RTÉ Two HD on non-Saorview platforms - ALL RTÉ TWO HD ON SKY AND UPC DISCUSSION HERE.

Elmo

Should UPC and Sky take on RTÉ Two HD.

Magent currently provide access to RTÉ 1 +1/RTÉjr and RTÉ NN. Not too sure about Magnets line up.

I understood that it was up to platform providers to provide such channels. No sign of UPC or Sky to add the services to their line ups.

I think the non-stats that we were talking about in the 3e thread where a load of bollix.

1. Setanta Sports 1 and City Channel do not part take in full Neilsen ratings
2. SS1 is only available to subscribers of Setanta
3. Setanta Ireland has 0.2% audience share even though it is available on UPC 105 at no extra cost and also available on UPC analogue.
4. Neither Setanta Ireland or 3E are Digital Only.
5. Which then brings in every other Digital Only TV service from TCM to RTÉ NN. (And should we include online audience for RTÉ NN).

Anyway the statement "Channel N is the most popular Digital Channel" is like informing people that TG4 is the 4th most popular Analogue service on RTÉ NL's network :rolleyes:

Oh forgot my snap poll http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056384576#

rlogue

RTE are witholding the RTE Two HD service from everyone apart from Saorview for an undefined period of time.

Elmo

rlogue wrote: »

RTE are witholding the RTE Two HD service from everyone apart from Saorview for an undefined period of time.

Please give us a reference thanks.

Anyway why haven't UPC or Sky placed RTÉ NN, RTÉ 1+1 and RTÉJR on their services?

rlogue

Please give us a reference thanks.

Sure. I have known the poster Elmo for some time on boards.ie and regard him as a straightforward person. I would unreservedly recommend him for any board that he may wish to join.

Or is this what you're looking for?

Your query has been forwarded to our Saorview technical office, but in the meantime, I wish to advise that there are no plans at this time to make RTÉ HD available on the Sky platform. It is seen as a service for Saorview users. If no further reply issues to you from our office then rest assured that there are no plans in place at this time to change this situation. Thank you for your query

Kind regards

Brigitte
RTÉ Information-Communications

Despite Brigitte's kind regards, her bosses at RTE are in my opinion breaking the law by witholding the HD version of RTE TWO from UPC and Sky.

JDxtra

RTE Two HD doesn't even nearly meet the minimum requirements for a HD channel on Sky, so they probably don't even want it.

UPC on the other hand are desperate and would take anything going.

Elmo

rlogue wrote: »

Sure. I have known the poster Elmo for some time on boards.ie and regard him as a straightforward person. I would unreservedly recommend him for any board that he may wish to join.

Or is this what you're looking for?

Despite Brigitte's kind regards, her bosses at RTE are in my opinion breaking the law by witholding the HD version of RTE TWO from UPC and Sky.

I think we are too tough on Boards for a position on any state board.

No, I enjoy Bridgets emails but I find she doesn't really care and has little or no communication with RTÉ and would be really unable to argue with you that RTÉ are not going against the wishes of the DCENR.

RTE Two HD doesn't even nearly meet the minimum requirements for a HD channel on Sky, so they probably don't even want it.

UPC on the other hand are desperate and would take anything going.

Sky and UPC have to be reigned in, both have shown disregard for new Irish television channels, even when DCENR ruled that RTÉ should provide new channels to other platforms I knew neither would be rushing to RTÉ to get any of the TV channels. The amount of work that Channel 6 had to do was criminal and 3e still remains off Sky's bonus pack (ITV2 is more likely to appear on that package).

I will try get a response from a sales person in Sky Ireland and UPC

LOL.

IMO if Sky or UPC want RTÉ Two HD then they should have to provide all other Saorview channels.

Elmo

Bridget should become a UPC or Sky sales person, as they know as much and are just as interested Sorry Bridget.

Got a response from Sky, which basically states that Sky hasn't contacted RTÉ and RTÉ has contacted Sky and thus no contract has been discussed, agreed or signed.

