True, Hdtv & The World Cup

[Rigsby]

I know there's other posts re. True & HDTV, but I thought I'd open this one as a friend of mine visited on of the True offices in Pattaya (opposite Carrefour) and quizzed them about HDTV & the World Cup. This is what he was told :-

• The HD box cost's 4000Bht to rent. If you already subscribe however, you've no doubt paid 2000Bht already, so will only need to pay an additional 2000Bht. They will come and install it.
  

• If you want to watch the World Cup in HD, there is no subscription for this month while it's on - that's a freeby. GOLD customers will pay however, an additional 290 Bht/mth thereafter. (Don't know other prices).
  

• Here's where it gets interesting...The sports channel is in the THAI LANGUAGE ONLY for the duration of the world cup !! There is no option to switch it to English. After the world cup has finished, whatever they decide to put on that channel WILL be in English as well as Thai !! But read the next point...
  

• ...True ARE broadcasting the World Cup in ENGLISH but only for a price (which I don't know). I guess that works similar to Pay-As-You-Go and you can opt to have English for (some ??) matches.
  

If someone can confirm/expand this last point, that would be information well worth knowing !!

A bit of background...True has the sole rights to show the World Cup in Thailand and they've sub-let (for the want of a better word) it to Thai TV so that games can be watched on Channels 3,5,7,9,11 ?? for those who haven't got access to Sophon or True.

That's it as I've been told. If anyone can confirm/update - or even deny - these facts, please feel free to do so, then we might have the whole story before they think it's all over (it is now !!)

[gotlost]

Its like gambling put your money down and take your chance. English, it is not going to happen at any price.

[quiksilva]

I spoke to True this morning and contrary to what I was told when I subscribed they sadly, confirmed that it will only be in Thai.

They purchased the license for the video feed but not the audio feed.

So even if we are prepared to pay more for English commentary it is not available.

Grrr, so am going to have to get an internet radio feed for world cup commentary now

[Rabbi]

I have 2 points

1. Do you have to have a new HDTV to watch it [even without the commentary] will an "old fashioned" LCD or Plasma screen work?

2. Where exactly is True - opposite Carrefore. I have looked several times bur can only find them in Sukhamvit.

[Rigsby]

I have 2 points

1. Do you have to have a new HDTV to watch it [even without the commentary] will an "old fashioned" LCD or Plasma screen work?

2. Where exactly is True - opposite Carrefore. I have looked several times bur can only find them in Sukhamvit.

1. The HD box will supply all channels and it will additionally have an HDMI connection at the back - for connection to an HDTV. If your TV has 'old-style' connectors, just connect it as normal. It'll work.
   
2. Stand on the steps at Carrefour and look across the street to the right. On the corner of the Soi is the office. I believe there's a big red & white UBC sign outside. (They probably don't realise they're 'True' yet).
   

[Gigabyte]

I have 2 points

1. Do you have to have a new HDTV to watch it [even without the commentary] will an "old fashioned" LCD or Plasma screen work?

2. Where exactly is True - opposite Carrefore. I have looked several times bur can only find them in Sukhamvit.

I'm quite sure that you need a full HD TV to take advantage of the high definition; a TV that is not fully HD will not display better than its optimal definition.

[negreanu]

Are they broadcasting in 480p ot 720p?

[Suttisan]

True has a history of lying to its customers, it has got many people to upgrade for sporting events before only to just show one game then pull the feed. My local Pub 'The Crossbar' in Bangkok has got a slingbox installed from the UK for the world cup with BBC or ITV commentary so i'll be heading down there for the England games.

[negreanu]

True has a history of lying to its customers, it has got many people to upgrade for sporting events before only to just show one game then pull the feed. My local Pub 'The Crossbar' in Bangkok has got a slingbox installed from the UK for the world cup with BBC or ITV commentary so i'll be heading down there for the England games.

Thai internet depending

[monty]

Are they broadcasting in 480p ot 720p?

