Great things to read about British TV from March 2008 to today

Humax talks up next-gen Freesat boxes | News | TechRadar UK

Humax has talked about its plans for new Freesat boxes in 2010 with the company looking to launch a new generation to take advantage of the latest in TV tech. Home network Humax also indicated that it would integrate its home network solution, for content sharing through the home network and USB recording functionality. Both boxes will be 'portal ready' in other words, ready for internet television and should be available in Q3 2010. - techradar.com

www.techradar.com

Thursday 10 December 2009, AM

Streaming radio on your phone: not for long? - James Cridland

If you work at a radio station, you have a transmitter that reaches hundreds of thousands of people at the same time. When mobile operators are actively moving you off their network, and now contemplating usage-based pricing it might be foolish to count on 3G streaming for radios long-term future. This is an archive site, and comments are now closed. - james.cridland.net

james.cridland.net

The Hitchhikers Guide to Encoding: And Another Test...(Or PSNR and all that...)

It is one of the methods used to evaluate the effect processing has on signals and ultimately picture quality. PSNR is a derivative of the Signal to Noise Ratio comparing the maximum possible signal energy to the noise energy 1. PSNR has been shown to have a high correlation to subjective picture quality eyeballs when a single codec is used and cross-references between sequences are not made 2. - bbc.co.uk

The Hitchhikers Guide to Encoding: Mostly Testing (Or how to set up an encoder test)

Wednesday So what testing do we do and how do we do it Removing Variables Ideally the only variable in a test should be the device actually being tested. In a delivery chain with domestic devices from many manufacturers this is not as easy as it sounds and testing every combination of is just not possible. - bbc.co.uk

Get rid of BBC Trust, says Greg Dyke |Media |guardian.co.uk

He said that the BBC Trust, the corporation's governance and regulatory body, is an expensive, lumbering entity that has found itself hamstrung by the impossible dual role of attempting to regulate and champion the corporation. Dyke argued that it was more logical for Ofcom to regulate the BBC and a new board - with a non-executive chairman and executive and non-executive members - should be responsible for running the corporation. Dyke, who is leading the Conservatives' review of the creative industries, is expected to propose scrapping the licence fee in favour of funding from general taxation or via a government grant. - guardian.co.uk

Record audiences for BBCs Digital Services

BBC One remains the UK's most watched channel. Now these channels are enjoyed in the majority of British homes, delivering award-winning public service content to young audiences and a wealth of high quality arts and culture programming that the free market would simply not provide. Being Human was watched by 930,000 6.3 of 16-34s and 645,000 9.4 of 16-34s tuned in to Russell Howard's Good News. - bbc.co.uk

BBC criticised over HD picture quality -TV Radio, Media - The Independent

The BBC's high-definition HD television service has lost its pin-sharp pictures, viewers are claiming. Hundreds of complaints have been posted online saying that broadcasts became fuzzy and grainy after the Corporation lowered the bitrate of its HD encoding technology from 16 megabytes to 9.7MB. The BBC has been accused of stifling the criticism by closing user forums on its websites that contained negative comments from viewers. - independent.co.uk

www.independent.co.uk

E4 Goes HD - but only for Sky viewers

A decade of BBC Digital

As we head into the next decade and decide what to call it I never liked the 'noughties', it's worth looking back over the last 10 years. Hard to believe, but at the beginning of the decade we didn't have any digital channels as viewers would recognise them today. We weren't supporting the digital channels in a way that would help them become as loved as our terrestrial channels. - bbc.co.uk

www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk

Media: X Factor; Royal privacy; Geordie Greig - 09 12 09

downloads.bbc.co.uk

Digital switch-on leaves parts of Ribble Valley with Welsh TV - Clitheroe Today

Since last week's final stage of the digital TV switchover, some Valley residents were left with Welsh television channels while others had no pictures at all. The cause of the problem appears to be a stronger signal from a transmitter 90 miles away near Denbigh, north east Wales, than the signal from the Winter Hill transmitter near Rivington. Mr David Dugdale, of Dugdales Digital, Clitheroe, was inundated with calls from residents. - clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk

Cello iViewer TV: hands-on photos! | Electricpig

Weve just got some facetime with the HDTV, so read on for pictures and details. We usually ignore the budget TVs on the supermarket shelves, but the Cello iViewer TV will makes us think twice about that next time. Yes, theyre cheap 399 for the 26-inch, 720p display and 499 for the 32 inch with full HD, not particularly thin, and only have two HDMI ports. - electricpig.co.uk

www.electricpig.co.uk

Humax Freeview HD 2010 line unveiled! - mirror.co.uk

- mirror.co.uk

www.mirror.co.uk

Humax HD-FOX T2 Freeview HD box hands-on photos! | Electricpig

Skipping through hours on a channel no longer requires a pause very second you can just whizz straight through with very smooth screen refreshes. - electricpig.co.uk

www.electricpig.co.uk

Wednesday 09 December 2009, AM

Campaign for BBC Alba on Freeview heats up

However the solution could be easier that many people think as the latest idea being considered by the BBC Trust is switching this channel to Freeview. - techwatch.co.uk

www.techwatch.co.uk

3view announces worlds first internet connected Freeview HD box - technology news - Stuff.tv