Well at least we know that they are emmm well at least we know that they know that its all available to them if they want.

icdg

UPC and Sky can't just add the stations, they need the permission of RTÉ. The problem is that by withholding permission for RTÉ Two HD, RTÉ News Now, and RTÉjr to be carried, they are in breach of s77 Broadcasting Act 2009.

"(4) An appropriate network provider shall ensure the re-transmission, by or through his or her appropriate network, of each free-to-air television service provided for the time being by RTÉ, TG4 and the free-to-air service provided under section 70 by the television service programme contractor which that body or contractor requests the appropriate network provider to so re-transmit.

...

(11) Without prejudice to the requirements imposed under subsection (4), RTÉ, TG4 and the television service programme contractor shall ensure that their must-offer services are at all times offered for re-transmission (subject to agreement as to fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms of use) by means of any appropriate network that is available for reception in an intelligible form by members of the public in the whole of or in part of the State. "


If RTÉ persist it'd be open for Sky or UPC to JR them but unless the lack of these stations is costing them subscribers - which there's no evidence to say that it is at present - there would be no incentive for them to do so. (Cost-benefit and all that. In Ireland if you lose a civil action you usually pay both sides costs...)

Magnet are carrying the stations, but there's strong evidence to say that they are doing so without permission (given that they set up their WebTV service without permission from anyone).

IMO if Sky or UPC want RTÉ Two HD then they should have to provide all other Saorview channels.

There are 8 channels on Saorview. Sky and UPC both offer five of them. The other three are the three services named above which RTÉ is apparently withholding.

Elmo

Well UPC are in discussions with RTÉ about the channels.

It would be interesting to know what Magnet are doing.

RTÉ aren't persisting from the channels not being on Sky its just that neither Sky or RTÉ have approached each other. So unless RTÉ prevented Sky from airing the channels Sky currently has no recourse to the courts. It suits both Sky and RTÉ not to talk.

Will be interesting to see how things go with UPC.

This is more an issue about RTÉ Two HD rather then the 3 other services, but if UPC and Sky only want RTÉ Two HD then they should be forced to take on the other services. Really the Minister was flawed by not stating that if you want one new channel from Saorview then you take all.

rlogue

There's also the whole debate regarding Real Digital and RTE's reported refusal to engage with them regarding carriage in Ireland. This is moot right now as Real have decided to press ahead with launching in the UK first and will probably turn their attention to Ireland once they have established themselves in the UK.

Elmo

rlogue wrote: »

There's also the whole debate regarding Real Digital and RTE's reported refusal to engage with them regarding carriage in Ireland. This is moot right now as Real have decided to press ahead with launching in the UK first and will probably turn their attention to Ireland once they have established themselves in the UK.

Is this microsoft?

rlogue

Microsoft? No!

Elmo

rlogue wrote: »

Microsoft? No!

Aren't Microsoft running tests of DTT in the UK?????

Found them on the web.

http://realdigitaltv.com/

FTA with some subscription.

rlogue

Need more coffee. Need to go back to work

icdg

Lets have all the RTÉ Two HD on Sky/UPC on this thread for the moment, shall we...

watty

rlogue wrote: »

There's also the whole debate regarding Real Digital and RTE's reported refusal to engage with them regarding carriage in Ireland. This is moot right now as Real have decided to press ahead with launching in the UK first and will probably turn their attention to Ireland once they have established themselves in the UK.

Debate?
Only in the mind of Real Digital.

Kensington

rlogue wrote: »

There's also the whole debate regarding Real Digital and RTE's reported refusal to engage with them regarding carriage in Ireland. This is moot right now as Real have decided to press ahead with launching in the UK first and will probably turn their attention to Ireland once they have established themselves in the UK.

There's more to it than RTÉ simply being difficult - something which either you aren't aware of, or are aware of but aren't letting on.

