ITV and the BBC are to launch a free digital satellite service

^^artnada^^ wrote:
Things could get very interesting over the next year or 2.

----

ITV and the BBC are to launch a free digital satellite service in a
long-anticipated move to take on market-leading pay-TV company BSkyB.


Hallefkingluyah. I was getting worried that ITV were going to stay
encrypted.


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"s--p--o--n--i--x" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 07 Sep 2005 08:43:36 GMT, "David"
wrote:

So technically how will this work?

The ITV and BBC channels will be FTA so you'll be able to use a
receiver without a card slot.

And what about interactive text. Will it use the Sky system or the standard
European system built into all non-Sky boxes ?


They will still be broadcast from the same satellites and will still
be available on Sky receivers.

ITV/BBC are merely seeking publicity by saying that they are launching
a new "service".

sponix

"MJ Ray" wrote in message news:431eb0ea$0$32182


snip

Now, if Ceefax returns as part of this, all will be right with the
world...
MJR/slef


Hopefully also opens up the prospect of subscription free PVR boxes to end
the Sky + racket.

Time to sell Sky shares methinks!

Dave W.

In ,
David Westerman popped a head above the parapet
and announced forth in a bold strong and almost manly voice:
"MJ Ray" wrote in message news:431eb0ea$0$32182


snip

Now, if Ceefax returns as part of this, all will be right with the
world...
MJR/slef


Hopefully also opens up the prospect of subscription free PVR boxes to end
the Sky + racket.

Time to sell Sky shares methinks!

Dave W.

Definatly. This rip off should have been stopped along time ago. It's like
going into Dixons and buying a DVD recorder only to be told, "you can't use
the remote unless you pay us another £10 per month Sir".

Look out for more info soon

In uk.media.tv.sky David Westerman wrote:

: Hopefully also opens up the prospect of subscription free PVR boxes to end
: the Sky + racket.

But Sky themselves are already thinking of making Sky+ subscription free!

: Time to sell Sky shares methinks!

But all this excitment is premature! There will be no C4 and C5 for some
years and I would confidently expect that something like 95+% of DSAT viewing
will end up still being on Digiboxes (which are very cheap second-hand from
ebay etc.)!!

Agamemnon wrote:

"s--p--o--n--i--x" wrote in message
...

On Wed, 07 Sep 2005 08:43:36 GMT, "David"
wrote:

So technically how will this work?


The ITV and BBC channels will be FTA so you'll be able to use a
receiver without a card slot.


And what about interactive text. Will it use the Sky system or the
standard European system built into all non-Sky boxes ?


They will still be broadcast from the same satellites and will still
be available on Sky receivers.

ITV/BBC are merely seeking publicity by saying that they are launching
a new "service".

sponix


And what about the cost of the equipment? will I be forking out for the
receiver+ the bloody TV licence?
Graham

wrote:
"MJ Ray" wrote in message news:431eb0ea$0$32182
Now, if Ceefax returns as part of this, all will be right with the
world...

(By the way, Ceefax news is still on BBC World on some satellites,
and is the audio out of sync on Hotbird for anyone else?)

Hopefully also opens up the prospect of subscription free PVR boxes to end
the Sky + racket.

Hopefully also allows DIY PVRs like www.mythtv.org work better.

"wowfabgroovy" wrote in message
...
(s--p--o--n--i--x) went:

The ITV and BBC channels will be FTA so you'll be able to use a
receiver without a card slot.

if there's no card, how would they stop foreigners from watching it? i
thought that was why they weren't fta now. film rights or something?


The BBC has been FTA for about 2 years. When they went FTA they changed to a
satellite footprint that is more closely focused on the UK making reception in
places like Spain more difficult.

I think a few sports programmes are omitted from the satellite transmissions.

ITV's main reason for encryption was that they could target advertising to
geographic areas.

Many (maybe most) German and French programmes are FTA

--

Michael Chare

Brian McIlwrath wrote:
In uk.media.tv.sky David Westerman wrote:
: Hopefully also opens up the prospect of subscription free PVR boxes to end
: the Sky + racket.

But Sky themselves are already thinking of making Sky+ subscription free!

...and all the time they think, they're still billing people while
apologists try to placate people!

: Time to sell Sky shares methinks!

But all this excitment is premature! There will be no C4 and C5 for some
years [...]

Last September, Channel 4 bought its own space on Astra 2D for
~14 channels for 10 years at a cost of 80M EUR. I guess the
Sky encryption will be used for FilmFour for the full duration
of their Sky contract, but what's the obstacle to FTA C4 now?
If the transponder-news report about More4 is accurate, that
will be FTA from launch.

Don't care too much about five. Don't get that here now anyway.

I quite expect Sky to pull some cunning stunts in response. When they do,
let's all say "well look what fairer competition does! We need more!" ;-)

"Heracles Pollux" wrote in message
...

Well firstly, Interactive Software should have been developed using a common
standard, not the closed "open TV" proprietary system.

Yes I agree.


Secondly, Interactive TV isn't really interactive TV since its too slow for
gaming and "interactivity" and is mainly good for "channel switching".

I would happily argue that 'Interactive' is a misnomer since there is no return
path to the originator.


If broadcasters want to make people switch channels, there is no reason why
they can't do it the same way Freeview / DTT does it with some high-band
channel numbers like 701, 702, 705, allocated to alternate screens.


The BBC have similar satellite channels which they used during Wimbledon and
Glastonbury. You can view them with a Non Sky receiver.

--

Michael Chare