TV's with MPEG4 DTT decoder

Sam Russell · 04-08-2010 02:55PM

My Sony has over the air software update. So presumably, RTENL could organise some of the more populous brands/models to be upgraded ota.

STB · 04-08-2010 03:02PM

I wouldnt think OTA would be used for non saorview approved equipment (if any).

You are depending on manufacturers to support old legacy IDTVs.

watty · 04-08-2010 06:12PM

3rd parties provide OTA updates for some/many Freeview boxs. Some early ones nearly orphaned from any EPG recently as they don't support the normal Freeview EPG.

The Cush · 04-08-2010 09:42PM

This is the Freeview Engineering Channel Over-air Download Schedule administered by DTG Testing Ltd.

A similar service will be provided by RTÉNL to be carried on the Saorview multiplex.

5.10 SYSTEM SOFTWARE UPDATES
System Software Updates shall be implemented ‘over the air’ with the data in the form dictated by EN 101 192, conforming to TS 102 006.

The tenderer shall specify what bit rate the proposed SSU mechanism shall use

This from Minimum Receiver Requirements for FTA DTT for RTÉ

9.1. Clarifications to NorDig Unified specifications (chapter 11)

An upgrade/replacement of the IRD’s software is here referred to as System Software Update (SSU).
If the SSU is via transmitting the new IRD’s software over the broadcast channel it may also be
referred to as Over-The-Air (OTA) download.

The IRD shall provide a mechanism to detect corrupt downloaded system software before it is used to
replace the current working software. If the received system software is corrupt (refer to sub clause
11.2 in NorDig Unified), the IRD shall keep the current (working) version of the system software, thus
making the IRD operational again. If so, the failure to download shall be indicated to the user with an
error message that can be used in the contact with the customer relations office. It shall be possible for
the user to abort the download (in areas of bad reception quality the download may take too long time)
and the IRD shall be operational using the current version of system software.

The IRD manufacturer shall provide the required MPEG-2 TS binary file
(containing only the applicable SSU service and all its (PSI/SI) signalling
necessary for successful upgrade) intended for cyclic broadcast for each new version intended for
system software download. For each new version of system software over-the-air download, the
manufacturer shall provide all necessary description documents to the network operator required for
the transmission of the new software.

watty wrote: »

3rd parties provide OTA updates for some/many Freeview boxs. Some early ones nearly orphaned from any EPG recently as they don't support the normal Freeview EPG.

InView/4TV ends Freeview box EPG updates
4TV/Inview discontinued the 14 day EPG service on Freeview without notice

Similar situation shouldn't happen here, no multiplex capacity, market probably too small for such a service. Anyway we will have two epgs 7 day DVB-SI and 7/? day MHEG-5. The DVB-SI epg should be available if the MHEG-5 one is unavailable but no such back-up on freeview as they don't use SI for 7 day epg (now & next info maybe??).

The Cush · 05-08-2010 01:33AM

MHEG-5 update

MHEG confirmed for Irish market | Broadband TV News

Ireland’s public broadcaster RTE has confirmed it will be using MHEG-5 as the middleware for the Irish digital terrestrial system.

“Our principal initial objective with reception equipment is to encourage the development of a competitive horizontal market,” says Emer Conlon, IT project manager, RTÉ Publishing. “The key reason for selecting MHEG is the broad consumer choice based on existing product development in other markets and the short-term availability of receiver products using existing supply channels. We have seen the success of MHEG in the UK and elsewhere and that simply isn’t the case for other middlewares. MHEG has very strong manufacturer support.”

RTÉ has initially specified the MHEG 1.06 profile with the addition of HD capabilities with the broadcaster looking at further options as the DTT project develops.

The news was welcomed by David Cutts, MD of S&T and founder of IMPALA: “A vibrant supply chain is vital to support the effective rollout of new platforms and services. Over its years of success manufactures have consistently supported MHEG, via a stringent conformance regime and the development of country-specific profiles. We are pleased that these benefits have been recognised by RTE.”

