Are Youview catch-up services full HD?

[timodell]

I have been having this debate on the You View forum. I am convinced that the Sony You view implementation of the catch-up services are all below the "HD" level founf on Sky. Partly this may reflect the fact that Sky uses the "pre-download" implementation model, which means you can select either HD or SD streams to download. On 4OD this certainly produces a full 1080 HD picture comparable to the live brioadcast, while the You View live stream is definitely only SD. For iplayer it is harder to be sure as when you choose "Best Quality" settings within Youview you should get a 720p stream using the "adaptive" algorithm - of course it is impossible to tell what quality the stream is as the "i" buttom only gives this information for Netflix and Freeview as far as i can see (a really annoying bug). From memory, Samsung smart TVs still use the older-style implementation of catch-up where you select SD or HD - this has the advantage of cutting out the adaptive algorithm and guaranteeing an HD stream where bandwidth permits. This is also the version of iplayer still being used on Sony Blu ray players which is preferable to the Android You view implementation. Can anybody else confirm that Samsung can provide an HD stream for 4OD and ITVplayer and a guaranteed one for Iplayer? If so, this is a clear advantage over the 2015 Sonys  

[Anonymous]

Hi there

From my understanding the file size is significantly larger via Sky pre-downloads, probably because it doesnt have to be so compressed to cater for lower speeds when streaming via other methods.  720p or 1080p is your question, but then again, it may not be just resolution - bitrates play a big factor too

Cheers

[timodell]

^Thanks for trying to add some colour Quinnicus, but it seems that you are not sure either. Bottom line: I think that the Somy Bravia/Youview implementation of cztch-up services is significantly lower res than Sky and probably Samsung too 

[chrisbrowe]

Check that you've set up Higher Quality video within the iPlayer app on YouView. BBC Services will then be delivered in upto 

1280x720p

50fps

5070kbps

Highprofile

The BBC Have a 

1920x1080i

25fps

8000kbps

High

Version in the wings but they've not released content in that format yet. 

The other YouView players are SD. 

Sky content is delivered using an entirely different system.