All posts by Richard
Below are all of Richard's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Briantist: I would've thought that much was obvious!! What I was trying to get at, was is it possible to view some, non-subscription/free-to-air channels by going into 'non-Freesat mode'??
I thought FTA meant channels that are not usually 'free-to-view', but otherwise free as part of a package (e.g. sky). So, no charge to watch them, but you would usually be tied into another form of subscription.
For instance, the channels cited (fiver/five usa), what is their carriage status on freesat/sky?? I'm not aware, because I usually watch freeview only.
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Right, that's pretty much what I thought.
Do freesat boxes have a slot installed??
I realise that many people do not want to subscribe at all (even for the 'freesat from sky' cards), but it would offer a bit more choice if you wanted that.
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R
Icomb Hill, Guiting Power and Over Norton BBC region change | SFriday 4 February 2011 5:09AM
Peterborough
Funny you should mention this. I'm thinking, is it just in Lancashire/Yorkshire that the 'split' BBC/ITV regions on relays will remain??
I've been on holiday to the Hawkshead/Ambleside area of the Lakes for many, many years, and it traditionally had BBC-1 NorthWest and.... (Don't watch ITV much up there!!), let's say Border anyway.
Now, I thought it was meant to follow that at switchover, rather than remain part of BBC NorthWest, the Lakes relays would switch to 'North East & Cumbria' (i.e. following Caldbeck, rather than Winter Hill).
It's obviously long past switchover there now. So what did I see went I went back a couple of months back?? BBC-1 NorthWest, and Border.
How many other regions/relays will continue to be split??
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Icomb Hill, Guiting Power and Over Norton BBC region change | SFriday 4 February 2011 5:13AM
Peterborough
As per the Cotswold relays, you could argue it's actually quite a logical change. Oxford being much nearer than Birmingham/Coventry.
Though, once again, quite close to Cheltenham. Why wasn't Ridge Hill (West) considered as an option??
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BBC DAB service now live in west Devon and east Cornwall | DigiFriday 4 February 2011 5:24AM
Peterborough
I only recently fully grasped the principle behind SFN's (they mutually complement each other's digital coverage, conversely to analogue).
Is that the reason the BBC has so many (150+) low powered DAB transmitters?? Given that Band II/fm services can be carried on around 50 high-powered transmitters (similar to uhf television), I'd always thought the BBC would use a similar model for DAB roll-out??
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BBC DAB service now live in west Devon and east Cornwall | DigiFriday 4 February 2011 5:27AM
Peterborough
I also wondered, are there any legal or technical restrictions on using Band I/rest of Band III for television again?? Or any other purpose??
Haven't many of the 'alternative uses' that came along in the 80s been discontinued now?? The channel space could be useful for local DAB, or tv service, surely??
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BBC DAB service now live in west Devon and east Cornwall | DigiSaturday 5 February 2011 1:58AM
Peterborough
Briantist, yes, thanks, I'd already read that page; as you know, Ofcom have updated their plans, so it's a bit out-of-date already.
My point is that to someone else (who's not in the know), it's clear there are plans to sell off Band IV/V frequencies. But then what?? That means there's a finite limit to the number of frequencies/services that could be provided. Ofcom have accepted that everything from 800Mhz should be allocated towards WiMax/3G etc., that then leaves less room for potential new tv services.
My next point is to do with digital radio switchover: what about the range of services on Band II at the moment?? All ILR and BBC stations?? There has been a licensing process to enable new commercial DAB operators, but it's been extremely slow, bureaucratic, and become bogged down by the Digital Economy Act; the franchise areas allocated in 2007/08 are being remapped. This means broadcasters can't go on air yet, and so on, and so on.
I'm just thinking, well, why isn't there any thought to starting these services elsewhere on DAB?? And what about the rest of Band III?? You've also got RSL services out there. They'll need somewhere to go too.
Sorry if I'm not very coherent, but I think even though the regulator surely understands the scale and breadth of the licensing task, it just doesn't seem to be able to put it into practice. Meanwhile, large chunks of available spectrum could be sitting idle and unused...
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BBC DAB service now live in west Devon and east Cornwall | DigiSaturday 5 February 2011 2:02AM
Peterborough
I'm not suggesting reserving the 800Mhz band is a bad idea, far from it. But surely, rather than reduce the number of available frequency slots, couldn't it be possible to make them up elsewhere??
Hence bringing more of Band III into use (or Band I) even.
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Briantist: Have you heard any news about MuxCo and their 'planned' DAB launches?? Apart from the occasional update of the website, they just seem to have died. The news is very sparse, other than a snippet to say, they were unable to launch in any of the areas they had been awarded licences, due to 'remapping', as mandated by the Digital Economy Act.
Frankly, I don't honestly believe they will launch their services. It's been 3 years since the licensing process commenced, and nearly 2 since BBC Lincs. was meant to have gone live on DAB (as part of the MuxCo ensemble).
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Friday 28 January 2011 5:59PM
Peterborough
I didn't even know that such a thing existed (non-Freesat mode on Freesat boxes).
Would this mean you can watch all free-to-air channels (e.g. GOLD), or is that further restricted to sky customers??