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4K resolution streaming games on ESPN app?
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4K resolution streaming games on ESPN app?


Nov 14, 2018, 9:45 AM

The other streaming thread reminded me of something I noticed a few weeks ago during the FSU game.

I have the Roku that does 4K and a 4K tv, and during the FSU game, my OTA antenna was being flaky so I switched to the ESPN app on the Roku.

I noticed is that the ESPN app had the game in 4K resolution instead of normal HD. Hoo-boy, 4K looks beautiful on my 55 inch Samsung.

I don’t like that the 4K vs HD thing doesn’t seem to be for every game (FSU was, but the last 2 games weren’t). Does anyone know if ESPN tells you in advance what games are in 4K? I would gladly deal with the 30 second delay on the ESPN app if I can get a 4K stream of the game.

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Re: 4K resolution streaming games on ESPN app?


Nov 14, 2018, 10:01 AM

I doubt highly that the game was being broadcasted in true 4K resolution by ESPN as that would require very expensive cameras at the game itself. You’re probably experiencing a faux 4K resolution that’s really due to an “up scaling” from either your Roku player or the A/V receiver that you have it hooked up to. I have DirecTV and there have only been a handful (or less) games that were broadcasted in true 4K resolution on channel 104/106.

That being said, I don’t understand how football generates billions of dollars but none of these conglomerates are willing to shell out $50M on new UHD 4K cameras for games, especially the big ones.

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Re: 4K resolution streaming games on ESPN app?


Nov 14, 2018, 10:17 AM

I understand your skepticism, however I checked the bandwidth being used during the FSU game on my firewall, which was constant at 20Mbit/s during the game. Usually the HD streams are more in the 5Mbit/s ballpark, and nobody else was streaming anything at the time. If it was being upscaled, it wasn’t due to my Roku or my A/V received. I observed bandwidth consistent with a 4K stream coming across my firewall (pfSense) from ESPN’s servers.

I guess it’s not too surprising that the distribution networks (cable/satellite) are dragging their feet on 4K since it’s such a massive jump in bandwidth for all subscribers, but the visual quality is a huge jump up from HD. I have also wondered if the TV manufacturers would chip in/partner to get more 4K infrastructure out there (to sell new TVs).

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Re: 4K resolution streaming games on ESPN app?


Nov 14, 2018, 1:24 PM

Interesting. Hmm. Typically you’d see some loss of throughput going through the likes of pfSense. Even with a gig down, the firewall would typically slow it by 200-300mb, right? I’ll have to try steaming the next game vs the others, I have both FiOS & dtv.

FiOS provides 1gb down around these parts and doesn’t offer any content whatsoever in 4K, let alone UHD 4K. The shift to streaming apps is real. It’s hard to argue with better content AND no commercials (or at least limited).

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Re: 4K resolution streaming games on ESPN app?


Nov 14, 2018, 1:43 PM

I have ATT fiber at the 1gig tier (they have lower tiers, but 1 gig service is $90/month, so we figured why not). The hardware that I’m running pfSense on lets me get about 700 Mbit/s over a wired connection. The Roku is direct wired into my gig switch, but it must only have a 100Mbit/sec interface because the link light is amber instead of green (1gig speed). I don’t want video traffic going over WiFi.

Since I’m not running any packages and only doing routing/NAT on that hardware, pfSense is actually pretty fast. It’s still the bottleneck at 700 Mbit/s as I’ve done speedtests to get the full 940 Mbit/s with a laptop connected directly to the ATT residential gateway. Maybe I’ll get wife approval to upgrade the firewall for Xmas, right? I figured with this big of a pipe I needed to be mindful about what’s going in and out (EG stop non-essential IoT/camera traffic at the firewall).

Regardless, 4K content takes 20-25 Mbit, at least when I’ve watched 4K content on Netflix/YouTube. The traffic profile of our game against FSU matched House of Cards in 4K, and also was as clear as the 4K drone videos on YouTube. During the game, I brought up the traffic monitor to be sure (“Is this really 4K?”), and yes, I’m pretty sure it was.

