Anyone today buying a new television probably would opt for a 4K set.

Today stuff is geared at 1080 television sets.

What is the effect of streaming something like ESPN3 to a 4K set?

Does streaming break the 1080 barrier or is what is streamed determine if the 1080 threshold is broken?

BTW, I love watching MAC sports (ESPN3) on a 32" HD television streamed with Roku 3.

And I can remember the days of (grainy) black and white television (and the advent of color television) without cable or satellite.

Can't help you there but I remember the first time I watched a program at home in HD, it was the winter olympics, and cross country skiers were going through a forest and it was snowing, and I was like WOW! I was watching programs I had no interest in just because the colors were so vibrant, LOL. I looked at the TV I had been using and it was like I went from a London Fog to a clear day.

Remember ESPN3D?

According to Netflix, you need a steady internet connection speed of 25 Mbps to stream 4K programming. Most cable providers should be able to provide those speeds.

If your router is in a different location from your TV, you would need Cat 5, Cat 5e or Cat 6 cable to stream that much bandwidth to your TV. WiFi wouldn't come close to being able to accomplish that.

Netflix article

(02-12-2015 01:42 PM)huskiebob Wrote:  According to Netflix, you need a steady internet connection speed of 25 Mbps to stream 4K programming. Most cable providers should be able to provide those speeds.

If your router is in a different location from your TV, you would need Cat 5, Cat 5e or Cat 6 cable to stream that much bandwidth to your TV. WiFi wouldn't come close to being able to accomplish that.

Netflix article

Excellent.

This thread isn't some idol chatter for me. I just purchased (will receive in days) a Samsung 6950 4K UHD television.

So I can proceed. I can try a long Cat 5 or 6 LAN cable (to test) and then work on getting the WiFi "up to speed" (cute expression) or I can have my router relocated close to the television, and even using a short LAN cable.

Next I need to get some specific info from ESPN3.

25 Mbps to that device. If you get 25 Mbps to your house, it's not enough since you probably have multiple devices using the same connection.

Here is a post I found about ESPN3 supposedly coming to DirecTV (I have DirecTV but get ESPN3 through my Internet provider)...

Wed, 12/24/2014 - 6:47am — Chris Morran
Email








While AT&T, Comcast, Charter, Dish, TWC, Cablevision, FiOS, and countless more have access to WatchESPN, DirecTV customers won’t get it until “early 2015.”More than four years after cable sports powerhouse ESPN launched its WatchESPN streaming service, DirecTV remains the only major pay-TV provider whose subscribers are unable to access it.

(02-12-2015 01:58 PM)emu steve Wrote:  

(02-12-2015 01:42 PM)huskiebob Wrote:  According to Netflix, you need a steady internet connection speed of 25 Mbps to stream 4K programming. Most cable providers should be able to provide those speeds.

If your router is in a different location from your TV, you would need Cat 5, Cat 5e or Cat 6 cable to stream that much bandwidth to your TV. WiFi wouldn't come close to being able to accomplish that.

Netflix article

Excellent.

This thread isn't some idol chatter for me. I just purchased (will receive in days) a Samsung 6950 4K UHD television.

So I can proceed. I can try a long Cat 5 or 6 LAN cable (to test) and then work on getting the WiFi "up to speed" (cute expression) or I can have my router relocated close to the television, and even using a short LAN cable.

Next I need to get some specific info from ESPN3.

If you meant getting your INTERNET CONNECTION up to speed, fine, If you really are planning on using WiFi to stream 4K from the router to your TV, you won't get good results. You've got to be cabled from your router to your TV to get the results you want.

BTW, anyone think that ESPN will be first network to go 4K UHD and offer it to DirecTV which can put a 4K UHD surcharge (or service charge for that service)?

It would be so easy to do and a lot of DirecTV customers are more concerned about quality and access (to all-game packages e.g., NFL games, MLB games, etc.) and less about the bill.

(02-12-2015 02:02 PM)uakronkid Wrote:  25 Mbps to that device. If you get 25 Mbps to your house, it's not enough since you probably have multiple devices using the same connection.

Can't speak for other providers, but mine has 25, 50 and 100 MBPS.

I have 50.

