Now TV Boost Not Getting 7830

[Anonymous User]

Hi all,

I am having issues with getting maximum 1080p stream quality via now TV boost from the LG app on my LGB8 55 OLED TV. I keep getting 4830 stream quality. I have tried uninstalling the app, restarting TV, signing out and back in switching between stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1 in the settings and doing these things sometimes gets the video's to play back in 7830 but next time I open the app or change a program goes back down to 4830. This has only started to happen recently when I noticed the app had facelift. Really frustrating and if not fixed soon is pointless paying the extra £3 a month as I only have a 2.1 sound bar so don't need 5.1 sound. My internet is plenty fast I have 36 mps fibre and the TV when I test speeds on the web browser achieves over 22mps consistent speeds over WiFi and plays 4k HDR via Disney, Amazon and Netflix with no bother. 

Any suggestions on what I can do here?

Not keen to get a stick as I like all my apps in one place.

Thanks

[Anonymous User]

Hi, 

I've been having the same issue on and off since November. Movies and Live streaming all in full HD with 5.1 sound, but it's hit or miss if the on demand entertainment stuff is.

I raised a case on Friday and received a response this morning confirming there is a know issue:

"We are aware of issues that the BOOST Pass is currently facing - our teams are now trying to make improvements on the pass and the service it provides."

They suggested that I cancel the Boost pass until it's resolved. 

Hope this helps.

Thanks

Problem devices:

LG TV 2019 WebOS via NowTV app

Google TV via Chromecast

Roku 4k streaming stick

[Anonymous User]

Same for me on both of my TVs (LGC9 and Samsung Q9)

Consistent internet speeds of over 80mbps and both TVs connected by ethernet.

Was working fine for months but stopped in December with just a few random instances of getting full HD and 5.1 sound since then as others have stated on here.

Been onto Now TV live chat and got the usual drivel on resetting modem, deleting and reloading app, updating TV software and then on the 5th try at complaining being told it must be my Internet speed

As others have said I'm getting full HD, UHD, HDR pics and 5.1 sound on Sonos from Netflix, amazon, Apple and Disney apps with no issues.

I've given up and cancelled now...they'll sort it at some stage and I'll buy what I want to watch on one of the other platforms in the meantime!

[Anonymous User]

As I stated in an earlier post i have been in a virtual daily email contact with Now T.V and they have gone thru all the normal issues about resetting, deleting ,on off modem ,blaming internet, I have informed them of this issue on forum yet now the latest answer is to blame covid lockdown and internet providers restricting bandwith despite me informing them all other apps such as netflix are in 4 k at higher bit rate and all perform well. They evidently cant replicate issue.

Here is copy of latest reply

Ref: 08661071

Thanks for getting in touch. 

We appreciate your time and patience in trying out the troubleshooting steps we suggested you earlier in the past. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. 

We had escalated this case to our technical experts team to investigate over this issue and they have got back to us stating that the issue you're facing could be due the Internet Service Provider restricting the bandwidth they are providing at the moment due to the current lockdown, ensuring all customer are receiving adequate speeds for service.

We have checked and can confirm the HD version of all the content currently on our Platform is available. Due to the additional bit-rate that is required to view HD content, it may be the customers ISP restricting the bandwidth, due to higher than usual traffic across the Internet servers due to the lockdown.

We can only assume this is the case as we have seen this on a few accounts now and as our technical team have tested this and are not able to replicate the issue, it would further lean towards the Bandwidth being provided.

It may be worth if you check with your ISP, if they are able to get some assistance with this, as we have tested and are not able to replicate the issue which confirms there is not issue from a content perspective and issues with the Platform. 

Please get in touch with your Internet Service Provider and increase the Bandwidth towards NOW TV and let us know how it goes. 

Awaiting your response. 

Reply to this email without changing the subject line, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.  

Looking forward to hearing from you,  

The NOW TV Team

[schnapps]

@Simon-J (NowTV Community Manager).

Can we have some assistance on the Community Forum please, about this which is clearly a NowTV related problem which needs fixing and is not ISP related.

If the ISP's are throttling the internet bandwidth due to high traffic usage , how come the live NowTV streams run perfectly fine at 7831 with the HD Boost Pass, where i am assuming the bandwidth would be similar for live and on Demand NowTV streaming content ?

Never encountered this problem once during the first locked down with Covid 19 back in March 2020 and i highly doubt it's the fault of ISP's or high volume of traffic.

Bearing in mind i am on NowTV Fab Fibre with a stable 36Mbps over Ethernet.

No problems whatsoever watching 4K Amazon Prime or Netflix where the picture and sound is great.

[Anonymous User]

Hi, 

Chatted to tech support today they say live streams use more bandwidth than on demand.

I had problems with 5.1 DD+ sound watching movies on demand but not live streaming.

