The switchoff begins ...

tony sayer wrote:

It could be but it wont be, not as we know it Jim;!..

I know what it can be like, I seen what it should and can be like at an
eletronic show.



Who the hell wants forty or so stations? We have not even got the
content to fill 5 stations, never mind forty.


Yes and thats very relevant. Good TV programming costs MONEY and if you
want good TV than its going to cost, and where's the loot coming from
other than the licence fee?. The advert cake isn't really growing except
that is being cut to feed more of the hungry....


It is this multichannel crap that is the problem.



I know it is true, that is whay I said it.



I agree too... Digital is a devalued word now;(..


It is, it bloody well is.
I know CDs are fine and all that, no crackles or rumble from the
tunrtable, but I still prfer the sound of a record, there is something
about it.

"Kev" wrote in message
...
Max Demian said the following on 2005-03-30 10:08:
"JB" wrote in message

Great! Are we all going to get free PVRs when analogue switches off? If
not,
it's not a very realistic trial.

IIRC the intention of this trial was more of a technical trial to find
all the shortcomings that would be involved and any problems that would
be thrown up, and once viewers were forced onto digital (as everyone in
borders will be in 3 years time) to find out what they liked and if
there were any further problems.

If you want a free PVR from the government, i take it you would be happy
to see an extra £200 or so on your council tax bill, increased income
tax, increased VAT and reduced general benefits to yourself (if you
recive them) to pay for it?

Kev

Have you forgotten the millions that The Treasury will gain from sell-off?
This could be used to fund changeover.


--
MESSAGE ENDS.
John Porcella

"Ad" wrote in message
...
John Porcella wrote:


There is little motivation at the moment for the HA to do
anything...yet.
They will have to when the existing system becomes totally obsolete.

No they will not have to, there is no law to say they will have to.

They will have to due to pressure from residents.


--
MESSAGE ENDS.
John Porcella

John Porcella wrote:
"Ad" wrote in message
...

John Porcella wrote:


There is little motivation at the moment for the HA to do

anything...yet.

They will have to when the existing system becomes totally obsolete.


No they will not have to, there is no law to say they will have to.


They will have to due to pressure from residents.


We will see what happens, but what ever happens, it is not helping tha
couple of people that wants digital now.

On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 20:57:22 +0000 (UTC), "John Porcella"
wrote:


"Kev" wrote in message
...
Max Demian said the following on 2005-03-30 10:08:
"JB" wrote in message

Great! Are we all going to get free PVRs when analogue switches off? If
not,
it's not a very realistic trial.

IIRC the intention of this trial was more of a technical trial to find
all the shortcomings that would be involved and any problems that would
be thrown up, and once viewers were forced onto digital (as everyone in
borders will be in 3 years time) to find out what they liked and if
there were any further problems.

If you want a free PVR from the government, i take it you would be happy
to see an extra £200 or so on your council tax bill, increased income
tax, increased VAT and reduced general benefits to yourself (if you
recive them) to pay for it?

Kev

Have you forgotten the millions that The Treasury will gain from sell-off?
This could be used to fund changeover.

But then what would be the point in changing over if The Treasury
spent the money it got from the sale of spectrum back to people to buy
set top boxes??

Ben wrote:
.. Come to think if it, does anyone actually know of anyone
who's bought something from a freeview shopping channel?

I have purchased several items from QVC and found them (the items, and
QVC) to be entirely satisfactory.

They are also one of the few, if not the only, places that offer a 30
day money back guarantee on Freeview boxes (Argos exclude them from
their 16 day return period) which is quite useful if buying for a
location you're not sure gets Freeview.

(Obviously you have to check the website or use QVC on Sky/Cable if you
aren't watching them on Freeview)

I also know somebody who expresses satisfaction with Bid-Up/Down.

Owain

In message , Owain
writes
Ben wrote:
.. Come to think if it, does anyone actually know of anyone who's
bought something from a freeview shopping channel?

