Cable TV (not affected by switchover)

I live in a block of flats in Jersey, our TV signal is provided by
cable. At the moment I get 1,2,3,4 and Channel FIVE is provided for free
as well because its a terrestrial channel and its not part of the
subscription Cable TV service. You cannot get FIVE over aerial in Jersey
so its a special favour to have FIVE at the moment and you can only get
it with cable or satellite.

Now according to this

http://www.channelonline.tv/channelo....asp?ID=382762

Cable here is digital

but they still supply an old General Instruments cable box and anyway I
can and have tuned the channels into the analog tuner on my TV... if it
was currently digital cable then surely I would need a digital cable box
and would not be able to tune the channels into my TVs analog tuner.

I spoke to the cable company they confirmed that there service would
still be running after switchover, now they can continue to run the
service as is and it will not be affected by the switchover but surely
it is only an analog service and we will not get multichoice television
without subscribing to one of the cable packages.

I know the cable tv company have been running fibre optic cable so maybe
they have plans to go digital if they are not already and have not
announced this yet.

Anyway the States of Jersey have commissioned a contractor to install an
IRS system on multiple housing estates in preparation for the digital
switchover, I guess they are doing this because they know that if they
leave it to the cable company many residents will still be left with
1,2,3,4 and 5 instead of multichoice television which would suck royally.

I am pretty sure though that the cable tv I currently get is analog and
I have heard of no plans to go digital from the cable company so I will
be relying on installation of this IRS system.

"Nick Le Lievre" wrote in message
...
I live in a block of flats in Jersey, our TV signal is provided by cable.
At the moment I get 1,2,3,4 and Channel FIVE is provided for free as well
because its a terrestrial channel and its not part of the subscription
Cable TV service. You cannot get FIVE over aerial in Jersey so its a
special favour to have FIVE at the moment and you can only get it with
cable or satellite.

Now according to this

http://www.channelonline.tv/channelo....asp?ID=382762

Cable here is digital

but they still supply an old General Instruments cable box and anyway I
can and have tuned the channels into the analog tuner on my TV... if it
was currently digital cable then surely I would need a digital cable box
and would not be able to tune the channels into my TVs analog tuner.

I spoke to the cable company they confirmed that there service would still
be running after switchover, now they can continue to run the service as
is and it will not be affected by the switchover but surely it is only an
analog service and we will not get multichoice television without
subscribing to one of the cable packages.

I know the cable tv company have been running fibre optic cable so maybe
they have plans to go digital if they are not already and have not
announced this yet.

Anyway the States of Jersey have commissioned a contractor to install an
IRS system on multiple housing estates in preparation for the digital
switchover, I guess they are doing this because they know that if they
leave it to the cable company many residents will still be left with
1,2,3,4 and 5 instead of multichoice television which would suck royally.

I am pretty sure though that the cable tv I currently get is analog and I
have heard of no plans to go digital from the cable company so I will be
relying on installation of this IRS system.

I don't think there is any technical reason why the same old cable couldn't
continue to deliver the old analogue channels and new digital channels.

Perhaps it already is doing this, which would explain why the article you
linked says cable is already digital.

--

Brian Gregory. (In the UK)

To email me remove the letter vee.

Brian Gregory [UK] wrote:

I don't think there is any technical reason why the same old cable couldn't
continue to deliver the old analogue channels and new digital channels.

Perhaps it already is doing this, which would explain why the article you
linked says cable is already digital.

If it is indeed already doing this then would this mean we would be able
to tune into the new digital channels a using built in freeview tuner or
external box after the swithover, in which case the switchover would
have an effect on cable as digital channels would suddenly be available.

Which begs the question why are the States of Jersey bothering to
install IRS systems all around if we will be able to get digital
channels over the cable network already installed? or are you saying
that they are using some sort of digital to analog conversion currently.

Nick Le Lievre wrote:

If it is indeed already doing this then would this mean we would be able
to tune into the new digital channels a using built in freeview tuner or
external box after the swithover, in which case the switchover would
have an effect on cable as digital channels would suddenly be available.

Which begs the question why are the States of Jersey bothering to
install IRS systems all around if we will be able to get digital
channels over the cable network already installed? or are you saying
that they are using some sort of digital to analog conversion currently.

