BT TV Pro HD - Autumn Nations Series live match

[everybodyhatesc]

Recently I watched a live Autumn Nations series match broadcast on channel 465 (TNT Sports Ultimate). As expected, the content was broadcast using 4K UHD aspect ratio - however the audio was not in Dolby Atmos but in DD+. Wherever possible I tend to watch live content using channel 465 (not that there is much to view given that this is a dedicated UHD service; a separate issue but this is a USP that, prior to the JV, BT Sport was always keen to promote its leading innovative stance in terms of presentation. The confusion as to which channel broadcasts in whichever audio codec does not appear be confined to just this match - things were a lot more straightforward when the Xtra channels - latterly BT Sport 5-10 channels - would broadcast cast live content in DD 2.0 codec. Is there anyone who can shed any light on this?

Further to my point, I used to have the NOW Entertainment package with BTTV before several decent channels including Nat Geographic were dropped (cheers, Walt Disney Company). Even with the 4K bolt on for BT Sport Ultimate, the maximum resolution for NOW channels was still only 720p. 

Since there has been closer integration of carriage and streaming services between Sky and BT Group following the BTTV consumer rebrand, has anything changed in terms of an increase in resolution? I understand that Sky Sports channels may be viewed at an optimum resolution of 1080p regardless of carriage deals but that this does not apply to other NOW packages. Is someone able to clarify the situation for me?

Best regards,

Chris

[Richardr66 · Accepted solution]

I haven't specifcally watched the rugby, but in my experience not every event on 465 has Dolby Atmos, but does have HDR.

You can see the same on the Discovery+ app - the last Celtic home game in the Champions League is UHD and Dolby Atmos, whereas England v South Africa Rugby Union is UHD but not Dolby Atmos.

[Matt_124]

I believe there is a so called "Combi HD+4K Boost" you can add to your EETV Package in place of the addon you currently have that boosts both the Now TV Boost to Full HD and HD resolutions to other "EETV" channels and allows 4K on the likes of TNT. Could be worth asking customer services about it, I am not 100% sure on the details.

[everybodyhatesc]

I am paying £6 a month for this - and have done so ever since I signed up for BTTV with BT Sport and NOW Entertainment package, but in my opinion it is a lot for access to 1 SVoD channel which offers 4K UHD/Dolby Atmos content on a limited basis and 4 HD channels (with occasional content available on the Xtra channels) presented in HDR10 format. I wouldn't be so bothered if the UHD content wasn't as limited as it is; more live matches should be optimised in UHD (depending on the host broadcaster) to showcase the importance of the technology.

I think what you are saying about Boost enabling 1080 resolution is correct, however I am not convinced that it improves anything other than the Sky Sports package. I'm pretty certain that until fairly recently all NOW output was optimised at only 720p. I dropped NOW Entertainment due to this and because of the removal of quality content following the Walt Disney Company's buyout of FOX.

[everybodyhatesc]

I'm sure everything that was broadcast on 465 pre-TNT Sports was both in UHD and Dolby Atmos. That was BT Sport's USP at the time. I agree with what you saying about d+. The app does appear to replicate the live games shown on 465 in playback. That said, I do wish WBD would stop promoting games as being available in Dolby Atmos and UHD on their app if they're not audio encoded as such.