Freeview on UHF Channel 36?
 

What percentage of viewers still use channel 36 for their VCR etc.? With new
Freeview slots now going for millions of pounds each, UHF Channel 36 could
start a goldrush. SCART connection is now the norm, old VCR's will mainly
have been discarded, and new VCR's don't use Channel 36 anyway. The "Channel
5 retuning" process could be repeated, but things have moved on since 1997,
and we might find that most viewers didn't even need retuning. Most Freeview
receivers are now 8k capable (for single frequency networks) so 6 to 8 new
national TV channels could be advertised. What are the chances that we could
get away with using UHF Channel 36 for Freeview?

In article , Stephen
writes
What percentage of viewers still use channel 36 for their VCR etc.? With new
Freeview slots now going for millions of pounds each, UHF Channel 36 could
start a goldrush. SCART connection is now the norm, old VCR's will mainly
have been discarded, and new VCR's don't use Channel 36 anyway. The "Channel
5 retuning" process could be repeated, but things have moved on since 1997,
and we might find that most viewers didn't even need retuning. Most Freeview
receivers are now 8k capable (for single frequency networks) so 6 to 8 new
national TV channels could be advertised. What are the chances that we could
get away with using UHF Channel 36 for Freeview?


I don't agree that SCART is now the norm. Many people still use the RF
connection between their VCR (and DVD!) and TV. Not to mention the
people who use RF distribution in their house to run Sky etc to TVs in
other rooms.

I don't know what the national percentage is. Based on the people I
know, it's at least 25%.

It's true that most devices can now be retuned in software, but most
people who use RF connections don't have the knowhow to do it.
--
Tim Mitchell

"Paul Martin" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Stephen wrote:
What percentage of viewers still use channel 36 for their VCR etc.? With
new
Freeview slots now going for millions of pounds each, UHF Channel 36
could
start a goldrush.
...
What are the chances that we could get away with using UHF Channel 36
for Freeview?

Precisely nil. Channel 36 is not part of any broadcast band. Its
allocated purpose is radio astronomy, and lies between Bands IV and V.

--

Ha!

So that new, distant planet they claimed to have found is actually shash
from my video recorder, then?
--
Regds,

Russell W. B.
http://www.huttonrow.co.uk

Please replace appropriate text with punctuation to reply!

Paul Martin wrote:

Precisely nil. Channel 36 is not part of any broadcast band. Its
allocated purpose is radio astronomy, and lies between Bands IV and V.

You're thinking of Channel 38. The primary allocation[1] in 590 - 598
MHz (ch. 36) is still aeronautical radionavigation, although whether any
of the old high-power 50cm airfield radars are still operating I'm not sure.

[1] http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/i...at/fat2004.pdf

--
Andy

In article , Russell W. Barnes
wrote:
What are the chances that we could get away with using UHF Channel 36
for Freeview?

Precisely nil. Channel 36 is not part of any broadcast band. Its
allocated purpose is radio astronomy, and lies between Bands IV and V.

--

Ha!

So that new, distant planet they claimed to have found is actually shash
from my video recorder, then?

That's probably why they haven't announced it as the discovery of
"intelligent life".

Rod.

Russell W. Barnes wrote:

What percentage of viewers still use channel 36 for their VCR
etc.? With new Freeview slots now going for millions of pounds
each, UHF Channel 36 could start a goldrush.
...
What are the chances that we could get away with using UHF
Channel 36 for Freeview?

Precisely nil. Channel 36 is not part of any broadcast band. Its
allocated purpose is radio astronomy, and lies between Bands IV and
V.

Ha!

So that new, distant planet they claimed to have found is actually
shash from my video recorder, then?


It must be fun setting up the an Rx antennae to remove all the RF spewed
out by the video recorders and set-top boxes tuned to channels 36 and
38.

Most of stray RF coming from those cheap coax leads manufacturers
insist in supplying.

J

Stephen wrote:
"Paul Martin" wrote in message

That's Channel 38, which is used at high power in the rest of Europe even
though they have Radio Astronomy observatories as well. I read somewhere
that the reason Channel 38 was kept clear was because it was used by the
United States secret service for bugging devices and the like, and that
"Radio Astronomy" was a cover story. Although the U.S. still keeps this
channel clear (it's actually American Channel 37), the reasons for keeping
it clear in the U.K. are probably no longer relevant. I think we could use
UHF Channel 38 for Freeview.

Ch 38 was at one stage proposed for a DTT mux on the Channel Islands, but to
date has not been used (also there's still not any DTT service there)

AIUI Ch39 (C5 analogue) from Sandy Heath is deliberately restricted in the
direction of a radio astronomy site to the south west of Cambridge, to avoid
any adjacent channel problems ?


--
Mark
Please replace invalid and invalid with gmx and net to reply.

Andy Wade wrote:

The primary allocation[1] in 590 - 598
MHz (ch. 36) is still aeronautical radionavigation, although whether
any of the old high-power 50cm airfield radars are still operating I'm
not sure.

The last NATS 50cm radar in England was at St Anne's radar station near
Blackpool. It was taken out of service in 1998. IIRR there was one
other in the UK, near Edinburgh, but I think that has gone too now.
There were some 50cm radars at military airfields too. I don't know
whether they're still in use.

--
Richard Lamont

Stephen wrote:

What percentage of viewers still use channel 36 for their VCR etc.?
With new Freeview slots now going for millions of pounds each, UHF
Channel 36 could start a goldrush. SCART connection is now the norm,
old VCR's will mainly have been discarded, and new VCR's don't use
Channel 36 anyway. The "Channel 5 retuning" process could be repeated,
but things have moved on since 1997, and we might find that most
viewers didn't even need retuning. Most Freeview receivers are now 8k
capable (for single frequency networks) so 6 to 8 new national TV
channels could be advertised. What are the chances that we could
get away with using UHF Channel 36 for Freeview?

Ch. 36 is still allocated to radar, although relatively little used now
AFAIK.

If I was running five, I would want to talk to Ofcom about
re-engineering Ch.35 as a DTT SFN. When they got this assignment, it
increased their analogue coverage from 70% to 80% of the poulation. But
now over 60% of the population has digital TV of some sort, so removing
the analogue Ch.35 signal would presumably remove five coverage from
less than 4% of the population. An SFN digital multiplex could reach
much more than this overnight, from just a handful of the most
important TX sites.


--
Richard Lamont

"Stephen" wrote in message
...
What percentage of viewers still use channel 36 for their VCR etc.? With
new
Freeview slots now going for millions of pounds each, UHF Channel 36 could
start a goldrush. SCART connection is now the norm, old VCR's will mainly
have been discarded, and new VCR's don't use Channel 36 anyway. The
"Channel
5 retuning" process could be repeated, but things have moved on since
1997,
and we might find that most viewers didn't even need retuning. Most
Freeview
receivers are now 8k capable (for single frequency networks) so 6 to 8 new
national TV channels could be advertised. What are the chances that we
could
get away with using UHF Channel 36 for Freeview?

None, or at least not just yet.

There are too many with VCRs and old OD/ITVD boxes.


--
MESSAGE ENDS.
John Porcella