It’s the World Cup and there’s a penalty shoot out, but just as you watch the player prepare to kick the ball, you're already hearing cheers from the street outside. The problem? Your neighbours are watching through a satellite, while you are relying on a normal TV signal.
The transmission speed can be “terribly slow”, says Ulrike Kuhlmann, tech journalist with IT magazine c’t, which has tested the speed of various TV formats in Europe. They found in some cases the delay was as much as 50 seconds, which can feel like an eternity for football fans. “If the neighbours have access to a satellite signal, then in a penalty shoot-out, they are very long seconds,” Kuhlmann says.
Fans watching the tournament this year via satellite will once again have the quickest signal. The images arrive fastest in low SD resolution with a 4.5 second delay. This is closely followed by the satellite signal in HD, which appears half a second later, but has a significantly better picture.
When it comes to terrestrial channels, the two public broadcasters, ZDF and ARD, have 2.5 second and 4.5 second delays respectively. The cable channels are a bit slower again, taking 6 to 6.5 seconds, depending on the station.
Streaming services that do not use multicast technology (sending a signal to many customers) are even further behind, so the delay can take up to 50 seconds.
That’s not a problem when you’re watching a cop show but terrible if you are late to see a crucial goal.
"We also store the signal on the terminals for a few seconds for smooth playback," says Joerg Meyer of TV streaming provider Zattoo. However, speed also depends on factors such as the performance of the television. Zattoo is also faster than terrestrial channels’ online live stream. Depending on the output medium, these can have delays of 34 to 46 seconds.
The TV streaming industry is trying to get to grips with the phenomenon, says Meyer. The leader is the streaming service Magine, which comes on an AppleTV with a 20 to 21 second delay.
Meanwhile, the Waipu.tv streaming service is already a step ahead of the competition. It aims to bring "the fastest goal to the living room".
The provider, Exaring AG, has developed a fast transmission method, using its own fibre optic network, and has already applied for an international patent. At the moment it can only be used with Amazon’s Fire TV, a Fire tablet or an app on Android smartphones.
The testers found Waipu.TV had a delay of 2.3 seconds for transmission. Only satellite was faster. Of course, even the conventional SD image via satellite is 4.5 seconds behind real time.
Despite all the innovations in delivering fast footage, the best place to see a goal when it actually happens is still live at the football stadium. — dpa
