All posts by Trevor Harris
Below are all of Trevor Harris's postings, with the most recent are at the bottom of the page.
Actualy 4HD is now at 230 on Sky. It moved from 140 which is now 4seven. NHK World is on 507.
You can also get 5 HD on Freesat from Sky but you must have a sky card but no subscription needed.
You can get over 60 HD channels with a Sky subscription. He! He!
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On the subject of remembering to switch to the HD version Sky have a system for doing this automatically. For instance 106 will give you Sky 1 SD if you have an SD box but will give you Sky 1 HD on an HD box. This is available to all broadcasters but BBC 1, ITV 1, Channel 4 and 5 have chosen not to use this system. It certainly makes things easyer.
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Actually Dave I don't think any of the PSBs are under any obligation to provide HD services. For instance 5 does not transmit HD on Freeview. In fact there is a spare Freeview HD channel sitting doing nothing. It's about time the BBC found something to fill it.
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The problem with future proofing is that no one knows the future. Super HD seems to be arriving much quicker than predicted. 4k Tvs are available though very expensive (at the moment). I also see that holographic TV research is also progressing well.
It seems to me the biggest problem is the time it takes to build infrastructure. The Freeview network has just been completed but is already out of date. The DAB radio system is still not complete but is so obsolete.
Of course Sky has an advantage in that if they want to upgrade they just give everyone a new box.
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This is very odd. This multiplex uses DVB-T2 so will not be viewable on most if not all SD receivers. Considering the very limited HD output on Freeview this should have been an HD only slot. I am suprised Ofcom has allowed them to do this.
It demonstrates once again the BBC's lack of commitment to HD. They could certainly use this space for thier own channel.
Just to correct previous posts Channel 5 HD is not behind a pay wall. It is FTV and can be watched on any sky box with a sky card. No subscription is needed.
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T
How do I know if the 4G broadband will overload my Freeview? | Saturday 12 January 2013 10:56AM
Aldershot
I wonder if aerial cable may an issue. Many installations use the so called low loss cable which has very poor screening. The CAI has for some time recommended the double screen cable used for satellite aerials. This cable has much better screening and lower loss.
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T
Ofcom consults about Freeview HD two-multiplex upgrade plan in Wednesday 6 February 2013 11:34PM
Aldershot
Yery good question Mark. The BBC has still not been able to find anyone to go on their spare HD channel let alone find 10 more with only up to 65% coverage. Satellite is cheaper and has better coverage.
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At last. It's a pitty they they don't HD autoswap as this makes HD much easier to use.
The BBC is still draging it's feet on HD. Its about time all areas were in HD. Very few programs are in surround sound. They still use stereo on F1 despite a 5.1 feed being available.
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About time too. As Brianist said there was no reason that one stream could have been added to Freeview before although they did use it for the HD red button service. I have mixed feelings about regional services. It will be good to get rid of "This is BBC One HD" to get people to retune to 101. The down side is that regional programing is a bit pathetic. The local news often covers the same story day after day and the same news is read three times a day by different presenters. Our local news also only covers a very small area of the region.
So how is the BBC going to finance this. Freeview HD is very expensive to run. They are going to have to spend out alot of money as compensation to the BBC victims.
The HD red button service is still not available to Sky viewers due to the BBC failing to negotiate a deal with Sky.
So what will happen to the other 6 streams. The BBC failed to sell the current spare freeview stream so I wonder who might want to take these up.
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Sunday 25 November 2012 11:43PM
Not so sure that they will be able to fill 10 channels even if the spectrum was to be made available. There is a spare HD channel available now which the BBC has been unable to find a use for.
As I understand the cost of a freeview hd channel is far greater than an equivalent satellite channel. Channel 5 has reject an HD channel on freeview. The BBC could start a 3rd HD channel tomorrow if they were serious.
Satellite has become the natural home of HD. The Olympics needed 25 extra channels which terestrial will never be able to support.