RTE's irritating "bugs"

I.J. · 28-07-2004 8:44pm #1

This topic has been brought up before by several people including myself. However, I feel the urge to raise the issue again because RTE recently made their on screen "bugs" translucent, which was a step in a good direction but still does not satisfy a great deal of Irish TV viewers.

First of all, the RTE ONE symbol has increased in size since the translucent effect came in. It was already big enough.

Second, it is too far down on the screen, when it could be much further into a corner where it is not as noticeable yet visible for the odd few who need these "bugs".

Third of all, the British licence payer does not have this problem in their country (I mention this as RTE love to follow the British path in as much as possible). In fact, Channel 5 had to remove their bug due to public complaint, even though the channel is independent. We are paying for RTE so we have every right to demand they be removed.

Fourth of all, this idea of using "bugs" is directly calling the Irish people idiots!. It doesn't take a genius to match what is on our TVs with what is mentioned in the guide.

Now, before people state that loads of channels use bugs, no state channel uses them other than RTE. Also, no other channel has such irritating bugs. Maybe MTV or TMF but people are usually no longer than 30mins on these channels. What if you are watching a movie on RTE?. There has been wide complaint about how dominating this screen branding is.

E-MAIL: horand@rte.ie "AND" info@rte.ie -

Introduce yourself as an Irish TV licence payer and demand them to remove these bugs. The Irish people are not idiots!. Its about time the Irish people stood up for something no matter how small it may seem. If TV viewing gives people njoyment in their lives lets bring that enjoyment to the max and not have it disturbed.

Asok · 28-07-2004 8:51pm

Ah their need to show us " oh look this is what your liscence fee goes into!!!! we didnt piss it away on coke and hookers" Also have you noticed on 2fm when they are giving out the site address its rte.ie/2fm and not just 2fm.ie

irishgeo · 28-07-2004 9:04pm

RTÉ plan to ask for another licensce fee increase this year.

All the that money wasted on the RTÉ N2 rebranding rubbish.

I.J. · 28-07-2004 9:05pm

I know what you mean. Its pathetic. Everything has become "RTE" in big over powering capital letters. They even show more commerials now than any independent channel. A 2hr movie the other day had 20 mins of ad breaks. A same length movie I recorded on RTE 5 years ago, only had 9 mins of breaks.

Whats worse about RTE is the repeats. Its not that they show repeats. I don't mind that. Its just that they repeat rubbish nobody has heard of or seems to care about: "Big Sky", "Police Rescue", "Scarecrow and Mrs. King". All these old shows that probably cost nothing, just to fill a small schedule which doesn't even stretch for the night owls. Its a mircale that they pay for the classic repeats like "Dallas" or "The A-Team".

Mossy Monk · 28-07-2004 9:20pm

Originally posted by I.J.
no state channel uses them other than RTE

they are rampant on the continent

sceptre · 28-07-2004 9:22pm

Originally posted by I.J.
Its just that they repeat rubbish nobody has heard of or seems to care about: "Big Sky", "Police Rescue", "Scarecrow and Mrs. King"

Careful now - some of us remember Scarecrow and Mrs King (starring Kate Jackson, the less-attractive Charlie's Angel) reasonably fondly. It was the first show to impress on me to always cut the blue wire in a bomb (Amanda King's advice if I remember rightly, something to do with her kettle). And Bruce Boxleitner was good in it.

PBC_1966 · 28-07-2004 9:26pm

Third of all, the British licence payer does not have this problem in their country (I mention this as RTE love to follow the British path in as much as possible).

We don't have permanent "bugs" on screen yet, but they have started to creep in.

Take a look at ITV during kids' programs and you'll see that they have an annoying "citv" graphic there all the time (except during commercials of course!).

The BBC has also resorted to similar graphics on some children's shows. I saw some a few weeks ago where they left some annoying green blob (???) along with a clock on screen throughout the shows that were part of a 2 or 3-hour presentation.

Get rid of them. We can have station idents at breaks. That's all we need.

Zhane · 28-07-2004 10:55pm

they are called 'DOGs' and i dont mind them

super_furry · 28-07-2004 11:06pm

Can't say I really notice them and when I do, they don't bother me.

Elmo · 28-07-2004 11:10pm

RTE are slowly making them smaller. IMO. And more translusent.

I was just watching TV3 and have started to noticed how Huge their's is. At least it is in the bottom corner.

John R · 29-07-2004 12:12am

Originally posted by Elmo
RTE are slowly making them smaller. IMO. And more translusent.

