Circumventing Patientline

J G Miller wrote:
On Saturday, March 17th, 2012, at 14:15:13h +0000, Bill Wright wrote:

At the risk of annoying JG I was wondering if anyone here has
experience of any very small TV sets with built-in terrestrial
digital.

I do not understand why you think this question would annoy me

Because you've complained about me asking people for any hints and tips
on techy subjects.


The question is, how big does the TV screen need to be?

Also have you considered that for the patient in question,
*if* they already have a laptop PC, then they could use that
with the purchase of a USB TV stick rather than buying a
portable digital TV?
Yes. I'll considering that. Unfortunately our small laptop is old and
slow, and the other one is far too big.


IF it really must be a portable digital TV, then have a look
at some of the models which do have USB video playback at

http://www.digitaldaffodil.co.UK/portable_freeview_tv.html
Oh! That's a good site! Thanks for that.

My main concern is that previous experience has shown that the screens
of these little TV sets radiate enough RF to make reception on the rod
aerial next to impossible.

Bill

On Saturday, March 17th, 2012, at 18:29:10h +0000, Bill Wright wrote:

Because you've complained about me asking people for any hints and tips
on techy subjects.

But that was because they were not related to TV matters for which you
would actually have got better and more advice in an appropriate newsgroup.

Unfortunately our small laptop is old and
slow, and the other one is far too big.

How old and slow and how much memory? So long as one is not
trying to do HD decoding, a PC with a CPU as slow as 600 MHZ
and at least 1 GByte of RAM can do SD TV. The fact that the
TV signal is already digital means that it works even better
than when the signal was analog and the machine had to do analog
to digital MPEG2 encoding on the fly.

Can you not borrow a DVB stick from somebody if you do not already
have one to do a test on the small old laptop?

My main concern is that previous experience has shown that the screens
of these little TV sets radiate enough RF to make reception on the rod
aerial next to impossible.

In which case do any of them have an external antenna socket to which
you could connect an indoor antenna (maybe one of those log periodic
types) for suitable placement?

I have never actually used one myself, but did observe one in action
in an consumer electronic store in a shopping center and despite all
the electrosmog and extremely bad reception conditions, the DVB-t
(64-QAM, 8k FFT) reception was rock solid whereas if it had been analog
it would have been suffering multipath ghosting and picture distortion
as shoppers walked by so I was most impressed at the robustness of reception.

J G Miller wrote:
On Saturday, March 17th, 2012, at 18:29:10h +0000, Bill Wright wrote:

Because you've complained about me asking people for any hints and tips
on techy subjects.

But that was because they were not related to TV matters for which you
would actually have got better and more advice in an appropriate newsgroup.
Ah, but I know the people here. If I went to a strange newsgroup I've
would have no way of discriminating between the idiots and those with
knowledge.
There are those here whose word and judgement I trust.


Unfortunately our small laptop is old and
slow, and the other one is far too big.

How old and slow and how much memory? So long as one is not
trying to do HD decoding, a PC with a CPU as slow as 600 MHZ
and at least 1 GByte of RAM can do SD TV. The fact that the
TV signal is already digital means that it works even better
than when the signal was analog and the machine had to do analog
to digital MPEG2 encoding on the fly.

Can you not borrow a DVB stick from somebody if you do not already
have one to do a test on the small old laptop?
OK. Sounds like a plan. I'll dig her out and crank the handle and see if
if I can get her to fire up. If so I'll try a DVB stick. The signal
input is likely to be a problem, whatever I do.


My main concern is that previous experience has shown that the screens
of these little TV sets radiate enough RF to make reception on the rod
aerial next to impossible.

In which case do any of them have an external antenna socket to which
you could connect an indoor antenna (maybe one of those log periodic
types) for suitable placement?
It's a problem in hospital. They really don't like wires and things. It
depends on the ward to some extent.


I have never actually used one myself, but did observe one in action
in an consumer electronic store in a shopping center and despite all
the electrosmog and extremely bad reception conditions, the DVB-t
(64-QAM, 8k FFT) reception was rock solid whereas if it had been analog
it would have been suffering multipath ghosting and picture distortion
as shoppers walked by so I was most impressed at the robustness of reception.
Yes, well if the field strength is good enough it can be remarkable. It
is possible to drive along the motorway and have the kids watching telly
in back.

Bill

Whatever its called it is likely to go bust again unless they make a more
reasonable charge for the services than the last attempt to print money.
Brian

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"David Woolley" wrote in message
...
Bill Wright wrote:

Subject: Circumventing Patientline

Patientline went bust; do you mean Hospedia?

Yes I had to laugh the other day when an ex chief exec of a hospital trust
said exactly that after coming out of hospital. One assumes as she had been
in charge she must have been party to the installation in the first place.
Double standards or what? Its almost as bad as hospital car parking charges.
Brian

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Brian Gaff -
Note:- In order to reduce spam, any email without 'Brian Gaff'
in the display name may be lost.
Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Bill Wright" wrote in message
...
David Woolley wrote:
Bill Wright wrote:

Subject: Circumventing Patientline

Patientline went bust; do you mean Hospedia?

I was using it as a generic term. Although the equipment is still, of
course, labelled Patientline, and the staff refer to the service as "That
Patientline thing" when they advise people not to use it on grounds of
cost and the tiny low resolution picture.