It’s been 2 years since I dropped traditional tv subscription, and you’re right the quality and price you get from these apps meets (and sometimes exceeds) what cable/directv will give you.

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Re: 4K resolution streaming games on ESPN app?


Nov 14, 2018, 12:46 PM [ in reply to Re: 4K resolution streaming games on ESPN app? ]

" I have DirecTV and there have only been a handful (or less) games that were broadcasted in true 4K resolution on channel 104/106. "

I had Directv and switched to Charter for a couple of months, and then back to Directv. Previously I had a 4K receiver attached to my 4K TV, but when they came out to re-install Directv they only brought a regular receiver that will not do 4K. It is my understanding that to receive 4K, one must have a 4K TV, a 4K receiver, and the stream needs to be in 4K to actually work. Is that not correct?

Anyway, there is just not that much out there in 4K, and I bought my 4K TV last year in hopes that there would be a lot of games in 4K. I was even going to watch the NFL since I guessed they would be the first to pioneer 4K, but the KNEElers screwed that for me and I won't watch that crap anymore.

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Re: 4K resolution streaming games on ESPN app?


Nov 14, 2018, 1:12 PM

At this point, the best place to use 4K is through video games or (some) movies rather than broadcasts. It's a little mind-blowing that playing a video game looks better than real-life TV resolution nowadays.

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Re: 4K resolution streaming games on ESPN app?


Nov 14, 2018, 10:05 AM

Honestly, I've never seen ESPN stream in 4K...generally their broadcasts are in 720P, which is always disappointing. I guess I'll have to keep my eyes peeled!

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I stopped watching games in 4k a while ago


Nov 14, 2018, 10:13 AM

If I can not get an 8k stream I do not even watch TV PERIOD.

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The last Clemson bball game on ESPN app looked like an SD


Nov 14, 2018, 10:48 AM

connection. It was the worst i'd ever seen the App broadcast. And it never really cleared up so i'm assuming thats the new norm. So i've had the exact opposite luck.

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Re: 4K resolution streaming games on ESPN app?


Nov 14, 2018, 11:50 AM

Question: Do you have ESPN+? I read they were going to be broadcasting at a higher resolution potentially, but I thought it was only on their exclusive games.

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No, I subscribe to SlingTV


Nov 14, 2018, 11:54 AM

And I use those credentials to login to the ESPN app on the Roku.

It’s not clear to me if I can drop SlingTV and just subscribe to ESPN+. Specifically what games will be available on ESPN+ vs needing a subscription for another service to get.

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Re: No, I subscribe to SlingTV


Nov 14, 2018, 1:07 PM

I'm pretty sure you just get the "extras" that ESPN+ provides and you'd still need a normal TV subscription of some sort to get the bulk of what they offer. Didn't know of ESPN+ would "stack" the good quality broadcast onto your normal subscription though. I'll have to stop watching via the PS Vue app and hope they do another high-quality broadcast this Saturday via the ESPN app.

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Re: No, I subscribe to SlingTV


Nov 14, 2018, 1:49 PM

It’s worth checking directly through the ESPN app to see what the quality is, for sure.

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On DirecTV, the ESPN games are always 720, ABC as well***


Nov 14, 2018, 12:08 PM



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Re: On DirecTV, the ESPN games are always 720, ABC as well***


Nov 14, 2018, 1:08 PM



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Re: On DirecTV, the ESPN games are always 720, ABC as well***


Nov 14, 2018, 1:08 PM [ in reply to On DirecTV, the ESPN games are always 720, ABC as well*** ]

Exactly. 1080i at best. You’re always left a slave to upscaling algorithms and it’s never the same.

Even using FiOS for internet up here, (1gb down, 500mb up), they don’t offer ANY 4K programming. Dolby Vision is my new favorite format with dolby atoms sound. A lot of the new Netflix content has both. Incredible. And TV providers need to get onboard.

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That'll look good on my 1964 RCA XL100 25" color console.


Nov 14, 2018, 2:38 PM

I have the disk player. No, it's not a CD, it's vinyl but it is high fidelity. :)

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