Saorview looses RTÉ 2HD exclusive!

formerly scottish paddy

Looks like saorview has lost its “exclusive” on RTE 2HD……to SKY!
I can’t believe RTE are doing this, do they want to kill saorview? One of the few reasons for having DTT and they give it to SKY!!??!!
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=78564879#post78564879

The Cush

formerly scottish paddy wrote: »

Looks like saorview has lost its “exclusive” on RTE 2HD……to SKY!

It's been available on UPC since March - http://www.upc.ie/pdf/rte.pdf

lawhec

RTÉ Two in HD on Sky was always inevitable. And it looks likely you'll still have to pay to access it, unlike Saorview.

PogMoThoin

Hopefully they're paying for it. It's wrong that Sky take millions of Euro out of this country each year and don't pay a single cent in tax or VAT here.

watty

Saorview is just Analogue replacement. It's inevitable that UPC and Sky would get the content when they wanted it and the "platform" properly launched.

RTE ALWAYS said UPC and Sky would get RTE HD later. It's now "later".

This isn't news nor does it "hurt" Saorview. Saorview is only ever for people not wanting Pay TV. RTE & TG4 are obliged to provide their channels on Saorview even if 99.9% of people have pay TV.

TV3 can give up being on Saorview tomorrow if they want and and in theory hand back licence and continue on UPC and Sky unchanged simply by being based outside Ireland.

I'd be sure Sky gets RTE2 HD on same basis as it gets non HD RTE. Sky pays for Encryption and Carriage an EPG, but pays nothing for the content. Don't know is sky pays for uplink. Should be.

Pat Gleeson

lawhec wrote: »

... it looks likely you'll still have to pay to access it, unlike Saorview.

As will be the case on cable - RTE 2 HD should probably be available via Saorsat as well ...

STB

Pat Gleeson wrote: »

As will be the case on cable - RTE 2 HD should probably be available via Saorsat as well ...

Well infact its even more complicated than that on UPC.

Under the must carry rule(under S77 of the Broadcasting Act 2009) you must not impose any additional charge for reception of the station you have requested to carry. From my questions over on the cable forum it is clear that RTE2HD is only available if you pay for HD services. sorry, correction, if you paid for HD services in the past, but cancelled it and still have the HD box, then you can request it at no extra charge, but there has been conflicting stories from their customer support per those threads over on the cable forum.

Which begs some very important question. How are UPC going to provide RTE2HD in its native HD format to their customers who have SD boxes after October ? Are they going to re-encode the HD feed as SD and offer it that way. More importantly how will RTE feel about this given the station is branded as HD. It is not being broadcast on Saorview in SD. It is a HD only station.

So it is highly likely that UPC have requested the channel under the must offer rule but will not present it in its native HD branded format. Why ? Because it would cost them a fortune to replace the boxes so that all their customers can receive it at no extra charge for this must carry station as it broadcasts natively in MPEG4 H264 HD. So why request it in the first place if you cant deliver it at no extra charge to ALL your customers?

A question perhaps also for RTE. Why offer a branded station if it is not the intention of the pay subscriber to deliver it freely in that format. Surely we wont have people with SD boxes on UPC commenting on the quality of RTE2HD!

The Cush

STB wrote: »

Which begs some very important question. How are UPC going to provide RTE2HD in its native HD format to their customers who have SD boxes after October ? Are they going to re-encode the HD feed as SD and offer it that way. More importantly how will RTE feel about this given the station is branded as HD. It is not being broadcast on Saorview in SD. It is a HD only station.

If I remember correctly didn't RTÉ say something about that in their HD tender document? Did they say they will continue to provide the channel in SD format for platforms that still require it?

STB

The Cush wrote: »

If I remember correctly didn't RTÉ say something about that in their HD tender document? Did they say they will continue to provide the channel in SD format for platforms that still require it?

I don't know Cush. If RTE2HD broadcast natively in HD and that specific station is requested under the must offer/carry rules I don't see how they can re-transmit something that isn't broadcast (ie a SD version), as there is nothing to offer ! RTE2HD was a station that required ministerial consent was it not ? It is the only version broadcast from October 2012. From the legislation it looks to me as though any retransmission of must offer services must not be altered.

A similar thread is going on in the sat forum, btw.

Section 77 Broadcasting Act

(12) RTÉ, TG4 and the television service programme contractor shall ensure that their must-offer services are at all times offered for broadcast or re-transmission (subject to agreement as to fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms of use) by means of every satellite television service.

(17) In this section—

“ must-offer service ” means a 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;

“ re-transmission ” means near-simultaneous, unaltered and unabridged transmission;

The Cush

STB wrote: »

Section 77 Broadcasting Act

(12) RTÉ, TG4 and the television service programme contractor shall ensure that their must-offer services are at all times offered for broadcast or re-transmission (subject to agreement as to fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms of use) by means of every satellite television service.

(17) In this section—

“ must-offer service ” means a 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;

“ re-transmission ” means near-simultaneous, unaltered and unabridged transmission;

My interpretation of that is Sky and UPC must retransmit the "must carry" channels without any time delay or changed in any way as received, so both SD and HD feeds from the broadcasters will be required.

STB wrote: »

I don't know Cush. If RTE2HD broadcast natively in HD and that specific station is requested under the must offer/carry rules I don't see how they can re-transmit something that isn't broadcast (ie a SD version), as there is nothing to offer !

Have a look at the RTÉ HD playout tender document, it describes it better than I can. The new playout system was required to output in both HD (for DTT and in future Sky and UPC) and SD (for analogue terrestrial, Sky and UPC) I][B]Upgrade the existing Sirius SD router with an expandable SD/HD matrix[/B][/I.

In effect the Pres schedule and all programme content will be identical on RTÉ 2 SD and on RTÉ 2 HD, with different quality pictures being presented on each service.

...

It is essential that the solution integrates from a Presentation automation perspective with the existing and new Automation systems whereby both the RTÉ 2 SD and HD services can be controlled by a single schedule but controlling each service separately

Nothing in the document to indicate that the SD feed to Sky and UPC will be switched off at terrestrial ASO, also no requirement in the Ministerial Decision which gave consent for RTÉ2 HD that RTÉ2 SD has to cease (for Sky or UPC).

irishchris

Available now on sky

Astra 1N, 28.2°E
DVB-S VideoGuard:
RTE Two HD
10744.00MHz
pol.H
SR:22000
FEC:5/6
SID:9608 PID:3073[MPEG-4] /3090 English,3089 English.

Digifriendly

irishchris wrote: »

Available now on sky

Astra 1N, 28.2°E
DVB-S VideoGuard:
RTE Two HD
10744.00MHz
pol.H
SR:22000
FEC:5/6
SID:9608 PID:3073[MPEG-4] /3090 English,3089 English.

It has just gone encrypted for me on 'other channels' although I subscribe to get ROI channels on Sky so I guess it requires an extra HD subscription.