Lower-quality World Cup telecasts

I am a StarHub TV subscriber using HubStation HD set-top boxes, who signed up for World Cup broadcasts through the cross-carriage arrangement.

After a few days of watching the matches and studio segments on Channel 223, I realised that the quality of the broadcasts was far from HD1080 quality when compared with the other HD channels that I subscribe to from StarHub and the 2010 World Cup broadcasts.

The StarHub agent who answered my call said the broadcasts were in high definition, and that I would have to bring up the matter with SingTel, which supplied the feed.

The SingTel agent who attended to me said the service provider could not help me and that I would have to call StarHub.

A field technician from StarHub confirmed that although my TV set received HD transmissions, the football matches and SingTel studio segments were not of HD1080 quality.

I believe the problem rests with the feeds from SingTel.

Can SingTel and StarHub work together to resolve the broadcast quality issue on Channel 223?

And can the Infocomm Development Authority look into cross-carriage subscribers' woes and improve on the framework?

While it was assumed that competition would improve service quality, it seems that I am paying more for lower quality.

-Yeo Eng Huat

This article was first published on JULY 1, 2014.
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