The next 50 things on UK FREE TV. What would you like to see?
Are Freeview and Freesat chasing Sky? Photograph: Brian Butterworth
I've been compiling a list of the next 50 things I am going to write about here on UK FREE TV.
Here is a sample of the things on the list
- Why are there no free sports channels on Freeview?
- Why are we still using remote controls?
Do channels on lower numbers get more viewers?- Why do we still watch so much TV when it is broadcast?
- Review of a inexpensive DVB-T2 dongle
- Review of Chromecast and Videostream
- Why isn't HD more popular?
- Why do TV recorders not yet have solid state drives?
- Moved into a new flat? How to set up the TV
- The Freetime UI
- Review of HDR-1010S
- When will we reach "peak Freeview"?
- Sky vs Freeview "numbers"
- Hyperoptic gigabit internet
"I can't hear the birds sing"
I would be really interested to know what else you would like me to investigate.
Please let me know anything you think might be within the remit of "free TV and radio in the UK".
All questions
In this section
Thursday, 23 October 2014
M
MikeB10:10 PM
Brianist: Here are some subjects which might be interesting:
We are seeing new TV formats (4K). What was the reaction when there were changes from 405 to 625 lines, and then to colour, HD, etc. Were the media dubious, and what tipped the balance?
Has the public/media's view of what on TV changed over the years? Was TV really better in the past? Or does nostalgia and the relatively small number of channels in the past colour or view?
How to buy a TV? (I might have something to say about this...!), and also improving the sound.
What tech has survived, and for longest? This could be the little things, like the Belling-Lee connector, or even the coax cable itself.
What change was there when recording was possible? Both for broadcasters, and then for the public. Did we change what we watched, and how? And when did recording become mass market and why?
Smart TV's - what apps do we use (if we use them), and is there a trend?
What can we learn from looking at other broadcasters in Europe. What models seem to work, and what sort of quality programming is there?
How long does it take a technology to take off? Whats the time scale from bench to shops, and then from early adopter to mass market? We've seen people saying how long DAB has taken to take off, but are there other examples? And does it depend on other factors, such as content, etc.
PBS and NPR - how do they compare with the BBC, and do they offer a model or warning for the UK?
Cable and sat wars before Sky - what systems were there, and why didn't they take off?
Whats the tech which failed? Not just things like Ondigital, but also kit like Laserdiscs - any really bad examples? And any good ones just at the wrong time?
Subscription for the BBC. I know we've gone through this before, but since certain members of the cabinet think this a good idea (!) , perhaps setting out the case for or against this might be useful...
When did TV's start getting larger, and why?
And this is a followup to the future map of the London travel map - could we have a comparison with the 19th/20th century plans for London, and how it turned out.
BTW - as far as curved screens are concerned, you can read on Samsung's website why they are so great, although the point that you can see from a better angle actually seems to be true. However, there is another reality. Sony, a very conservative company (arguable far too conservative for its own good for the past decade) is just to bring out a curved version for its lovely (and it is lovely, just check it out) 4K 9005 (the S9005). Why? Becuase apparently 30% of the large screen Tv market is now made up of curved screens. Since the bulk of curved screen TV's are made by Samsung, thats a 30% plus market share for them straight off. Sony will do a curved screen because there is money to be made, as will LG.
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MikeB10:15 PM
Ok - forgot one - internet radio. How to get it, whats out there, and what are the advantages. (watching The Apprentice on catchup, so slightly distracted..)
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Saturday, 25 October 2014
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Bob Loader10:48 PM
I'ts not what you see, it's the obnoxious noise that has invaded every tv programme.
MU-SICK for the want of a better description interferes with the pleasure of all news & documentaries and is so loud that it often drowns out the dialogue.
Being hard of hearing I have to listen using headphones which makes the siuation unbearable resulting in my abandoning a programme.
Comments from the broadcasters that I have contacted are that it adds "drama & atmosphere" What a load of rubbish
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Bob Loader: That does remind me about writing properly about how poor hearing causes problems for some people and how hard they relate to what is, for everyone else, a pleasurable and stimulating experience.
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Sunday, 26 October 2014
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Bill Kay3:07 AM
Bob Loader: I agree 100% with your comments, also most reporters use mikes that pick up more background noise than their voice
Have only seen one reporter using a lip mike in a noisy environment recently
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Mr Andrew Hewston8:02 AM
Hi Brian just a quickie, when will the Bromsgrove transmitter start sending out HD signals? So we don't have the pain to lock into other transmitters. Andy.
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Mike Goodall9:02 AM
I think the most annoying thing (No.1 on my list) is the annihilation of all your favourite scheduled programs on BBC and sometimes ITV as soon as a major sporting event comes along. I always assumed that these would be put on freeview sports channels. There seems no logical reason for not doing so with so many channels available, and the red button ones. I'm sure I'm not the only ones who gets really annoyed about this. And of course they don't appear on catch up TV until the programs have been screened on Freeview so there's no way around loosing your favourite program.
Secondly, why oh why do we have to put up with announcers and trailers being broadcast with so much compression added that they blast out twice as loud as the normal programs. It's not beyond the scope of the system to broadcast all programs at the same audio level. And why are occasional programs broadcast so quiet compared to the other 90%? Is there nobody at the end of the broadcast chain with a volume control at the end of their arm like in the old BBC days; the automatic systems, if they exist, are obviously not working.
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jb389:47 AM
Mr Andrew Hewston : Bromsgrove already transmits HD programmes on Mux Ch30 / 545.8Mhz, if though you are referring to the new COM7 HD service? then this station is not on the list of extended view HD transmitters.
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Monday, 27 October 2014
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Gwen Symonds4:54 PM
I would like Freeview to include LBC PLEASE
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Tuesday, 28 October 2014
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