Alienating potential domestic audience is not in RTÉ's interests.

copacetic

rlogue wrote: »

There's also the whole debate regarding Real Digital and RTE's reported refusal to engage with them regarding carriage in Ireland. This is moot right now as Real have decided to press ahead with launching in the UK first and will probably turn their attention to Ireland once they have established themselves in the UK.

where was this reported? Any links?

rlogue

@copacetic This is from Real Digital's Facebook page, you may need to log into Facebook to read the original post

Irish broadcasters. TV3, TG4 welcomed REAL Digital as a platform. RTE confirmed that the Irish Braodcasting Act required then to supply the channels on all platforms. A draft contract was received after many months of broken promises. A complaint to the BAI followed during Feb this year. So far there is no news to report. RTE is in charge of the Soarview and Saorsat Digital services and its reported that other channels have posted a complaint about RTE and its RTENL including the fees that RTE/RTENL are tryingto charge. So that gives you an indication what has been going on with RTE. REAL Digital will launch all the Irish terrestial channels as required in the Irish Broadcasting Act. These channels will be encrypted using the REAL Digital encryption system. The Irish channels are only for Irish citizens as things currently stand. So if you live in Ireland you will be able to receive these additional channels. Details of how the Irish channels can be received will be announced closer to the Irish launch. Hope this has answered your question.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/REALDigitalTV

Real have said to me directly the Irish launch won't happen before Sky Sports 1 & 2 are available.

@kensington What I post here is what I'm aware of. No hidden agenda or knowledge witheld. Can you expand?

watty

Real Digital have nothing really to launch apart from Sky Sports that people would pay for.
With out PayTV it's not a launch at all.

The Real Digital posts are not a reliable source about anything.

copacetic

rlogue wrote: »

@copacetic This is from Real Digital's Facebook page, you may need to log into Facebook to read the original post



Source: http://www.facebook.com/REALDigitalTV

Real have said to me directly the Irish launch won't happen before Sky Sports 1 & 2 are available.

@kensington What I post here is what I'm aware of. No hidden agenda or knowledge witheld. Can you expand?

Erm, so the 'reporting' is a real digital self serving childish Facebook post? Where they also use this 'reported' structure to claim stuff that hasn't been reported anywhere except by them? You claimed earlier that RTE wouldn't engage with them at all, now you are posting that in fact the engagement was too long and they weren't happy with the contract so are complaining to the BAI? That's a pretty high level of engagement to get to a contract stage?

Generally posting that things are 'reported' means that they have actually been reported in the media so at least some sort of fact checking may have been done.

Personally I don't think you are doing them any favours making these wild claims constantly, especially as it could appear you are pushing them so hard in the belief that they will not make real efforts to stop receipt of their service in the UK.

Im surprised they are talking about broken promises etc when their service has been promised for years and still hasn't actually appeared, even in the UK. Another service would be nice for people but they appear to have nothing really viable long term.

Kensington

rlogue wrote: »

@kensington What I post here is what I'm aware of. No hidden agenda or knowledge witheld. Can you expand?

I'm just a little surprised really.

You appear to have connections or some interest within Real, judging by your previous posts on the operator and updates on their imminent launch.
To see extremely strong accusations against RTÉ over the past few days was therefore a little odd.

Elmo

How did real digital handle their Sky Sports dispute?

They are launching this month?

How many jobs will be created in Ireland by Real Digital?

rlogue

Call Real Digital and find out for yourself. Then you'll have all the proof and references you want.

Elmo

rlogue wrote: »

Call Real Digital and find out for yourself. Then you'll have all the proof and references you want.

I don't really care about Real Digital. It would certainly give another pay option in Ireland in a market dominated by 2 pay TV companies, however we do an alternative terrestrial soft free to air option, made up of new Irish services.

Real know that the Irish market would be a great market to break into as the free terrestrial option isn't the strongest and we have a high take up of pay TV, worth at least €500million per year. And it is likely that the BAI will press a head with pay DTT in the future.