Looking at this document

http://www.sat-tech.je/13049_Channel...OVED_FINAL.pdf

It says newtel cable can supply up to 55 digital tv stations for a
monthly fee, so they must already be digital but why could I tune them
into an analogue tuner (unless they are converting them to analog).

If they are converting them to analog and/or I can tune them into an
analogue tuner then they are not digital surely.

Also if everything stays as it is then you would need to subscribe to
get multichannel tv with cable whereas the IRS system will provide the
freeview channels for free, maybe that is why the States of Jersey are
installing IRS - primarily so that people can get multichannel tv for free.

"Nick Le Lievre" wrote in message
...
Brian Gregory [UK] wrote:

I don't think there is any technical reason why the same old cable
couldn't continue to deliver the old analogue channels and new digital
channels.

Perhaps it already is doing this, which would explain why the article you
linked says cable is already digital.

If it is indeed already doing this then would this mean we would be able
to tune into the new digital channels a using built in freeview tuner or
external box after the swithover, in which case the switchover would have
an effect on cable as digital channels would suddenly be available.

They probably wouldn't use DVB-T so boxes designed to connect to an aerial
wouldn't work.
Plus they'd be encrypted if they want you to have to pay for them.


Which begs the question why are the States of Jersey bothering to install
IRS systems all around if we will be able to get digital channels over the
cable network already installed? or are you saying that they are using
some sort of digital to analog conversion currently.

There are other things you can use a cable network for, such as high speed
broadband.

--

Brian Gregory. (In the UK)

To email me remove the letter vee.

"Nick Le Lievre" wrote in message
...
Nick Le Lievre wrote:

If it is indeed already doing this then would this mean we would be able
to tune into the new digital channels a using built in freeview tuner or
external box after the swithover, in which case the switchover would have
an effect on cable as digital channels would suddenly be available.

Which begs the question why are the States of Jersey bothering to install
IRS systems all around if we will be able to get digital channels over
the cable network already installed? or are you saying that they are
using some sort of digital to analog conversion currently.

Looking at this document

http://www.sat-tech.je/13049_Channel...OVED_FINAL.pdf

It says newtel cable can supply up to 55 digital tv stations for a monthly
fee, so they must already be digital but why could I tune them into an
analogue tuner (unless they are converting them to analog).

I thought you said you could only tune the main five channels on your
analogue TV.


If they are converting them to analog and/or I can tune them into an
analogue tuner then they are not digital surely.

Also if everything stays as it is then you would need to subscribe to get
multichannel tv with cable whereas the IRS system will provide the
freeview channels for free, maybe that is why the States of Jersey are
installing IRS - primarily so that people can get multichannel tv for
free.

--

Brian Gregory. (In the UK)

To email me remove the letter vee.

Nick Le Lievre wrote:

Nick Le Lievre wrote:

If it is indeed already doing this then would this mean we would be able
to tune into the new digital channels a using built in freeview tuner or
external box after the swithover, in which case the switchover would
have an effect on cable as digital channels would suddenly be available.

Which begs the question why are the States of Jersey bothering to
install IRS systems all around if we will be able to get digital
channels over the cable network already installed? or are you saying
that they are using some sort of digital to analog conversion currently.

Looking at this document

http://www.sat-tech.je/13049_Channel...OVED_FINAL.pdf

It says newtel cable can supply up to 55 digital tv stations for a
monthly fee, so they must already be digital but why could I tune them
into an analogue tuner (unless they are converting them to analog).

If they are converting them to analog and/or I can tune them into an
analogue tuner then they are not digital surely.

Also if everything stays as it is then you would need to subscribe to
get multichannel tv with cable whereas the IRS system will provide the
freeview channels for free, maybe that is why the States of Jersey are
installing IRS - primarily so that people can get multichannel tv for
free.

The cable companies can and (at least sometimes) do convert digital channels
to analogue at the head-end and distribute them as a basic terrestrial
service over their network (i.e. what you get on an analogue telly connected
to the set-top box when it's on standby or record on a video while watching
another channel). This is separate from what you can select via the box
which nowadays will generally be digital.

