Ofcom and the Giant Digital Dividend
 

"Mark Carver" wrote in message
oups.com
On Mar 29, 3:51 pm, Dave Farrance
wrote:
wrote:
...
Ofcom quote results of market research, saying that HDTV is a
marginal interest compared with more elaborate mobile services. ...

It seems to me that many of the UHF preamps and DVB receivers
currently on the market are not too clever at handling strong
signals on adjacent channels. So what's going to happen when a UHF
mobile broadcasts in the same room as a DVB receiver?

That is exactly one of the BBC's concerns about the possible 'non
broadcast' use of the UHF spectrum.

This is the same thing that happened when VHF (405 line) TV was switched
off. It was "supposed" [1] to be used for two more 625 line stations.

[1] Well the Philips VCRs of the day had two extra presets for VHF TV.

--
Max Demian

Ofcom and the Giant Digital Dividend
 

Dave Farrance wrote:
wrote:

...
Ofcom quote results of market research, saying that HDTV is a
marginal interest compared with more elaborate mobile services. ...

It seems to me that many of the UHF preamps and DVB receivers
currently on the market are not too clever at handling strong signals
on adjacent channels. So what's going to happen when a UHF mobile
broadcasts in the same room as a DVB receiver?


The Digital Dividend spectrum is in two blocks:

Channels 31 - 40 (excl. 36 and 38)
Channels 63 - 68

so there's actually only 3 channels that could possibly be adjacent to
channels used for mobile TV, and these channels at the edge of the
continguous blocks might not be used for mobile TV, because they could be
used for, say, WiMAX.


--
Steve - www.digitalradiotech.co.uk - Digital Radio News & Info

Find the cheapest Freeview & DAB prices:
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/fr..._receivers.php
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/dab/dab_radios.php

Ofcom and the Giant Digital Dividend
 

Mark Carver wrote:
On Mar 29, 3:51 pm, Dave Farrance
wrote:
wrote:
...
Ofcom quote results of market research, saying that HDTV is a
marginal interest compared with more elaborate mobile services. ...

It seems to me that many of the UHF preamps and DVB receivers
currently on the market are not too clever at handling strong
signals on adjacent channels. So what's going to happen when a UHF
mobile broadcasts in the same room as a DVB receiver?

That is exactly one of the BBC's concerns about the possible 'non
broadcast' use of the UHF spectrum.


They would say that, wouldn't they.


--
Steve - www.digitalradiotech.co.uk - Digital Radio News & Info

Find the cheapest Freeview & DAB prices:
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/fr..._receivers.php
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/dab/dab_radios.php

Ofcom and the Giant Digital Dividend
 

DAB is the Betamax of digital radio wrote:
Dave Farrance wrote:
wrote:

...
Ofcom quote results of market research, saying that HDTV is a
marginal interest compared with more elaborate mobile services. ...

It seems to me that many of the UHF preamps and DVB receivers
currently on the market are not too clever at handling strong signals
on adjacent channels. So what's going to happen when a UHF mobile
broadcasts in the same room as a DVB receiver?


The Digital Dividend spectrum is in two blocks:

Channels 31 - 40 (excl. 36 and 38)
Channels 63 - 68

so there's actually only 3 channels that could possibly be adjacent to
channels used for mobile TV, and these channels at the edge of the
*continguous* blocks might not be used for mobile TV, because they
could be used for, say, WiMAX.


contiguous


--
Steve - www.digitalradiotech.co.uk - Digital Radio News & Info

Find the cheapest Freeview & DAB prices:
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/fr..._receivers.php
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/dab/dab_radios.php

Ofcom and the Giant Digital Dividend
 

I'm glad to have stirred such an enlightened debate. It's also good to
see the fondness without which the Thatcher years are remembered.
Immense indifference to the views of the public coupled with a
meltdown of social values in favour of self-obsessive capitalism - oh
those were the days.

I clearly remember the euphoria with which the end of Tory rule was
greeted a few years later. "Things can only get better" was the anthem
of the day. I remember waking up with a hungover smile, too few hours
after switching off the election special. But how much has changed for
the better in the intervening years?

In terms of TV, have we really moved a long way forward from those
dark (quite literally once the last evening broacast ended) days? For
the price of our TV licence, our aerials now bring us 4 or 5 channels.
Any more than that requires extra equipment (a Freeview box, cable box
or satellite receiver). For a good variety of channels we also need to
pay a subscription fee, to a choice of - erm - now there's a thing.
What choice is there? BSkyB for satellite or Virgin Media for cable.
Surely that's not what was envisaged when the digital broadcasting age
dawned? Consumer choice - the right to vote with purse or wallet has
been stifled by the lack of competition in the broadcast market.

I think it is fundamental to a country's ability to entertain, educate
and generally inform its public, that a good variety of high quality
programming should be available as a public service. As technology
moves on, so the quality expected of programming moves with it. This
expectation extends beyond acting, presenting and directorial skills
to the very quality of the picture and sound being broadcast. Hence
the massive take-up of HDTVs in the UK.

