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Is analogue cable TV still operational in the Republic?

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  • 17-11-2014 12:30am
    #1
    endakenny
    Closed Accounts Posts: 956 ✭✭✭


    dublinman1990 said in post 55 of the UTV Ireland launch forum in the Broadcasting forum:

    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057324314&page=4
    I am not sure UPC digital myself but I am at a guess that viewers on UPC Analogue would have UTV NI replaced with UTVI on that platform as it does not have a custom epg for that service.

    The main changes for the analogue cable viewers of UTVI and on any other platform, expect Saorview as you could gain it there, would be the loss of rights for Good Morning Britain, the sports rights e.g. the England football matches and CL Highlights, UTV Live from Belfast replaced with Ireland Live with Alison Comyn and Chris Donoghue and Lesser Spotted Ulster.

    Why would UPC or any other cable TV company in the Republic still be running analogue cable TV. I don't see why any cable TV customer who still wants to have cable TV would not have upgraded to digital cable by now.


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    #2
    former legend
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,309 ✭✭✭former legend


    Yes, it's still operational, in Dublin at least.

    There are still a handful of people who use it as their main TV source, maybe older people who wouldn't be comfortable with digital, but most people would just use it as a cheap/free way of getting TV to another room in addition to their digital subscription.


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    #3
    pippip
    Registered Users Posts: 2,249 ✭✭✭pippip


    I think a few people on here have said that if you only have upc broadband and no digital tv services, the analogue still comes through the cable.


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    #4
    icdg
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 11,515 Mod ✭✭✭✭icdg


    OP this is the second thread you have started in 48 hours with an out of context quote from another thread - indeed in this case another forum. While we have no rule against this, it's not a problem that we've had yet. I'm just making this point because, if you are going to make a habit of doing it, we may need to develop a rule to police it - for example, a requirement to notify the OP when doing so they have a right of reply

    To answer the question yes it is still going to my knowledge is on all UPC cable systems other than Cork. The biggest reason it is still going is that many people use it to feed wall mounted kitchen and bedroom sets, many of which are old 14" CRT portables. It will go eventually when UPC think they can do it without an outcry but that day isn't here yet.


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    #5
    The Cush
    Registered Users Posts: 15,492 ✭✭✭✭The Cush


    icdg wrote: »
    To answer the question yes it is still going to my knowledge is on all UPC cable systems other than Cork.

    According to a post here last year the basic 4 Irish channels are still carried on analogue cable in Cork - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=83990809#post83990809


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    #6
    coylemj
    Registered Users Posts: 25,342 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    Not alone is there analogue TV, they also transmit a bundle of FM radio stations, including most if not all of the national BBC stations and IIRC World Service and BBC Ulster. Very useful if you have an amplifier/receiver with an FM aerial socket.


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    #7
    mackersdublin
    Registered Users Posts: 1,431 ✭✭✭mackersdublin


    Here's Dublin's Analogue TV details
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=88414136&postcount=15


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    #8
    dublinman1990
    Registered Users Posts: 8,302 ✭✭✭dublinman1990


    pippip wrote: »
    I think a few people on here have said that if you only have upc broadband and no digital tv services, the analogue still comes through the cable.

    That's sound great. My broadband is pretty slow at the moment as I'm receiving broadband from a dongle from Meteor. I only get a monthly usage cap of 7.5GB via a monthly pass via PAYG for €20 a month on a Toshiba laptop.

    Do UPC charge extra for having Analogue cable TV combined with their Fibre Power broadband?


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    #9
    The Cush
    Registered Users Posts: 15,492 ✭✭✭✭The Cush


    dublinman1990 wrote: »
    Do UPC charge extra for having Analogue cable TV combined with their Fibre Power broadband?

    Analogue TV continues to be available over UPC cable but is no longer offered as a subscription option or supported by them. This post from the UPC forum last July.
    UPC: Brian wrote: »
    Originally posted by ckeogh
    Does anyone offer the analogue services or is this only a UPC run thing?

    Some services from us would come in over analogue cable and in some cases this would mean correctly linked points in a house may be able to view these however, this is not a sold or supported service from us.

    http://www.boards.ie/ttfpost/91516230

    http://www.boards.ie/ttfthread/2057121487
    http://www.boards.ie/ttfthread/2057233104


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    #10
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    Analogue is certainly still running in Dublin. All of the channels except the Nickelodeon/Comedy Central timeshare are in anamorphic 16:9 which is great for widescreen TVs but 4:3 sets will display them incorrectly. The Nickelodeon/Comedy Central channel is in 14:9 I think. NICAM stereo still operational on most of them too.

    The only person I know who still uses it regularly is my 90 year old grandmother. I don't think anyone could move her to digital at this stage!


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    #11
    Alun
    Registered Users Posts: 21,422 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    Karsini wrote: »
    The only person I know who still uses it regularly is my 90 year old grandmother. I don't think anyone could move her to digital at this stage!
    I have UPC broadband, as well as a home build FTV satellite / Saorview HTPC, but I still use UPC analogue to watch F1 on on Setanta when the BBC aren't broadcasting it. Very handy :)


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    #12
    dublinman1990
    Registered Users Posts: 8,302 ✭✭✭dublinman1990


    Alun wrote: »
    I have UPC broadband, as well as a home build FTV satellite / Saorview HTPC, but I still use UPC analogue to watch F1 on on Setanta when the BBC aren't broadcasting it. Very handy :)

    It would have been handy for me to see to Ireland v USA on Setanta last night.