I was just watching TV3 and have started to noticed how Huge their's is. At least it is in the bottom corner.

Are you completely incapable of admitting RTE do anything worse than TV3?

zenith · 29-07-2004 12:14am

Originally posted by Asok
Also have you noticed on 2fm when they are giving out the site address its rte.ie/2fm and not just 2fm.ie

This is to make their web properties look bigger in the Internet advertising world.
Onbusiness.ie also got it in the neck.

I.J. · 29-07-2004 6:44pm

Zhane, "dogs" is one of many titles. RTE prefer to call them "bugs". Which is a better title because they are bugging me. They may not bother you but I doubt you can say you prefer that RTE use them.

Elmo, I have the video evidence that they have got quite bigger. They have got translucent, which I mentioned in my first post. However, they have definitely increased in size and are taking over the picture.

Everybody who is bothered at all by these can e-mail RTE Head of programming Dermot Horan at horand@rte.ie Also info@rte.ie and you can complain to complaints.review@rte.ie

In Britain there are many devoted websites to ridding TV of bugs. They seriously bother many viewers. Especially those with sensitive eyes. For a great deal it completely takes from watching a show.

Elmo · 29-07-2004 8:27pm

Are you completely incapable of admitting RTE do anything worse than TV3?

When it happens I will let you know.

But you will note that I did say that TV3's bug or dog is not as annoying as it is in the bottom corner of the screen, but it is bigger.

Personally all DOG's/BUG's should be removed, especially the MTV ones.

I have already complained to RTE about this.

byte · 29-07-2004 10:33pm

The biggest problem I find, is what somebody mentioned above, they're too far from the edge of the screen. As long as they don't copy Sky One or E4 with added bits liek "ALL NEW" below their logo!

Töpher · 29-07-2004 10:37pm

The Sky One|Mix bug is actually about 1/3 of the way across the screen! And larger than the Sky One bug too. :mad:

Töpher · 29-07-2004 10:39pm

I.J. wrote:

Fourth of all, this idea of using "bugs" is directly calling the Irish people idiots!. It doesn't take a genius to match what is on our TVs with what is mentioned in the guide.

Or bash the teletext button and read what channel it is from the header! :rolleyes:

Zhane · 30-07-2004 12:54am

I really think your over reacting on this.

John R · 30-07-2004 2:00am

Einst&#252 wrote: »

The Sky One|Mix bug is actually about 1/3 of the way across the screen! And larger than the Sky One bug too. :mad:

It is like that on widescreen programmes so that people watching in 4:3 non letterbox mode can still see the logo, which is nice of them :rolleyes:

PBC_1966 · 30-07-2004 10:20am

These things may be acceptable to those who really only "surf" the channels and watch whatever's there for a few minutes before moving on, but to those of us who like to settle down and watch a good movie, they are annoying.

If you go the cinema to see a movie, would you like it if an extra "Warner Bros." or "Bijou Theatre" logo was superimposed on the picture throughout?

If listening to the radio, would you like it if every 20 seconds or so an announcement was made under the music telling you the name of the station?

Why is TV any different?

ChipZilla · 30-07-2004 11:31am

At least things aren't as bad as in the states. Some channels like TNT and USA network use HUGE animated scrolling idents across the screen to remind you what's coming on after the program you're currently watching...

grumpytrousers · 30-07-2004 4:37pm

If you go the cinema to see a movie, would you like it if an extra "Warner Bros." or "Bijou Theatre" logo was superimposed on the picture throughout?

If listening to the radio, would you like it if every 20 seconds or so an announcement was made under the music telling you the name of the station?

Point taken, but I think your use of the word 'superimposed' is a bit much. You're talking about something that takes up a miniscule 2-3% of screen space. Oh - and it's translucent. I'm not mad on the idea meself, but I *do* think there's more things to whinge about than that.

Re the Radio - it's not the same. Radio is 100% sound based, so reminders every so often would detract 100% from the listening experience. Television is, lets say, 50% sound and 50% vision. So, we're saying the Bug/Dog takes up 2% of 50% which is considerably less than the radio 'encroachment' you allude to.

On a more general note - however we may feel about the presence or otherwise of these doo-hickeys on screen, is it not bad form to post the personal email address of an RTE employee and leave 'em at the mercy of those spambot things? If one does want to give an email address is it not better to just describe it as 'jbloggs at rte dot ie'

(btw - i don't know can spambots do boards.ie stuff, but y'know what i mean)

Stark · 30-07-2004 5:27pm

John R wrote:

Einst&#252 wrote: »

The Sky One|Mix bug is actually about 1/3 of the way across the screen! And larger than the Sky One bug too.