If Real want to use the contract that they were offered by RTÉ then they should leak the contract, rather they are using the issues surrounding commercial pay DTT and the prices that RTÉ are charging for Saorview as excuses.

Real however does nothing for Irish TV. It doesn't suggest providing RTÉ, TV3 and TG4 in Britain for ex-Pats nor are they keeping jobs in Ireland. All they will do is eat into the €500million pay TV industry.

rlogue

It's not going to be possible to provide Irish TV to expats as things stand. What then should Real Digital do for Irish TV in Ireland Elmo?

Elmo

rlogue wrote: »

It's not going to be possible to provide Irish TV to expats as things stand. What then should Real Digital do for Irish TV in Ireland Elmo?

That question could be applied to both sky and upc.

Bart2008

Have any of you ever heard about the mytv.ie, its a once off payment of €345 and no more bills, sounds dodgy but has anyone any information on them?????????????/

Elmo

Bart2008 wrote: »

Have any of you ever heard about the mytv.ie, its a once off payment of €345 and no more bills, sounds dodgy but has anyone any information on them?????????????/

They are just providing a combination of Saorview and FTA Satellite. Prices might be a bit high, but they are just an installation service.

Elmo

I don't believe that there is such a thing as Saorview Retailer?????

Markdub2000

responding to the posts on the legality of sky providing RTE 2 hd etc

I don't think SKY can be challanged on this as sky are really uk only, you pay the uk vat rate on your invoice and the payment is collected by sky subscriber services in livingston, therefore, effectively nothing to do with Irish law.

Wasn't there exception to this law for obligation for irish cable companies to carry rte - I don't think the old MMDS carried them as they were considered a waste of bandwidth in areas that could recieve terrestrial signals?

HarcourtGreen

Just realised I now have RTE2 HD on UPC channel 135 (where BBC HD was, still have that, pushed up to 136).. Dont know how long this has been live for I only noticed it today. Good stuff!

Manc-Red

Have Sky said anything publicly about RTE 2 HD being made available to R.O.I subscribers at all?

Elmo

Manc-Red wrote: »

Have Sky said anything publicly about RTE 2 HD being made available to R.O.I subscribers at all?

Still in discussions, from what I have heard, that was about 2 months ago.

Elmo

HarcourtGreen wrote: »

Just realised I now have RTE2 HD on UPC channel 135 (where BBC HD was, still have that, pushed up to 136).. Dont know how long this has been live for I only noticed it today. Good stuff!

It has been available since Thursday or so.

JDxtra

RTE Two HD doesn't meet the minimum requirements to be classified as a HD channel on Sky.

Red Alert

JDxtra wrote: »

RTE Two HD doesn't meet the minimum requirements to be classified as a HD channel on Sky.

How so? Just out of curiosity.

Elmo

Red Alert wrote: »

How so? Just out of curiosity.

It is only HD part-time. Not all shows are available in full HD.

Many of the US programmes are bizzarely upscalled to HD from SD but at the same time they've been downscaled to SD from HD.

RTÉ have not yet fitted out their studios with HD equipment. Sports events are in Full HD, while the studio analysis is in an upgraded form of HD for the channel.

All Irish and Children's programmes are also upscaled to HD.

I think this explains Sky issues with RTÉ TWO HD. (????)

MarkK

Elmo wrote: »

It is only HD part-time. Not all shows are available in full HD.

BBC 1 HD, ITV 1 HD, C4 HD, Channel 5 HD, Sky 1 HD and many more show plenty of SD material upscaled HD.
I don't see your point.

Elmo

MarkK wrote: »

BBC 1 HD, ITV 1 HD, C4 HD, Channel 5 HD, Sky 1 HD and many more show plenty of SD material upscaled HD.
I don't see your point.

Perhaps RTÉ Two HD show plenty more???? You'll need to ask Sky, because if that is the case I also don't see the point.


When do we stop calling it RTÉ Two HD?