Be sure to check them out and let us know below. - stuff.tv

stuff.tv

VIDEO - Find out how to get iPlayer on Freesat

Tuesday 08 December 2009, PM

Media Talk USA: Google, Murdoch and Oprah |Media |guardian.co.uk

Jeff Jarvis is joined by two leading media figures for the December edition of the podcast. And, Oprah Winfrey confirms that she is heading to cable while Howard Stern may be heading to the net. - guardian.co.uk

Government urges BBC to consider Worldwide sell-off |Media |guardian.co.uk

BBC Worldwide the corporation has discovered it is on the list of assets the government is considering selling. According to sources, the BBC discovered just a couple of weeks ago that its commercial arm which had annual revenues of about 1bn last year was on the list. This puts more political pressure on the BBC following a promise by the prime minister, Gordon Brown, yesterday to name and shame publicly-funded organisations that pay excessive salaries. - guardian.co.uk

Michael Grade attacks BBC tactics in licence fee debate |Media |guardian.co.uk

Michael Grade 'the trust got the choreography wrong'. The trust is there to represent the interests of the licence fee payers. I quite understand the director general and the executive of the BBC coming out and firing in every direction against top-slicing. - guardian.co.uk

Tuesday 08 December 2009, AM

EBU General Assembly Endorses Hybrid Broadcast Broadband, Calls for Common Approach | InteractiveTV Today

It allows applications to determine whether or not an IP connection is possible i.e. whether or not the receiver incorporates the necessary hardware and software and whether or not such a connection is actually available i.e. whether or not the user has connected the receiver to their home network. - itvt.com

www.itvt.com

The Hitchhikers Guide to Encoding: So Many Tests, and Thanks for All the Recommendations (Or th

Tuesday Many posts have mentioned EBU documents and recommendations. The BBC is a founder and very active member of the EBU. I am extremely proud to work with the experts in BBC RD and for the opportunity to contribute to the work they do. - bbc.co.uk

Monday 07 December 2009, PM

Government Consults on Proposed Modifications to draft text of Final Undertakings to Reduce Sky Stake in

The page you're looking for might have been moved. Its name might have changed, or it might be temporarily unavailable. Try searching Enter your subject's keywords into the search box at the top of the page. - tradingmarkets.com

www.tradingmarkets.com

New pressure for Ofcom to adjust top salaries : | OfcomWatch |

www.ofcomwatch.co.uk

Digital radio stations off go air after technical glitch |Media |guardian.co.uk

Digital radio listeners lost commercial radio stations including Classic FM when they went off air across the country yesterday because of technical problems. Listeners reported problems on the digital audio broadcasting DAB platform just before 10am. All of the broadcasters were back on air by midday, according to listeners. - guardian.co.uk

Monday 07 December 2009, AM

BT pension deficit: what should Ofcom do? : | OfcomWatch |

www.ofcomwatch.co.uk

Viewers must wait for HD Freeview boxes | This is Money

It aims to roll out the service to almost half of all households by the time of the football World Cup in June. Freeview, at present used by more than 18m households, aims to reach 98.5 of the population by the end of the digital switchover in 2012. However, the new set-top boxes necessary to receive the service will not be on sale until February 2010 at the earliest and customers with HD-ready televisions will have to buy a new set-top box, likely to be priced at about 70, to receive the channels. - thisismoney.co.uk

www.thisismoney.co.uk

BBC satellite HD quality causes controversy

This led to complaints from satellite viewers about the picture quality, so the broadcaster is now evaluating technical demonstrations of the service. The codec installed in August is actually an improvement on the earlier codec, and although the bitrate is lower, it has been shown in tests that it gives at the same, and maybe an even better level of quality. A technical problem that did cause issues with picture quality immediately after the new codec was installed has been resolved. - hdtv-news.co.uk

www.hdtv-news.co.uk

Friday 04 December 2009, PM

Humax launches UKs first Freeview HD set-top box - Which? News

Toshiba is reportedly working on a Freeview HD set-top box with built-in recordable Blu-ray drive. A definitive launch date is yet to be confirmed, but the Toshiba box is likely to launch in 2010. - which.co.uk

www.which.co.uk

Friday 04 December 2009, AM

The Hitchhikers Guide to Encoding: Before we start

Before I start, it's worth saying encoder testing takes a long time because it's not just about picture quality. Before any testing starts a new encoder is checked for full compliance with the MPEG4 standards. Then it's tested for a considerable time to make sure it's compatible with existing set top boxes from different manufacturers and with the Sky platform. - bbc.co.uk