It is like that on widescreen programmes so that people watching in 4:3 non letterbox mode can still see the logo, which is nice of them :rolleyes:

I think it's great because you know when something's being broadcast in anamorphic when you see the logo near the centre.

chewy · 30-07-2004 6:06pm

so your problem is that they block the picture is it?

i don't think get what your problem is with em?

esp people with sensitive eyes huh?

PBC_1966 · 01-08-2004 9:56am

ChipZilla wrote:

At least things aren't as bad as in the states. Some channels like TNT and USA network use HUGE animated scrolling idents across the screen to remind you what's coming on after the program you're currently watching...

Those sort of things appear to have started creeping in this side of the Atlantic as well. I remember seeing the Boomerang cartoon network a few months ago and they had a logo which would expand and rotate about every 30 seconds. Now it may not be quite so noticeable on a cartoon station where there's almost always lots of action anyway, but if they start using those elsewhere I bet they'll be a lot of complaints.

It's very seldom I ever watch prime-time TV these days, but I noticed on ITV the other night that about five minutes before the end of a show they started scrolling a very large banner across the top telling everyone what was coming on next. It's getting ridiculous.

Xcom2 · 01-08-2004 3:48pm

Try watching the Sci Fi channel. :mad:

At the moment it has the logo and the message,

All new twilight zone
tomorrow 9pm

The logo is often animated and can have scrolling messages on it!

G

AdMMM · 01-08-2004 11:40pm

If they just has a small, translucent bug, I dont mind. But if they start colouring it and putting messages it in, then it would be time to complain

smoke.me.a.kipper · 02-08-2004 2:46pm

|.Murderer.| wrote:

If they just has a small, translucent bug, I dont mind. But if they start colouring it and putting messages it in, then it would be time to complain

i tend to agree. i have analogue cable and the only one that really bugs me is MTV...

Puck · 03-08-2004 5:57am

I find it funny that when RTE couldn't get a raise in the license fee that they decided that we just didn't know how much they did for us. Instead of doing a better job they decided we were just too stupid to know that 2FM and Network 2 were a part of RTE.

RTE, I know and I still think you're ****! Now do some real work!

I.J. · 06-08-2004 7:01pm

I think everybody should remember when comparing the bugs of other channels, that RTE is a (semi) state run organisation. We have no choice but to pay for it. There is a difference between RTE having a bug and MTV having one. They are both annoying but if I want a TV but don't want MTV, I can cancel the NTL package but I am forced to pay the absurd Irish TV licence if I want to own a TV. RTE is "OUR" channel. MTV belongs to MTV, Sc-Fi belong to them, SKY belongs to sky and so on. RTE belongs to the Irish people and our say has to be noticed!.

Ireland and Britain are linked in so many ways, that I don't know why this country has to distance itself from Britain with a method that only annoys people. The Brits don't have these bugs and they also have a cheaper TV licence fee which provides far more original and quality broadcasting. Look at RTE, repeating TG4's "Ros na Run" - I never see UTV broadcast BBCs "Casualty". RTE is a pathetic excuse for a TV channel. Foolishly put together, stupidly run and idioticly managed.

E-mail Dermot Horan (head of programming): horand@rte.ie

E-mail RTE offices: info@rte.ie

E-mail your complaint: complaints.review@rte.ie

E-mail The new assistant programming head Mary Curtis: mary.curtis@rte.ie or curtism@rte.ie

PBC_1966 · 06-08-2004 7:50pm

The Brits don't have these bugs and they also have a cheaper TV licence fee which provides far more original and quality broadcasting.

BBC-2 does have one during their "Learning Zone" programs at night, although it's not too noticeable most of the time. We can but hope they don't decide to make its use more widespread.

How much is the Irish TV license at the moment?

John R · 06-08-2004 9:04pm

PBC_1966 wrote:

BBC-2 does have one during their "Learning Zone" programs at night, although it's not too noticeable most of the time. We can but hope they don't decide to make its use more widespread.

How much is the Irish TV license at the moment?

Too bloody much.