Apparently 1080i

[Rabbi]

True has a history of lying to its customers, it has got many people to upgrade for sporting events before only to just show one game then pull the feed. My local Pub 'The Crossbar' in Bangkok has got a slingbox installed from the UK for the world cup with BBC or ITV commentary so i'll be heading down there for the England games.

Thai internet depending

G'Day - I'm in Pattaya and would love to be able to watch the WC

What is a "slingbox" Crossbow is a friend of the CBB's [our international cricket fellowship] but I don't have a contact for them. Do you reckon he could help me? Probably left it too late!!

Cheers

[negreanu]

Slingbox hosting services are available. Google has loads listed.

Problem I see with the UK hosted slingbox is that the bandwidth to thailand is pretty poor and the latency. I have never tried it mind you but I would imagine a US based host (West cost LA or SF) would give better performance.

For example right now getting 1.5-2.5mb too London or Manchester on True 16mb Premium but 15.5mb to LA and SF. Maybe 2.5mb is adequate for Slingbox onto large screen tv??

Edited June 1, 2010 by negreanu

[Crossy]

Google myp2pforum and have a look at their live TV forum particularly the UKTV VLC playlist.

It needs a decent internet connection, but the quality is very acceptable.

If anyone wants to PM me I'll send the playlist (it's only a few k) just need VLC to run it.

[ManInSurat]

I can also confirm what the OP has written.

I went into central Surat Thani yesterday with the intention of getting the HD box and a temporary package for the duration of the World Cup and was told that there is definitely no English commentary and there is also no option to buy or pay for it as an extra. That's the only reason why I would have plumped for it. I find it pretty laughable that they are currently advertising for the World Cup in HD - IN ENGLISH - it's a screen pop-up in the bottom right hand corner that says World Cup in HD, blah blah blah ring 027-2525-2525 or something. Then there's no English commentary. Nice one True.

As has already been said in other threads True as a broadcaster would be charged a rather large extra fee for English commentary - whereas they do not for the Premier League as it comes as part of their arrangement with the FA. True spending extra money to keep its non-Thai customers satisfied? I think we all know the answer to that one. Ok they could offset or recoup this charge by subsequently charging us for it, but the debate about that is boring me already so I'll stop.

As a gold package member I would have to pay 2000 baht for the rental of the HD receiver and a further 290 baht per billing month after the period they have set aside for the World Cup has ended (11th July) I believe.

I decided to go against it and here are my reasons:

1. The games are already going to be shown on True's non-HD sports channels 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106 & 122. Though I have yet to see a clear schedule for the games themselves anywhere.

If any of you need a decent daily games schedule the BBC one is pretty decent. You can highlight any country to follow through the tournament.

Click here for the schedule: BBC World Cup Schedule

As you can see from the schedule, on any given World Cup day there is never any more than 4 games being played, which are played at different times - no 2 games ever overlap - this would lead me to believe they're only going to be shown on 1 True Channel.

I tried to find a True World Cup schedule but unsurprisingly and bizarrely the truevisionstv.com website does not have a game by game one. They also don't have a English language version of their site which I find very bizarre in 2010. I read and speak Thai relatively well and their site is easy to navigate and the schedule they have there just shows True Sports 6 as having a World Cup program starting at 18:00. The earliest kick-off time there is in the World Cup is 18:30 so this could be their World Cup channel. We'll have to wait and see I guess.

2. I have a Sony Bravia 32" 1080p HD ready LCD TV and the difference in quality between HD and non-HD programming is not so much that it would ruin my World Cup experience. I cannot speak for others.

