All posts by Brian Wright
Below are all of Brian Wright's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Brian Wright:
My Previous post should read.
Get rid of BBC4 . This will allow the BBC to add more original programs on BBC 1 & 2 and BBC 3 can concentrate on more outlandish programming.
That way we can hope for a reduction in the foodie /cooking programming & endless variants!!.
I could not find a way to edit once I had posted it.
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Re ,Mike B, ITV does cost less than the BBC, but ITV does less.Yes I agree. A two hour listed program on ITV will have about 11/2 hours actual content.
Prove this by recording any ITV program via their itv player on the Sky Box and you will have the wonderful experience of the viewed program WITHOUT ADVERTS. and it will be about 25% shorter than its original terrestrial length with adverts. So its very difficult to compare the programming costs when you deduct over a period of 24 hours the stoppages due to the adverts and the equivalent length of programming by the BBC.
Personally it will be the end of civilisation if the BBC were to disappear.
Has anyone watched SKY news lately around 7-9 am . I despair at their advertising breaks. They even split "what the papers say" with adverts at the beginning in the middle and at the end and the papers slot only lasts about 10 minutes. Rather like most of the TV networks in the USA .!!
Having the BBC around keeps our broadcasting networks on their toes .
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MikeB: Of course i should have typed 'not much different' when it comes to costs....need more coffee!I'll drink to that Mike, Nice relevant comments from you.
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What would you like to see on Freeview in place of BBC three?
Sunday 4 October 2015 10:00PM
Maidenhead
Sunday 4 October 2015 10:00PM
Maidenhead
Brian Wright:
We are trying to save the BBC ,(I hope) because the licence fee cannot support Four channels even if BBC 3 & 4 are not 24/7.
Surely it would be much better to keep BBC 1 & 2 as the main stay of programmes and to use BBC 3 to support the more minority programmes as BBC2 was introduced to do many years ago. The money saved by the removal of BBC4 could be used in part to bring back the excellent sports coverage we previously enjoyed over the years.?
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What would you like to see on Freeview in place of BBC three?
Monday 12 October 2015 10:38AM
Maidenhead
Monday 12 October 2015 10:38AM
Maidenhead
Brian Wright:
MIKE SAID,To be honest, I'm not a sports fan - in fact far from it, but I realise lots of other people are. However, the BBC has simply been priced out of the market.
Below is the result of the BBC carrying out a survey on various households and viewers who had stated, their for or against the BBC's licence fee and their comments after having all BBC programs cut off for a period of 9 DAY's. It does make INTERESTING READING.THIS WAS REPRINTED IN THE BBC's Prospero retired staff magazine. .
commissions `deprivation study'
More than two-thirds of those originally opposed to paying the £145.50 licence fee changed their minds after being cut off from BBC services for a nine-day period, according to a study commissioned by the Corporation. Seventy families across the country agreed to have their access to the BBC's television, radio and online services suspended, as part of a 'deprivation study' designed to test the reactions of those who said they would prefer not to pay the licence fee. Of the 70 households, 48 had initially said that they would prefer either to pay no licence fee and have no BBC access, or pay a reduced licence fee. After nine days without any access to the corporation, however, 33 of the 48 families, or 69 per cent, declared that they were now happy to pay. Mike O'Donnell, a retired sales manager, and his wife, Pat, were among the families who were initially opposed to paying for the BBC. 'I just thought the licence fee was another tax, and not good value for money,' said Mr O'Donnell, who admits to being a fan of EastEnders and 5 Live. `But being without the BBC was absolutely dreadful, just awful. I just didn't realised how much we watched it' Many of those who took part in the trial said that they became frustrated by having to watch adverts on commercial TV channels, and the O'Donnells were no different. 'The adverts just drove me nuts,' said Mr O'Donnell. 'I lost track of what I was watching.' A perceived lack of quality from the BBC's rivals was also a common complaint. Mr O'Donnell said: 'The weather on ITV is Mickey Mouse.You can tell that the person who's reading it doesn't understand it.
