CueSport TV - The Blog

Back last year we trialled some HD streaming using our platform and the results were very nice. The response to the videos was also excellent. It always was the plan to complete full length matches in high definition.

Due to the nature of the web and the fact that people are generally watching on a smaller screen to their TV we have opted to rollout out the full length videos in 720p high definition.

The data rates of streaming a HD video mean a download speed of around 4meg is required to watch the videos without buffering.

The first of these full length matches is now available and is the first round match (Chris Melling v James Kay) at the GB9 British Grand Prix Pro Cup event last year. Please do tell us if we are wrong but we also think that this is a web first. Cuesport TV has become the first streaming channel to provide a full length 9-ball pool match in high definition.

The rest of this tournamnt, a further four matches, will also be HD encoded.

For those viewers that struggle to watch the HD versions due to low bandwidth then a standard version is also available for viewing.

Please let us know your thoughts on the videos and if you experience any problems. The best way to find out if you can view them without buffering is to run a speedtest.

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Web TV channel Cuesport TV have this week released two demo videos in 720p High Definition.

The videos are believed to be the first snooker videos to be streamed in High Definition online. The HD content shows the true capabilities of the platform that the company adopted in April 2009.

The HD videos that have been made available were recorded at the recent TCC Snooker Pro-am in Wales. The tournament is a very small but prestigious snooker event that the channel had exclusive access to. The tournament featured top snooker stars such as Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy, Ryan Day and Matthew Stevens. Stevens will feature in some later HD demo’s recorded at the same period.

Managing Director of Cuesport TV Ltd, Pete Williams, commented, “HD video is always something we have wanted to serve but it has taken us a while to reach this stage, the video we have recently made available showcases the capabilities of High Definition as a video-on-demand concept.”

Williams also said, “It is theoretically possible to stream live Internet video in full HD, however, in reality the UK does not yet have the broadband infrastructure to cope with the demands of HD streaming. The VOD content in this particular demo requires a 5 meg Internet connection as a minimum otherwise a lot of buffering occurs. Once broadband across the whole of the UK develops, as it will in the next 5 years, then live streaming of HD video will become a reality. It is in our interest and within our aims to be at the forefront of this technology.”

In the first four days of the initial trial the company has seen it’s viewing figures rise by an amazing 10%. There are now plans in place for Cuesport TV to capture HD content at all of the major tournaments and matches that the channel has access to and make available both standard and high definition versions to its subscribers.

View the HD snooker videos here: HD Snooker Videos

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The TCC Snooker Pro-am which features the likes of Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy, Ricky Walden and Ryan Day will be streamed live on Cuesport TV starting on June 25th.

The tournament that is played in a social club with two snooker tables will have matches being played concurrently, due to space restrictions and bandwidth on site it is only possible to stream from one table.

However, as the other matches will also be of interest to our viewers we will be recording the second table for later broadcast.

What is going to be exciting about this is that it means for the first time we will be able to test HD recording and subsequently streaming. It will mean that the HD footage will only be able to be watched at around 3.5meg but the quality should be excellent.

Both the live stream and the HD recordings will only be available as part of the Cuesport TV Subscription which is due to launch iminently. It has already been delayed by two days due to solving some issues with the payment processing company.

HD is always something we have wanted to try but due to bandwidth issues and time constraints in the past it has thus far not been possible, this could be the future of Internet streaming as more and more companies are now trialing it. The BBC i-player now features HD versions of their programmes and cycle team Cervelo now stream HD content over at Bartape.net.

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