3. I have also thought about getting UK TV, BBC & ITV, through an internet service, like Slingbox or similar services, the only problem with this is that I have had a 5 Megabit Premier TT&T package for 3 years and it can go out without warning and slow down without warning. Picture yourself ensconced in an enthralling QF. It's penalties and the last kick taker for your country is stepping up to the spot with the possibility of sending a whole country through and into ecstasy - and there's suddenly a problem with the bandwidth or any of the other plethora of potential problems that affects the Thai internet infrastructure on a regular basis. I would go absolutely mental. I don't have a "Jai Yen" yet and I probably never will!

Have you also stopped to consider that the World and it's mother will want to also use that service and get British TV over Slingbox, VPN or any other of the internet alternatives? You wouldn't have to worry so much about bandwidth on the UK side, whilst the UK internet infrastructure as a whole could be much much better (it's not even in the top 10 in the world) - it'd be more the Thai side I would worry about. Everyone knows there's a huge bottle neck as there's poor connections to the outside world. My 5MB never means 5MB when using websites extraneous to Thailand. I would consider the period surrounding the World Cup to be the very busiest for internet traffic and thus huge blockages and a massive reduction in speeds. I'm not saying this will definitely happen, but it's very likely.

4. I am currently thinking about watching the games on True's standard sports channels with a live BBC Radio commentary feed coming over the internet. No disrespect to the Thai commentators, they are incredibly enthusiastic, but have no depth in knowledge about the game (like John Motson/Clive Tildesley for example) or sense of occasion or context. They also find it hard to keep up with any non-stellar team's player's names in the EPL, which I find annoying. The English commentators thoroughly know their jobs - although I do sometimes crave a British commentator that will scream GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL for a full 7 minutes upon the team scoring a vital goal.

For those of you interested in the BBC's Radio commentary schedule for the World Cup here's a link: World Cup Radio Commentary

Joking aside, the only potential problem I can see with this setup is that one of either the satellite feed or the internet feed will be slower in reaching me than the other. If the commentary is not in time with play that will be really annoying. Especially if the sound comes first and you know you've scored a goal before you've seen it. I just wouldn't like that. I'll be using the group stage games (which England should easily win) to find the best audio commentary that is in synch with the True satellite feed.

That'll also be the time for others using the internet to get their feed to see whether it will be a viable stable option.

Anyway, that's my tuppence worth.

Hope you all enjoy it wherever and however you end up watching/listening to it and the best of luck to your respective countries.

Come on England!

Edited June 1, 2010 by ManInSurat

[rixalex]

For those of you interested in the BBC's Radio commentary schedule for the World Cup here's a link: World Cup Radio Commentary

Is it possible to listen to BBC radio in Thailand? Besides World Service, I didn't think so.

Even if you can, you can guarantee that there will be some sort of delay between images and sound that renders it useless.

Sorry to be negative.

[ManInSurat]

For those of you interested in the BBC's Radio commentary schedule for the World Cup here's a link: World Cup Radio Commentary

Is it possible to listen to BBC radio in Thailand? Besides World Service, I didn't think so.

Even if you can, you can guarantee that there will be some sort of delay between images and sound that renders it useless.

Sorry to be negative.

Nah, you're not being negative. You're quite right.

Good question and for all my BBC Iplayer/Radio needs I have always used a VPN service so I can download TV programs and listen to radio feeds live as they really don't take up too much bandwidth. With the VPN service I use I get upto 1MB which is more than enough for live radio streaming (not TV though). I use my-private-network.co.uk at 5 quid a month. Though there are a hundreds of alternative service providers.

As I said in my initial post I'll be spending the group games against the likes of Solvenia, Algeria and the Yanks (hopefully the very first game) to get the synch issue sorted out. I hope there's no delay. I'll only be able to find out in real time though.

I don't envy those that can get the South African TV coverage for it and I'd rather see these at home than in a bar. I do like listening to the commentary, but that's just me.

I probably should have mentioned this in my earlier quote so thanks for picking me up on that one.

Also, the BBC are funny with regards to their radio copyright laws. I've listened to 5 Live on occasions without there being any copyright problems. Then at other times or for other programs, particularly live Premier League games, there are out of country restrictions like you mention. It's not only the World Service you can get out of the UK. I'm pretty sure there are other stations/services you can listen to. Although you may know better than I.

