another RTE FTA thread!

TheDriver

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=883608

It has started all over again on Digital Spy!!!

byte

LOL, it all comes down to "I was chatting to someone in RTE"...

It would depend on who he/she was chatting to. A cleaner, for example, may not know.

I'd say it was misinterpreted, and wires crossed between Sky and DTT (or RTE Int)

channelsurfer

oh goodie.. I can see the headlines... someone was speaking to someone who heard that someone was saying something to someone about the etc....
I bet it means rte international. first i heard of rte and tg4 been dropped. maybe from sky in northern ireland but not the republic.

Tony

But somebody wrote it so it must be true

TheDriver

everything on the internet is true............

Tony

except for www.freesats.ie

TheDriver wrote: »

everything on the internet is true............

towel401

TheDriver wrote: »

everything on the internet is true............

Even the stuff about the pino-bananian wars. its all true

channelsurfer

they are now saying it will be fta in ulster only regulated by the postcode entered.... with the same programmes blocked out that they dont have rights to in the north like home and away. I find it unbelievable but anyway seemingly the deal has been signed.

mjsmyth

I suppose that theoretically they could put RTE on it using the same method that they use for ITV HD. Using that method, it would mean that the channels would not be available on Sky fta.

Obviously that does not take into account other no sky boxes, but hey....

Still can't see it happening though.

mj

VH

Tony wrote: »

except for www.freesats.ie

the cro must be making a mint with all these 20 euro "trading as" business registrations

Mossy Monk

channelsurfer wrote: »

but anyway seemingly the deal has been signed.

Can you please post a source to that news that a deal has been signed.

Until RTÉ come out and say this will happen then I call bull****. Offering their services for free to another country while their licence paying viewers must pay. Yeah right.

channelsurfer

sorry Mossy it was me been tongue in cheek when said that.... according to the poster on digital spy the deal has been signed... I have asked him for his source..

Charles Slane

All we can say are the facts as we know them. I'm always happy to be surprised, but I'm highly sceptical.

watty

Could be they have a FTV card agreement with Sky?

That's only been infeasible due to artifical Sky charges. Unlike FTA it's not inherently expensive.

That would mean cancelled Irish cards working for RTE. UK mainland or no card, no RTE. N.I. post codes sort of treated as Ireland.

The original deal was due to end now. With the UK TV FTV card scheme now basically dead, Sky can cut price of FTV card without BBC/ITV/C4 screaming foul.

channelsurfer

if its true (still very skeptical) it would mark a major uturn by rte who always said it was not possible due to rights issue. maybe they have hired new enlightened tech staff who have told them of ways to hide it from the uk sky epg and the uk freesat epg ecept Northern ireland.

anyway time will tell.

Zaphod

Anyone able to confirm this with contacts in Montrose?

Mossy Monk

RTÉ 1, 2, TV3 and TG4 going FTA? Let me confirm that it is bull****. For starters TV3 have nothing to do with RTÉ.

Tony

For what its worth I had a conversation with a senior staff member of a wholesaler who told me that the source who predicted Ch4 would go FTA is saying that something will happen with RTE in approx 4 weeks from now. Sorry I cant name the source or be more specific.

Zaphod

Thanks Tony.

While the inclusion of TV3 is off-putting, the transmission method described does seem tantalisingly similar to what we were discussing some time back.

Tony

They really should pay us for thinking this up I wonder though is this just RTE going FTV using NI based freesat from sky cards. Reason I say this is that if RTE go FTA theres no need for the ex pat channel aimed at Irish born etc UK based viewers. If RTE appears on Freesat only this is ok too as the boxes will be very shortly sold by at least one major ROI wholesaler.


EDIT: Just read the OP on digitalspy and he is a well respected industry figure here. I'm hoping though he is not the wholesalers source for the info which would make it slightly more plausible.

Zaphod wrote: »

Thanks Tony.

While the inclusion of TV3 is off-putting, the transmission method described does seem tantalisingly similar to what we were discussing some time back.

channelsurfer

so we have 4 weeks to wait until we find out whether its all rubbish or not? I hope the senior source is correct.

Tony

channelsurfer wrote: »

I hope the senior source is correct.

Well in four weeks it maybe classified as what the Americans call a "senior moment"

TheDriver

Can you confirm or deny Tony thats its not just RTE international we're talking about or DTT but something actually new? Would be great if the freesat thing came to Ireland properly though with DTT on the horizon anyways, wonder how much we really need this

Tony

Sorry I cannot add anything to my earlier post, I simply do not know.