I have purchased several items from QVC and found them (the items, and
QVC) to be entirely satisfactory.

They are also one of the few, if not the only, places that offer a 30
day money back guarantee on Freeview boxes (Argos exclude them from
their 16 day return period) which is quite useful if buying for a
location you're not sure gets Freeview.

(Obviously you have to check the website or use QVC on Sky/Cable if you
aren't watching them on Freeview)

I also know somebody who expresses satisfaction with Bid-Up/Down.

Owain

I tried to buy from QVC, but they used a courier called "Reality", who
were strangely detached from it.

I never did get the item.

Bid-up were very efficient, and even quickly replaced a faulty item.

( No, I don't work for them ).
--
Ian.

Mike Henry wrote:



There is no way a set top box will be below £10.


DVD players can be had in supermarkets now for around £25, and they
contain LASERs and moving parts. Contrast with complete DTT-on-a-chip

But the market is there, Most countries use DVD. so they can afford to
sell them cheap. the other problem is quality. some of these DVD players
are naff.


STBs. Given that, it is not outside the realms of possibility to have
DTT STBs for £10 in five years' time.


It will not happen, the market is not as big as the DVD market and
anyway, if the manufactures know that people have to buy a box or a
IDTV, they will stick the price up.

Ben wrote:

In concept yes, but sadly not here. a plasma screen will show digital
better than it would show analouge, that is because the resolution of
plasma is so crap

Eh? Unless you've bought a dodgy 480-line NTSC model then the resolution
of a plasma is way higher than the CRTs you can currently buy in the UK.

Then why are they so crap then?


Over 70% of programms that are shown on T.V ar not widescreen.


Not on the main 5 channels, its more like over 70% *are* in widescreen.

Then you should look at Ch 5. BBC is not too badm, they show a fair bit
of widescreen stuff. ITV is getting better.


DAB is awful, it is far worse than FM. The bit rates are far too low.
I would not even have mp3's with bit rates that low.


You won't get many people here arguing with that.

Good.


Maybe your mother have just got a small radio stuck in the kitchen, in
which case, she would not notice the quality though the naf speakers
that are normally in these things.


I've got one of those Pure Evoke kitchen radio thingys with the small
speaker in and thats the only reason I can stand to listen to DAB.

Right. I got a new hi-fi system a few months back and had the choice of
a DAB or FM/am tuner, I went for the FM/AM, much better quality, well
the FM is anyway.
since FM will not be switched off for say another 100years or so, I
think I made the right choice.

Ben wrote:


Exactly, we need fewer stations in better quality. Either higher MPEG2
bitrates, or HDTV with H264.

HDTV is too expensive and people will have to buy new T.Vs. It is
possible to have higher quality on the system we got.


That will free up enough bandwidth to improve the quality.


This has been said before and sounds very appealing, but it seems that
the money all these crappy shopping channels pay for their bandwidth is
what helps keep freeview going. We could vote with our feet (so to
speak) and simply not buy stuff from them (I never even watch them, let
alone buy anything, so I've done my bit) but there seem to be enough
people who do. Come to think if it, does anyone actually know of anyone
who's bought something from a freeview shopping channel?

I only watch QVC now and again, just for a laugh.
My brother got some classical CDs of Bid up T.V and said he will never
do it again.
They was suppose to call back in half and hour, but it was over 2 hours
before they did, my brother was out.
Eventully they called a couple of days later.



People should not have to rely on sky to get T.V, since Sky could
block the cards to anyone who do nto subscribe.


Couldn't agree more. I think before analogue switchoff all the channels
with public service obligations should be made to go free to air on
satellite like the BBC has done.


I agree was well, the only problem is that not everyone are allowed to
have a dish. The problems I had trying to get a dish was amazing. I had
to write three letters, then I had to wait, then I had to write another
three letters, then they had to come and have a look where the dish
would be.
The strange thing is, people have already got dishes around here. Not
many, but a few.


I almost gave up, I wish I did now.