OT - Live football in 4K HDR (well, up-scaled from 1080p)
I've been monitoring a thread on AVS Forum - https://www.avsforum.com/forum/34-hdtv-programming/3006930-4k-live-sports-events-updated-9-19-2019-a.html
The Verge also did an in-depth look at how Fox produces and broadcasts 4K content -
The TLDR of it is - https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/26/20884246/nfl-4k-hdr-broadcast-first-ever-fox-sports-thursday-night-football-streaming
Fox is airing select programming in 4K. A list for all 4K broadcasts can be found here (even though this list is maintained by Fubo, it's accurate) - https://support.fubo.tv/hc/en-us/articles/360011483011-What-events-are-coming-up-in-4K-HDR-on-fuboTV-
But there's a couple key points here that you need be aware of -
1) The video is shot in 1080p and upscaled to 2160p (4K) resolution
2) If you have a TV provider such as Direct TV / Verizon FiOS / Xfinity / Dish and you have a 4K HDR cable box, you can tune into the channel listed in the thumbnail on the first page of that AVS thread.
3) If you have a different provider than one listed above or you don't have a 4K box, you can buy an Apple TV 4K and download the 'Fox Sports' app (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fox-sports-watch-live/id294056623) and use your cable provider login credentials to authenticate and watch the broadcast in 4K SDR. The Fox Sports app only supports 4K SDR, not 4K HDR.
4) If you don't have TV from your provider you can subscribe to Fubo.TV (service starts at $55/month and is basically the same as YouTube TV/Sling/Hulu) and download their app to watch the game in 4K HDR. This is the only over the top (OTT) method for watching Fox content in 4K HDR.
Questions? Fire away, I love talking about this stuff.
September 26th, 2019 at 1:25 PM ^
I've got a Chromecast Ultra which supports 4K, casting the Fox Sports app to that should work right?
September 26th, 2019 at 2:02 PM ^
Seems like it, unless the Google (or whatever it's called) app doesn't support it while the Apple one does. But I'm just guessing.
September 26th, 2019 at 3:24 PM ^
Maybe. My understand of Chromecast is that it's a 'dongle' that basically passes the stream URL from your phone/tablet/whatever to the device, and the device starts playing that stream URL. So what if your phone doesn't support 4K or HDR, does the stream URL that's passed to the Chromecast Ultra pick up the highest possible quality stream? I'm not sure.
EDIT - apparently Chromecast Ultra does not do HDR - https://www.reddit.com/r/Chromecast/comments/bmf8en/chromecast_ultra_no_longer_working_with_youtube/
This is a different experience that a device running iOS (Apple TV 4K) or Android (Nvidia Shield) that have full fledged app stores that can optimize their apps to pick the correct stream based on TV resolution/HDR support.
September 26th, 2019 at 8:36 PM ^
Also seems as though the Fox Sports App does not support Chromecast currently (where as the Fox Sports Go app still does)
September 27th, 2019 at 12:24 AM ^
I tried that with mine ... didn’t get it to work.
After a long week and all, it was a Dongle Punch.
September 26th, 2019 at 1:26 PM ^
So if I am understanding it correctly, since I am watching on xfinity this year, the only five games in 4k are the ones listed at this link? Are there more games than that available using the app method?
September 26th, 2019 at 1:27 PM ^
Nice that Fox is doing this. I guess all their commercial breaks are paying off!
When do you think ABC will be able to produce video content for sports that doesn't include a super blurry score bar? You would figure that Disney would have the money to air sports in full 1080p instead of dog shit taco resolution.
September 26th, 2019 at 1:34 PM ^
I put on Fox to watch the game but all I saw was commercials.
September 26th, 2019 at 3:26 PM ^
I bet that ESPN+ picks up this feature in the new future, using the same model of having to use your provider credentials plus subscribing to ESPN+ via Disney+. The mouse will find a way to make money, unless their distribution deals with current providers have retrans restrictions.
September 26th, 2019 at 1:30 PM ^
It would be really nice if tv providers and broadcasters were actually held up to having standards better than what was available 10-15 years ago. It's not like 4k TVs are some super niche thing now and some of them still don't even broadcast in 1080p. Glad me and my wife cut the cord and I am just watching the games at my parents house on Saturday's this year to save money. I would think about getting cable again in the future if they actually caught up with the tv tech available.
