Analogue Switch Off - 24/10/2012

The Cush

RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime had a report earlier about analogue switchoff at Maghera.

The feed was switched off in Dublin with the transmitter switched off manually at Maghera.

mrdtv2010

ExcellentCC in South Belfast: C/N, 32dB. Analogue was a bit iffy. I have an MPEG4 DVB-T1 miniTV with me and this picked up CC on the M1 motorway down to Sprucefield, Lisburn, absolutely perfect. UK Freeview flawless in the car. I suspect NIMM would be excellent but the miniTV only has a H264 DVB-T1 tuner. Sticks CC channels in 800s. Very interesting and very busy day.

royaler83

Hey guys, hope you can help. Live in Meath.

In the kitchen we have always just used the aerial and could get the 4 irish channels plus BBC1, BBC2 (NI) Utv and ch 4. We decided to wait until today to see what happened.

This morning when I changed the tv source to digital I can get all the English channels as above plus E4, more4, sky news etc

Does this mean that when I now get a standard saorview box for the Irish channels that the English channels will still appear, even though it would be through the box.

Thanks for any help.

marclt

They will appear through the box and through the tuner within the tv set itself, provided you connect the aerial to the box and use the RF loop through cable from the box to the aerial socket of the TV. Just like you would have done with the VCR.

eirman

royaler83 wrote: »

Does this mean that when I now get a standard saorview box for the Irish channels that the English channels will still appear, even though it would be through the box.

You'll get all the channels on a saorview box provided the aerial is the same or better than in the kitchen.
Make sure that you get one with DVB-T2 if you want UK HD.

Capt'n Midnight

If you can get the Irish radio channels then your TV may only do MPEG2

If the TV was bought down here in the last two years take it back as it's not fit for it's intended purpose.


AFAIK there aren't yet any saorview approved boxes with T2 tuners, even though it's mandatory soon. ( T2 is needed for UK HD - MPEG4 is needed down here and HD is needed for RTE 2 )

royaler83

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

If you can get the Irish radio channels then your TV may only do MPEG2

If the TV was bought down here in the last two years take it back as it's not fit for it's intended purpose.


AFAIK there aren't yet any saorview approved boxes with T2 tuners, even though it's mandatory soon. ( T2 is needed for UK HD - MPEG4 is needed down here and HD is needed for RTE 2 )

I've just been told the tv was actually bought in the north just over the border. Would it be possible that freeview is built into it hence why I'm getting the English channels through the aerial?!

Mr Cumulonimbus

Was comparing strength between chs 52 and 53 here in Dundalk from Clermont Carn. There is a communal aerial supplying apartments.

Signal strength and quality are 100% . C/N on 52 is 30 while C/N for 53 is 31.

Then connected a group C/D aerial and left it on the window sill. Signal strength, quality and C/N figures are all higher for 53 than 52. Shouldnt it be the other way round as ch 52 is meant to be stronger than 53?

marclt

Ch 23 Mt Leinster is on air and I'm receiving all stations pretty well.

Mr Cumulonimbus

marclt wrote: »

Ch 23 Mt Leinster is on air and I'm receiving all stations pretty well.

Just after checking ch 23 from Divis. Signal quality has dropped from 100% down to 30-35%. In Dundalk.

Could Mt Leinster be the cause of this I wonder? Long way from Dundalk to Mt Leinster!

EDIT: as one moves further south, Mt Leinster may wipe out ch 23 from Divis?

The Cush

marclt wrote: »

Ch 23 Mt Leinster is on air and I'm receiving all stations pretty well.

2 days earlier than originally announced.

Michael Collins

Has the digital signal strength been increased as of today does anybody know?

Just watching the champions league in HD on my PC and it's pretty damn sweet!

More Music

watty wrote: »

Odd.. I was able to watch them turn off Analogue TV on Analogue TV. My signal lasted nearly 30s after the monitors in RTE went to "snow" when they counted down and said "off"

Here's how it works:

1) Miriam clicks mouse.
2) Guy pulls feed going to back of monitors we saw. No video input, so screens turn blue. Remember, if that was analog transmitter power down the screen would go snowy.
3) Feed from Donnybrook is pulled, so no audio or video going to transmitter sites. Blank screens on your analog TV is the result (blank carrier).
4) Engineers at the various transmitter sites then switch off the local transmitters resulting in the snowy picture.
5) Goodbye analog.

formerly scottish paddy

More Music wrote: »

Here's how it works:

1) Miriam clicks mouse.
2) Guy pulls feed going to back of monitors we saw. No video input, so screens turn blue. Remember, if that was analog transmitter power down the screen would go snowy.
3) Feed from Donnybrook is pulled, so no audio or video going to transmitter sites. Blank screens on your analog TV is the result (blank carrier).
4) Engineers at the various transmitter sites then switch off the local transmitters resulting in the snowy picture.
5) Goodbye analog.

Very good. Don't know if you heard Drive Time, nice piece on from Maghera transmitter, seems they got in some of the old retired TX engineers to turn off each of the 4 analogue transmitters at the site. Nice touch.

More Music

No didn't hear that, but a nice touch.

BTW, the RTE switchover programme was much better then the BBC NI/UTV snooze fest last night. Didn't even get to see yer wan on Divis!!

