BT Sport app launches on new platforms in time for the start of the new season

[SeanD]

From today, BT Sport is giving customers more ways to watch, by making its award-winning app available on

• Fire TV,
• Google Android TV,
• Roku® streaming players and Roku TV™ models.

The BT Sport App is now available on a wide range of large-screen devices and platforms which also include

• Samsung smart TV
• NOW TV
• Sony PlayStation
• Xbox
• Google Chromecast
• Apple TV
• as well as mobiles, tablets, BT TV, Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media.

BT Sport customers who have the necessary BT subscription plus a 4K capable Fire TV, Roku TV, or, one of the 4K devices running Android TV such as selected TV sets manufactured by brands including Sony, Panasonic, Philips and Hisense, will be able to access BT Sport Ultimate, a channel providing regular live sport in stunning 4K with High Dynamic Range (HDR).

Existing BT Sport customers with access to the app for large screen devices can access BT Sport on the new devices and platforms at no extra cost, allowing them to watch live, catch-up and on-demand sport, and, have a second screen to watch two live streams simultaneously*.

New customers can access the app in a range of ways including BT Sport Monthly Pass, which offers all sports fans a flexible way of watching top-flight sport for a simple monthly fee with no contract. Available for just £25 per month for instant access, BT Sport Monthly Pass lets anyone buy and watch BT Sport on a month-by-month basis. Over the next month, the pass will offer live matches from the Premier League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, European rugby’s Champions Cup and more.

To find out more visit BT Sport Monthly Pass , download the BT Sport App from the app store and log in. BT TV also offers flexible BT Sport access through its Flexible TV packages enabling fans to change access every 30 days during their contract.

[Mallett94]

Please could you let us know if the Android TV app runs at 60hz or 50hz? The BT Sport streams, when fully buffered in, are 50 FPS, therefore it makes sense to make the app refresh at 50hz on platforms/devices which support this refresh rate.

If the Android TV is locked to 60hz then I will have to continue using a Chromecast Ultra which I can change to 50hz.

Thanks in advance and great work to the whole team!

[ozsat]

I can tell you that my Amazon Firestick is set to follow the frame rate from the source.

It sets to 60Hz when in the Amazon menus and switches to 50Hz when the BT SPORT app is loaded - and stays at 50Hz until exiting.

[DarrenDev]

@Mallett94 on Android TV and Fire TV devices the app will aim to switch the display to the highest available resolution that supports 50fps when it starts up.

If the device is user-configured to use a fixed resolution rather than automatic, then it'll be blocked from switching.  Also, many Android TV devices don't support resolution switching, so they'll be stuck at their default (which is usually 60fps).

I would recommend giving the app a go anyway - it's a much faster and more reliable experience than the Chromecast receiver.  We've been in trials for a few months and reports have been very positive.

[Mallett94]

@DarrenDev Good morning Darren. Sounds good.

I wondered if you could do me a favour and speak to the devs/the BA/ Product Owner, and ask them about the implementation of the app on Sony Bravia TVs running Android TV. I personally have the the 55XF9005 which is on Android TV 8. The BBC iPlayer app which comes installed by default on the TV causes the TV to use its 100hz refresh rate mode rather than 120hz. This is great because all content on iPlayer is either 25 or 50 fps so having an exact multiple on the refresh rate of the screen is ideal.

I would love to know if the BT Sport app will also engaged this mode on my TV. It would then negate the need to use chromecasts or NowTV sticks etc to get the BT Sport app at the correct 50hz refresh rate.

Many thank.

P.S if there are ever any job openings for the BT Sport app dev team, please let me know. I would love to work on the BT Sport team!

[DarrenDev]

@Mallett94 I'm the lead dev for the Android TV app, so should be able to answer any questions.

As mentioned earlier, the Android TV app will aim to select a 50Hz refresh rate on app launch to match our 25/50fps content.  If you're saying iPlayer definitely does it then I'd hope that BT Sport will too.  Have you checked it out yet?

[Mallett94]

@DarrenDev Hi mate, wow nice. Great job btw.

I turned it on for a few mins last night before I went to sleep to check it out. I must admit that I didn't think I noticed any frame rate to refresh rate mismatch which is a good sign because when using Chromecast, I can tell straight away if it is set to 60hz instead of 50.

I will stick the 4K HDR rugby union on for a bit this evening to test that out, but so far I would say so good. It would be interesting to know how you managed to get the app to force 100hz refresh rate mode on the TV when literally every other Android TV app except iPlayer (and maybe the other UKTV catch up apps, but I don't use them) is supposedly locked to a 60hz refresh rate, causing the TV to be in 120hz mode.

Is there an API or something that you guys managed to use to do the refresh rate switching perhaps? I was reading through this last night and this morning but it states that it is only for apps targeting Android 11 and also doesn't mention if its applicable to Android TV or not => https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/media/frame-rate

Cheers!

[ozsat]

@Mallett94@DarrenDev  - when checking the rugby on the stream have a listen to the audio.

Last night it was slightly distorted but only once it read the full quality stream - but could actually hear the change in quality when the sharpest picture appeared after a few seconds.

Was the same on NowTV 4K box and Amazon 4K stick.

[DarrenDev]

@Mallett94 The app needs to specifically be coded to switch, by querying the device for all available display modes and then requesting it to change using preferredDisplayModeId

It can be a little bit heavy on some devices - some TVs will cause the screen to blank or show noise for a few seconds - but it's worth the switch for the reduced judder.

[DarrenDev]

Sounds like something for us to keep an eye (ear) on @ozsat ... most of the apps use the same media, so if it's affecting multiple apps then it'll be a source error.