So far as I know, there's no requirement for them to stop doing this just
because over-the-air TV is going digital. They may stop it for other reasons
but probably not until they've exploited it for a while as a reason to get
cable (keep your old video, TV, etc.).

Before we fell out with the cable company and ditched them for freeview many
years ago now, I remember noticing one day that, where we had TVs in
different rooms tuned to the same programme where one was connected to an
aerial and the other to the cable set-top box, there was a delay of a couple
of seconds on the cable one. Obviously digital had arrived somewhere in the
signal path even though everything we had at the time was still analogue.
This hadn't been the case before then.

--
Steve Hayes, South Wales, UK
----Remove colours from reply address----

Brian Gregory [UK] wrote:

If it is indeed already doing this then would this mean we would be able
to tune into the new digital channels a using built in freeview tuner or
external box after the swithover, in which case the switchover would have
an effect on cable as digital channels would suddenly be available.

They probably wouldn't use DVB-T so boxes designed to connect to an aerial
wouldn't work.
Plus they'd be encrypted if they want you to have to pay for them.

So you think that they are converting to analog and this would be to
save themselves having to supply digital boxes and encrypt stuff and
also to save their customers money. Surely if you can tune into an
analog tv tuner then it cant be digital although they state they provide
up to 55 digital channels... perhaps they can get away with calling it
digital because for the most part it is.

Which begs the question why are the States of Jersey bothering to install
IRS systems all around if we will be able to get digital channels over the
cable network already installed? or are you saying that they are using
some sort of digital to analog conversion currently.

There are other things you can use a cable network for, such as high speed
broadband.

They do not use the network for cable broadband they have an ADSL
subscription available using the telephone line.

If it stays as it is at the moment then with cable you will always be
paying to have a basic package of channels whereas the IRS system that
is due to be installed in time for switchover will give you multichannel
TV for free, this will be true digital in digital form and require
digital boxes or built in DVB-T.


I cannot see many people willing to pay £ 16.50 for a basic cable
package once the freeview is available for free, or paying £ 29 or more
for a premium package when you will be able to get SKY Digital with the
same channels in better quality for the same price.

Brian Gregory [UK] wrote:
"Nick Le Lievre" wrote in message
...
Nick Le Lievre wrote:
If it is indeed already doing this then would this mean we would be able
to tune into the new digital channels a using built in freeview tuner or
external box after the swithover, in which case the switchover would have
an effect on cable as digital channels would suddenly be available.

Which begs the question why are the States of Jersey bothering to install
IRS systems all around if we will be able to get digital channels over
the cable network already installed? or are you saying that they are
using some sort of digital to analog conversion currently.
Looking at this document

http://www.sat-tech.je/13049_Channel...OVED_FINAL.pdf

It says newtel cable can supply up to 55 digital tv stations for a monthly
fee, so they must already be digital but why could I tune them into an
analogue tuner (unless they are converting them to analog).

I thought you said you could only tune the main five channels on your
analogue TV.

I can only, but if you pay for a basic package or a premium package you
can get up to 55 channels the basic package gives about 45 and costs
about £ 18 a month a fair few of those are FTA channels which will be
free once IRS is in place.

Steve Hayes wrote:

The cable companies can and (at least sometimes) do convert digital channels
to analogue at the head-end and distribute them as a basic terrestrial
service over their network (i.e. what you get on an analogue telly connected
to the set-top box when it's on standby or record on a video while watching
another channel). This is separate from what you can select via the box
which nowadays will generally be digital.

The box they gave me a few months back when I was subscribing to a
premium package was one of those old general instrument boxes and had 46
channels on it, I could get exactly the same channels by tuning them
into my TVs analog tuner directly there were no extra ones on the box.


So far as I know, there's no requirement for them to stop doing this just
because over-the-air TV is going digital. They may stop it for other reasons
but probably not until they've exploited it for a while as a reason to get
cable (keep your old video, TV, etc.).

I suppose there will be a few luddites who will fall for this incentive
but I am looking forward to having the IRS system and being able to
subscribe to a SKY Digital package giving me more channels then I could
ever get via cable in better quality. Both my TVs are LCD with digital
tuners and I am not holding onto a VCR.