BPO Digital Concert Hall

[Petrushka]

When watching a live concert on the BPO Digital Concert Hall on my Samsung Smart TV (on which the app is pre-loaded) I get frequent 'stutter' and buffering which makes it useless to watch. Watching concerts in the archive is usually trouble free.

When I e-mailed the DCH about this they said it would help to have the router and TV set in the same room but this is domestically impossible.

I'd really like to catch the live concerts so can anyone say a) what the problem is and b) what I need to do to put it right?

[Stunsworth]

If the archive is trouble free I'd say that the problem lies at the other end of the connection. Perhaps too much demand on the BPO servers. I'd expect a spike in demand during a live concert, where as archive demand is likely to be pretty constant.

[jayne lee wilson]

Demand is certainly (much) higher for the live streams ( a few years ago they could be inaccessibly busy for live Mahler etc), but have you checked your broadband speed, either with the BT speedchecker or on the DCH itself? (Look under "Help").
In my own experience you need A LOT of excess speed to have a stable connection, even with R3.... BT Infinity should be enough though...
You can try sacrificing DCH video quality to continuity of sound (by adjusting it manually to lower resolution on screen) of course, instead of relying on DCH auto. (Sound is always at 256 kbps aac whatever the vid res.)

Haven't taken a live concert for ages (me & 256 kbps don't get on) but I recall the stability being near-perfect (at 320 kbps then, alas!) when I upgraded in 2010 from the old rate-capped BT Option 1 to Option 2. Infinity (or other hi-speed bb) should solve every problem. But it's hard to know if Berlin have overreached their provision until you've got ultrafast... (which is great for hi-res downloads too...)

[Stanfordian]

When watching a live concert on the BPO Digital Concert Hall on my Samsung Smart TV (on which the app is pre-loaded) I get frequent 'stutter' and buffering which makes it useless to watch. Watching concerts in the archive is usually trouble free.

When I e-mailed the DCH about this they said it would help to have the router and TV set in the same room but this is domestically impossible.


I'd really like to catch the live concerts so can anyone say a) what the problem is and b) what I need to do to put it right?

I have the same problem with wifi and I ahve also run a cable to the router. I end up 'buffer face'.

[slarty]

I have a very fast broadband connection and living in Germany it is very stable, however I have the exact same problems as you. Live streaming is very problematical and archive viewing is relatively trouble free.
So I would agree with Stunsworth Pet, it must be too great a demand on the night. The recent Sibelius Cycle from Berlin was impossible to watch, even at a low sample rate. I gave up and watched them later that week.
By the way, my router is in the same room and it makes no difference.

[Stanfordian]

I have a very fast broadband connection and living in Germany it is very stable, however I have the exact same problems as you. Live streaming is very problematical and archive viewing is relatively trouble free.
So I would agree with Stunsworth Pet, it must be too great a demand on the night. The recent Sibelius Cycle from Berlin was impossible to watch, even at a low sample rate. I gave up and watched them later that week.
By the way, my router is in the same room and it makes no difference.

With wifi the line between the router and the tv with walls and pillars/post etc in the way would certainly make a difference to the signal.

[slarty]

Indeed, but my router sits two feet from the computer and I use a hard wire between them and not a wifi signal.

[pastoralguy]

Oddly, I use my iPad for the Digital Concert Hall live broadcasts and never have any problem. (Well, except once when it was a Bruckner symphony so it didn't really matter).

Most odd.

[Petrushka]

Thanks to all for replies. I'm glad that this isn't just me. I've checked my broadband speed several times on the DCH and it came out fine. Strangely enough, I watched Mahler 2 back in October 2012 (I think it was) and that was perfect but it has never been so good since. Massive stutter and audio dropouts is no way to listen to music and I'll be leaving the DCH to archive performances only until the technology is up to the job.

[jayne lee wilson]

Could you say any more about your setup, pastoralguy? Broadband type, Wireless or not, How you listen to the audio, etc...?

What the DCH needs to do is invest heavily in Meridian MQA...... joint venture, speed up development a bit...
...Or hook up with Korg/Sony for DSD Live Streaming (Gramophone, 3/2015)... a bit of cash-injection for rapid development required..!

All we'll need to do is buy the odd new TV, Laptop or DAC......start saving now! Etc...

[Petrushka]

Could you say any more about your setup, pastoralguy? Broadband type, Wireless or not, How you listen to the audio, etc...?

What the DCH needs to do is invest heavily in Meridian MQA...... joint venture, speed up development a bit...
...Or hook up with Korg/Sony for DSD Live Streaming (Gramophone, 3/2015)... a bit of cash-injection for rapid development required..!

All we'll need to do is buy the odd new TV, Laptop or DAC......start saving now! Etc...

I bought my Samsung Smart TV, in the first place, because the DCH app came preloaded and I thought that the days of watching stutter-strewn concerts would be at an end. It's proved to be a huge disappointment though the consolation of watching archive concerts does sugar the pill somewhat.

[pastoralguy]

It's really just a bog standard BT router with nothing fancy about the Internet connection. An ordinary Apple iPad to which I connect my Bose headphones.

Listening to the Haitink/Faust Beethoven concert which is pretty damn terrific!

[Petrushka]

Listening to the Haitink/Faust Beethoven concert which is pretty damn terrific!

OK, OK, no need to rub it in!

[pastoralguy]

OK, OK, no need to rub it in!

Sorry! Really don't understand your predicament, Pet. It should be flawless. It couldn't be a problem with the telly itself? Presumably it's still under guarantee?

[Petrushka]

Sorry! Really don't understand your predicament, Pet. It should be flawless. It couldn't be a problem with the telly itself? Presumably it's still under guarantee?

Others seem to be having the same problem so it can't be just my telly. Everything else is fine on it including youTube, I-player etc.