    Did you have to ask the UPC installer to put in extra cables to receive the analogue or did he put them in himself?


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    #13
    Alun
    Registered Users Posts: 21,422 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    dublinman1990 wrote: »
    It would have been handy for me to see to Ireland v USA on Setanta last night.

    Did you have to ask the UPC installer to put in extra cables to receive the analogue or did he put them in himself?
    The house had 4 points wired already when we moved in, including one near the TV and one in the bedroom I use as my office, so we didn't need to do anything when I had UPC BB installed, in fact I "installed" it myself :)


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    #14
    airmech
    Registered Users Posts: 89 ✭✭airmech


    Hi
    I had upc analogue in my apartment and it has now disappeared. Has it been switched off or have i been cut off. It was here when i moved in so dont know how i was getting it.


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    #15
    The Cush
    Registered Users Posts: 15,492 ✭✭✭✭The Cush


    airmech wrote: »
    I had upc analogue in my apartment and it has now disappeared. Has it been switched off or have i been cut off. It was here when i moved in so dont know how i was getting it.

    Do you subscribe to any UPC service, if not then most likely the apartment has been disconnected. The previous occupant may have been a subscriber and closed the account when they left.


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    #16
    marno21
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 14,345 Mod ✭✭✭✭marno21


    Analogue cable still alive and well in Limerick. Widely used in college accomodation so there is still clearly a need for it.


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    #17
    obezyana
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,498 ✭✭✭obezyana


    Its still in Waterford aswell i just hooked it up for my sister for her tv in the bedroom. Handy to have for occasional use.


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    #18
    jca
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,585 ✭✭✭jca


    Still operational in Enniscorthy too. My father has it. He has sky too but the epg system is beyond him now. He just turns on the TV and presses 1 for RTE 1...Sad really.


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    #19
    obezyana
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,498 ✭✭✭obezyana


    jca wrote: »
    Still operational in Enniscorthy too. My father has it. He has sky too but the epg system is beyond him now. He just turns on the TV and presses 1 for RTE 1...Sad really.


    To be fair tho for some people its all they need. I was going to install Saorview/Freesat for my sister in her bedroom but when i told her about the analogue she was happy with that as they already have horizon downstairs and she just wanted something to watch the soaps on whilst she was upstairs so it does her the finest.


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    #20
    SpaceTime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,088 ✭✭✭SpaceTime


    UPC haven't removed the legacy analogue channels from the cable systems anywhere, with the sole exception being their Cork networks which are 100% digital now.

    Cork was different because the analogue network used encryption, odd frequencies and carried more channels than other systems, so every household had to have a set-top-box anyway. The scrambled signals and unusual channel allocations meant that a TV couldn't tune to the channels without a decoder. So, when digital cable launched, they basically did a box swap and shut down analogue once all the customers were moved over.

    In other areas, analogue channels were carried 'in the clear' without any form of decoder requirement. So, people in those areas are quite used to the idea of having direct-tuned channels on their TVs.

    Removing that service would likely cause them a lot of bad press as many people still use them for 2nd TVs.

    What they could do though is include a DVB-T bundle with the basic channels and it would save a good bit of bandwidth on the network too and all modern TVs could tune it.

    UPC will not allow you to subscribe to analogue cable though, only existing analogue customers who haven't upgraded to digital would still have it as their sole service. Everyone else would have it as a legacy thing provided to everyone who has an active account with them.


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    #21
    The Cush
    Registered Users Posts: 15,492 ✭✭✭✭The Cush


    SpaceTime wrote: »
    UPC haven't removed the legacy analogue channels from the cable systems anywhere, with the sole exception being their Cork networks which are 100% digital now.

    According to byte Cork cable still carries a couple of analogue channels - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=83990809#post83990809


    RTE 1 - 176MHz
    TG4 - 192 MHz
    TV3 - 200 MHz
    RTE 2 - 216 MHz


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    #22
    SpaceTime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,088 ✭✭✭SpaceTime


    I think that's a legacy issue though under some wayleaves to get access to apartments where alternatives like aerials may not work to receive FTA TV.

    As an encrypted network, they never had to physically disconnect services. You had to pay if you wanted their content.
    So, I guess providing FTA and a connection was a marketing benefit.

    I'd say as HD TVs rapidly displace SD TVs the demand for digital goes up too.
    Analogue looks bad on big screen HD flat panels.


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    #23
    marno21
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 14,345 Mod ✭✭✭✭marno21


    The Cush wrote: »
    According to byte Cork cable still carries a couple of analogue channels - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=83990809#post83990809


    RTE 1 - 176MHz
    TG4 - 192 MHz
    TV3 - 200 MHz
    RTE 2 - 216 MHz
    Quality was absolutely shocking on those last time I checked (that was a bit ago tho). Digitally sourced 16:9 services cropped down to 4:3


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    #24
    SpaceTime
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,088 ✭✭✭SpaceTime


    I have a feeling they don't give it much thought as hardly anyone uses it.


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