That said, visually the mouse was a bit wimpy. But I suppose it was meant to represent modern technology.

The Cush

The Cush wrote: »

RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime had a report earlier about analogue switchoff at Maghera.

formerly scottish paddy wrote: »

Don't know if you heard Drive Time, nice piece on from Maghera transmitter, seems they got in some of the old retired TX engineers to turn off each of the 4 analogue transmitters at the site.

Listen back - http://www.rte.ie/radio/radioplayer/rteradioweb.html#!rii=9%3A10066751%3A83%3A24%2D10%2D2012%3A (starts 16:00 mins in)

STB

More Music wrote: »

Here's how it works:

1) Miriam clicks mouse.
2) Guy pulls feed going to back of monitors we saw. No video input, so screens turn blue. Remember, if that was analog transmitter power down the screen would go snowy.
3) Feed from Donnybrook is pulled, so no audio or video going to transmitter sites. Blank screens on your analog TV is the result (blank carrier).
4) Engineers at the various transmitter sites then switch off the local transmitters resulting in the snowy picture.
5) Goodbye analog.

You have ruined the magic for people.

You could see how uncomfortable Mick Keogh was though.

Our man in Havana

marclt wrote: »

Ch 23 Mt Leinster is on air and I'm receiving all stations pretty well.

It seems to be very much weaker than Ch45. Getting a few dropped frames.

stereomatic

DIGITAL SWITCH OVER the great anti-climax!

No retuning nor any new channels, with the same response "SOON". It seems to be always soon.

Increasing the number of channels, will that increase the choice for viewers or will it increase more of the same.

All the build up and then they only turned off the analogue signals, perhaps I expected too much.

Whatever changes will happen "soon".

kazoo106

Can confer that 52 is much weaker than 53 in dundalk town centre, inside an office block with internal antenna, 53 is quality 9 while 52 is quality 4.
Looks like a bit of down tilt required, analog had been crap too in the town since the new mast went up.

formerly scottish paddy

kazoo106 wrote: »

Can confer that 52 is much weaker than 53 in dundalk town centre, inside an office block with internal antenna, 53 is quality 9 while 52 is quality 4.
Looks like a bit of down tilt required, analog had been crap too in the town since the new mast went up.

They might additionally use ch.53's antenna for ch52 when 53 switches off?

watty

Well, the system isn't engineered for internal aerials. It's designed for roof aerials.

In the old days

More Music wrote: »

No didn't hear that, but a nice touch.

BTW, the RTE switchover programme was much better then the BBC NI/UTV snooze fest last night. =

Have to disagree. The UTV/BBC NI simulcast was iconic. Loved where the BBC had old ads while UTV had commercial break. Genuine sense of nostalgia and history. Thought they could have invited George Hamilton though!

Mr Cumulonimbus

watty wrote: »

Well, the system isn't engineered for internal aerials. It's designed for roof aerials.

Was messing around with a 10 element C/D aerial both inside and outside watty. Ch 52 seems weaker than 53 from my location in Dundalk town. Admittedly aerial is not properly installed. Just a local effect? Slightly under main beam possibly?

holidaysong

In the old days wrote: »

Have to disagree. The UTV/BBC NI simulcast was iconic. Loved where the BBC had old ads while UTV had commercial break. Genuine sense of nostalgia and history. Thought they could have invited George Hamilton though!

Plus they had the 'Hole in the Wall Gang'...

kah22

Friend has an old television, and a pretty old digi box. I retuned it in for her tonight and it was missing the RTE stations (we live in Armagh). Can you advise if a new digi box would help her receive RTE. Her current box is an old ondigital one.

kah22

kah22 wrote: »

Friend has an old television, and a pretty old digi box. I retuned it in for her tonight and it was missing the RTE stations (we live in Armagh). Can you advise if a new digi box would help her receive RTE. Her current box is an old ondigital one.

She'll need a Freeview HD box. I'm surprised that an ON Digital is working at all now, thought they only supported COFDM 2K carriers?

More Music

In the old days wrote: »

Have to disagree. The UTV/BBC NI simulcast was iconic. Loved where the BBC had old ads while UTV had commercial break. Genuine sense of nostalgia and history. Thought they could have invited George Hamilton though!

Maybe I was a bit harsh, but some segments were very flat. However, I did enjoy the old ads also and the fact it was a simulcast is noted!

And then they rolled out Norn Irons funny man, Miiisterrr....Paatrick.......Kielty.

kah22

Karsini wrote: »

She'll need a Freeview HD box.

Does it have to be a HD box will an ordinary Freeview box not do. There is no way her tv will broadcast HD - it's one of them big monsters that it took two men to carry . All she is interested in getting at this stage is RTE and we would hope she would receive the signal been broadcast out of Belfast.

kah22

kah22 wrote: »

Does it have to be a HD box will an ordinary Freeview box not do. There is no way her tv will broadcast HD - it's one of them big monsters that it took two men to carry . All she is interested in getting at this stage is RTE and we would hope she would receive the signal been broadcast out of Belfast.

It has to be a HD box regardless of the TV. The NI mini mux uses DVB-T2/MPEG-4 while Freeview SD boxes are DVB-T/MPEG-2 only. Even Saorview uses DVB-T/MPEG-4 so won't work on a Freeview SD box.