Q1 2013 now passed. Still no UTV HD on either Sky or Freesat.

Mr. Rabbit · 06-04-2013 2:54pm #1

I thopight UTV had signed a new contract this time last year for the service to start on Sky/Freesay by the end of 2012. Then we were told it would be available by Q1 2013.

Well, here we are in April 2013 and still no UTV HD on satellite.

What's the hold up now ?

http://www.joinfreesat.co.uk/utv-hd-to-launch-on-freesat-in-q1-2013/

givecredit · 06-04-2013 3:26pm

In early March UTV said it would be on satellite by end of June 2013.

"The channel is now responding to viewer correspondence indicating that "commercial reasons" are holding back the launch of UTV HD on Sky and Freesat. UTV HD is now expected to join ITV HD on satellite before the end of June 2013."

The Cush · 06-04-2013 8:58pm

http://www.a516digital.com/2013/03/utv-hd-on-satellite-delayed-launch-now.html

cork_south · 06-04-2013 9:27pm

Will this mean it will be on the EPG?

excollier · 07-04-2013 10:52am

On an Irish sub? Highly unlikely. Perfect Freeview HD reception here in Donegal though.....:D

NIMAN · 07-04-2013 11:06am

excollier wrote: »

On an Irish sub? Highly unlikely. Perfect Freeview HD reception here in Donegal though.....:D

Do you mind me asking which part of Donegal you're getting Freeview HD in?

PM me if you would rather not say openly.

excollier · 07-04-2013 11:24am

No problem, outside Letterkenny. Receiving from Limavady.

muffler · 07-04-2013 12:24pm

I get the freeview channels from Strabane but I don't think any are in HD. In saying that the quality is much better than Im getting on Sky.

Peter Rhea · 07-04-2013 1:22pm

The currently available HD channels on Freeview are broadcast from all the transmitters.

Your receiver might not be capable of handling the DVB-T2 transmissions.

banie01 · 07-04-2013 1:31pm

Doesnt the ITV\UTV financial year run April 1st to March 31st?
Meaning their 2013 Q1 ends June 30th anyway?
if it does technically they arent late yet.
I know its a bit pedantic on my part but generally companies break out quarters based on their financial year rather than the actual calender year.

excollier · 07-04-2013 2:18pm

Strange thing, when the DSO happened, my Freeview HD receiver immediately picked up the HD channels, super quality, but after a few days it lost them. My brother in law under two miles away recently bought a Panasonic Freeview+HD receiver and no reception problems at all, happily has all Freeview / HD and Irish channels and all recordable.
Seems I am the only one around here to have lost them, but no worries, I have Freesat+HD, ITVHD and awaiting UTV HD to complete the line up.
Strange in that C50 which carries the Freeview HD channels from Limavady is giving the same signal strength/quality reading as all the others, which I receive with no problems.
Off topic anyway. I hope UTV comes to Freesat soon.

Mr. Rabbit · 07-04-2013 5:32pm

givecredit wrote: »

In early March UTV said it would be on satellite by end of June 2013.

"The channel is now responding to viewer correspondence indicating that "commercial reasons" are holding back the launch of UTV HD on Sky and Freesat. UTV HD is now expected to join ITV HD on satellite before the end of June 2013."

I'll believe that when I see it :mad:

blueser · 07-04-2013 8:29pm

Not sure if the OP has a freesat box or not. If he has, and it's a Humax, then surely if he sets it up with a Northern Ireland postcode, he'll get UTV on the EPG. i have mine set up to receive BBC1 NW and ITV1 Granada (I'm from Manchester originally and UTV is of no interest to me). As for when UTV will eventually appear on the EPG in the republic; god knows. Aren't TV3 (aka ITV Ireland) blocking it?

