Hows this for an idea so old people ok with Digital TV.

On Thu, 3 Dec 2009 22:18:55 -0000, "Graham." wrote:


Put BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 CH4 and Five onto one channel/Mux then we can tune
only this one in for them and they will be happy with digital only giving the 5 stations they are used to.

No, ye throw their old TV set out and leave them with one that has a multifunction remote control with all the options of landing
the space shuttle including upside down.

useless information retention mode
The possibility of an inverted Apollo command module splashdown was known as "stable 2".
\useless information retention mode

It was indeed. I was watching the live TV coverage of the Apollo 11
splashdown with my wife. Someone was heard to report that the module was
in the "stable 2" position. Wife asks "what does that mean?" I had not
met the phrase before but inspiration struck and I said "It's upside
down". She was impressed.

--
Peter Duncanson
(in uk.tech.digital-tv)

On Dec 3, 8:01*pm, UnsteadyKen wrote:
David said...

Put BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 CH4 and Five onto one channel/Mux then we can tune only
this one in for them and they will be happy with digital only giving the 5
stations they are used to.
They are completely at sea with the many new stations and want only the
above choice of 5 programmers.

Speaking on behalf of my neighbours in our sheltered housing. please
can you post your address so we can hire a mini-bus and pop round and
beat this daft idea out of you with our walking frames.

Seriously: Lately I've retuned and installed approx 15-20 Freeview
boxes here and over a cup of tea discussed and tried to explain how it
all works and everybody welcomes the additional channels. Quite a few
have Sky as well.

Many remember when there was only one or no channels at all, since then
they have seen the arrival of ITV, BBC2 and channels 4 and 5.

Our Queen; Mattie, 97 and as sharp as they come was telling me about
the excitement when radio sets became something that anyone could
afford and operate. I myself remember the enjoyment our family had from
a battery valve set, and later in 1960 watching my first TV program, a
reality show; Princess Margaret's wedding. Only 2 years later we had
electricity and I watched my second TV program, Supercar. Now I can't
remember what I watched last night and have 4 switch boxes to connect
up all the video audio and digital sources, plus that most vital bit of
kit for any self respecting old geezer a PlayStation to play Gran
Turismo.

Being used to a Sony VTX-D800 with its big remote,fast response, clear
menus, easy channel delete and resort;http://www.npe.sony.co.uk/features.html
I hadn't realised just how appalling the design and non implementation
of these features on other boxes and TV's were.

I came across a mix of various IDTV's and non-descript Netto, Aldi etc
STB's and without exception people were struggling to navigate the
menus and to perform the basics like changing channels and volume.
Not one had a decent remote, some were so slow and unresponsive that
they appeared to be locked up, "No it's always been like that dear".
When you find several old girls who have to use a torch and a
magnifying glass to see the buttons, you wonder who designs these
bloody things, nobody it would seem.

Anyway the point of my rant is that older people don't all have
Alzheimers and are used to and welcome change. But by God equipment
designers don't go out of their way to make it easy for them.

--
Ken O'Mearahttp://www.btinternet.com/~unsteadyken/

See
http://www.wrightsaerials.tv/annexe/boomers.shtml

Bill

said...

See
http://www.wrightsaerials.tv/annexe/boomers.shtml

Good rant Bill. What does Albert think about being called a malleable
old duffer?

--
Ken O'Meara
http://www.btinternet.com/~unsteadyken/

"David" wrote in message
...
Put BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 CH4 and Five onto one channel/Mux then we can tune
only this one in for them and they will be happy with digital only giving
the 5 stations they are used to.
They are completely at sea with the many new stations and want only the
above choice of 5 programmers.
They lost with this repeated re-scanning the Freeview boxes keep asking to
be done.
Regards
David
Why do you write "old" people - you should put "thick". I am very old but
not all that thick, for an old'un.

--

(swap a mouse for a house to email)
Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing. - Albert
Einstein

But this would be logical, how can you suggest such a thing, planners have
to eat you know!
Brian

--
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!
"David" wrote in message
...
Put BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 CH4 and Five onto one channel/Mux then we can tune
only this one in for them and they will be happy with digital only giving
the 5 stations they are used to.
They are completely at sea with the many new stations and want only the
above choice of 5 programmers.
They lost with this repeated re-scanning the Freeview boxes keep asking to
be done.
Regards
David

Now I do not buy this idea at all. After all on a standard radio tuner, you
have to tune in each station yourself and decide its what you want to hear.
If a freeview box only allowed the normal stations as mode one, ie simple
mode it could still have a tuning mode for the rest, kind of expert mode.


