Many more ntl digital channels carrying teletext

DigiDec

I see that a lot more ntl digital channels are now carrying analogue teletext services. A bit of an addition to the overall service.

Solair

Is there no digital text on it yet?

Freddie59

DigiDec wrote:

I see that a lot more ntl digital channels are now carrying analogue teletext services. A bit of an addition to the overall service.

Which ones DD? I'm in Waterford and it is available on the Four Irish and Four UK National channels.

patrickmooney

This is great news. Basically every channel which carries teletext is now being carried via NTL. I'm in Dublin here and can pick up the likes of Paramount Text, Box Text, TV5 Text. Great Great Stuff!!!

watty

Solair wrote:

Is there no digital text on it yet?

Teletext *IS* a digital system.

UK Freeview uses MHEG which the NTL boxes I don't think do and Sky Interactive uses Open TV (which is proprietary Thomson system).

All three systems on digital platforms are carried in extra data streams separate from the TV picture and TV sound. Teletext is very little data. The Sky Open TV is potentially a lot of data and uses additional video streams.

So either of the BBC or Sky "digital text" content on DTT Freeview or Satellite is not going to happen on UPC's cable network. Only Teletext works on the non-Sky satellite receivers. Not even EPG except for German/Swiss/Austrian channels.

icdg

Watty wrote:

UK Freeview uses MHEG which the NTL boxes I don't think do and Sky Interactive uses Open TV (which is proprietary Thomson system).

And NTL boxes use Liberate, but its never been enabled in ROI. Potentially the interactive services from Virgin Media could be imported, but I'm not sure we'll ever see the interactive capabilities of the boxes ever being used at this stage. With internet access becoming some ubiquitous and broadband now far more common than when digital TV was first envisaged, I'm not sure there is so much demand for it. "Red button" applications are the main usage for it now, but Sky's Active applications will never be developed for anything other than Sky Digital while the cable version of BBCi has always been the poor relation of the three versions in any case.

Its' good to see NTL enabling text across all channels, however at this stage many of the satellite TV channels have discontinued their teletext services in any case.

watty

No connection between NTL in UK and NTL here now. UPC owns the show here. WE are more likely to get whatever the Dutch have.

icdg

Problem there Watty, is that NTL here are still using hardware and software from the former NTL in the UK. Not UPC's. Likewise Chorus' system software has never been changed. Some of the compability problems might be sorted with a software update on both counts, but some others might require the hardware to be swapped.

watty

In that scenario getting very little in EPG improvements today. more Jam tomorrow on hypothetical PVR.

They are not likely to import Liberate now.