lertsnim · 08-04-2013 7:21am

ITV HD shows everything UTV does without that hideous UTV DOG. it wouldn't bother me if UTV HD never came to satellite

excollier · 08-04-2013 7:24am

They (TV3) will certainly resist, and yes, if he tunes in a Freesat box with a NI postcode, it will place UTV at 103, and UTV HD, when it arrives, will appear at 119.
I notice no dogs for BBC 1 NI HD and BBC 2 HD, very good, perhaps UTV will grow tired of it after a while, and the ITV HD dog is now tiny.
I would like UTV HD on Freesat then I can set up timed recordings with my NI postcoded Humax HDR, can't do that with ITV HD at 5001 on my epg.
( I use Raydon's custom firmware to edit my main epg, and I choose to have a NI postcode in it, more relevant to have it set up that way )

The Cush · 08-04-2013 9:30pm

STV: still "working with ITV" to make satellite HD channel possible

Mr. Rabbit · 08-04-2013 11:52pm

lertsnim wrote: »

ITV HD shows everything UTV does without that hideous UTV DOG. it wouldn't bother me if UTV HD never came to satellite

The UTV HD D.O.G. has decreased in size, moved well over to the left of the screen, and now simply says "utv". It's pretty much like the ITV D.O.G. now, which has appeared in recent weeks, so it's not quite as bad as it once was, Doesn't ITV HD have a D.O.G. ?

Yep, I've noticed the D.O.G.s on BBC1 HD and BBC 2 HD are now gone, thanfully. Sky dropped the D.O.G.s on their channels quite some time ago. I think the worst is the Channel 4 HD D.O.G., in my opinion.

I'm still not optomistic about UTV HD being on satellite by the end of June. We've been led down the garden path twice now.

Another channel missing on satellite is UTV+1. It was testing for a while a couple of years ago, but disappeared in February 2011 I think.

lertsnim · 09-04-2013 5:40am

Mr. Rabbit wrote: »

Doesn't ITV HD have a D.O.G. ?

It is minuscule

Mr. Rabbit · 12-06-2013 9:36pm

Last I heard it had been put back to "by the first half of 2013".

Can we expect UTV HD on Sky/Freesat over the next two weeks ?

muffler · 12-06-2013 9:50pm

Mr. Rabbit wrote: »

Can we expect UTV HD on Sky/Freesat over the next two weeks ?

Ulster Says No

mackersdublin · 13-06-2013 8:12pm

Mr. Rabbit wrote: »

Can we expect UTV HD on Sky/Freesat over the next two weeks ?

This the latest news I could find
http://www.a516digital.com/2013/03/utv-hd-on-satellite-delayed-launch-now.html
(end of this month hopefully)

lgs 4 · 13-06-2013 10:41pm

muffler wrote: »

Ulster Says No

GOOD ONE:D

mackersdublin · 08-09-2013 5:49pm

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showpost.php?p=68520928&postcount=11

Mr. Rabbit · 09-09-2013 3:03pm

mackersdublin wrote: »

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showpost.php?p=68520928&postcount=11

Is it actually showing UTV HD programmes ?

http://www.a516digital.com/2013/09/utv-hd-launch-on-satellite.html#more

Meanwhile, the broadcaster has confirmed that it has no current plans to make its timeshift channel UTV+1 available on satellite, available since 2011
on Freeview and Virgin Media in the province.

UTV +1 was on satellite for a while just before and for a few months after ITV1+1 launched. Then for some reason or other, it disappeared.

When UTV HD was announced on satellite last year they did say UTV+1 would appear as well. Does "no current plans" mean it wont ever launch, or do they just don't know ?

mackersdublin · 11-09-2013 2:33pm

Mr. Rabbit wrote: »

UTV +1 was on satellite for a while just before and for a few months after ITV1+1 launched. Then for some reason or other, it disappeared.

UTV +1 was labeled as 10225 and that changed to STV +1

lgs 4 · 11-09-2013 9:42pm

U T V HD epg data

kooga · 13-09-2013 7:48am

scanned it in last night didn't see any difference to ITv listings which UTV live at 10.30 should of been on it had a film as per ITV Granada

excollier · 13-09-2013 7:58am

I think they are intermittently testing the epg ready for UTV HD on that channel, not actually broadcasting UTV HD on it. It shows they are getting ready though. When they do start, anyone (such as me) with a Northern Ireland postcode in their Freesat box will see it appear at 119, like every other region of ITV HD.

