Digital TV in Ireland.

francie81

All the talk around the completion of Digital TV being rolled out by the end of 2012 and its FREE, now how do they make that out for one we still pay massive tv license in this country and most likely will jump as an outcome of such an infrastructure, they say its ok no need to buy a new television when you can get a set top box for in around €100 (btw you can now buy a 17' for about the same price with mpeg4 enabled), who is doing the handshakes or am I just being delusional here?

Francie

Sam Russell

The price of a STB will fall to around €50 by the end of the summer. There is no need to get a STB if your telly is compatible, and many are.

The licence issue is another matter.

francie81

Sam Russell wrote: »

There is no need to get a STB if your telly is compatible, and many are.

Not every flat screen tv is compatible and this certainly wasn't advised on the RTE news story the other day?:rolleyes:

Sam Russell

francie81 wrote: »

Not every flat screen tv is compatible and this certainly wasn't advised on the RTE news story the other day?:rolleyes:

That is true, but some are compatible and the user does not realise that they can receive the digital signal. This is the point of the awareness campaign. The first step is to tell people that there is a service. Later, I presume they will deal in the detail.

There main message sofar is that 'Saorview Certified' is the only way to go.

BrianD

francie81 wrote: »

All the talk around the completion of Digital TV being rolled out by the end of 2012 and its FREE,

Francie

It's free to receive in that you don't have to pay a subscription to say Sky or UPC. It's still free even if you don't have a TV licence which of course would be against the law.

Minstrel27

You go on like this is a problem exclusive to Ireland.

francie81

BrianD wrote: »

It's free to receive in that you don't have to pay a subscription to say Sky or UPC. It's still free even if you don't have a TV licence which of course would be against the law.

Isn't that the same as saying 'analogue' is also free even if you don't have a license so where is the difference apart from getting a guide with pristine picture, shouldn't we have that anyway?

BrianD

francie81 wrote: »

Isn't that the same as saying 'analogue' is also free even if you don't have a license so where is the difference apart from getting a guide with pristine picture, shouldn't we have that anyway?

Precisely. Digital will replace the analogue system. It's a change of technology with some minor additional benefits.

However, Sky Digital and UPC Digital have been in the market a good while and both are subscription services. I presume the use of "free" is to avoid public perception that it's a subscription service and increase early and faster adoption of the technology.

watty

No Widescreen, HD or Interactive on Analogue.
10% to 15% have poor analogue signal
5% to 8% have no TG4 on Analogue
20% + have no TV3 on Analogue
Digital is already at better coverage than decent Analogue signal.
There will be satellite fill in for last 5%

They want 1/3rd to TV band for other purposes. There is no choice apparently about turning off analogue, so Digital is needed.

It's a replacement.

Sam Russell

Think of it like motorways without the tolls. They get you there faster and with fewer accidents, and less hassel, and (without the tolls) cost you nothing extra.

The digital way of doing things generally gets better results. In this case, (digital TV in Ireland) we get more channels in better quality for more of the population at lower cost. And we can sell off some of the un-needed channels to other uses for lots of dosh. Winners all round. (Except that the programmes are still cr@p.)

Why did it take us so long?

Minstrel27

watty wrote: »

No Widescreen, HD or Interactive on Analogue.
10% to 15% have poor analogue signal
5% to 8% have no TG4 on Analogue
20% + have no TV3 on Analogue
Digital is already at better coverage than decent Analogue signal.
There will be satellite fill in for last 5%

They want 1/3rd to TV band for other purposes. There is no choice apparently about turning off analogue, so Digital is needed.

It's a replacement.

Not forgetting 3e is now available to some people that never had it before.

The Cush

Minstrel27 wrote: »

Not forgetting 3e is now available to some people that never had it before.

But may not be available after the May National launch if transmission charges are not agreed.

francie81

That said lads and am greatful for the responses but I still think their is some kind of handshakes going on because its Ireland afterall. So how different will it be to that of SKY & UPC for instance will you have a breakage in picture quality as a result of bad weather?
Also why do both of these have Irish channels as part of their subscription service? I think the real idea behind this SKY+ (soo good that it is) it trains customers up to hold on to their subscription because we all know you can't record freeview.

doney84

Saorview is NOT a competitor to Sky or UPC, it is simply to replace the existing analogue network which is happening all over Europe. Therefore it is unfair to compare it to SKY & UPC.

As for will it be affected by bad weather conditions ... I have no idea as i'm not an expert in this area but i'm guessing it would hold up better than analogue signal as it's a newer technology!

Freeview can be recorded and with the correct set top box I understand Saorview will also be able to be recorded & have series link just like Sky+

francie81

francie81 wrote: »

So how different will it be to that of SKY & UPC for instance will you have a breakage in picture quality as a result of bad weather?

It's unlikely to break up in bad weather if you have a good signal and aerial. UHF has better rain fade performance than Ku band satellite due to the lower frequencies used (470-860MHz vs 10.7-12.5GHz). UPC should never fade in bad weather unless there's something seriously wrong with the cabling.

francie81

Karsini wrote: »

It's unlikely to break up in bad weather if you have a good signal and aerial.

