Why is the sound quality so poor on the iPad version when compared to the PC/MAC?

[Anonymous User]

Sound quality is poor compared to the PC/MAC playback ect. Are you ging to improve the iPad app anytime soon?

[Anonymous User]

@Anonymous User the information in my post here is the latest we have.

I know that's from a long time ago, but we have done our best to make it clear that there's no timescale on when this can be resolved. We know it's important but there are factors beyond our immediate control which are making it difficult.

I promise we'll share as soon as there's any news.

Thanks,

Tom

[Anonymous User]

Hi @Anonymous User 

I've just compared sound from iPlayer, Netflix & NOW TV. I've listened through a pair of mid range Sennheiser earphones and I agree, the sound from NOW TV TV is very echoey. To me it would suggest there's something wrong with the way the audio channels have been encoded. It could be down to low bitrates/sample rate, but that usually gives a more muffled sound. The volume level seems to be the same on all 3 apps. I tend to listen via the iPad speakers & the problem isn't so noticeable, it could also be because I use NOW TV on it more too, so haven't compared the services.

[Anonymous User]

There is no way of doing anything about it. Quite honestly it's pretty
clear that Now TV / Sky don't actually care. They come up with excuses to
do with technical capabilities, but as far as I'm concerned if EVERY OTHER
streaming service in existence can provide a far superior experience to Now
TV, they simply have no excuse.

The content is mostly great, but the presentation of it is dreadful, so I
stopped subscribing months ago.

[Anonymous User]

Hi@danielctuck

I agree with the iPad issue, but I've only been with the service just over 3 months & in that time I've seen definite improvements in other aspects of the service. For example, picture quality on catch up TV programs, so I think it's fair to say work is being done behind the scenes to develop the service.

[Anonymous User]

Hi. 

I just installed the Now TV app on my LG G3 and straight away I noticed the low bit rate audio with all material - basically it sounds like a bad MP3! I havent read the rest of this thread but it sounds like this problem has been on going for some time.

What puzzles me is the picture quality is really good and video needs a faster bitrate than audio. So Now TV - why is the audio so bad? It sounds like a 64kbit/s MP3 and usually the minimun decent quality rate is 128kbit/s and the best 'CD quality' rate is 320kbit/s.

If it's any concellation I am just as angry with Virgin because their TV 'Anywhere' app is not compatible with my phone - this is one of the reasons I tried Now TV!

Why are these big companies not bothered about their apps? 

[Anonymous User]

Hi @Anonymous User 

Welcome to the forum & thanks for your post.  Generally speaking audio streams will never be above 128kps due to the compression needed to stream the content.  I'm not sure if NOW TV use AAC or mp3 format, but with AAC, 96kbps encoded correctly can sound perfectly acceptable on mobile devices.

However, there is a problem with the audio on the iPad app, in my opinion it sounds very echoey.  Hopefully, your post will be picked up by the NOW TV team.

[Anonymous User]

I just signed up. Thought my headphones were broken. Do we have an eta on a fix. All you need to do is allow the iPad to access the 720p streams. Netflix & YouTube are streaming 4k. This is absolutely ridiculous. iPads have retina screens and we care about audio. Sort it out, no more excuses.

[Anonymous User]

Hi @Anonymous User 

Thanks for posting and welcome to the community.  I have an iPad with retina display and I can't see a noticebale difference between catch up content on NOW TV & Netflix (my eyesight's ok!).  I agree the sound has an odd echo to it which gets irritating, but as pointed out by Community Manager @Anonymous User , NOW TV are aware of the issue.  Just out of interest, I wonder if sound is an issue on iPhones, or it's just the iPad?

[Anonymous User]

Picture quality is fine. Audio is skittle low. To be honest I tried Netflix and the audio on that was a touch tinny. Maybe I'll save walking dead for the big telly.

[Anonymous User]

Hi @Anonymous User 

I would definitely agree with that,  it definitely deserves to be seen on a telly.  I get too impatient when it's aired on catch up on a Monday night & end up watching it on the iPad!