TheDriver wrote: »

Can you confirm or deny Tony thats its not just RTE international we're talking about or DTT but something actually new? Would be great if the freesat thing came to Ireland properly though with DTT on the horizon anyways, wonder how much we really need this

TheDriver

Thanks Tony! Sounds like its more than just the usual no basis rumour so will be interesting to see what happens

bk

Just coming up with some conspiracy theories.

Now that Boxer has won the commercial DTT license, perhaps RTE see this as a way of getting revenge and putting a steak straight through the heart of Boxer.

In fact if all the Irish channels went FTA or FTV, it could lead to the very quick demise of commercial DTT and RTE could end up picking up the pieces.

Just wishful thinking.

Tony

Interesting view you have, that is the second time today I have heard that point put forward.

bk wrote: »

Just coming up with some conspiracy theories.

Now that Boxer has won the commercial DTT license, perhaps RTE see this as a way of getting revenge and putting a steak straight through the heart of Boxer.

Lossy

Anyone know or have an opinion on whether digital terrestrial coverage will be more or less than current analogue terrestrial.

Maybe, at analogue switch off time, RTE have to provide (by EU law) the availability of a FREE digital service to ALL licence payers whether it be satellite or terrestrial.

This is also just wishful thinking!!

TheDriver

In Cork, the coverage will be a while to convery due to all the relays down here but hopefully will be fairly widespread eventually. interesting none the less

givecredit

Tony, if a major irish wholeseller is going to stock freesat boxes, does this mean they will be available to buy in most high street electrical stores or will they be available in specialist shops like your own and a few other independents.

MisterAnarchy

This could be the best news I've heard in years.
I'll finally be able to get rid of those vampires Sky.

Tony

I would imagine it would be independents/specialists only

givecredit wrote: »

Tony, if a major irish wholeseller is going to stock freesat boxes, does this mean they will be available to buy in most high street electrical stores or will they be available in specialist shops like your own and a few other independents.

watty

Lossy wrote: »

Anyone know or have an opinion on whether digital terrestrial coverage will be more or less than current analogue terrestrial.

Maybe, at analogue switch off time, RTE have to provide (by EU law) the availability of a FREE digital service to ALL licence payers whether it be satellite or terrestrial.

This is also just wishful thinking!!

The coverage will be much worse than RTE, but maybe better than TV3's

They don't have to provide any such thing under EU law. They do (as do TV3, but they are breaking the rule without any penalty) have to provide "universal" coverage under the terms of their Irish licences/Charters. We have never had universal Analogue coverage of RTE at acceptable quality (RTE disagree) and TV3 is about 80% population. They also tend to quote population coverage rather than geographic which unfairly penalises rural dwellers.

DMC

bk wrote: »

Just coming up with some conspiracy theories.

Now that Boxer has won the commercial DTT license, perhaps RTE see this as a way of getting revenge and putting a steak straight through the heart of Boxer.

As Tony said, nice, but then RTÉ NL wouldn't pick up future revenue from Boxer.

In that scenario, RTÉ would like Boxer to launch, then fail, once they have the moolah.

byte

DMC wrote: »

As Tony said, nice, but then RTÉ NL wouldn't pick up future revenue from Boxer.

In that scenario, RTÉ would like Boxer to launch, then fail, once they have the moolah.

Indeed, and then pick up the pieces and hopefully run all the muxes on the DTT network themselves.

Lossy

watty wrote: »

The coverage will be much worse than RTE, but maybe better than TV3's

Hi Watty,

So would I be right in saying that there will be a certain amount of unhappy exclusively terrestrial viewers close to the edge of analogue coverage that wont see anything when ASO arrives, even if they have the equipment they need i.e. digital tuner etc?

podgeandrodge

the OP on digitalspy has posted the following

"I was speaking yet again to somebody “in the know” regarding the RTE FTA issue. I was reliably informed that (as per my first post) RTE are going FTA via the “freesat” platform, and are now finalising EPG slots…apparently transponders are in order and the launch date is sometime this late this month………..No doubt countless forum members will understandably dispute this, but I have no reason whatsoever to disbelieve the people I discussed the issue with..... "

channelsurfer

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I see now he says. I bet its rte international. nothing more. they have every intention of going on freesat and have always stated that. But no mention of RTE1 or 2 going on freesat which is highly unlikely I still say.

Tony

My read on this would be they are going Quasi FTA on freesat boxes with NI postcodes using the same transmission spec as ITV HD as a fudge for rights holders. Will be interesting to see whether this happens and in what form.