Now TV stick reports download speed of 72 MBPS Ofcom measures over 73 MBPS.

Was told I was connecting to Now TV at speeds between just under 5 MBPS to just under 8MBPS.

If that's ISPs throttling back bandwidth through fibre optic then that's a massive restriction or is Now TVs infrastructure creaking under demand?

I can stream multiple 4k content at the same time on other platforms with no problem at peak times.

[Anonymous User]

@Anonymous User I got exactly the same email from them, word for word even though I'd explained 4 or 5 times that I was getting UHD pics that require more bandwidth  with no problems at all on the other apps as well as 5.1 sound.

I'd already cancelled at that point. I'll pay again when they've fixed it.

[Anonymous User]

Just had this exchange with them...(as much as i want to just give in and abandon it, i'm almost morbidly determined to get them to sort it now, lol!)...

Ref: 08596625

Hi Neil,
Thanks for getting back to us.
I understand your concern regarding the streaming issue you are facing with NOW TV. However, as we have checked your viewing history we can see that your internet speed is not constant enough to play the HD Live contents.
Below are the viewing details as per our records :-

Live-1402-Sky One

13 January 2021 - 22:06:58

13 January 2021 - 22:07:45

0Hrs 0mins

Played

nowtv-gb-crosstv

0.0

7.831 mbps

Live-1404-Sky News Live

13 January 2021 - 22:06:32

13 January 2021 - 22:06:47

0Hrs 0mins

Played

nowtv-gb-crosstv

0.0

0

A5EK65Bcwd6MwL1HjxfHE-Euphoria: Trouble Don't...|S1|E1|Euphoria: Trouble Don't Last Always

12 January 2021 - 14:01:35

12 January 2021 - 14:02:01

0Hrs 0mins

Played

nowtv-gb-crosstv

0.0

4.829 mbps

As you can see you were getting between 7.931 mbps to 0 mbps internet bandwidth while watching NOW TV contents.
Most of the time your internet bandwidth was between 0 to 4 mbps.
You need constant 12 mbps to have a better experience while watching Live HD contents.
I suggest you to contact your Internet Service Provider and ask them to increase internet bandwidth for NOW TV.

OK again that's nonsense and there's clearly an issue with the reading at your end.

When I tried to stream Sky One last night (the first entry in your email) it was full HD and Dolby 5.1. In fact, all the live channels worked perfectly last night with HD and 5.1 sound.

But when I tried on any Box sets it wasn't HD or 5.1 again. I can't stream any of the box sets in HD and 5.1.

Why would it work for the live channels but not the box sets if it was a bandwidth issue? Do the live channels use less bandwidth?

Again, many others are reporting the same issue on your community pages so please do read through this link and stop giving us false information...

[Hooba]

This is part of the problem - that response is borderline moronic. I'm not being funny, but most half-wits with only the most rudimentary grasp of IPTV would come up with a better response than that. It'll get sorted eventually when the penny finally drops, but likely months away. 

[Anonymous User]

@Anonymous User @schnapps 

I restarted the boost pass and there is no improvement regard 5.1 sound it's still hit and miss but works on live streams.

One thing I did notice is lower budget movies suffer the most from not being able to supply Dolby Digital +.

Last night I had to repeatedly click on and off a movie to get it to play in surround sound.

I started to wonder if live streams and higher quality content is given a higher priority so is more likely to work in HD and 5.1 and lower demand content is relegated to being offered at a lower connection rate when demand is high.

Either way in my opinion it's not ISP connection rates dropping to zero but the restriction lies in the Now TV infrastructure, after all yesterday I was able to stream two 4k and one HD content at the same time, I even streamed 4k at the same time as Now TV content so there must be some bandwidth spare within my internet bandwidth. also while testing BT Wholesale gave a speed test reading of 72.7 MBPS this was at peak time.

A quote by Abraham Lincoln springs to mind "you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time"

[schnapps]

Hi @Anonymous User 

I don't think the NowTV system is prioritising which movie or TV show is getting preferential treatment when it comes to 1080p and 5.1 surround sound when the content is marked HD 5.1 with a Boost Pass.

It's more random if you ask me.

The Reason i am saying this is because "Raised by Wolves" is one of Sky Atlantic's new top shows at the moment and from my testing it's mainly been 4831 rather than 7831 when checking the streaming quality.

All i know like everybody else has reported is that live streams are running perfectly fine at a streaming quality of 7831.

And totally agree it's nothing to do with ISP's throttling the customers bandwidth during peak high volumes or cutting back to take less strain off the Nations internet infrastructure due to lock down.

i have tagged the Community Manager on more than one occasion for a response on here and can only suggest send your complaints to NowTV or cancel your Boost Pass (which unfortunately i won't be doing in my case because i watch a lot of NowTV live sports and need 50fps).

Otherwise i would cancel my HD Boost until this gets sorted.