Booms · 13-09-2013 9:34am

Announcement today from Joinfreesat says monday November 4th is the big day:
http://www.joinfreesat.co.uk/utv-to-go-hd-on-freesat/

channelsurfer2 · 13-09-2013 9:37am

excellent.. bye bye tv3 on my Fergerson 120 as channel number 3... hello utvHD as channel 3...

Mr. Rabbit · 13-09-2013 11:22am

Official announcement from UTV:

http://www.u.tv/news/UTV-goes-HD-on-Sky-and-FreeSat/d4b2621d-9b57-48e5-96a5-f728dc53e880

Sky HD viewers will be able to find UTV HD on channel 103 and FreeSat customers should select channel 119.

Which is interesting since ITV1 HD in England, Wales, and Southern Scotland is on channel 178 on Sky.

Either a slip of the tongue or this changing for ITV1 HD as well.

channelsurfer2 · 13-09-2013 11:26am

I wonder will we see Tv3HD on sky as a spoiler move in the ROI?

irishfeen · 13-09-2013 11:41am

channelsurfer2 wrote: »

I wonder will we see Tv3HD on sky as a spoiler move in the ROI?

Seems to be alot more talk of the Sony HD studio rather then launching a channel... This is TV3 we are dealing with...

galtee boy · 13-09-2013 4:26pm

What is the big deal about UTV HD going on the Sky and Freesat Epg's ? Could viewers in NI not get ITV HD on either Sky or Freesat ? There is very little difference in the two schedules these days and anything thats on ITV which gets shunted on UTV due to NI political programmes, usually shows up later in the week on UTV.

excollier · 13-09-2013 4:49pm

It means that those users with a NI postcode in their Freesat box will get UTV HD at 119 on the epg and can schedule UTV HD recordings if they have a Freesat+ box (like me) instead of manual set up with ITV HD It simplifies things greatly. There are variations between UTV and ITV too.
Prior to this ITV HD was not on the Freesat epg, and even with modified firmware (on Humax Foxsat HDR), it appears at 5000+ so it is not able to schedule a recording. Similar problem (worse, in fact) for those with Sky in NI. Now we can all have the main four channels in HD and able to pre-schedule recordings (ok, BBC 2 HD isn't the local variant) I am very happy with this outcome.

Mr. Rabbit · 14-09-2013 1:12am

galtee boy wrote: »

What is the big deal about UTV HD going on the Sky and Freesat Epg's ? Could viewers in NI not get ITV HD on either Sky or Freesat ? There is very little difference in the two schedules these days and anything thats on ITV which gets shunted on UTV due to NI political programmes, usually shows up later in the week on UTV.

It means UTV HD is on the EPG of both platforms making recording on PVRs etc. much easier.

It's a real pain having to access ITV 1 HD via other channels on Sky.

galtee boy · 14-09-2013 9:47am

Mr. Rabbit wrote: »

It means UTV HD is on the EPG of both platforms making recording on PVRs etc. much easier.

It's a real pain having to access ITV 1 HD via other channels on Sky.

Sorry, didn't realise ITV HD wasn't on the Freesat or Sky Epg's in NI, I assumed it was there higher up in the numbers. At least you could change the postcode on the Freesat box to give you ITV HD, if you could live without local news. I always watch and record ITV HD instead of TV3, because of HD and will continue to do so until TV3 go HD, which could be a long time. In the meantime, ROI advertisers miss out on me as a viewer because of this and I know lots more like me. On the other hand, I've started to look a bit more at RTE2 since it went HD.

Mr. Rabbit · 14-09-2013 11:11am

Sorry, didn't realise ITV HD wasn't on the Freesat or Sky Epg's in NI

Only available in England, Wales, and Southern Scotland (Border Scotland region). This is due to advertising rights issues I would imagine.

You can access ITV1 HD through the add channels process on a Sky box, and non Freesat mode on a Freesat one. You can also change the postcode on your Freesat box which means ITV 1 HD will be on the EPG.

However, you cannot do this on a Sky box, nor can you record under the other channels option.

