topic Re: Sports channels poor picture quality in TV

Sports channels poor picture quality

Lrjc — Sun, 06 Oct 2024 17:26:46 GMT

I have just moved over to EE TV and purchased the Big Sport package. The picture quality on both TNT sports and Sky Sports is terrible. I do not have an issue with other channels, just the sport channels. Which is what I watch most. Is there anything that can be done? I have tried to speak to EE but the phone lines for the TV always seem to be blocked up. Please advise if there is anything I can do to improve the quality.

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

zulu17 — Sun, 06 Oct 2024 23:34:43 GMT

There are separate SD and HD. Sports channels in the guide.

There is an add on to the Big sport TV package which gives the HD linear channels (the default is SD). A combi HD addon should give you the TNT Sports/Eurosport HD channels and the TNT Sports Ultimate 4K, , (with NOW boost) giving you the sky Sports HD channels , typical price c £6 month.

Without the HD TV addon you may experience better quality TNT Sports viewing on the Discovery+ app.

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

Lrjc — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 06:32:03 GMT

Thank you for that, I am aware of this being the case. Although the tip about using the discovery + app is useful until it is sorted.

However, my issue is the standard definition is very much below the quality of standard definition. It can be difficult to see what is happening in the sport I am watching i.e. unable to see where the ball is.
If the quality is this bad it makes me think what is the point in having this package.

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

DarrenDev — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 09:15:01 GMT

If you're watching from the TV Guide, then the SD channels are broadcast exactly as per SD spec - i.e. 576p. As they're delivered via multicast, there's no variance involved - everyone is seeing the same picture, regardless of broadband speed. Some sports look worse in SD than others - are you finding everything looking especially bad?

Also, as you've set up your TV Box in IP mode, you'll find that most of the other Freeview channels are better than SD - this will make the subscription channels seem even worse in comparison.

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

Lrjc — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 09:26:52 GMT

Thank you for that explanation.
However, I had BT TV before and did not have an issue like that as I went through the tv guide and watched on SD.
It is everything looking bad on these channels, it is the sports, adverts, score boards are almost blurry, it really impacts the viewing experience.

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

Profile closed — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 09:27:19 GMT

@Lrjc wrote:

However, my issue is the standard definition is very much below the quality of standard definition. It can be difficult to see what is happening in the sport I am watching i.e. unable to see where the ball is.

You are not alone in thinking this and the difference between the same SD TNT Sports channel on the Pro Box and the EE TV app on an Apple TV is like night and day.

I like to compare on screen graphics between the two, which are unreadable on the Pro Box but clear enough on the app. I have no idea of the bitrate differences, but I know the app is Unicast compared to Multicast on the Pro Box.

The rest of the IP delivered channels in SD on the box are much better than Freeview versions IMHO, especially the Channel 4 suite.

Unless you watch TNT & Eurosport through the app, the HD add-on is a must, especially if you have NOW Sky Sports as it also ensures 50fps.

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

DarrenDev — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 09:30:53 GMT

It's exactly the same service @Lrjc - nothing has changed on the sports channels for a long time, and they're the same channels whether you're on BT Broadband or EE Broadband. The only explanation I can think of is that you now have a TV Box Pro - is this different to the TV Box you had previously?

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

Lrjc — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 11:49:21 GMT

Yeah I got a new boxed when I switch from BT to EE TV. Do you think this may be the problem?

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

DarrenDev — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 12:29:59 GMT

You could try changing the display settings on the TV Box Pro, to see if that offers any improvement? See the guide here: https://deviceguides.ee.co.uk/ee/tv-box-pro-proprietary-os/settings/selecting-picture-resolution/

Normally when an account migrates from BT to EE, there's a marker linking to the old account. There's no marker on yours, so I can't see what products/subscriptions you had previously.

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

Lrjc — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 18:20:44 GMT

@DarrenDev

I am not sure why there is no “marker”, could this be because I changed address as I changed over?
I have tried this and it still has not improved.
Is there anything else you could suggest? As I honestly don’t see the point of paying for the sports channels if they are this quality.

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

DarrenDev — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 18:50:09 GMT

Yes - it looks like when moving house, they just started a new contract rather than moving the old one.

I've temporarily enabled HD for TNT Sports on your account - could you please check one of the TNT Sports HD channels and confirm whether the picture is improved?

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

Lrjc — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 18:55:09 GMT

On the channel 408 the picture appears the same. On channel 430 it says I need to set it up
(not sure whether you enabled that channel). But there seems to be no difference.

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

DarrenDev — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 18:57:04 GMT

Click ok to set up channel 430. It should just enable it. If not, try again in 15 minutes.

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

Lrjc — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 19:00:57 GMT

Just tried it, that is worlds apart from the other channel.

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

DarrenDev — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 09:08:49 GMT

OK, so that at least confirms that it can show a good picture. I'm afraid there's nothing further I can offer then, other than the suggestion to upgrade to HD.

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

Lrjc — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 09:13:41 GMT

I don’t believe I should be paying extra to get a picture that is standard quality. It is ridiculous that I would be given a poor quality and then made to have to upgrade to get a decent quality picture.

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

DarrenDev — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 09:17:23 GMT

Quality is subjective @Lrjc - it's good enough for other customers. If it's not good enough for you then I'm afraid your only options are to use the discovery+ app or pay for the HD add-on.

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

latifbank — Sat, 23 Nov 2024 18:17:52 GMT

Was there anyway u fixed the issue or am I permanently stuck with low quality sports?

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

Lrjc — Sat, 23 Nov 2024 21:48:28 GMT

I'll watch sky sports on Now Tv app and TNT sports on discovery app. Its a bit annoying to have to go into the apps but the quality is normal and I resfuse to spend more money for standard quality. Hope this helps you

Re: Sports channels poor picture quality

Jimthejoiner3 — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 20:51:37 GMT

I had poor pictures on live tv and terrestrial channels on my tv plus box I had to disconnect my Ariel cable reboot my box and choose to connect via internet rather than Ariel. It has solved my issue