BBC1 and 2 had logos on ther digital broadcasts when they started, people complained and they got rid of them.
BBC3 and 4 have logos for some programmes, not on films or drama though.

grumpytrousers · 09-08-2004 10:26am

The Brits don't have these bugs and they also have a cheaper TV licence fee which provides far more original and quality broadcasting

Oh for gods sakes the reason for their 'original and quality broadcasting' of the BBC is due to haveing 15 times the population of ireland paying a license fee.... :mad:

PBC_1966 · 09-08-2004 10:33am

grumpytrousers wrote:

Oh for gods sakes the reason for their 'original and quality broadcasting' of the BBC is due to haveing 15 times the population of ireland paying a license fee.... :mad:

Well, not quite all of us.....

www.tvlicensing.biz

grumpytrousers · 09-08-2004 11:09am

PBC_1966 wrote:

Well, not quite all of us.....

www.tvlicensing.biz

Don't you think the BBC license is worth it? I lived there for 4 years and thought that the BBC was one of the things that in pretty much every circumstance the UK coudl be very proud of. Obviously nobody wants to see License fee going to pay crap like jonny and Denise on a saturday evening, but for the radio output (local and national) a news service second to none, a website which is envied the world over and an ability to cover 'important' events without ever seeming to descend to the mawkish, I'd have thought they were worth every penny.

And i've not even mentioned the value for money that is Jeremy Paxman!

Stark · 09-08-2004 11:57am

The BBC also gave us the likes of Blakes 7, Dr.Who and Red Dwarf. As opposed to RTE with Bosco and those weird giant sock puppet things (momags or something).

PBC_1966 · 10-08-2004 9:41am

Don't you think the BBC license is worth it?

Well, they've turned out some good shows in the past, and there's still an occasional glimmer of that old BBC left. But these days they produce one heck of a lot of garbage as well.

But I oppose the license on principle anyway. Forcing people under penalty of law to pay a tax to watch TV is just wrong, IMHO.

grumpytrousers · 10-08-2004 9:59am

I see your point. Not going to bother 'arguing' this one, cos it's all down to a subjective view on what's better - TV that's purely driven by ratings or TV that's driven by certain 'standards'. In the former category, you'd have the dross turned out by ITV - whose only good comedy show is Coronation St, which isn't meant to be a comedy. Contrast with the BBC who take risks (and yes, i know they use taxpayers money to take these risks!) and make shows like The Office. Such a show would NEVER in a million years have gotten the go ahead from ITV because the great unwashed wouldn't like it, and for all that talk about it, the ratings were never that high! Anyway - if somebody starts up another 'license fee good/bad' thread I'll say more.

However (he said bringing it back on thread) despite ITV not using Bugs, I really get annoyed with the

a) end credits getting squeezed and the voiceover telling you what's up next.
b) presenters telling you what's up next.

I mean, SIR Trevor McDonald reduced to saying 'Stay with us on ITV1 for The Bill'

PBC_1966 · 10-08-2004 3:11pm

grumpytrousers wrote:

a) end credits getting squeezed and the voiceover telling you what's up next.

Definitely. This trick is getting extremely annoying and more and more intrusive. Sometimes they even shrink the closing credits up and run a preview trailer for the next show!

I remember a time when most shows run right through to the closing "BBC Colour Production" or "Thames Production" etc. caption uniterrupted. If a voiceover was used, it was done so sparingly and it related to the program just finishing: "That was the last in the present series," "Don't forget that from next week ______ moves to the earlier time of 7 p.m.", or maybe "We apologize to viewers in the ______ area who lost 5 minutes of our show due to a technical problem."

Zoton · 10-08-2004 4:33pm

You could also try complaining to these guys. they even advertise it on RTE

http://www.bcc.ie/

Blisterman · 10-08-2004 7:11pm

Am I the only person who thinks these are useful? I hate the way some channels don't have them, so you don't know what they are. I'm talking about when I go to other people's houses.

I.J. · 10-08-2004 8:52pm

Blisterman, I understand your point but most people only want to know a channel when tuning in a VCR or setting up a new TV. After that they are set in place and all modern TVs today come with their own "bugging" which dissapears after a few seconds. If anything should be done it should be channels removing them as the years go by because technology tells us enough.

ALSO! the most important point is that these RTE bugs are "Irritating". They should make them more discreet. Even SKY ONE with the exact same amount of digits has a better system.

Blisterman · 10-08-2004 11:16pm

Well a lot of people i know don't have that on their TVs. Of course they should be more discreet. Semi transparent small logos with just the channel name would be enough.

RTE's irritating "bugs"

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