Are RTE to drop the DOGS on SAORSAT

swoofer

An excuse given for onscreen dogs(DIGITAL ONSCREEN GRAPHICS) has been the multitude of sat channels, which I always regarded as rubbish, it became a fad with sky and like sheep other broadcasters followed, now that sky has seen the light ie less viewers it is dropping the DOGS and BBC has made them almost invisible but our RTE is slow following sky ie they could have the DOG and then fade it out.

RTE AND TG4 with SAORSAT have a perfect opportunity to do us a favour and drop them forever, they can keep them on sky and saorview but with ONLY 4 Channels on SAORSAT there is no earthly reason to keep them. Only 2% will be watching if that, so in others words viewing figures will be so small it will not make a whit of difference. I know which version I would watch.

Who do I write to complain?

channelsurfer2

I too have a bee in my bonnet about these DOGS . (the other thread on the RTE SPORT DOG removal was closed ).The reply I got from RTE was indicated that bascially they have no intention of dropping the DOGS altogether and infact stated that they are very helpful to their viewers who dont know they are watching RTE otherwise!!! they may drop the dual DOG for sport like rte news are now doing on all their news bulletins but thats the best you can hope for.

Johnboy1951

I don't particularly like the DOG, and would much prefer if it were more a watermark type than the 'in yer face' thing we get presently.

If the present one was faded out after a few seconds I think that would be best option for the viewers.

swoofer

thanks both, last time I lodged a complaint they kept using this number of sat channels EXCUSE but that cant apply on SOARSAT . If a few more of us wrote again they could not say " we dont get any complaints" The dog when champions league is on is a disgrace and I can bet people like me swop over to ITV and then back for the HT stuff. People at RTE dont want to know but I bet it costs money to keep those DOGS onscreen.

gbc-

channelsurfer2

who did you complain to last time GB?

swoofer

Back in 2010 I went on RTE site and sent an email to Complaints RTE. I was really peeved at the time as saorview was testing and picture quality was great as opposed to my analgoue one but that DOG drove me mental. I actually got a reply and here it is. I think I replied back as well but never heard again.

" Dear xxxxx
Thank you for your e.mail and your interest in our programmes.

With regard to your complaint, RTÉ, in common with other broadcasters, has adopted a policy of inserting Channel Identifiers (DOGs) in the top right-hand corner of the screen on RTÉ One and Two. This is because, in the present competitive multi-channel environment, it was felt important to ensure that viewers could quickly identify they were watching RTÉ programming. As the number of channels grows, this branding aspect is likely to become increasingly significant. DOGs are a permanent ident which cannot be removed specifically for sports events.

The position of the Identifier has been set at the top right-hand part of the picture. It would not be easy to place it elsewhere because it could interfere with subtitles or captions. The top right of the screen rarely contains sensitive material which an Identifier might obscure or interfere with.
I hope this clarifies the situation and that you will continue to enjoy Sport on RTÉ long into the future.

With every good wish.

xxxxxxxxxx

RTÉ Information. "

Of course we now see TG4 drop the dog for sports and yes I harangued them as well. TG4 should carry 2 audio channels now as they have so much sport. I have contacted rte today to get a cost for displaying these permanent dogs as it is the biggest waste of money ever! I doubt if they will tell me. They cant say there is a multitude of channels on SAORSAT!!

celticbest

Personally I like them and think they should be mandatory on all channels.

channelsurfer2

ah right. pity they wouldnt even make em a lot less brighter.

watty

No channel needs them anymore. Or really ever in Ireland and UK

It's obscene "egotism" that they do it at all.

Red Alert

If it were purely technical, they wouldn't be necessary at all on any of the modern digital transmission platforms - all of them have Channel Identification, and the user's TV can be set to show it (or not). It's purely marketing nonsense.

zg3409

Is this just not the same argument as your thread here?:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=72460698

but using the word Saorsat?

I would agree with you, RTE are marketing the whole HD to encourage people to go to Saor... but I think putting your effort into an online poll then re-contacting RTE after October 2012 might be the way to go. Some viewers have complained that Saor... has no real extra benefits compared to analogue, just an extra cost for boxes etc. which is probably fairly justfied given the lack of channels and extra content.

The DOGS are being used to suggest to people the channel is HD, not that most programs are, but it makes people think they are getting something.

MarkK

GBCULLEN wrote: »

...with ONLY 4 Channels on SAORSAT there is no earthly reason to keep them.

Saorsat is just one of many satellite services, it's not necessarily a 'stand alone' service, you can have the Saorsat channels, the UK Free to air channels and German FTA channels all on one box if you like. Another scenario is a Saorsat viewer in Northern Ireland, who gets their UK channels from Freeview.
So I don't think your reasoning on this holds water.

DERPY HOOFS

This is a matter for the ISPCA

Richard

GBCULLEN wrote: »

Of course we now see TG4 drop the dog for sports and yes I harangued them as well. TG4 should carry 2 audio channels now as they have so much sport. I have contacted rte today to get a cost for displaying these permanent dogs as it is the biggest waste of money ever! I doubt if they will tell me. They cant say there is a multitude of channels on SAORSAT!!

TG4 doesn't need a DOG as few other channels broadcast in Irish. The only other channel that it could potentially be confused with is BBC Alba.

murpho999

Richard wrote: »

TG4 doesn't need a DOG as few other channels broadcast in Irish. The only other channel that it could potentially be confused with is BBC Alba.

Not all programmes on TG4 are in Irish unless they've started dubbing films and imported TV shows?

Either way, in this digital age with everyone having an EPG there is no need for these DOGS.
Can't remember ever not knowing what channel I was watching.

Johnboy1951

They are very convenient for a family TV ..... when someone walks into the room it is obvious what is being watched if the DOG is present