MHEG-5, which has been a part of the UK terrestrial system since its launch in November 1998, had been mooted as Ireland’s middleware of choice since the involvement of the Swedish Boxer. At that time the possibility of a Nordic-wide rollout was on the cards, and although this did not proceed, RTE did join the Nordig alliance and will use Teracom’s testing facility for set-top boxes entering the Irish market.

http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2010/08/04/mheg-confirmed-for-irish-market/

IMPALA Press Release

MHEG COMMUNITY WELCOMES RTÉ’S SELECTION OF MHEG FOR IRISH DTT

London, UK – 4th August 2010: IMPALA, the International MHEG Promotion Alliance, has welcomed the news that Ireland’s public broadcaster RTÉ has selected MHEG as the interactive middleware for the rollout of its national DTT service.

“Our principal initial objective with reception equipment is to encourage the development of a competitive horizontal market,” says Emer Conlon, IT Project Manager, RTÉ Publishing. “The key reason for selecting MHEG is the broad consumer choice based on existing product development in other markets and the short-term availability of receiver products using existing supply channels. We have seen the success of MHEG in the UK and elsewhere and that simply isn’t the case for other middlewares. MHEG has very strong manufacturer support.”

RTÉ has initially specified the MHEG 1.06 profile with the addition of HD capabilities with the broadcaster looking at further options as the DTT project develops. The broadcaster will be providing a free-to-air service to the Republic of Ireland’s approximately 1.6 million TV homes and it will launch with the digital teletext service RTÉ Aertel. There will be two DTT multiplexes with HD content forming part of the offering soon after launch. A satellite service – similar to Freesat in the UK – will provide access to the small number of households who can’t receive the DTT signals.

David Cutts, MD of S&T and Founder of IMPALA, says, “A vibrant supply chain is vital to support the effective rollout of new platforms and services. Over its years of success manufactures have consistently supported MHEG, via a stringent conformance regime and the development of country-specific profiles. We are pleased that these benefits have been recognised by RTE.”

The founder members of IMPALA are Strategy & Technology (S&T), Cabot Communications and Echostar Europe.

About IMPALA
IMPALA (International MHEG Promotion Alliance) is a newly formed association of software manufacturers and supporters who are engaged with the use of MHEG. IMPALA, founded by Strategy & Technology (S&T), Cabot Communications and EchoStar Europe, promotes the use of the MHEG-5 interactive TV standard outside the UK for public service broadcasters in terrestrial, satellite or cable; wherever the use of low cost iTV technology is a benefit. For further information see www.impala.org.

http://www.impala.org/sites/default/files/MHEG%20COMMUNITY%20WELCOMES%20RTE'S%20SELECTION%20OF%20MHEG%20FOR%20IRISH%20DTT.pdf

galtee boy · 14-08-2010 04:35PM

While in London last week, a local Tesco store had a Technika ( Tesco own brand ) 40" LED TV, full 1080p, 100hz, with a Samsung panel and clearly marked on it also, Mpeg4 H.264 ! all for £599 GBP. I haven't seen any reviews on it yet, but an LED with that spec and Mpeg4 for that money, does look a bargain, especially with Irish DTT in mind.

watty · 14-08-2010 04:59PM

The local Tesco in Limerick has 22" HDTV seemingly for "Freeview HD" with DVD player built in for €185.

It's unclear if it's really a Freeview HD, or just an HD Ready TV with Freeview. No mention of MHEG5 though.

I presume if I bought it via their web site distance selling rules would apply and I could take it back?

John Dough · 14-08-2010 08:33PM

Yes you could as a guy I know works for Tesco and they got a load of Mpeg2 sets back that would not work here and gave full refunds.

A full 2 year guarantee now applies E.U. wide on all TV sets.

mossym · 14-08-2010 09:48PM

galtee boy wrote: »

While in London last week, a local Tesco store had a Technika ( Tesco own brand ) 40" LED TV, full 1080p, 100hz, with a Samsung panel and clearly marked on it also, Mpeg4 H.264 ! all for £599 GBP. I haven't seen any reviews on it yet, but an LED with that spec and Mpeg4 for that money, does look a bargain, especially with Irish DTT in mind.

