Channel 4, E4, More4, all now free-to-air!

John32c

Any more word on Channel 4 going FTA. There was talk of this happening when their SKY contract expired in (Spring-Summer) 2008. Anyone got any more info?

{ed by Mod: Click to end of thread and you see C4 is officially now FTA on 28.2 Astra2D. You can use Sky box via other channels, FTA receiver or Freesat receiver from Comet or Dixons/Currys/PCworld in UK. On their web sites, but I'm not sure if they ship to Ireland.

Watty}

MODEDIT: Link to page that has the tuning details: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055266385&page=9 (tis page 9)

gman2k

Looking like towards end of year, but nothing definite yet, just rumours from C4 insiders

pa990

i thought their (C4) contract expired at the end of August or September

(i'm open to correction.)

steveon

I heard October but hopefully will be sooner

ash_kay

Just spotted this thread on digital spy:
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=777975

Checked it out and Channel 4 is available here:
10729 V 22000 5/6
The channel name is 8350

Fingers crossed it doesn't disappear too soon!

taung

Excellent spot!

I've just tuned into it and it's coming in loud and clear! The channel name coming up is "8350".

And here's the reason why they are testing Channel 4 FTA;

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=22908030&postcount=4

"I am now in a better position to inform you of freesat having just returned from a meeting with 'auntie'.

It will have only 40 services to begin with, then 80 just after launch, and then the achievable 150 later in 2008/9

Broadband enabled set top boxes for integrated iplayer and other VOD services in the future

User friendly epg, it is very good and future proof, with regional opts added later, national services in wales, Scotland and ni first, other bbc regional services will be at the end of the EPG to begin with

Green button activity for the eventual PVR launch, to record from programme adverts...

Channels 1-5: BBC 1 & 2, ITV London for England, national services for the nations instead. There WILL be Channel 4 at launch (as they part own Freesat) Five are in final negotiations for either launch or just after, some technical issues and rights issues they are VERY keen to be at launch, but sport may be blanked out, the later is not confirmed

Channels Digital: All BBC, All ITV, All Channel 4 digital (it is hoped all digital channels from start, without blanking on certain programmes until later in the year). FIVE yes this will be carried not necessarily at the start but they WILL be there within matter of months.

Free HD are 2 services, BBC and ITV, Channel 4 will follow after launch, FIVE are talking about it... but nothing firm.

Sky 3 and News.... SKY aren't involved, these are FTV propositions. Possibly later if sky work with freesat.

SD Basic boxes at April sales launch from Alba
HD basic from Alba and Humax at the end of April
HD PVR/DTR July from Alba and Humax

Retailers; Argos, DSGi, John Lewis and Comet

Launch date: lol closely guarded secret, start of May!

Freeview launch was very low key, FreeSat is going to be huge!!!"

mjsmyth

Nice!!

christo82

That's great to see Channel 4 available from launch, including More4 and E4? Wasn't expecting Channel 4 until Autumn. And maybe FIVE also. Though would only probably watch FIVE for the odd football match, which they say may be blanked out.

byte

Most interesting, if true.

I'd wonder if it'll be a bad idea plugging in your (Irish) broadband into the STB for iPlayer...

channelsurfer

whats that i hear???"oh yes mr murdoch .... it really is a shame that our monopoly....errrr valuable public service is under threat... but sure didnt we ride the hell out of people for years.. "
will be great if it happens that channel 5 goes fta. wonder how sky will react?

Rippy

Gone already.

Mossy Monk

Still FTA for me. Took the card out and everything.

biologikal

Confirmed, Channel 4 is still FTA this morning.

Tony

Good catch, still here this (sat) morning

Rippy

My mistake , looking at the wrong ch - 8389 I think - still NDS.
I blame newborn twins and lack of sleep!
Have added it to channel list I install on FTA boxes. Have labeled it Ch4 (test) in case it disappears.

Tony

If anyone has a non sky HD box might be worth checking ch4 hd

homer911

Picking it up loud and clear on my Lidl receiver - excellent

Denethor

And judging by the talk on digitalspy E4, More 4 and indeed Channel 5 are soon to follow

channelsurfer

i wonder how sky will react in ireland. they insist that the bbc should pay them to put bbc3 4 and news 24 on the epg. maybe if they start loosing numbers to freesat here they will actually do what upc do and pay to have them on the epg and also bbc hd.

givecredit

Tony wrote: »

If anyone has a non sky HD box might be worth checking ch4 hd

Still FTV, But its reported elsewhere that it will go FTA in the next working week!!

E4 and More4 to follow.

Ch5, 5us and 5life to follow in next few months.

Mossy Monk

Source that five and it's 2 channels are going FTA please.

givecredit

Mossy Monk wrote: »

Source that five and it's 2 channels are going FTA please.