So the addition of UTV HD on the Sky EPG will be more than welcome for many.

Not sure if UTV +1 will be there or not. ITV1 +1 is available on Sky and Freesat in England, Wales, and Southern Scotland.

Mr. Rabbit · 14-09-2013 11:12am

ITV 1 London is available on the EPG of both Sky and Feeesat to NI viewers.

excollier · 14-09-2013 11:44am

Not on my Freesat receiver it isn't. I have a Humax Foxsat HDR and the only way to get ITV London into the Freesat epg with a NI postcode, i.e. UTV at 103, is to use the modded firmware and add it to the epg at 5000 something, disabling it from scheduled recordings. This is the whole point, adding UTV HD to the epg at 119 will bring it into line with the other UK regions, same problem for STV HD in Scotland. This came about because UTV and STV are not part of the ITV group.

Mr. Rabbit · 14-09-2013 4:07pm

excollier wrote: »

Not on my Freesat receiver it isn't. I have a Humax Foxsat HDR and the only way to get ITV London into the Freesat epg with a NI postcode, i.e. UTV at 103, is to use the modded firmware and add it to the epg at 5000 something, disabling it from scheduled recordings. This is the whole point, adding UTV HD to the epg at 119 will bring it into line with the other UK regions, same problem for STV HD in Scotland. This came about because UTV and STV are not part of the ITV group.

ITV 1 London is apparently on channel 977 on the Freesat epg.

It's on 973 on Sky:

http://www.a516digital.com/p/freesat-channel-list.html

Mr. Rabbit · 14-09-2013 4:12pm

Also:

http://www.a516digital.com/2013/09/utv-hd-launch-on-satellite.html#more

In a surprise move, on Sky HD, UTV HD will replace the existing SD channel on103: the first time a main PSB channel has had its SD channel substituted by the HD simulcast on any digital TV platform. Sky HD subscribers will see the standard definition version move to channel 178. The exception will be viewers that have a Sky HD box without a relevant subscription, where the SD channel will remain on 103 and HD on 178

irishfeen · 14-09-2013 4:14pm

Mr. Rabbit wrote: »

Also:

http://www.a516digital.com/2013/09/utv-hd-launch-on-satellite.html#more

178 so if the trick still works...

galtee boy · 14-09-2013 5:21pm

Mr. Rabbit wrote: »

ITV 1 London is apparently on channel 977 on the Freesat epg.

It's on 973 on Sky:

http://www.a516digital.com/p/freesat-channel-list.html

That's what I thought too, hence my surprise at the excitement over UTV HD appearing on the NI Epg's.

Mr. Rabbit · 14-09-2013 11:30pm

galtee boy wrote: »

That's what I thought too, hence my surprise at the excitement over UTV HD appearing on the NI Epg's.

However, it's not ITV1 HD on the Sky/Freesat EPGs, just ITV 1 in SD, hence the excitement of UTV HD on the Sky/Freesat EPG.

ITV 1 HD does not appear on 178 on the Sky EPG, or 119 on the Freesat EPG (unless you key in the relevant postcode during set up) in NI.

excollier · 15-09-2013 10:04am

Mr. Rabbit wrote: »

ITV 1 London is apparently on channel 977 on the Freesat epg.

It's on 973 on Sky:

http://www.a516digital.com/p/freesat-channel-list.html

Sorry, I was referring to ITV 1 HD. Not on the Freesat epg with a NI postcode. I misread, as usual.

galtee boy · 15-09-2013 10:33am

Mr. Rabbit wrote: »

However, it's not ITV1 HD on the Sky/Freesat EPGs, just ITV 1 in SD, hence the excitement of UTV HD on the Sky/Freesat EPG.

ITV 1 HD does not appear on 178 on the Sky EPG, or 119 on the Freesat EPG (unless you key in the relevant postcode during set up) in NI.

Finally, clarity ! Now I can understand the excitement and anticipation of UTV HD appearing on the EPG's for NI residents.

Q1 2013 now passed. Still no UTV HD on either Sky or Freesat.

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