40" samsung c650 can be had for just over that online and has those specs + more and I have it working with Irish dtt

STB · 15-08-2010 12:55PM

watty wrote: »

The local Tesco in Limerick has 22" HDTV seemingly for "Freeview HD" with DVD player built in for €185.

It's unclear if it's really a Freeview HD, or just an HD Ready TV with Freeview. No mention of MHEG5 though.

I presume if I bought it via their web site distance selling rules would apply and I could take it back?

Check the UK website - Its there own brand Technika ?

Here are all the Technika's

http://direct.tesco.com/q/N.1999564$4294967070.aspx

It has a spec sheet for each and a yes/no for Freeview HD.

They were selling the Technika STBHDIS2010 Freeview HD Set Top Box for STG£60 a week or so in the UK.

Velcrow · 16-08-2010 09:31AM

Keeping on the tesco vibe what are peoples thoughts on this Sony - on offer for 650

Sony 40w5500

Does it support mheg 5 and is it worth the cash?

Has anyone got a recommendation for a 40 inch LCD within the 500-600 budget that's fully compatible?

Thanks velcrow

JAMM222 · 16-08-2010 04:33PM

lads i have a samsung b650 tv will that support dtt? if so how do i tune it in?

Zonda999 · 17-08-2010 02:37PM

JAMM222 wrote: »

lads i have a samsung b650 tv will that support dtt? if so how do i tune it in?

Yep, should do

All you have to do is connect it up to the aerial the same way you did so with analogue, through the tv's RF port that is, and then do a digital search and the DTT channels should show up

JAMM222 · 18-08-2010 07:56PM

Zonda999 wrote: »

Yep, should do

All you have to do is connect it up to the aerial the same way you did so with analogue, through the tv's RF port that is, and then do a digital search and the DTT channels should show up

Hi

I have done this but am having no luck i did a digital tune through air and cable and nothing is showing up at all. The ariel i have is on top of the house and there are ports in most rooms i have a cable going from the port into the back of the tv

not sure weather the b650 has a mpeg4 tuner or not

any help appreciated

Cheers

Rick_ · 18-08-2010 09:28PM

I have the Samsung B450 and it has an MPEG4 tuner, I understand the B650 is a higher spec model, so I would imagine it should have the MPEG4 decoder in it. What transmitter are you receiving from? Can you get analogue only, or nothing at all during a scan?

JAMM222 · 18-08-2010 10:31PM

Eternal Wonderer wrote: »

I have the Samsung B450 and it has an MPEG4 tuner, I understand the B650 is a higher spec model, so I would imagine it should have the MPEG4 decoder in it. What transmitter are you receiving from? Can you get analogue only, or nothing at all during a scan?

cheers mate im just getting analog with the scan, i have scanned for digital and analog, digital on its own and all i get is analog rte pretty poor no tv3 do i need a new ariel?

John mac · 18-08-2010 10:45PM

JAMM222 wrote: »

cheers mate im just getting analog with the scan, i have scanned for digital and analog, digital on its own and all i get is analog rte pretty poor no tv3 do i need a new ariel?

where do you live?

What transmitter are you receiving from

without this info we can not help.

JAMM222 · 18-08-2010 10:49PM

between the about 3k south of stamullen co. meath 20k from drogheda

STB · 19-08-2010 12:54AM

JAMM222 wrote: »

between the about 3k south of stamullen co. meath 20k from drogheda

Lets hope there is not a direct connection between the lack of reception in Meath and and that of the Dubs performance this wekend:)

738 MHZ Channel 54. Try a manual tune. What kind of aerial are you using ?

piaget · 19-08-2010 11:12AM

Have a Philips 32pl7404 in the kids playroom hooked up to a really cheap €5 Argos aerial from the old CRT portable. Picture quality is superb 95% of the time but can get some really bad pixellation especially on RTE1.

Is this normal bacause DTT is still in test phase or would it be worth upgrading the indoor aerial.

Do'nt want to do an outside aerial unless i'm doing a freesat install at the same time. I'm in Dublin 12 btw.

STB · 19-08-2010 11:18AM

piaget wrote: »

Have a Philips 32pl7404 in the kids playroom hooked up to a really cheap €5 Argos aerial from the old CRT portable. Picture quality is superb 95% of the time but can get some really bad pixellation especially on RTE1.

