Amazon Fire TV Stick users are being offered the chance to try a better way of streaming BBC content online.
The streaming revolution shows no signs of stopping. Gone are the days when we all needed an aerial or dish stuck to our chimneys, with broadband now offering a seamless way to stream content straight to TVs. Streaming can be far easier than watching via traditional methods, especially if you want to put a TV in an area of the house that doesn’t have access to an aerial connection point.
However, viewing via the internet does have a problem, especially when tuning into sports. It’s called latency and basically means some live streams are way behind the over-the-air signal. So, when a goal is scored and the family WhatsApp group starts pinging, those who stream might not yet have seen the ball hit the back of the net.
It’s something Sky has already fixed. It’s latest streaming gadgets – which include Sky Glass and Sky Stream – can now access sports that are just a few seconds behind the live action.
Now the BBC is following with a similar update. Homes with Fire TV Sticks, Sony tellies and BT set-top boxes – Sky Glass is also on the list – can now watch shows with much lower latency. This trial has actually been running for a while, but it’s just been confirmed that it’s now extended.
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Explaining more, Melissa Darragh, Senior R&D Engineer, said: “We’re expanding our low latency streaming trial on BBC iPlayer beta, increasing the number of supported devices and extending the testing period. This next phase will allow us to measure more precisely how well low latency streaming performs outside of our lab and in people’s homes, across different networks and conditions,” explained.
The BBC hopes this extension will offer more users a better experience when watching live events. That includes breaking news, sports, concerts and more. The telly service also now wants more homes to get involved so it can test things further.
“If you’re on a supported device and would like to get involved, switch on iPlayer Beta and watch BBC Two live – the trial stream is currently available from 8am – 10pm BST for viewers who have set their location to England or Scotland. It is expected to run for around a month,” the BBC explained.
“Other than the reduced delay, we don’t expect that you will notice any significant differences when watching this stream. However, if you experience any issues, you can revert to a conventional stream by opting out of iPlayer beta via the Settings menu.”
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Here is a list of some devices that are compatible
• Fire TV Edition 4K 2022
• Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K (2nd Gen)
• BT TV Box Pro
• Sky Glass Gen 1
• Some Bush TVs, including U43F8C and U43F8V screens
• Sony TV,s including XR-A95K series and XR-X90K series
• Some Toshiba TVs, including 43UV2363DB and 50UV2363DB models