About closed thread

Ranicand

The UPC box hidden menu would be very useful and I think we do need to know about it.


If it shows how many channels are squeezed on each frequency I think this would be quite useful.

In the closed thread in said 13 frequency's are used if this it true this is a disgrace when 17 analog channels are wasting space on the cable.

That is about 11 channels per frequency that is a way over compressed service.

We are not breking any terms and conditions by looking at a hidden menu as far as I am aware.

pa990

Boards isn't a democracy


Don't waste your breath, there are plenty willing to saddle up and ride into town on a horse.

If you need info on the working of NTL, use google, and you may find another forum willing to allow such discussion



(in before the lock)

watty

Do you know all about QAM?
The "quality/ compression/ number of channels per carrier" of digital depends on:
Source quality
Head End Encoder type
Codec (MPEG2, MPEG4)
Variable Bit rate vs Constant bit Rate vs Variable Bit Statistical Mux
FEC
Interference.
5MHz, 5.5MHz or 6MHz Modulation (i.e. different Symbol Rate) in 6MHz or 8Mhz channels.

The raw bitrate can be from 16Mbps per channel/frequency to about 46Mbps per channel frequency. The Average bit rate of a VBR encoded TV station can be from 1.5Mbps to 5Mbps depending on source, with peaks to 9Mbps and minimum of 0.1Mbps, codec etc. CBR can be from 2.5Mbps to 10Mbps.

MMDS can use much higher QAM and everything else same quality than UHF. Cable can use even higher QAM. UHF TV for robust signal is 16QAM, typical cable is 256QAM, i.e. 16 x the number of channels in same frequency is possible.

UPC is a closed PayTV system. I quite sure you don't need to know this information on Menu and most people could not draw useful conclusions.

If you bring up the topic again Ranicard, it will be an infraction.

Argue or bring it up a 2nd time it will be forum Ban.

In time the Analogue services on ex Chorus MMDS and on all cable will be gone. The ex NTL MMDS has no Analogue channels.

watty

pa990 wrote: »

Boards isn't a democracy

[snipage]
If you need info on the working of NTL, use google, and you may find another forum willing to allow such discussion

But will it be useful without knowing all about the head end too?


UPC (NTL) can run what ever compression they want, that is their private info. You are also not forced to subscribe.

However it is very likely that when UPC has finished upgrading the Network they will improve head ends, Migrate eventually to MPEG4 (which doubles capacity), reduce or scrap Analogue etc, and thus generally improve the service. HD will eventually be added to.

UPC inherited very poor networks from Chorus and NTL. They have been spending Millions on upgrade.
Not all areas of Cable are the same characteristics. Ex Chorus MMDS uses 1/2 the frequencies for DVB-t digital (unknown QAM) and 1/2 for Analogue VSB PAL. Ex NTL MMDS areas are 100% Digital DVB-c modulation (Likely 64QAM).

Any discussion of UPC broadcast Network Parameters would be very speculative, involve private information if accurate and of very little value to non-technical people.

I don't and have never worked for Chorus/NTL/UPC, but I have spent many years with BBC, as a consultant and also 3 years with Digitweb on Analogue /Digital/Cable TV and MPEG encoding etc, so I actually do understand this stuff and have done my own test transmissions of:
Analogue VSB PAL (Like UHF TV) on 430MHz, 1200MHz, 10GHz
FM PAL on 1.2GHz, 2.4GHz
DVB-t, DVB-c and DVB-s (DTT, cable, Satellite) on UHF and 10GHz, using MPEG2 and MPEG4, both Constant Bit Rate and Variable Bit Rate and also Vendor supplied files of Transport Streams Statistically Mux/Encoded Variable Bit Rate (Which can almost double the number of channels possible).

I closed both threads as there really is "nothing to see" and any information to be gleaned is only of use to UPC, hence hidden.