I think I'll do a bit of research now and see if there's going to be any issue you with this and will post back what I find.

In the case that there is going to be a restriction I have my VPN to fall back on. It has to be the BBC for me as I've grown up with all these commentators. They're very much part of the culture now. Save for Robbie Earle & David Pleat who should both just give up commentating now. Athough some of Pleat's quotes/name pronunciations are hilarious: Shimbomba for Pascal Chimbonda. Another piece of gold from Mr Pleat: "There's Thierry Henry, exploding like the French train that he is." What!??

Cheers.

Edited June 1, 2010 by ManInSurat

[bhoydy]

The true visions website is available in English. Just scroll down do the bottom of the home page and click on the icon which says English, you don't even need to read Thai to be able to do this.

[ManInSurat]

The true visions website is available in English. Just scroll down do the bottom of the home page and click on the icon which says English, you don't even need to read Thai to be able to do this.

I stand corrected and have honestly never noticed that. You are quite right. My apologies.

Unfortunately this still does not address the complete lack of a World Cup schedule from True!

Edited June 1, 2010 by ManInSurat

[rixalex]

Unfortunately this still does not address the complete lack of a World Cup schedule from True!

Mate, in last months True Visions Premier magazine that should be sent to your door every month, they had a pull-out which had all the games and all the times.

Failing that, previous competitions i have picked up a copy of the Bangkok Post shortly before it starts. They have a full page spread. I'm sure this year will be no different.

P.S. With you on Mr Pleat. Worst commentator i think i've ever heard.

Edited June 1, 2010 by rixalex

[ManInSurat]

Unfortunately this still does not address the complete lack of a World Cup schedule from True!

Mate, in last months True Visions Premier magazine that should be sent to your door every month, they had a pull-out which had all the games and all the times.

Failing that, previous competitions i have picked up a copy of the Bangkok Post shortly before it starts. They have a full page spread. I'm sure this year will be no different.

P.S. With you on Mr Pleat. Worst commentator i think i've ever heard.

The missus throws out the True Magazine as soon as it comes like clockwork! I'm not overly bothered about the specific channel schedule for True. I was making a mountain out of a molehill. As long as I know on what day and time England and playing and any other interesting matches, I'll find the channel!

Thanks for the heads-up never-the-less.

Live in Surat and you can't get the Bangkok Post anywhere here, which I would never voluntarily pick-up anyway!

I think what I meant to say was it would be nice for True to have a schedule on their website.

Edited June 1, 2010 by ManInSurat

[gotlost]

The true visions website is available in English. Just scroll down do the bottom of the home page and click on the icon which says English, you don't even need to read Thai to be able to do this.

But you do have to be able to read.

[delboy]

This is a link to the RS website (the company that has the broadcasting rights for Thailand) and shows the Thai stations that will be broadcasting the matches on the right of the page.

http://www.rs.co.th/FIFA2010/fifa_program.html

The times shown are Thai times but are 30 minutes before the match is due to KO, presumably for a 30 minute introduction programme.

There will no broadcast on TrueSports normal sports channels, only the HD broadcast on channel 111. All broadcasts are on free to air Thai TV channels as shown (Thai commentary only). According to another thread on the subject, BBC radio does not have the right to broacast commentary over the internet outside of the UK. English commentary for matches broadcast on Channel 3 is promised for 105.5 FM but whether this will be synchronised with the TV picture is anyone's guess. I really wish that they would give the option of crowd noise only on the English soundtrack instead of making everyone listen to the Thai commentary or watch in silence.

[Prasert]

You don't even have to understand Thai to listen to the Thai commentary. 90% of the commentary consists of khap, na khap and oi.

[rixalex]

I really wish that they would give the option of crowd noise only on the English soundtrack instead of making everyone listen to the Thai commentary or watch in silence.