Denethor

Could it by any chance be the RTE radio channels that these rumours are referring to as Freesat has confirmed that RTE Radio One, 2fm etc are joining the freesat EPG????

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/digitaltv/a129309/freesat-confirms-rt-c41-launches.html

Tony

I think anything is possible at this point. I'm wondering why the source is not more specific in saying exactly what channels are going FTA.

Denethor wrote: »

Could it by any chance be the RTE radio channels that these rumours are referring to l[/URL]

Mossy Monk

Tony wrote: »

My read on this would be they are going Quasi FTA on freesat boxes with NI postcodes using the same transmission spec as ITV HD as a fudge for rights holders. Will be interesting to see whether this happens and in what form.

If that happens then RTÉ should be ashamed for providing channels we have to pay for free of charge to another country.

rlogue

Ashamed? Ashamed for what?

The BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 provide their channels free to Ireland and the rest of Western Europe without any obligation to pay a UK licence fee via FTA satellite. Are you suggesting they should be ashamed too?

RTE should be applauded for this if it does go ahead.

Mossy Monk

rlogue wrote: »

Ashamed? Ashamed for what?

The BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 provide their channels free to Ireland and the rest of Western Europe without any obligation to pay a UK licence fee via FTA satellite. Are you suggesting they should be ashamed too?

RTE should be applauded for this if it does go ahead.

You think it would be ok for another country to have free access to satellite versions of Irish channels when I in Ireland don't?

Your example is flawed as UK viewers also have access to those channels FTA

Tony

Mossy Monk wrote: »

If that happens then RTÉ should be ashamed for providing channels we have to pay for free of charge to another country.

You mean like the BBC which we have been watching for decades with no payment?

Zaphod

Lossy wrote: »

Anyone know or have an opinion on whether digital terrestrial coverage will be more or less than current analogue terrestrial.

Most likely worse. UHF copes less well with hills etc. than VHF. Secondly, while analogue transmissions degrade gracefully, DTT falls off the "digital cliff". So where someone previously might have managed with a fuzzy picture but good audio, with digital they will have loss of sync, blocking and continous dropouts - loss of audio is a particular problem.

Mossy Monk wrote: »

You think it would be ok for another country to have free access to satellite versions of Irish channels when I in Ireland don't?

Buy a Freesat box?

Assuming they are planning to go on Freesat, then starting with NI has a number of benefits from an RTÉ perspective. Freesat is already officially available in NI, so no problems with BBC, C4 etc co-existing with RTÉ on the EPG. NI can then serve as a testbed to see if any complaints come from copyright holders. RTÉ can also argue GFA requirements if they do kick up a fuss. In the meantime, anyone in ROI who wishes to get RTÉ on sat can do so unofficially by importing a Freesat box and punching in an NI postcode. Think of it as a Northern Irish solution to an Irish problem.

Rollout of Freesat in ROI has a number of obstacles to overcome. UPC, Sky and Boxer are liable to bitch and moan if Freesat launches here because they will want the UK channels removed from the EPG. So that would be something that RTÉ and Freesat would need to overcome. By rolling out in NI, and letting the grey market take care of the rest, Freesat could become a de facto reality in ROI possibly making an official launch easier in the future. If it served to undermine Sky's stranglehold on satellite broadcasting, all the better.

Softly, softly, catchee monkey.

Mossy Monk

Tony wrote: »

You mean like the BBC which we have been watching for decades with no payment?

Were the same BBC services encrypted in the UK? No they weren't. You too make a pointless example.

Tony

Mossy Monk wrote: »

You too make a pointless example.

Yes they were thats why a FTV card was necessary.

Its only pointless to you because you missed the point I made.

muincav

Tony wrote: »

Yes they were thats why a FTV card was necessary.

Its only pointless to you because you missed the point I made.

but unless you pay for Sky (rip off merchants ) now, you wont recieve RTE digital broadcasts in Ireland, and there is not and never has been the provision of an Irish version of the FTV card, so on that point- yes RTE should be ashamed...I have no problem with the whole world watching RTE for free on digital sat as long as we dont have to pay..:mad:

Tony

muincav wrote: »

but unless you pay for Sky (rip off merchants ) now, you wont recieve RTE digital broadcasts in Ireland

Not true.

I really cant see were all this anger is coming from with regard to RTE expanding its services. If we really want to be pedantic about this the licience is fee is technicially speaking a levy on broadcast receiving equipment.

TheDriver

And free RTE is available in this country as it has been for many many years and with DTT rolling out, it will be soon enough digitally.