From the same source as post 2 in this thread and from someone who reports to work for

"The company i work for provides uplink for c4 e4 and more4 are on the same transponder at the moment but encrypted but will go fta very soon as they are tests at the moment but will stay on that frequency,

The plan is to keep that feed for ch4 networks on that frequency for freesat and also sky digibox feed and get rid of the regional versions of ch4 on the other frequencies,

The plans it to keep all the main PSB channels on a UK spot beam and move any PSB channels eg five to a UK spot beam asap,

Also there is a transponder swap due to take place within the next week to move the remaining encrypted channels off 2d for room for ch5 and other fta channels"

GhostInTheRuins

Nice, just got it. Glad to see C4 FTA.

Mossy Monk

givecredit wrote: »

From the same source as post 2 in this thread and from someone who reports to work for

A post from an internet forum is not a source.

Tony

Mossy Monk wrote: »

A post from an internet forum is not a source.

It is'nt? surely its a source of information allbeit not a 100 % reliable one.

channelsurfer

i would tend to believe the source from what i am reading on digitalspy. it seems some form of channel 5 will be fta but with some of the programmes blocked. anyway all will be made clear when freesat launches mid may sometime.

Mossy Monk

Tony wrote: »

It is'nt? surely its a source of information allbeit not a 100 % reliable one.

fta keith was a source of information in that case. Apologies.

Tony

Yes he was a source just a completely unreliable one but a source none the less, anything posted here or any other forum is a source of information its up to the reader to judge the validity of the information posted. In this case I don't see anybody of digital spy jumping on the poster so it seems to be reliable information thus far. Just because something is posted on the internet does not automatically invalidate it. Many years ago I posted the arrival of BBC FTA and readers quite rightly made there own judgment on the validity of that information.

Mossy Monk wrote: »

fta keith was a source of information in that case. Apologies.

TheDriver

With this information and C4 fta at moment and C5 doing some FTA few weeks back, it seems more than just coincidence at the moment. It will all be good hopefully!

wil

Tony wrote: »

iMany years ago I posted the arrival of BBC FTA and readers quite rightly made there own judgment on the validity of that information.

So we have you to blame for all this FTA mallarkey:D

C4 still there, just waiting for the others now:cool:

Came across an interesting snippet on DS re a new possible feature on the forthcoming Freesat PVR DSLink

"One of the six "private data" carriers on the Channel 4 HD transponder contains brief referenece to "Promo Trigger ITV". Any Ideas what this is?"

Ans - "Apparently there's going to be a PVR feature that allows you to set a record up by pressing a colour button when a trailer for the show comes on. "


Also news that Sky are doing away with component out on new HD boxes to prevent piracy. link
I hadn't realised piracy was considered an issue with HD boxes


Additional - And here is word from another source ASCSignal
"Also remember that some time in the next week or so CH4 HD will also go FTA on Astra 2D as well i can 100% guarantee and put my word on it i do not work for freesat or ch4 i just work for a company that provides uplink and terrestrial broadcast facilities",
Keeps your eyes peeled if you have a HD box:cool:

Oops - have to give credit to givecredit, he already mentioned this above.

cupthehand

wil wrote: »

Additional - And here is word from another source ASCSignal
"Also remember that some time in the next week or so CH4 HD will also go FTA on Astra 2D as well i can 100% guarantee and put my word on it i do not work for freesat or ch4 i just work for a company that provides uplink and terrestrial broadcast facilities",
Keeps your eyes peeled if you have a HD box:cool:

Would that mean Sky changing the symbol rate so from the current 29500 to 22000 or 27500 so non subscription Sky HD boxs can pick it up?

givecredit

if ch4 switch off encryption on 4HD, Iwould think that the only way a ROI Sky box would receive this channel is by changing the epg to a uk epg. This can be done by pressing red button on sky news 501, when multi screens appear, remove ROI Viewing card and press backup. Your epg should now be a UK Version. (Cant manually tune in ch4 HD Currently because of the 29000 issue)

This method might prove a bit tedious for most people. But it is a short term solution to an irish problem.

DigiDec

Isn't there an EU rule that a FTA channel must be able to be picked up on any satellite receiver so the symbol rate would have to be changed to 22000 or 27500 so a skyHD box could pick it up, just like BBC HD at the moment.

mikebro

I have an old sky box that I use for the FTA channels (no card) , I have tuned in channel 4 fta version under the add channels on the box , I was just wondering will that version appear on the boxes epg when freesat commences next month

ongarite

Haha this is super. Dodgeball is on C4 now but blocked on Sky EPG for some reason.
Tuning it in manually as 8350, its coming in fine.

Mossy Monk

Noticed that myself

wil

I'd say probably not on the Sky epg, but yes on the Freesat box epg.
It will likely only appear on the Sky epg if C4 pay for the slot.

mikebro wrote: »

I have an old sky box that I use for the FTA channels (no card) , I have tuned in channel 4 fta version under the add channels on the box , I was just wondering will that version appear on the boxes epg when freesat commences next month

Mossy Monk

Surely if Channel 4 will be FTA then the current EPG position will also.

Richard

Mossy Monk wrote: »

Surely if Channel 4 will be FTA then the current EPG position will also.