Absolutely. That's my real gripe. Commentary i've learnt to do without, but noise from the stadium that carries with it so much of the atmosphere at World Cup games is so important and one would think, not too difficult to provide the viewer with.

[rixalex]

The missus throws out the True Magazine as soon as it comes like clockwork! I'm not overly bothered about the specific channel schedule for True. I was making a mountain out of a molehill. As long as I know on what day and time England and playing and any other interesting matches, I'll find the channel!

Actually the pull-out that i spoke of does not include channels - i presume because True Visions coverage will all be on the one HD channel.

I think what I meant to say was it would be nice for True to have a schedule on their website.

Indeed.

But then again, there are many things that it would be nice for True to do, but it never seems to make them one to do it.

[Scully]

For those of you interested in the BBC's Radio commentary schedule for the World Cup here's a link: World Cup Radio Commentary

Is it possible to listen to BBC radio in Thailand? Besides World Service, I didn't think so.

Even if you can, you can guarantee that there will be some sort of delay between images and sound that renders it useless.

Sorry to be negative.

You can listen to BBC radio on the iplayer just not watch tv.

[bhoydy]

This is a link to the RS website (the company that has the broadcasting rights for Thailand) and shows the Thai stations that will be broadcasting the matches on the right of the page.

http://www.rs.co.th/FIFA2010/fifa_program.html

The times shown are Thai times but are 30 minutes before the match is due to KO, presumably for a 30 minute introduction programme.

There will no broadcast on TrueSports normal sports channels, only the HD broadcast on channel 111. All broadcasts are on free to air Thai TV channels as shown (Thai commentary only). According to another thread on the subject, BBC radio does not have the right to broacast commentary over the internet outside of the UK. English commentary for matches broadcast on Channel 3 is promised for 105.5 FM but whether this will be synchronised with the TV picture is anyone's guess. I really wish that they would give the option of crowd noise only on the English soundtrack instead of making everyone listen to the Thai commentary or watch in silence.

This makes sense because the world cup is supposed to be able to be viewed by people all over the world without extra payment. I think it's part of their policy. Is that right?

[sammycic]

I really wish that they would give the option of crowd noise only on the English soundtrack instead of making everyone listen to the Thai commentary or watch in silence.

Absolutely. That's my real gripe. Commentary i've learnt to do without, but noise from the stadium that carries with it so much of the atmosphere at World Cup games is so important and one would think, not too difficult to provide the viewer with.

I watched the super 14's rugby final from soweto and the incessant sound of the horns nearly drove me to the point of turning off the whole thing. the commentary was almost drowned out. I can only imagine will be worse for the World Cup games. Maybe we are lucky we are only getting the Thai commentary.

For me i will download the games i want to watch in HD.

I would rather watch the TRI nations rugby anyhow.

Can't handle the over dramatic penalities in football.

[schmutzie]

This is a link to the RS website (the company that has the broadcasting rights for Thailand) and shows the Thai stations that will be broadcasting the matches on the right of the page.

http://www.rs.co.th/FIFA2010/fifa_program.html

The times shown are Thai times but are 30 minutes before the match is due to KO, presumably for a 30 minute introduction programme.

There will no broadcast on TrueSports normal sports channels, only the HD broadcast on channel 111. All broadcasts are on free to air Thai TV channels as shown (Thai commentary only). According to another thread on the subject, BBC radio does not have the right to broacast commentary over the internet outside of the UK. English commentary for matches broadcast on Channel 3 is promised for 105.5 FM but whether this will be synchronised with the TV picture is anyone's guess. I really wish that they would give the option of crowd noise only on the English soundtrack instead of making everyone listen to the Thai commentary or watch in silence.

Thanks a million delboy. Was looking for something like this!

[rixalex]

Can't handle the over dramatic penalities in football.

Too much drama?! What's that all about? Dicky heart?