BT Sport App Google Chromecast with Google TV keep losing 4K

[SPWebb1985]

Great thanks Darren, I couldn't get BT through my Sky Q subscription as wanted to view the games in 4K on BT Sport Ultimate despite the 20-30 second delay, without this, the dongle/monthly pass would not be needed, so really need this to work.

It worked fine for Che/West Brom and Utd/Brighton when first turning on the dongle and viewing from pre-kickoff, albeit with some rare annoying buffering, not sure why once I came off and went back on could only access HD though.

Not sure why the connection X is showing at all though due to my high speeds, I could try an Amazon 4K Firestick/Roku Streaming Stick+ to see if any different but went with this one at your recommendation 🙂

[SPWebb1985]

@DarrenDev did you manage to find any reason for the issue I was having?

[DarrenDev]

Ah yes, sorry. Forgot to update here.

Our ops teams are continuously monitoring all our channels, especially during major events.  On Sunday, it was spotted that Apple TV devices were experiencing an extremely high failure rate towards the end of the first half of the Man U v Brighton match.  A quick decision had to be made, and it was to disable anyone else from joining the BT Sport Ultimate channel - a rare occurrence.  Anyone who was already watching would have continued as normal, but anyone who dropped at half time was then blocked from re-joining it again.  This is why you'll have lost it specifically for that event.

I also see that you experienced VC019 a few times - this is an annoying bug affecting Android/Google TV, and Amazon Fire TV that I still haven't managed to get to the bottom of.  I'm working on it though.

[SPWebb1985]

Thanks Darren, will see how it goes tonight with the Man City game and then the 2 weekend games. Not sure why that cross appears under 4K Connection though as when I run a speedtest app on the Chromecast I get 50/20mb speeds.

Also, is there a schedule anywhere that shows which events are on BT Sport Ultimate?

[DarrenDev]

Our logs show you've run the Device Checker 45 times in the last 3 days, and the results have been quite variable:

Apr 6, 2021 16:44:38 34.4Mbps
Apr 6, 2021 16:44:33 29.1Mbps
Apr 6, 2021 16:41:33 37.2Mbps
Apr 6, 2021 16:41:29 37.1Mbps
Apr 6, 2021 16:41:21 17.7Mbps
Apr 6, 2021 16:40:44 24.8Mbps
Apr 5, 2021 20:17:49 38.5Mbps
Apr 5, 2021 14:43:20 21.9Mbps
Apr 5, 2021 13:47:52 37.8Mbps
Apr 5, 2021 00:15:57 32.6Mbps
Apr 5, 2021 00:15:52 28.5Mbps
Apr 5, 2021 00:15:48 28.8Mbps
Apr 5, 2021 00:15:40 15.5Mbps
Apr 5, 2021 00:15:19 25.6Mbps
Apr 5, 2021 00:04:22 30.7Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 23:48:02 27.3Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 22:05:56 31.3Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 22:05:51 25.6Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 22:05:47 25.4Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 22:05:42 24.9Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 22:05:36 32.6Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 22:05:31 34Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 22:05:27 22.5Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 22:05:22 30.4Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 22:05:16 41.8Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 22:05:04 26Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 21:39:31 23.9Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 21:39:26 26.5Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 21:39:21 27.2Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 21:39:15 15.8Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 21:39:04 32.5Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 21:38:56 30.5Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 21:29:11 26.9Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 21:28:35 41.9Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 20:56:44 34.9Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 20:55:46 31.7Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 20:44:42 21.9Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 20:43:03 31.8Mbps
Apr 4, 2021 19:31:00 42.6Mbps
Apr 3, 2021 14:33:27 31.5Mbps
Apr 3, 2021 14:05:27 40.5Mbps
Apr 3, 2021 13:57:44 42.6Mbps
Apr 3, 2021 13:55:43 43.7Mbps
Apr 3, 2021 13:54:01 18.3Mbps
Apr 3, 2021 13:53:35 13.6Mbps

Your player stats also appear to be quite spiky - sometimes perfect, and sometimes quite high rebuffering. Are you aware of any possible local wifi interference? Or anyone else on your wifi that could be using your bandwidth?

You can view the upcoming schedule here: https://www.bt.com/sport/watch/whats-on

Events are subject to change at the last minute though - Ultimate / 4K / HDR / Atmos can be changed right up until the match starts, and in exceptional circumstances, during the match.

[SPWebb1985]

Haha yeah sorry been testing it alot as the cross/tick seemed to be random. Nothing unexpected is connected to my wifi but I have today disabled the Wifi connection of my TV as don't use it so maybe that will help.

Will just see how it goes tonight and weekend I guess and come back to you.

Thanks for your help and the fast replies, very much appreciated 🙂

[SPWebb1985]

BT Sport Ultimate worked fine during the Man City game, only a few short buffering stops, I also received the prompt to Ultimate whenever I left the channel and returned, so that's great.

I noticed the VC019 error occurs everytime instantly when the BT coverage goes to adverts. This doesn't happen when watching in HD.

[DarrenDev]

Ok great. Pleased to hear it worked ok.
The VC019 only affects some devices and happens at the beginning and end of every ad break as the audio changes between surround sound and stereo. Like I say - I'm working on it.

[SPWebb1985]

Understood, will see how it goes weekend but I normally only turn it on just before the game starts anyway so not a massive issue.

Is there any workaround as I only have the TV built in speakers no soundbar or surround sound or anything special?

[DarrenDev]

Most modern TVs will advertise that they're capable of surround sound even when no system is connected. It may be possible to change the settings on your TV to prevent this, which may fix the issue. Hard to say at this point.