September 26th, 2019 at 1:43 PM ^
Almost none of them broadcast in 1080p. It's still all 720p and 1080i.
September 26th, 2019 at 1:33 PM ^
Correct me if I'm wrong but this seems like a lot of hoops to jump through to try to use your 4k tv to watch faux 4k content.
Naturally it's probably just a step on the road to super high resolutions becoming the standard but doesn't seem like we're there yet.
September 26th, 2019 at 3:21 PM ^
Current cable systems (based on QAM) can't handle 4K HDR. It has to be delivered over IP via TCP/IP. It's a pretty big ecosystem change, but the whole industry has been moving to over the top (delivering live video over the web) for at least 3-5 years now.
September 26th, 2019 at 1:37 PM ^
doesnt amazon stream every thursday night game in 4k? i thought i remember reading that somewhere
September 26th, 2019 at 1:40 PM ^
I can wait until this stuff becomes standard. Shouldn't take too long. Anyone who recalls watching a television sporting event on a tube television in the 20th century should simply walk over and give their big, beautiful, high-definition television a wet kiss on the lips. Every single day.
September 26th, 2019 at 1:52 PM ^
This is just dumb. The typical bandwidth is not big enough to do proper 1080p, let alone 4k.
Just give me high quality 1080p in HDR and I would be happy.
But then again I am using Youtube TV for sports and it is basically 480p, so I would take a really good 720p at this point.
September 26th, 2019 at 3:27 PM ^
If you have a steady 10-15Mbit downstream connection, you should be able to do 4K HDR. I think the average connection speed in the US is like 30 or 40Mbit now.
But yeah, there are some huge holes in broadband availability in certain parts of metro areas, and once you leave those metro areas, good luck.
September 26th, 2019 at 1:52 PM ^
I've mentioned this before in a few threads, so I'll throw it in here one last time.
The broadcast networks (ABC, Fox, etc.) are waiting for TVs and broadcasting equipment that are compliant with the ATSC 3.0 standard. ATSC 3.0 includes 4K with HDR, multi-channel sound, and other goodies. The rollout will happen in 2020. LG, Samsung and others are signed on from the TV equipment side. As I understand it, the networks are committed to 2020. Their will also be a focus on adding ATSC 3.0 to some tablets (I wasn't told and didn't ask about which tablets, but I'd assume Android is the software platform) and a network gateway box for your home to stream 4K to your home devices. That box could be interesting, it sounded interesting when I heard about it, but I want to see it to believe it given it's a big departure for the group pushing it.
If you have a 4K TV, you won't be shut out. You'll need to add a box that can handle ATSC 3.0 such as a satellite receiver, cable box, or the stand-alone network streaming box I mentioned above.
September 26th, 2019 at 2:05 PM ^
Why do people get excited for 4K content that isn't even shot in 4k? I don't get that.
September 26th, 2019 at 3:28 PM ^
I've seen it. It looks pretty amazing once you see something live in 4K HDR on a nice TV. It's like seeing HD for the first time in the mid 2000s.
September 26th, 2019 at 3:36 PM ^
That is what he is saying though. This is not native 4K, it is still upscaled. I also have a high end 4K TV and you are right that seeing a 4K Blu-Ray on it for example with HDR made my eyeballs melt but that is native 4K. Unless I am misreading this is essentially like fox taking a standard 1080P broadcast and upscaling like your tv does with non 4k sources. So it will look better but not as good as when we get true 4K broadcasts down the line.
September 27th, 2019 at 8:16 AM ^
Upscaling sounds like something that can be done only in the context of TV crime procedurals. How does it work? Predictive algorithms to fill in missing content, or what?
September 26th, 2019 at 3:55 PM ^
What if you are outside the US and don't have access to Hulu, etc?
September 27th, 2019 at 9:03 AM ^
We must live with the shame, low quality free streams, and subsidized healthcare of our self-imposed exiles, WA.
September 27th, 2019 at 11:34 AM ^
Buying a smart tv tomorrow—advice?????