Is this normal bacause DTT is still in test phase or would it be worth upgrading the indoor aerial.

Do'nt want to do an outside aerial unless i'm doing a freesat install at the same time. I'm in Dublin 12 btw.

Some cheap indoor aerials are prone to interference from mobile/cordless phones, light switches, anything electrical.

Place the aerial on a window cill (if you can). You may have to extend the distance from the TV with a longer cable (but not too long).

Quality of signal and signal strength too different things.

Obviously a little outdoor aerial (doesnt have to be on the roof) will be more rock solid than an indoor.

lukejr · 19-08-2010 11:18AM

Sorry if this has been asked before.

Is there any MPEG4 decoder boxes available in Ireland for DTT? My LG LCD doesn't support MPEG4 (only get audio).

Thanks.

piaget · 19-08-2010 11:32AM

STB wrote: »

Some cheap indoor aerials are prone to interference from mobile/cordless phones, light switches, anything electrical.

Place the aerial on a window cill (if you can). You may have to extend the distance from the TV with a longer cable (but not too long).

Quality of signal and signal strength too different things.

Obviously a little outdoor aerial (doesnt have to be on the roof) will be more rock solid than an indoor.

Thanks for that, give it a bash tonight.

watty · 19-08-2010 11:34AM

you need a better aerial. ALL the Argos set-top aerials are poor.

piaget · 19-08-2010 11:37AM

watty wrote: »

you need a better aerial. ALL the Argos set-top aerials are poor.

Watty,

Any recommendations on what and where to buy, preferably not one of those extending car aerial type jobs.

Cheers

watty · 19-08-2010 11:56AM

Something like this:

They are from 6 Euro in bargain shops and about 15 Euro in Maplin. Many variations.

You can use extension lead and put it at window. Only use an amplifier near the aerial and if a long extension cable or it's in the Attic/Loft. If no good in room, try loft or upstairs. If still no good put one of these two in loft /attic.

Pointy bit points at TV mast, or on grid the box faces mast.

The rods are Horizontal or Vertical angle depending on which RTE mast. Try both orientations if in doubt. The photos all show "Horizontal". The Set-top model swivels in stand. The Yagi (2nd Aerial) is not swivelled in bracket, the entire bracket is mounted to side of pole to make rods vertical. The entire bowtie/Grid (wideband quad array) is mounted as shown for Horizontal (bows are horizontal) and simply the bracket is attached at right angles to the main reflector to attach the entire assembly for vertical polarisation (up and down bows)

If still no good, put the real aerial outdoors.

Amplifiers are really either only to boost signal before splitting signal or about 1.5m away from aerial to drive longer coax cable to cancel cable losses.

A poor quality (or too much gain) amplifier will overload with Tetra or co-channel and cause herring bones on Analogue or breakup on Digital.

forestman · 19-08-2010 01:08PM

Hi.

I have a Philips40PFL8605H (http://www.p4c.philips.com/cgi-bin/dcbint/cpindex.pl?ctn=40PFL8605H/12&scy=nl&slg=en) What do I need to do to get the DTT channells on this? I have no house aerial, just Sky. Would be interested to see what it can do. Also will it just show now and next on the epg or will it give me the 8 days?

Thanks

Clover · 20-08-2010 04:12PM

Have a Samsung LE40C530 and this arial set up and getting the Irish DTT in nice and clear.

Ps: what would I need to get to split the arial signal and feed it into other rooms in the house ? and how would I go about doing it , thanks .

John mac · 20-08-2010 06:05PM

Clover wrote: »

Ps: what would I need to get to split the arial signal and feed it into other rooms in the house ? and how would I go about doing it , thanks .

you can use a 'Y' splitter on the aerial , but you will need to have a mpeg4 decoder on the other tv.
ysplitter.jpg&w=120&h=120

Clover · 21-08-2010 10:18AM

Thanks John ,

I have two of them in my toolbox , can I just keep splitting the feed into other rooms with that type splitter without degrading the signal ?

TV's with MPEG4 DTT decoder

Comments