It is daft though, in my view that all the brains behind the electronics in
the sets cannot colaborate with the transmission guys to make the changes
transparent to the user. After all, how hard could it be for each
transmitter to have a unique code so that onece cet to that as your
transmitter, all muxs from other transmitters will be ignored and only your
ones used.

Brian

--
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!
"Roger R" wrote in message
...

"David" wrote in message
...
Put BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 CH4 and Five onto one channel/Mux then we can tune
only this one in for them and they will be happy with digital only giving
the 5 stations they are used to.
They are completely at sea with the many new stations and want only the
above choice of 5 programmers.
They lost with this repeated re-scanning the Freeview boxes keep asking
to
be done.

I agree and that would be all very fine except the transmission of
television is no longer a public service where optimal service to the user
reigns supreme.

With your suggestion the private companies offerings would be denied to
those viewers and the operators could claim they were loosing audience and
thereby money because of it.

Will you make up their shortfall ?

Roger R

"David" wrote in message
...
Put BBC1, BBC2, ITV1 CH4 and Five onto one channel/Mux then we can tune
only this one in for them and they will be happy with digital only giving
the 5 stations they are used to.
They are completely at sea with the many new stations and want only the
above choice of 5 programmers.
They lost with this repeated re-scanning the Freeview boxes keep asking to
be done.

With my set-up just turning the TV on is a challenge.

When I'm away I have to leave a page of instructions of how to turn the
thing on and get it set to the right channel. But for playing a DVD, forget
it!

(The TV has 7 small, black, flush buttons hidden away behind the right-hand
edge. The case of course is also black. When there is no blue LED at the
front, it means the top one of these buttons has to be pushed in. Now the
LED is lit, assuming there is AC power, which means it is in stand-by mode.

Next, it is necessary to press the 3rd or 4th button from the bottom
momentarily, OR press the the red button on the top right of the right one
of 5 remote controls (it had been 4 until 2nd December, until digital
switchover..)

Now, all that's left is making sure the channel is correct. Unfortunately I
normally use a V+ box and that is the slowest, most unresponsive and
frustrating piece of junk I have ever used. If that screws up, which is
often, there are backup instructions to obtain the same channel from the
TV's freeview tuner.

However switching to TV mode means slowly and deliberately pressing the 2nd
button from the top, until DTV appears on the TV (and hope the TV was in
digital mode, as DTV/Analog modes are shared and use a different remote
button to select), OR press the equivalent button on the right remote,
although this source/AV button is hidden away on it.

Sometimes the TV loses the sound and/or picture on the HDMI connection from
V+, but I decided to risk not mentioning that or it's remedy. Surely, flying
the space shuttle can't be that much more complicated to explain?)

--
Bartc

On 3 Dec, 23:05, widgitt wrote:
I agree with everything you say. The majority of my customers are
older and it is the design of the menus and handsets which can be
apalling.

That affects younger people too!

Cheers,
David.

On Sat, 05 Dec 2009 11:27:34 +0000, Kay Robinson
wrote:

My 89 yr old neighbour only watches ITV1+2

There aren't any +2 channels (yet). I wonder why not? Surely the counters
of beans think this must be a good idea?

and Channel 4.

Maybe you'd better rewrite the above as ITV1,ITV2 and Channel 4 just to
save confusion if you were to refer to say ITV2+1.

Good God, are you sure she's not dead already? If not, she's obviously
being well prepared by watching that.

On Sun, 06 Dec 2009 16:31:27 +0000, Mike Henry
wrote:

There aren't any +2 channels (yet). I wonder why not? Surely the counters
of beans think this must be a good idea?

Oh but there are and have been for some time - Living+2 (not to be
confused with Living2+1!) and DMAX+2, both subscription channels in Sky's
Variety Pack.

If you say so, but we were talking about Freeview. Anyone doing any +3 or
more channels on satellite then? God, the people who run TV are sick...