Sports channels poor picture quality

[Lrjc]

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. 

[zulu17]

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.

[Lrjc]

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. 

[DarrenDev]

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.

[Lrjc]

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.  

[Profile closed]

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@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. 

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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.

[DarrenDev]

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?

[Lrjc]

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

[DarrenDev]

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.

[Lrjc]

@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.