4k only works to it's true resolution if the content is recorded in 4k. Otherwise, its just a waste of money to spend extra to 4k resolution. But, even then the only way you see the difference between 1080p and 2160p (the actual technical name of 4k UHD) is you are sitting close enough to the TV.

To summarize what I (think) know:

1). ESPN3 does not plan to go to 4K anytime soon.

2). ESPN3 can't be pushed now beyond HD as that is the definition in which it is recorded.

3). Would need 25 Mbps connection to the television which would mean a cat 5 or 6 LAN cable from the router to the set. WiFi won't hack it.

4). My (un) educated guess is that ESPN might try to crack HD and go to 4K and maybe DirecTV might want to jump on that opportunity. Would be good for both ESPN and DirecTV. I see a big opportunity for DirecTV to cater to those who want to be on the 'leading edge' of this technology. Or maybe Super Bowl 50 will be the first big 4K event for American viewers.

5). There are other media (e.g., Blu ray) which can go beyond HD.

(02-13-2015 02:17 PM)emu steve Wrote:  To summarize what I (think) know:

1). ESPN3 does not plan to go to 4K anytime soon.

2). ESPN3 can't be pushed now beyond HD as that is the definition in which it is recorded.

3). Would need 25 Mbps connection to the television which would mean a cat 5 or 6 LAN cable from the router to the set. WiFi won't hack it.

4). My (un) educated guess is that ESPN might try to crack HD and go to 4K and maybe DirecTV might want to jump on that opportunity. Would be good for both ESPN and DirecTV. I see a big opportunity for DirecTV to cater to those who want to be on the 'leading edge' of this technology. Or maybe Super Bowl 50 will be the first big 4K event for American viewers.

5). There are other media (e.g., Blu ray) which can go beyond HD.

Our generations Betamax...

(02-12-2015 01:42 PM)huskiebob Wrote:  According to Netflix, you need a steady internet connection speed of 25 Mbps to stream 4K programming. Most cable providers should be able to provide those speeds.

If your router is in a different location from your TV, you would need Cat 5, Cat 5e or Cat 6 cable to stream that much bandwidth to your TV. WiFi wouldn't come close to being able to accomplish that.

Netflix article

WiFi 802.11ac in theory handles 1 Gbps with 500 Mbps in a single stream. Make sure the TV has that technology and you'd have to get the appropriate router.

Hate to be the wet blanket, but whats the point of trying to stream UHD tv if your data connection isn't up to it? I'd rather watch ESPN 3 at 720 and get a smooth stream than have an HD stream that is contantly buffering.

Posted from my mobile device using the CSNbbs App

(02-13-2015 04:17 PM)sarasotahuskie Wrote:  

(02-12-2015 01:42 PM)huskiebob Wrote:  According to Netflix, you need a steady internet connection speed of 25 Mbps to stream 4K programming. Most cable providers should be able to provide those speeds.

If your router is in a different location from your TV, you would need Cat 5, Cat 5e or Cat 6 cable to stream that much bandwidth to your TV. WiFi wouldn't come close to being able to accomplish that.

Netflix article

WiFi 802.11ac in theory handles 1 Gbps with 500 Mbps in a single stream. Make sure the TV has that technology and you'd have to get the appropriate router.

Glad to see you bolded "in theory."

My point is, for maximum performance and reliability, a hardwired connection is the way to go. WiFi is not, and never will be, totally reliable.

Has anyone used Sling TV to get ESPN? If so, what are your results?

I thought most of the 4K TV's automatically upscaled the picture anyway. I think the Blue Ray players do something similar with DVD's.

You can't display something that isn't there. Same issue as those stupid "quattro" TVs with yellow pixels.

4K "scales up" images by applying image-sharpening on top of basic anti-aliasing. Same way higher-end HDTVs do image processing on non-native resolutions. The biggest downfall is that it introduces a slight image lag.

Personally, I prefer an unprocessed image.

(02-14-2015 09:26 AM)david75bsu Wrote:  Has anyone used Sling TV to get ESPN? If so, what are your results?

I have subscribed to Sling as an option to full cable package. It is a little jumpy, and glitchy, but that may be my crappy ISP.

Also, no Watch ESPN, so if MAC games aren't on ESPN2 or ESPNU, I still don't get them. Supposedly, access to Watch ESPN is in negotiations.