manage 4k hdr at 60fps. so a cheap processor on a £3500 tv set. 

sony must have known exactly what this set could do before launch as with all the others so why wait for the iplayer app debarcle to happen or where they praying it may just manage it. more so with sony being the main maker of digital camera equipment sensors they would have known exactly what sort of possible bandwidth would have been needed within a couple of years so trying to maximise profits i guess.

[copicke45]

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@BigUglyGac wrote:

well after having a look through a few of them videos as far as my set 65xd9305 goes. 4k 30fps is fine, it can stream down at 65meg no problems what so ever. but come 60fps and my connection speed jumps between 30-44meg, which while it seems to build up a buffer not as much as on the other one so im guessing its just too much information for the set to handle. so congratulations sony you sold a set that cant manage 4k hdr at 60fps. so a cheap processor on a £3500 tv set. 

sony must have known exactly what this set could do before launch as with all the others so why wait for the iplayer app debarcle to happen or where they praying it may just manage it. more so with sony being the main maker of digital camera equipment sensors they would have known exactly what sort of possible bandwidth would have been needed within a couple of years so trying to maximise profits i guess.

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Looking at the spec sheet for my XE9005 it states:

Video Signal Support: 3840x2160p (24,25,30,50,60) & 4096x2160p (24,50,60)

HEVC Support up to 3840x2160/60p (10-bit)

@So the HEVC support means it should support 4K Youtube @ 60fps.... if they fixed the app. Otherwise Sony have advertised a feature that the TV doesn't have....

What you can't criticise them on is this BBC iPlayer trial as the TV wasn't designed to support this method of decode via an app. You could perhaps criticise them however for getting your hopes up by releasing a firmware that supposedly gave the support before being properly tested with the BBC.

[BigUglyGac]

yeah cant have a go for them not supporting the iplayer just the lack of clear communication time and again. 

as for the HEVC support i have Up to 3840x2160/60p 10bit but with this little blurb linked to it "This TV supports digital broadcasting using the HEVC codec, but compatibility with all operator/service signals, which may change over time, cannot be guaranteed." 

the problem is youtube uses googles own VP9 coden not HEVC both do the same job but id assume some what differently and that could be what the issue is but if it can do HEVC it should be thoery be able to do VP9 as they use similar amounts of grunt. but as we have seen many of us cant stream 4k60hdr stuff well on youtube as once thats bandwidth gets eaten up things start to stutter and frames are dropped. so either way hevc or vp9 the processor just isnt powerful enough for what is expected of it. 

the annoying thing for me in all of this is sony would have known day one when the bbc released its specs for 4k via iplayer a couple of years ago multiple sets couldnt handle the raw data banwidth for encoding it from a stream yet said nothing other than "watch this space" which is either sony being very slow or lying that they where actually working on it. 

[stormyuk]

Sony would have known Vp9.2 at 2160p@60fps was not supported too, again due to weak processing power? Is this is why they have been on radio silence on that issue since YouTube decided to go that way too? Yeh it looks like we've been sold lemons when it comes to high end  IP streaming at 4K/HDR.

Really wished id waited for the 2018 models now, so much for any kind of future proofing.

[mobilyuk]

Does anyone know if the Virgin V6 boxes will be showing in 4k?