Sam Russell

Elmo wrote: »

When do we stop calling it RTÉ Two HD?

25th October 2012.:)

Hogzy

MarkK wrote: »

BBC 1 HD, ITV 1 HD, C4 HD, Channel 5 HD, Sky 1 HD and many more show plenty of SD material upscaled HD.
I don't see your point.

I think any prospective HD channel needs at least 50% of their content to be in natural HD.

The majority of the stuff on the above channels you named have well over 50% of their stuff in HD. (cant speak for Channel 5 HD though)

Elmo

Sam Russell wrote: »

25th October 2012.:)

Yeah :cool:

MarkK

I found the following on the sky website

[Search for supplementary_methodology_for_hd_channels_march_2008.pdf on sky.com to find it]

To qualify as HD
"the channel may include no less than 640 hours of non-repeating
native HD programmes in its first 12 months broadcasting in HD,"

So an average of 12.5 hours a week is enough for Sky.

With the Olympics, European Championships and other sport that should not be a problem for RTE 2.

Elmo

MarkK wrote: »

I found the following on the sky website

[Search for supplementary_methodology_for_hd_channels_march_2008.pdf on sky.com to find it]

To qualify as HD
"the channel may include no less than 640 hours of non-repeating
native HD programmes in its first 12 months broadcasting in HD,"

So an average of 12.5 hours a week is enough for Sky.

With the Olympics, European Championships and other sport that should not be a problem for RTE 2.

I assume they mean an average of 12.5 hours per week through out they year not just during the summer.

non-repeating HD programming, do they watch their own channels?

An Tarbh

MarkK wrote: »

I found the following on the sky website

[Search for supplementary_methodology_for_hd_channels_march_2008.pdf on sky.com to find it]

To qualify as HD
"the channel may include no less than 640 hours of non-repeating
native HD programmes in its first 12 months broadcasting in HD,"

So an average of 12.5 hours a week is enough for Sky.

With the Olympics, European Championships and other sport that should not be a problem for RTE 2.

Well it does say in its first year of broadcasting which for RTÉ 2 HD has officially been since May 2011. We haven't even come close to 300 hours of HD content let alone 600+ in that time.

Even including the coverage we'll get for the Olympics and European Championships I'd still think we'd be short of that 640 hours and that's well into year 2.

Elmo

An Tarbh wrote: »

Well it does say in its first year of broadcasting which for RTÉ 2 HD has officially been since May 2011. We haven't even come close to 300 hours of HD content let alone 600+ in that time.

Even including the coverage we'll get for the Olympics and European Championships I'd still think we'd be short of that 640 hours and that's well into year 2.

Anyone know what shows air in HD?

Desperate Housewives
Grey's Anatomy
Cogar Town (I Think)
Is Homeland?

Remember when Widescreen started and RTÉ Two had widescreen movies on Saturdays.

Hogzy

Elmo wrote: »

Anyone know what shows air in HD?

Desperate Housewives
Grey's Anatomy
Cogar Town (I Think)
Is Homeland?

Remember when Widescreen started and RTÉ Two had widescreen movies on Saturdays.

Are you asking if they are aired on RTE in HD or filmed in HD?

An Tarbh

Elmo wrote: »

Anyone know what shows air in HD?

Desperate Housewives
Grey's Anatomy
Cogar Town (I Think)
Is Homeland?

Remember when Widescreen started and RTÉ Two had widescreen movies on Saturdays.

Pan Am (not sure anymore since it's on a later slot)
Desperate Housewives
Grey's Anatomy.

Think that's it but I'm open to correction.

glimmerman123

RTE2 HD Now on Sky through other channels. The frequency is 10.744 H 22.0 5/6. You will find it under the label 1270.

Elmo

glimmerman123 wrote: »

RTE2 HD Now on Sky through other channels. The frequency is 10.744 H 22.0 5/6. You will find it under the label 1270.

Are all RTÉ channels available through other channels?