That would make sense. Otherwise they'd have to duplicate all the regions for freesat (remember that CH4 have about 6 advertising regions).

wil

Yes logically it makes sense, but does that necessarily imply Sky will keep it on the epg for free after the contract expires. Perhaps they are required to do so by Ofcom. Then that would be fine for cardless digibox, but no guarantee for an Irish epg. It could get confined to Other Channels along with BBC3 etc. I presume they have to sign up for another contract to get an epg placing. They might be just content with a Freesat epg placing or non epg on standard FTA.
All wild speculation obviously, I really dont know.

As for duplication, isnt that whats going to happen to all channels carried by both services

Richard wrote: »

That would make sense. Otherwise they'd have to duplicate all the regions for freesat (remember that CH4 have about 6 advertising regions).

radiofoot

mikebro wrote: »

I have an old sky box that I use for the FTA channels (no card) , I have tuned in channel 4 fta version under the add channels on the box , I was just wondering will that version appear on the boxes epg when freesat commences next month

I tried this yesterday on a sky box that I am using for the FTA channels. Although I could find and save the channel, I was asked to insert my viewing card when I tried to access Other Channels. Is this normal?

givecredit

radiofoot wrote: »

I tried this yesterday on a sky box that I am using for the FTA channels. Although I could find and save the channel, I was asked to insert my viewing card when I tried to access Other Channels. Is this normal?

No this is not normal. Just tried myself without viewing card inserted and it worked fine. Is there any parential controls setup on your box?

5h4mr0(k

I tried it about 30 minutes ago on a FTA box, it's fine!

dulpit

So do people think this is a permanent thing? Or will it go back encrypted again until their contract with Sky expires (october or something?)

Jungle Boy

The Digital Spy poster has made more postings

Some of the channels, programmes will have a flag. This is to help some channels in the transition from sky... like five.
Flags will be placed on some programmes so they are ONLY viewable by freesat boxes.
The channels [programmes?] will only be visible on boxes which have the freesat software/hardware.

The way I read this is that Channel 4 and Five will go free-to-air (no encryption). But when they broadcast programmes which they don't hold Ireland rights (US imports & sport), these FTA channels will be flagged (still free-to-air but only Freesat set top boxes and UK viewing cards will decode):

Ireland viewing card : 08 this programme is unavailable

FTA receiver : this set top box does not have the correct software and cannot decode this signal

Freesat receiver : software decodes flag signal

UK viewing card : software decodes flag signal


So even though Channel 4 and Five will be going FTA, we will still need a UK viewing card or Freesat STB to watch them 24/7 In an earlier posting, it reported that Freesat STBs will only be available from Argos, DSGi, John Lewis and Comet (ie: no internet retailers to accept Ireland sales)?

Zaphod

Jungle Boy wrote: »

FTA receiver : this set top box does not have the correct software and cannot decode this signal

99% of FTA boxes ignore encryption flags once the channel has been scanned in.

TheDriver

The only software in the boxes different from a normal FTA STB is to utilise the EPG data from eurobird. I don't see a whole other software being tested and developed to satisfy this. Remember theres not many FTA boxes in Ireland compared to SKY boxes and if its not on the sky epg, most people will never watch it (e.g. BBC3/4, ITV2-4 etc) So this whole lark about all of Ireland watching C5 etc is pure garbage in reality. Bit like having TV3 or C6 available all over England, would many actually bother watching it?

Foggy43

When I was in Ireland over Easter I mentioned 'Freesat' to a few people and interest was nil. Sky channels 520 and upwards are quite popular and not the BBC's and ITV's as I thought.

TheDriver

Its the same as people automatically get sky coz its the buzz word and they watch what sky want them to watch. Most people I know couldn't be bothered even looking up other channels. The whole thing about rights means nothing really as a very small proportion watch C5, C4 would be rarely even heard of. Just look at C6, no one watched it coz it was down epg.
You will find a good number of peolpe with sky just watching rte 1 and 2!

radiofoot

givecredit wrote: »

No this is not normal. Just tried myself without viewing card inserted and it worked fine. Is there any parential controls setup on your box?

I had the adult channels turned off. Just changed that setting using a freesat card from a different box and the 'other channels' option is now working.

I didn't realise that you could use a single card to set viewing restrictions on multiple boxes. I was a bit concerned that you couldn't use parental controls without a viewing card, but this way you can, if you have a freesat card and more than one box!

wil

Thats an interesting finding regarding parental controls, I hadnt thought of trying it because I assumed the settings were saved to the card.
Will have to give it a shot. Only problem I am thinking is it will then default to the cards epg and not the standard UK epg.
I will have to play around with that. Cheers

radiofoot wrote: »

I had the adult channels turned off. Just changed that setting using a freesat card from a different box and the 'other channels' option is now working.
I didn't realise that you could use a single card to set viewing restrictions on multiple boxes. I was a bit concerned that you couldn't use parental controls without a viewing card, but this way you can, if you have a freesat card and more than one box!

TheDriver - your point about people only watching certain channels is very valid which is why Sky knows epg placement is very important and valuable. When I just had FTA, I hardly ever watched RTE on terrestial, just tended to watch what was on the epg. People, myself included are lazy and want the info in front of them, its too much hassle to consult a paper then change TV channels. Now if they could just direct wire it in to my brain:D