Handing the responsibility for high definition broadcasting over to
the twin monopolies of BSkyB and Virgin Media is like asking the
Romans to look after your vicar.

If Ofcom's proposals go ahead and the digital dividend ends up with
the freed bandwidth being auctioned off to the greediest buyers, the
future of HDTV broadcast in the UK will be a bleak one.

Ofcom and the Giant Digital Dividend
 

Mike Henry wrote:

See above. It's taken many years, but finally it is getting harder to
find stupid analogue-only TVs in the shops now. Although I continue to
despair at analogue-only TVs still being on sale a full EIGHT YEARS
after the launch of DTT, and people buying them out of ignorance with
the salesman knowing they'll be back.


What about people who just want a cheap CRT TV and who have a perfectly
good digital receiver, or more than one, already? I don't really want
an expensive, flat panel, HD ready thing at the moment but in many shops
that seems to be all there is.

Stewart

Ofcom and the Giant Digital Dividend
 

hdtvexpert wrote:

I clearly remember the euphoria with which the end of Tory rule was
greeted a few years later. "Things can only get better" was the anthem
of the day. I remember waking up with a hungover smile, too few hours
after switching off the election special. But how much has changed for
the better in the intervening years?

Blair and the New Labour project had near universal goodwill to create a
better fairer society, but it's been ten wasted years frittered away in
sleaze, lies and spin that makes the Major government look like a bunch
of 5 year olds scheming in the school playground.

In terms of TV, have we really moved a long way forward from those
dark (quite literally once the last evening broacast ended) days? For
the price of our TV licence, our aerials now bring us 4 or 5 channels.
Any more than that requires extra equipment (a Freeview box, cable box
or satellite receiver). For a good variety of channels we also need to
pay a subscription fee, to a choice of - erm - now there's a thing.

A sub-£30 Freeview box will get you 12-15 free channels with a
reasonable level of programme content. Or rent a DVD. Otherwise, go and
do something more interesting instead... :-)

Handing the responsibility for high definition broadcasting over to
the twin monopolies of BSkyB and Virgin Media is like asking the
Romans to look after your vicar.

Perhaps now that ITV/Setanta have prised Premiership and FA Cup football
from the BBC/Sky duopoly we'll see a new beginning. Assuming ITV don't
go bust in the process, perhaps we'll see their games in HD, which will
jump start wider availability of FTA HD.

If Ofcom's proposals go ahead and the digital dividend ends up with
the freed bandwidth being auctioned off to the greediest buyers, the
future of HDTV broadcast in the UK will be a bleak one.

If HDTV is confined to satellite/cable delivery, within 10 years the
entire UHF spectrum will be lost to television. That might just be part
of the long term master plan.

Peter

Ofcom and the Giant Digital Dividend
 

Peter Hayes wrote:
hdtvexpert wrote:

I clearly remember the euphoria with which the end of Tory rule was
greeted a few years later. "Things can only get better" was the
anthem of the day. I remember waking up with a hungover smile, too
few hours after switching off the election special. But how much has
changed for the better in the intervening years?

Blair and the New Labour project had near universal goodwill to
create a better fairer society, but it's been ten wasted years
frittered away in sleaze, lies and spin that makes the Major
government look like a bunch of 5 year olds scheming in the school
playground.


I didn't know 5 year olds practised autoasphyxiation whilst wearing a gimp
outfit? And what's the 5-year-old equivalent of Jeffery Archer's antics, I
wonder?



--
Steve - www.digitalradiotech.co.uk - Digital Radio News & Info

Find the cheapest Freeview & DAB prices:
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/fr..._receivers.php
http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/dab/dab_radios.php

Ofcom and the Giant Digital Dividend
 

"hdtvexpert" wrote:
I'm glad to have stirred such an enlightened debate.

"DAB is the Betamax of digital radio" [email protected] wrote:
I didn't know 5 year olds practised autoasphyxiation whilst wearing a gimp
outfit? And what's the 5-year-old equivalent of Jeffery Archer's antics, I
wonder?

It's good to see that the enlightened debate continues :)


Tim
web: http://www.hdtvexpert.co.uk
blog: http://hdtvexpert.blobspot.com

Ofcom and the Giant Digital Dividend
 

Mike Henry wrote:
That's helped make my point - many of those expensive, flat panel, HD
ready things are analogue-only! Boggle! HD ready (and some of them true
1920x1080 HD) too! It would be a bit like buying a NICAM stereo TV in
the 1990s, only to fixed it's black and white.

To carry the HD Ready logo, a TV must have at least one HDMI input.
This is capable of carrying a digital signal in full, uncompressed
high definition format. I think what you are referring to is that some
TVs have a built-in digital TV (DVB) decoder whereas others rely on an
external decoder?