Challenge tv coming on Feb 1st

Mickey Mike

Sky News "WHAT" Arabia, you're joking, this is becoming a laughing stock.

The Cush

I wonder if they are planning to put all these channels OTT on a future HbbTV service?

They are already testing HbbTV on the radio channels and via the red button.

Stepping stone to IP delivery and 5g broadcasting.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120237255#Comment_120237255

Would this be a free service or do you need a broadband connection?

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120240004#Comment_120240004

TV channels over broadband combined with broadcast TV in a single EPG.

Freeview Play would be the UK equivalent.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120240377#Comment_120240377

Would this not be Saorview connect, I think RTÉ had planned to add their RTÉ Food and Archive channels which were available on their player as live channels.

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120240385#Comment_120240385

Connect, Play, whatever they'll call it, using the new HbbTV standard.

In the UK they moved away from MHEG5 to HbbTV.

marclt

Some of the best Hbb TV features (good graphics/dynamic content) are to be found on Astra 19.2.

What RTE and the BBC are doing are poor in comparison!

JDxtra

Side by side comparison of Saorview (left) and FTA satellite (right). The satellite image is superior.

However in saying that, this is a still image and real world viewing on a large screen of moving content may be much worse. What is not helping here is the very poor quality of some of the source material e.g. Bullseye. It looks horrific on Saorview.

Gerry Wicklow

Two things to consider.

1. People ask for HD version of these channels running old repeats when the original recordings were made before HD was a thing, especially with the likes of Yesterday.
2. Chances are Saorview are just grabbing a satellite feed, reprocessing it and then transmitting it. Much like the old days of copying cassette tapes, the quality inevitably suffers.

Mickey Mike

The saorview format is taking from the satellite platform so its bound to be worse, and that's true.

Antenna

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120253192#Comment_120253192

Regarding HD channel versions of old recordings, old BBC shows, digitized from analogue video tape, look better on BBC4-HD compared to the same thing on BBC4-SD. Also high motion video, such as sports in particular is bound to be better (much less motion-blur/blocking effects with high motion) thanks to the higher bit rate, even though it was not HD in the first place. The BBC though probably have better digitizing facilities for old video tape sources , to get the best possible quality from them, which may not be the case with commercial broadcasters.

Mickey Mike

What are the two test cards on saorview channels 50 and 51? HBBTV just wondering if anything is coming again, I'd rather a few radio channels like classic hits, spirit radio and newstalk.

dxhound2005

There are posts about them in Saorview Updates - 2023 thread.

I just can't work out how it makes business sense for challenge TV and Sky news to be on Saorview. If carriage is costing about 400k per channel, the miniscule viewership each channel gets on Saorview is hardly going to bring in enough extra in advertising to cover carriage costs ?

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120390366#Comment_120390366

No but they get free advertising for other Sky products.

Sky channels are wall to wall Sky or NOW adverts.

Sky News has seen an increase in audience, it will be interesting to see if Challenge will also, TAM have not released the figures for Feb 2023.

Also the badness in me wanted sky to buy the RWC 2023 rights and air the Irish games and the final on Challenge with HD on Sky Sports !

thesandeman

I've only looked at Challenge a couple of times but I'd watch Sky News for half an hour or so most nights for the Press Preview etc when there's nothing else on.

Aidan McCarthy

They will be in the future if the bbc channels itv channels and channel 4 and the other channel 4 channels pay to go on saorview. Hopefully they will some time but not now

icdg

The BBC will only go on Saorview if they are paid to do so, not the other way around. They cannot be seen to be spending license fee money on transmission outside the U.K. ITV won’t be on either while their deal with VMTV continues.

If I was to make an educated guess about any channel being added to Saorview at this stage, Pick or Sky Arts would be next in line. But I’ve heard nothing.

Wikipedia is not a reliable source.

Gerry Wicklow

Isn't it funny. No one expects BBC et al to pay for transmission costs here. Yet we are expected to fund a radio service aimed at the UK. At least 2RN has finally committed to pulling the plug on Summerhill.

