RTÉ April Fools

Zaphod

Strange sighting this afternoon at 4.50pm. The usual RTÉ One VHF signal from Mullaghanish was replaced by "Signal not received" screen ... courtesy of a Sky digibox! Screen went blank for 30 secs and then normal service was resumed. No problems on VHF RTÉ Two or UHF TV3/TG4.

Apparently it also did the same Saturday night from 11.30pm till after midnight and similarly on UHF from Tralee (presumably coming from the same Mullaghanish source). Some irate callers to Radio Kerry this morning.

Makes you wonder if they are using digiboxes to transmit the signal around the country, why are they not transmitting in 16:9?

L1011

Because 16:9 on analogue requires the use of PALplus and theres about, oh, 4 PALplus TVs in Ireland?

Mossy Monk

Zaphod wrote:

Some irate callers to Radio Kerry this morning.

And what did these callers think Radio Kerry were going to do about it?

Antenna

Zaphod wrote:

Strange sighting this afternoon at 4.50pm. The usual RTÉ One VHF signal from Mullaghanish was replaced by "Signal not received" screen ... courtesy of a Sky digibox! Screen went blank for 30 secs and then normal service was resumed. No problems on VHF RTÉ Two or UHF TV3/TG4.

Apparently it also did the same Saturday night from 11.30pm till after midnight and similarly on UHF from Tralee (presumably coming from the same Mullaghanish source). Some irate callers to Radio Kerry this morning.

Makes you wonder if they are using digiboxes to transmit the signal around the country, why are they not transmitting in 16:9?

The Sky is just a backup to RTE's microwave link network. Obviously the backup (Sky satellite receiver) also failed. I saw this myself on Saturday night (after someone told me). Spur Hill transmitter was OK, fed differently.
Years ago when the microwave link network to Mullaghanish failed, they instead switched to receiving another distant transmitter, with noticeable 'venitian blind' co-chanel interference

BTW Spur Hill RTE1 was suffering bad signal drop-outs for a bit last night (Sunday)

Zaphod

Mossy Monk wrote:

And what did these callers think Radio Kerry were going to do about it?

Maybe they were hoping a nice man would drive up to the top of Mullach an Ois and stop the deer from nibbling on the coax. Then move the dish a few inches to the right and retune to ProSieben's late night offering of "Der randy Koch und seine grosse Bratwurst".

Or maybe not.:p

Antenna wrote:

The Sky is just a backup to RTE's microwave link network. Obviously the backup (Sky satellite receiver) also failed.

As a backup it would make sense. I thought it a bit strange that they would consider a didgbox robust enough to rely on full time, especially when they have access to Tandberg equipment and the like.

Although there was an article in Television mag some time ago that the BBC used digiboxes at one point for distribution in the Channel Islands. Which used to confuse the hell out of the locals when the red dot came up on the screen and pressing their remote did nothing!

Ulsterman 1690

That red dot also regularly appears on Irish deflector systems

watty

MYOB wrote:

Because 16:9 on analogue requires the use of PALplus and theres about, oh, 4 PALplus TVs in Ireland?

Or else you would upset all the people that have 4:3 only TVs, if you used Animorphic!

PALplus was a great idea, but only if every WS (and high end 4:3 that does WS, some do) implemented it.

Just as most "HD Ready" TV don't do true HD, most Widescreen TVs don't implement PALplus.

It also specifies a digital comb filter that gives near S-Video/Component/RGB quality removing false crawling lines from strong colour and flickering false colour from fine detail monochrome like check or herring bone patterned clothes.

I'd love a PALplus TV just for that feature, which is an advantage on ordinary PAL transmissions.

Rick_

RTÉ have broadcast 16:9 on analogue before. I reported it a while go in a post. They forgot to switch the signal to 14:9 and instead broadcast the full 16:9 picture during a TV show on RTÉ ONE. My TV still stayed in 4:3, but after manually switching it to widescreen the picture was perfect. So they certianly have the ability to broadcast widescreen over analogue, whether they know it or not.

Mossy Monk

An episode of Home & Away was broadcast in widescreen once before too.

Ulsterman 1690

The Sky is just a backup to RTE's microwave link network. Obviously the backup (Sky satellite receiver) also failed.

Jeez looks like Murphy (as in the guy who wrote the law) has been working overtime

Or else you would upset all the people that have 4:3 only TVs, if you used Animorphic!.

Personally Id rather Animorphic on my telly than black bars or (worse) bits cut off but there you go !

PALplus was a great idea,

Ummm for about five minutes sometime in the 1990's it was but technology has moved on

An episode of Home & Away was broadcast in widescreen once before too.

OOOhhh that must have been rivetting viewing !

Zaphod

For the sake of posterity:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK2m0GgrODM

And yes, the RTÉ1 reception is sh*te with lots of ghosting - one of the drawbacks of having a VHF aerial in the attic.

superdudeman007

Paddy C wrote:

RTÉ have broadcast 16:9 on analogue before. I reported it a while go in a post. They forgot to switch the signal to 14:9 and instead broadcast the full 16:9 picture during a TV show on RTÉ ONE. My TV still stayed in 4:3, but after manually switching it to widescreen the picture was perfect. So they certianly have the ability to broadcast widescreen over analogue, whether they know it or not.

I saw that at the start of the Late Late Show once, but it was "squishyvision" - a 16:9 picture crushed to 4:3, usually by accident.

They could broadcast in 16:9 letterbox or "squishy", but very few people would bother retuning their sets.

Most people that watch 16:9 pictures on 4:3 sets don't adjust them because they don't even realise they're losing the edges. And most people I know with 16:9 sets still have analogue cable and stretch 4:3 pictures to fill the whole screen :eek: so there isn't really any need to switch.

Pat Gleeson

superdudeman007 wrote:

Most people that watch 16:9 pictures on 4:3 sets don't adjust them because they don't even realise they're losing the edges. And most people I know with 16:9 sets still have analogue cable and stretch 4:3 pictures to fill the whole screen :eek: so there isn't really any need to switch.

None of this will ever change until digital terrestrial arrives, and a firm date for analogue switchoff is set.

watty

My 4:3 set does WS switching and reduces the height scanned as if it has a WS tube. Either manual, Scart voltage (Sky box) or Line 23 signalling via Video/RF I think. So I leave all the Sky box on 16:9. One of the sat receivers I have (not sky) is wrong SW, it sets the SCART pin 5V or 12V for 16:9 or 4:3 selected in menu. Then doesn't signal for 16:9 or 4:3 content. My DVD also I have to tell the TV which shap to go to.