Bill

Brian Gaff wrote:
Yes I had to laugh the other day when an ex chief exec of a hospital
trust said exactly that after coming out of hospital. One assumes as
she had been in charge she must have been party to the installation
in the first place. Double standards or what? Its almost as bad as
hospital car parking charges. Brian

There's another way of looking at those, though. Why shouldn't hospital
patients and their visitors pay a little bit more for facilities that
they are the ones using? They're the ones who are benefitting from the
medical treatment after all, and a substantial proportion of the money
raised goes back into hospital funds.

The alternative is for the NHS to become a car park company establishing
and running free or subsidised car parks all over the place not only for
the patients but their sisters and their cousins and their aunts as
well. If there are limited funds available to the NHS, as there always
are, isn't it better that those funds should be spent on medical
facilities rather than running car parks?

On Sunday, March 18th, 2012, at 01:53:58h +0000, Bill Wright wrote:

Ah, but I know the people here.

Which proves the point that you treat the newsgroup as
your own personal forum. ;+)

If I went to a strange newsgroup I've would have no way of
discriminating between the idiots and those with knowledge.

A person of your experience of the world soon knows when somebody
is behaving like an idiot and you discriminate on that basis with
new posters in this newsgroup as well.

There are those here whose word and judgement I trust.

I do not doubt it. You trust your doctor no doubt, but you
would not go to him for legal advice.

I'll dig her out and crank the handle and see if if I can get her
to fire up. If so I'll try a DVB stick. The signal
input is likely to be a problem, whatever I do.

Signal input is always a problem for these things be it DVB sticks
or portable televisions.

It's a problem in hospital. They really don't like wires and things.

Unless they are attaching them to the patient!

It depends on the ward to some extent.

No doubt your charm and wit will smooth the way with the one
in charge of the ward and ensure that safety regulation regarding
trailing cables are not contravened!

It is possible to drive along the motorway and have the kids
watching telly in back.

Who would have thought is possible ten or more years ago?
(Not just the technology but the economics as well.)

Just having an AM radio in the car was at one point a luxury for
many people.

In message , J G Miller
writes

Who would have thought is possible ten or more years ago?
(Not just the technology but the economics as well.)

Just having an AM radio in the car was at one point a luxury for
many people.

Just having a car was a luxury, when I were a lad we had to make do with
the bus.

--
Bill
( A different one )

In article , Norman Wells
wrote:
Brian Gaff wrote:
Yes I had to laugh the other day when an ex chief exec of a hospital
trust said exactly that after coming out of hospital. One assumes as
she had been in charge she must have been party to the installation in
the first place. Double standards or what? Its almost as bad as
hospital car parking charges. Brian

There's another way of looking at those, though. Why shouldn't hospital
patients and their visitors pay a little bit more for facilities that
they are the ones using?

The answer may depend on various conditionals: e.g.s...

1) How much is "a little bit" in a given case.

2) Did the patient have any free choice about ending up in the hospital bed
and being too ill to leave? Or about being depressed, anxious, and in pain,
possiblt also confused, and thus may find the distraction, etc, of TV or
radio beneficial.

They may simply not be in "free market" situation beyond "take it or leave
it". Nor does it seem decent to me for people in such cases to be viewed as
a 'revenue stream' by quasi-monopoly concerns who have made deals over
their heads.

They're the ones who are benefitting from the medical treatment after
all, and a substantial proportion of the money raised goes back into
hospital funds.

Claiming "They're the ones benefitting" rather overlooks other issues.

e.g. By making them well, they may then return to being a productive member
of our society/economy. So we may *all* benefit from them being treated in
hospital. And in reality, a big part of 'treatment' comes down to how you
are *treated* by the people and environment. [The hint here is in the
word.]

Getting people better isn't simply a matter of shoving medication down them
- although you could be forgiven for thinking so, considering how badly
many people are treated in some hospitals or care homes. Hence having
access to things like TV or radio may well both benefit them *and* save us
money by cutting the time and cost of their stay in the hospital. They may
get better sooner, and use up less 'medical' resources while in hospital.
Pretty much the same argument as the one for ensuring people are fed
decently whilst there... another part of treatment that affects outcome.

The alternative is for the NHS to become a car park company establishing
and running free or subsidised car parks all over the place not only
for the patients but their sisters and their cousins and their aunts as
well. If there are limited funds available to the NHS, as there always
are, isn't it better that those funds should be spent on medical
facilities rather than running car parks?

Its a nice rhetorical question, based on a presumed dichotomy. But the
reality is that such 'non medical' things may well have an impact on the
medical side, and the outcome, and how soon people can get back to being
involved in society. Life isn't always as simple as the rhetorical
questions politicians like to 'ask'.

Slainte,

Jim

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On Sun, 18 Mar 2012 13:27:13 +0000, Bill
wrote:

In message , J G Miller
writes

Who would have thought is possible ten or more years ago?
(Not just the technology but the economics as well.)

Just having an AM radio in the car was at one point a luxury for
many people.

Just having a car was a luxury, when I were a lad we had to make do with
the bus.

When I was a lad we had to walk. The bus couldn't get up the rough
stone track!

Steve

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