Whereas when you watch it on the BBC they clearly know what they're talking about and put the script together from the research they've done. It's quite a profound difference. I now think the BBC is incredibly good value. I'd probably willingly pay even more. I'm actually quite a good ambassador for the BBC now.' The BBC commissioned the study to dig deeper into existing research that suggests that around 30 per cent of people are opposed to paying the licence fee. It would appear to confirm suspicions held at a high level in the Corporation that many viewers do not realise how much they depend on the broadcaster's output. Sonia, a local government worker in Bristol, who did not want to give her surname, was a case in point. Before the study she was opposed to paying the licence fee and said she 'found it hard to imagine what as a family the BBC gave us that we can't get anywhere else'. After nine days without the BBC, she had changed her mind. 'It was shocking in that we realised how much we did watch BBC programmes,' she said. 'I think we just took it for granted' A further 22 of the 70 households had initially said that they were happy paying the licence fee. After the study, 21 said that their views were unchanged. At the conclusion of the experiment, families were given £3.60, a rebate for the nine days of BBC access they had foregone. For many, that was a watershed moment. `That's what, £12 a month,' said one unnamed participant, who was initially against the licence fee. 'And we pay £70-odd a month for Sky. That's a bit of a shock to be honest.' You can read further details of the report in the Radio Times magazine (25 August).
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Peter P:
Interesting, The BBC always has a D.O.G. preceding the team scores during a live football match in the top left hand corner.
I think whatever is constanly on the screen it requires to be subdued and about 50% less luminance that "peak white"
During BBC breakfast news, there is always a D.O.G in the form of the current time.! quite unobtrusive I think.
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Another example of Ofcom and the government not giving the whole process a forward thinking that gives a decent time scale when the Freeview concept was planned and thought out. I know electronics moves quickly but we seem to be wasting money etc by tinkering "around the edges. Take DAB radio what a farce this has been with most users preferring FM. Whats happening to DAB +.? We should have changed to this years ago.
Have the organizations that plan the changes to broadcasting and telecommunications given any thought to future Ultra High Definition TV transmissions being transmitted on Freeview .? Perhaps another black box via satellite. I think not.
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Martin W: Martin ,when you are about to fit the new Octo LNB module be very careful not to move the dish "in any direction", even a degree will lose you many channels.
Also carefully remove the old Quad LNB .if its been in place for some time the screws will be corroded, spray WD40 on them the day before you intend to change the LNB.
Also take note of the orientation of the original LNB and make sure the new one is the same.
The only way to make sure you have the correct position of the new LNB is to purchase a setup meter about 10 on ebay or a bit more from Maplin .This connects in series with one of the rf cables at the point of the LNB socket. The simple signal meter is self powered from the SKY box and gives you a visual and audio level which changes as you rotate the LNB or move the dish.
You can easily check the dish position without touching its fixing screws just by "flexing" the dish on the top or side and see if you have the best signal.
One final point, make all new cable joints to the RF connectors at the LNB end, waterproof by sealing with "self amalgamating Tape" after they have been screwed tightI hope this helps
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Having worked in broadcasting for many years ,when I purchased my first Panasonic HD ready and then full HD TV, I noticed very few retailers showed off air HDTV but used super clear mountain scenes and nature footage and then Bluetooth sourced footage. Viewing off air the picture quality definitely is much less impressive having traveled through the ethos.
Another problem is that having compared my early DVD HD recordings with the present ones from BBCI I find the more recent transmissions are less impressive. Certainly viewing small dark images on a lighter background has artifacts such as a white edge all of the way down the right hand side and it has nothing to do with my sharpening settings .It has become more noticeable since the compression and processing were changed to accommodate more channels on the Freeview platform.
There is not so much noticeable definition difference on TV's less that 42 inch for viewers to bother much about switching from SD to HD.
The same can be attributed for Radio and DAB as for TV we have gone for quantity (so called choice) rather than Quality.
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Sunday 16 August 2015 10:39PM
Brian Wright: How can an edit be performed to a recent post.?