[mythtv-users] UK Only OT - IS the BT Showcase channel truly representative of BT Sports channel quality

[Mike Perkins]

On 01/10/15 20:20, Another Sillyname wrote:
> I recorded the ManC game on the BT Showcase channel yesterday and
> having just watched it it's the worst fuzzyvision I've seen for a
> while....artifacting and dithering was rampant.......is this truly
> representative of how good (bad) picture quality is on the BT sports
> channels?
>
> I ask as I'm son to review my Broadband provider and I can only say BT
> are now likley out of the running and I hate all things Murderoch and
> his Witch Bitch.
>
I don't know about BT Showcase, but I suspect that it is low bitrate as it is only to demonstrate 
the available channels. I could be wrong - who knows what goes on inside a marketer's brain!

We have the basic BT Vision package, which includes BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and BT Europe for free 
(conditions apply!). The quality of these is extremely good. So much so, in fact, that I am 
considering dropping the HD option which started out as a free taster for a year but is now 
£5/month. None of us can tell the difference.

Of course, those channels get to you via your broadband connection, which means that it depends on 
how good your length of copper is. Mine seems to be adequate for our needs. I haven't even bothered 
to test the speed on it yet, it just hasn't been an issue.

Incidentally, the quality of anything we record with myth and then play back later is always better 
than that supplied if we just watch it through the TV direct. I don't know if that is a reformatting 
issue or something else our end. We don't however, record any of the BT broadband channels, since 
the box only outputs SCART and HDMI, we only record OTA.

-- 

Mike Perkins