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Poor quality picture on BBCi player |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8
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Poor quality picture on BBCi player
Hi guys wonder of you could advise me.I have a Fox sat Hdr which with normal tv works very well but i recently connected it to a Thomson modem/router i have and the picture is awful rather cloudy , not sharp at all.The Patch cable i used is about 15 mtrs long, very cheap and Cat 5e, so I am wondering if its that.Also the picture is quite slow to load as well.Any ideas?
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#2 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 222
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I wouldn't describe the picture quality I get as cloudy or unsharp, even on the standard setting. When I use the higher quality, I often forget that I'm watching via iPlayer - it's quite close to my 'live' picture quality. Not on a giant screen, admittedly - 23". I have slowish response when I navigate aroung iPlayer, but no problems once a program is underway.
Possibly you have problems with the internet feed - what speed is it, and can you do a test with the modem and box closer together and a shorter lead . . .or even just swap the lead? |
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#3 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 222
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. . . using a Foxsat HDR, by the way.
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8
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Quote:
I wouldn't describe the picture quality I get as cloudy or unsharp, even on the standard setting. When I use the higher quality, I often forget that I'm watching via iPlayer - it's quite close to my 'live' picture quality. Not on a giant screen, admittedly - 23". I have slowish response when I navigate aroung iPlayer, but no problems once a program is underway.
Possibly you have problems with the internet feed - what speed is it, and can you do a test with the modem and box closer together and a shorter lead . . .or even just swap the lead? router is a thomson TG585v7. I know sometimes connection can be poor when i try to access Second life, but for most computer operations its fine.I thought maybe it might be the lead as it only cost me about 2 quid but i kind of thought they were like HDMIs in that they all perforemd more or less as well as each other.I do have a telephone output socket near the tv so i guess I could try the router there with a shorter cable I have |
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#5 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 3,089
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Quote:
I thought maybe it might be the lead as it only cost me about 2 quid
but i kind of thought they were like HDMIs in that they all perforemd more or less as well as each other.If the cable was inadequate you would either get nothing of something a lot more obvious that a 'cloudy' picture. Quote:
I do have a telephone output socket near the tv so i guess I could try the router there with a shorter cable I have
It's always worth eliminating as many factors as possible.
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8
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nope its not the cable. Do the digibox settings need to be different? Otherwise I can only think its the router.Speeds ok though i would have thought
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#7 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 3,089
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Quote:
nope its not the cable. Do the digibox settings need to be different? Otherwise I can only think its the router.Speeds ok though i would have thought
The performance of the router should not have the effects you describe. Routers are not aware of the nature of the data that they are handling at the level that would be necessary to modify the data stream in a way that would cause such effects. Does anyone know if the iplayer spec allows for different data rates depending on the speed of the line (where 'line' would be the speed perceived at the input to the Foxsat)? In which case it could be that some problem with the router is causing the iplayer functionality to negotiate a lower quality transmission. It was something that was built into the spec of another IPTV project I was involved in a while back but I'm not aware if it is used in iplayer. |
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Perchede, France
Posts: 1,936
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Possible TV upscaling problem? - What happens if you change v-format to 1080i (using the HDR remote)?
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 4,556
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the iplayer picture isnt as good as the SD broadcast, theres nothing you can do unless they up the bitrate.
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8
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Quote:
Possible TV upscaling problem? - What happens if you change v-format to 1080i (using the HDR remote)?
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#11 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8
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Quote:
the iplayer picture isnt as good as the SD broadcast, theres nothing you can do unless they up the bitrate.
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#12 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Redditch Worcs
Posts: 17,289
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On my system the HQ quality is broadly similar to the low bitrate offerings from some of the lesser freesat channels (blurryvision). It's not as good as the SD VM service from my Virgin box (the only thing I use it for) and both are much worse than the 720p BBC-HD service using my laptop to send the pictures to my 40" TV.