Mickey Mike

And pull it they will this time.

galtee boy

While more additions to Saorview would be nice, Virgin going HD on it would be a lot more welcome.

TAFKAlawhec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120423308#Comment_120423308

Whilst off-topic, such a comparison is largely apples & oranges. Strictly speaking, what you mention isn't an attempt "to fund a radio service aimed at the UK" rather it is the intention to fund a domestic service to listeners in the UK, be they Irish emigrants or simply causal listeners in the UK. Not entirely easy to explain, but for British emigrants there is a comprehensive external service (BBC World Service) they can listen to which is still on shortwave in much of the developing world as well as locally on FM in quite a few places, both in the developed & developing world as well as being relayed by some stations outside their own broadcasting hours. Ireland never has had any such external service - emigrants to Great Britain were by luck of geography (depending on where they settled) able to pick up varying signal levels of RTÉ Radio 1, and Radio 2/2FM if they were fortunate, simply from signal overspill and the propagation of domestic MW transmissions. Those that emigrated into continental western or central Europe could try their luck at the same only at night time - but for further flung destinations there was essentially nothing to link any radio they might have to their home land. In this sense, getting on to some DAB ensembles in the UK, be they national/local/small-scale is an attempt to retain broadcasting access to what they had, just by using a different medium. It is fair to question the cost in doing this, but I'd suspect that if RTÉ were allowed to have their Radio 1 service relayed on a few UK SSDAB multiplexes, the cost would be fairly minimal to that required keeping 252 kHz on the air. Also, the BBC World Service radio expenses used to be covered by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, but nowadays is funded by the local television licence fee. As a UK Licence Fee payer, money from what I pay is being used to allow the BBC broadcast outside of the country.

Personally, I would say that the lack of any external radio service either by RTÉ or the Irish government since the foundation of the state has been one of the most disappointing things that this country has done (or rather not done). It's a bit much to say that it's either a disgrace or shameful, "disappointing" is probably a fair word, especially to a nationality that has such a large diaspora & emigrant community. Trying to get RTÉ Radio 1 on to DAB in a few places in GB where the Irish diaspora is at its highest is the least that can be done IMO.

P.S. The snippets of broadcasts that relayed some RTÉ Radio 1 programming to Africa in the 1950's as well as in the 2000's don't really count.

icdg

I guess it’s two different mandates. RTE’s mandate includes serving the disapora. Whereas, World Service aside, the only mandate the BBC has outside the U.K. is to make as much money through its commercial arm BBC Studios as possible so as to pay as big a dividend as possible to the Corporation to be re-invested in programming and services in the U.K.. That’s the basic difference.

RoTelly

Challenge up 53% from Jan to Feb

0.75% v 1.15%

This compares to VMTV Four with 0.4% in Feb down from 0.46%

Though VMTV Four is not available on Sky.

Glaceon

Looks like Challenge was changed to a variable bitrate this morning.

One More Toy

Challenge in the afternoon is playing audio description, on my Hitachi TV. Despite there being only one channel of audio, anyone else have similar?

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120516750#Comment_120516750

Can you explain what this means?

Also the Saorview channel on 29 has returned.

Glaceon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120550355#Comment_120550355

More of a technical observation but could have an impact on picture quality too. Most TV channels nowadays use variable bitrates which means that the bandwidth consumed by the channel varies depending on its output. It can take more bandwidth in the multiplex if it needs it for fast moving shots and use less if it's showing something slow, repetitive or static. When Challenge launched on Saorview it was using a constant bitrate which meant that it was using the same 1.2 Mb/s regardless of if it was showing fast motion or a black screen.

oneilla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120516888#Comment_120516888

Yes I noticed it on Pointless a few days ago and assumed it was the settings on my TV.

oneilla

I see they've moved Pointless Celebrities to the 1pm slot, that'll give some competition in waiting rooms that usually have The Chase on.

Weakest Link is in the 7pm slot, not a very rewatchable programme imo.