So what happens if you have the latest edition flatscreen (iDTV) where an aerial & set top box isn't needed?

francie81

francie81 wrote: »

So what happens if you have the latest edition flatscreen (iDTV) where an aerial & set top box isn't needed?

Even if you have a TV with a digital tuner you still need an aerial.

francie81

Karsini wrote: »

Even if you have a TV with a digital tuner you still need an aerial.

Ahh now am acting like a complete idiot, but I guess it must have something to do with treating myself to a 40' LCD very soon.:rolleyes:

ninjasurfer1

Given that analogue will be turned off in 2012(?), if you have a TV that isn't compatible with the new signal, does this mean you won't be required to buy a TV license?
As the tv won't be capable of receiving the signal without a box, my TV is now a monitor?)

(I watch downloaded stuff on my tv and don't really watch "tv channels" as such).

The Cush

ninjasurfer1 wrote: »

Given that analogue will be turned off in 2012(?), if you have a TV that isn't compatible with the new signal, does this mean you won't be required to buy a TV license?
As the tv won't be capable of receiving the signal without a box, my TV is now a monitor?)

(I watch downloaded stuff on my tv and don't really watch "tv channels" as such).

Discussed here recently - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056227170

icdg

ninjasurfer1 wrote: »

Given that analogue will be turned off in 2012(?), if you have a TV that isn't compatible with the new signal, does this mean you won't be required to buy a TV license?
As the tv won't be capable of receiving the signal without a box, my TV is now a monitor?)

(I watch downloaded stuff on my tv and don't really watch "tv channels" as such).

I don't want to turn this into a TV licence thread, we have quite a large one already. But one proposal floating is that the TV licence would be replaced with a public service broadcasting charge that would be payable whether or not you own a TV (essentially it would be a poll tax, which McCarthy called the TV licence in his report).

Elmo

francie81 wrote: »

All the talk around the completion of Digital TV being rolled out by the end of 2012 and its FREE, now how do they make that out for one we still pay massive tv license in this country and most likely will jump as an outcome of such an infrastructure, they say its ok no need to buy a new television when you can get a set top box for in around €100 (btw you can now buy a 17' for about the same price with mpeg4 enabled), who is doing the handshakes or am I just being delusional here?

We pay a fairly average licence fee and its ~€5 (depending on exchange rate) more in the UK, while some countries charge for in car radios!!! There will be no licence fee increase, RTÉ (unlike the BBC) were never given a bump in the licence fee for digital TV. Currently it is looking like TG4 and independent broadcasters get set to get an increase from the licence fee while all broadcasters will pay for spectrum, meaning some of the licence fee will be returned to the government in a very roundabout way :rolleyes:. (This is in answer to the OP, which mentioned licence fee in relation to Digital TV).

I am sure STB's will come down in price in time and there will be more choice provided in STBs and IDTVs.

rlogue

Now what if Irish citizens abroad voluntarily paid the charge? Surely it would be technically feasible to give them legal access to all the Irish TV stations?

Apogee

I wonder does any other country make its programmes available to expats on a subscription basis? Is there a precendent to go on?

Apogee

Apogee wrote: »

I wonder does any other country make its programmes available to expats on a subscription basis? Is there a precendent to go on?

There's the BBC Entertainment channel, formerly BBC Prime.

Apogee

Karsini wrote: »

There's the BBC Entertainment channel, formerly BBC Prime.

That's a custom-made channel though. I meant more in terms of direct access to 'home' channels.

pajunior

Apogee wrote: »

I wonder does any other country make its programmes available to expats on a subscription basis? Is there a precendent to go on?

BBC Iplayer is or has been rolled out as a subscription service for those outside the UK, but it is very pricey (Pretty close the their TV Licence price I believe).

Minstrel27

When did the BBC announce the pricing? I can't find it anywhere.

Elmo

Minstrel27 wrote: »

When did the BBC announce the pricing? I can't find it anywhere.

I can't either

http://iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk/help/outside_the_uk/

The BBC would still have to organize rights for a pay on demand service abroad. Same goes for any company providing programmes abroad not only do you have to pay rights for Ireland but also internationally.

Even the small number of programmes that RTÉ have on their international player require rights to be paid for an international audience e.g. Music Rights for soundtracks on programming and some news footage from news agencies (Ever notice how CNBC black out pictures on NBC Nightly News due to rights issues).

Both companies would have to provide a business plan to their respective governments and could come under fire, due in part to conflicting rights in different territories e.g. even if RTÉ provided a pay service they would never be able to show any of their BBC programmes on it as BBC worldwide sell into so many different territories, the BBC seem to think that territory is still important, thus the continued illegal downloading that is occurring. It's a messy area.

pajunior

Minstrel27 wrote: »

When did the BBC announce the pricing? I can't find it anywhere.

Seems I jumped the gun a little, it's only for the I-Pad I-player, which isn't quite the same thing but I suppose provides all the same content. Also I was wrong about the cost, it will work out at roughly half their licence fee.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/02/bbc-global-iplayer-app