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#13 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Scouser in Chilterns
Posts: 711
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My HUMAX [Cat5E wired] refuses to download the HQ IPlayer when the line Speed drops below 1.5Megs..which it ofyen does..
The Low Quality is on a par with the 4 hour DVD rate,, Stan |
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#14 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 67
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Quote:
well then why is the picture acceptable on my pc?
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#15 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: St Albans
Posts: 282
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Hi
I had a very similar problem. The I-player just would not function properly. I contacted my ISP (o2) who told me that the service I was paying for was not sufficient for streaming TV. I had what was called the "Basics", and on their advice I upgraded to the "all-rounder". Ever since, all has worked well. My download speed doesn't seem to have changed since upgrading so I can only think it is the way they send it down the line that makes the difference. Check with your ISP that the service you are paying for is suitable for streaming. |
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#16 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8
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Quote:
Hi
I had a very similar problem. The I-player just would not function properly. I contacted my ISP (o2) who told me that the service I was paying for was not sufficient for streaming TV. I had what was called the "Basics", and on their advice I upgraded to the "all-rounder". Ever since, all has worked well. My download speed doesn't seem to have changed since upgrading so I can only think it is the way they send it down the line that makes the difference. Check with your ISP that the service you are paying for is suitable for streaming. I did a speed test and got these results http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/diagnostics#results although the figures dont mean much to me |
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#17 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: South Coast, UK
Posts: 4,952
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My LG 47" TV has the BBC iPlayer option built in offering SD and some HD versions of programs.
Both look better than the picture the HDR gives me. BBC Test Results... Your connection 6260 kbps Your available bandwidth is 6260 kbps. n/a TV - HD 3500 Uses 55% of your available bandwidth. passed TV 1500 Uses 23% of your available bandwidth. passed TV 800 Uses 12% of your available bandwidth. passed TV 500 Uses 7% of your available bandwidth. passed Radio 128 Uses 2% of your available bandwidth. passed Automan. |
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#18 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 4,556
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Quote:
well then why is the picture acceptable on my pc?
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#19 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 4,391
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Quote:
the picture is awful rather cloudy
The HQ option is much better (also 50fps instead if 25fps, so smoother motion on sports etc). Cheers, David. |
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#20 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8
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Quote:
That's exactly what the standard (low!) quality option gives you.
The HQ option is much better (also 50fps instead if 25fps, so smoother motion on sports etc). Cheers, David. embarrasingly I took the wrong option or rather never noticed the HQ one .Its fine now Thanks all the same
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#21 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 4,391
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Glad you fixed it. It's annoying that the box doesn't learn to use the HQ by default if your connection is fast enough. You have to select it manually. every. single. time. !
Cheers, David. |
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#22 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 8
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Quote:
Glad you fixed it. It's annoying that the box doesn't learn to use the HQ by default if your connection is fast enough. You have to select it manually. every. single. time. !
Cheers, David. |
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#23 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Perchede, France
Posts: 1,936
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Quote:
Glad you fixed it. It's annoying that the box doesn't learn to use the HQ by default if your connection is fast enough. You have to select it manually. every. single. time. !
Cheers, David. A setup option would be the simple way to achieve this but I guess that is up to the BBC to specify it.. |
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#24 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 222
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This is all very odd - I stand by my original comments here - the picture quality I'm getting on the standard setting could not in any way be described as cloudy or not sharp. Maybe this implies that my set-up is so bad that I can't see the difference, but I do see large screen HD quite often, and I'm happy that the difference is not massive. Family & friends have all been impressed by the quality of iPlayer on the tv too. Guess it's down to the fact that everyone's end experience is the product of a large number of technical variables.
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#25 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 3
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O2 are throttling iPlayer traffic at peak hours (that's 4pm to 12am) on some of their broadband packages - bound to have an effect on quality. Note that this applies to the "new" packages O2 offer (basic, all-rounder etc.) - their older premium/pro packages are not throttled.....yet!
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but i kind of thought they were like HDMIs in that they all perforemd more or less as well as each other.