UHD on the way in Spain and up and running in France

lgs 4

https://rxtvinfo.com/2024/spain-plans-to-switch-its-version-of-freeview-to-uhd/

JDxtra

…and yet we don't even have proper SD for many channels on Saorview. Embarrassing. I don't even know why they continue to advertise Saorview on TV. Make it less rubbish and you won't need to advertise!

Anyways, Saorview is looking like it's dead - it'll be leapfrogged by IPTV (free, pay, and illegal). Saorview over DVB-I is years away. To make anyway headway, it's needed now.

decor58

Maybe VM should step up and have their channels broadcast in HD, oh, it would cost them more. VM have 4 channels in low quality SD, its a handy marketing tool for their subscription service.

JDxtra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122679415#Comment_122679415

Will never happen. Saorview "exists" - it doesn't proactively attempt to improve. Usuual "not my job" mentality.

VM jave invested in their app. instead. It's a HD stream here (although not as good as pay TV streaming services).

decor58

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122679501#Comment_122679501

Yes, a fancy new app but it's a very short list of tvs with the app. The RTE PLAYER is available on most brands, I would go so far as to say the TG4 is more widely available.

khumbu

2RN in my opinion has just forgotten about Saorview or are actively killing it off....
It feels like some transition year pupils are left to mind it. 2RN must just expect that most viewers are on SKY or Virgin.

a few examples...

The picture quality one RTE One & RTE2 has reduced over the last 12months. Especially noticeable on sport.

The channel list "channel" (EPG 30) is embarrassing. A 10 year old on a commodore 64 could create a better looking image than they created. Remove it or improve it or at least add a radio station to background.

The saorview channel (EPG 29) is now a static image the last few months. Just remove/hide the channel from EPG.

The audio description is setup incorrectly on challenge.

They played around with HBB teletext for a while before abandoning testing & then pulled the plug on even MHEG5 text.

The MHEG5 on the radio stations could be updated from current logo & show name. Add the current song title at the very least as you would see on any RDS enabled FM radio. It could even list last 10 songs etc. Follow BBC example & dim the colours to reduce power needed to display the image.

They could add red/blue button option to RTE One +1, RTE2 +1 & RTE NEWS as short cut to launch the live HD stream of current channel from RTE Player.

All of the above possible improvements are not major expensive projects. If or when they roll out DVB-I or possibly DVB-T2/HEVC, hard to see it being a massive improvement. It could be another Saorview+ & Saorview Connect. Great potential but just half arsed implementation and then abandoned.

JDxtra

100% correct khumba.

batistuta9

2RN know most viewers are on other platforms, only 12% use saorview as their main source. only 37% of homes have it

The Cush

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122679884#Comment_122679884

HbbTV testing is still there, on LCNs 50/51. The radio channels also carry HbbTV data like current programme and programme info.

My guess is we won't see any further HbbTV activity until DVB-I is implemented.

There is no benefit right now switching to DVB-T2/HEVC which is about increasing capacity and using that capacity efficiently. There isn't demand for that increased capacity.

DVB-I is the future for Saorview, it will allow a seamless transition to IP delivery of Saorview at some point in the future with added benefits .

coylemj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122679884#Comment_122679884

Agree 100%. As an experiment, I have an indoor aerial connected to my bedroom TV and can pick up Saorview from Three Rock. The aerial was able to pick up the MUX which includes RTE1 TV about 50% of the time but since about a year ago, I can only pick up the stations on that MUX 10% of the time.

Nothing at my end has changed - the TV, the aerial and where all the gear is located are the same so I can only assume that they have reduced power on the transmitter. The second Three Rock MUX (which includes RTE2 TV) is there all the time.

dxhound2005

Your experiment lacks scientific rigour. Unless you monitored reception 24 hours a day every day, you can't say that it is missing 90% of the time. And what reason did you assume for the signal going missing 50% of the time before that?

lgs 4

At some stage RTE will get around UHD testing .They will have to fire up some of there spare muxs.

Sam Russell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122697218#Comment_122697218

I have found something similar with the RTE 1 mux. Now have 2RN changed the encoding of the mux compared to the other mux?

I think I heard that there was a change between the two muxes, but not sure of the details. I was onto 2RN and they said that the two muxes are the same power, but that does not explain the differences. I tune into 3Rock.

dxhound2005

The forum has occasional reports of one Mux going missing or being intermittent. While the other one is usually described as "perfect". But they rarely take the trouble to examine their signal readings. And their first assumption is that something has changed at the transmitter end. On a marginal signal, one frequency could be OK for the aerial, but the other one liable to fail.

A perfect picture could be coming from a 100% signal, or a 50% signal. But at 45% nothing. Saorview recommend using an external aerial, and that should solve the issue in most cases.

LambshankRedemption

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122679564#Comment_122679564

The RTE player is the biggest pile of shite going and refuses to work on fire sticks.

Trying to say good things about the RTE app is indefensible.

decor58

It might be an issue with the firestick, we have no issue with it on 3 brands of tv and a Now stick, it does have issues on occasion but no more than with Netflix, YouTube or others apps we use.

coylemj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122698530#Comment_122698530

I'll remember not to include you as a referee when I submit my experiment with an indoor aerial in the bedroom as a Ph.D thesis.

Get up the yard with your 'Scientific rigour'.