Recent HD trial with P2P-Next project

Hi all.This is my first post on the new BBC Research and Development blog. My team, Prototyping, builds new prototypes and trials new products and services across all digital platforms. We made this available in standard definition and HD, to test the most recent trial from the P2P-Next project. - bbc.co.uk

Media Talk: Google News offers an olive branch to Rupert Murdoch

download.guardian.co.uk

Round up: Freeview HD

Yesterday's technical launch of Freeview HD was the big news in Internet Blog Towers and there's some good coverage out there. Paul Murphy is the Editor of the Internet blog. - bbc.co.uk

Distribution Core Technologies Section and DVB-T2

Over this and subsequent posts I'll aim to tell you more about the work of the various teams in the section in areas such as high definition radio cameras, video coding, white spaces and the future of radio. As part of the T2 team, I was lucky enough to be at the awards ceremony and thought I'd give some background into the work that was recognised by the award. It achieves this through a combination of more advanced modulation techniques, improved error correction coding and time interleaving as well as more efficient signalling and allocation of pilots. - bbc.co.uk

Don't be fooled by fake Freeview HD deals

www.stornowaygazette.co.uk

Thursday 03 December 2009, PM

One For All Freeview HD SV9380 TV Aerial | Electricpig

The snappily titled SV9380 has been built with digital switch over in mind and packs the latest tech to give you the best viewing options. One For Alls dual patch technology eliminates unwanted reflections by implementing differential mode in the two antenna plates. Put simply, this means a better signal and fewer errors which is especially important for HD transmissions. - electricpig.co.uk

www.electricpig.co.uk

Freeview HD is in the air, you just can t see it yet | BitterWallet

Suddenly all your favourite non-Sky One programmes are so crisp and detailed you can smell them Except you cant watch them, because nobody will sell you a household receiver yet. Unfortunately, there wont be a set-top box that can receive this new type of signal until early next year engineers are describing today as a technical launch rather than a consumer launch, which wont happen for another four months or so. - bitterwallet.com

www.bitterwallet.com

Call for BBC Alba on Freeview campaign - Stornoway Today

- stornowaygazette.co.uk

Digital signals for TV go live

- shropshirestar.com

www.shropshirestar.com

How real does TV have to be? |Television radio |guardian.co.uk

The Top Gear team had 'a bit of fun' with Norwich airport. The latest involves the Top Gear team, who, the Sun reports today, allegedly staged a stunt in which James May appeared to crash an airship, causing an emergency alert at Norwich airport. These are just the latest in a series of outcries about trust on TV. - guardian.co.uk

Homepage - projectcanvas.info

- projectcanvas.info

www.projectcanvas.info

Thursday 03 December 2009, AM

Digital TV - News - BBC mulls BBC HD picture quality demos - Digital Spy

Viewers subsequently reported various issues with picture quality on the channel, and called for the broadcaster to return it to pre-August standards. He explained that a major issue is that these people cannot see the results being produced in the BBC labs or the technical tests which have been conducted. After publicly acknowledging the problem, the BBC has worked hard to address it. - digitalspy.co.uk

www.digitalspy.co.uk

BBC HD quality better than ever | Broadband TV News

I think unfortunately what has happens is a little like in digital radio, people tend to equate the bitrate with the quality and find it very difficult to believe you can get an improved generation of coder you can actually use a smaller bitrate and still achieve the same level of quality. Plumb acknowledged there had been some initial difficulties with the first generation of encoder, which had been quickly owned up to. There was a very small issue on certain shot changes and that has been cleared and wont be an issue with Freeview HD whatsoever, he said. - broadbandtvnews.com

www.broadbandtvnews.com

Freeview HD goes live Register Hardware

With the launch today of the Freeview HD service, the UK can claim to be at the forefront of digital television - though most punters won't be able to receive the service until spring 2010. Todays launch saw services switched on at the Crystal Palace and Winter Hill transmitters, between them providing coverage for around 22-23 per cent of the UKs population. As of today, while we may have the first operational TV service in the world using the new DVB-T2 standard, there arent any receivers available to buy. - reghardware.co.uk

www.reghardware.co.uk

Wednesday 02 December 2009, PM

Peter Mandelson declares war on Rupert Murdochs media empire |Media |The Guardian

Mandelson believes that, unlike New Labour in 1997, the Tories have provided clear evidence of how they are pursuing a near identical agenda to News Corp. - guardian.co.uk