Saorview Content Speculation

watty wrote: »

On my DTT stitck 3e has appeared on Ch6. (remember?). All the digital radio except Pulse has gone, but the bit rate was low for MP2. I think they need to use HE-AAC Stereo if using 96k. You need 256K for half reasonable MP2 Audio.

This from the Dept of Comms recent Saorview content consultation

Capacity Required for HD and SD Services

The following technical specifications are being proposed by RTÉNL and are subject to contract negotiations with broadcasters.

Statistical multiplexing will be used for all video services, audio and data services are fixed bit rate. It is planned to use the following bit rates as part of a statistical multiplexed pool.

High Definition Video (HD)
1 Minimum of 2.0 Mbps
2 Maximum of 9.0 Mbps
3 Weighting 90%
4 Resolution 1440 x 1080i
5 Expected average bit rate 6.0 Mbps

Standard Definition Video (SD)
• Minimum of 1.0 Mbps
• Maximum of 8.0 Mbps
• Weighting 90%
• Resolution 544 x 576
• Expected average bit rate 2.0 Mbps

Audio HD and/or SD
• Main program audio 192 kbps (stereo)
• Secondary program audio 96 kbps (mono), if required.
• Access services 96 kbps (mono), if required.

watty wrote: »

CBR audio is OK.
But 192k of which Codec?

As most of us are receiving the audio on the trial service without HE-AAC equipment and no mention of it in the consultation I'd guess it's MPEG1 Layer II stereo audio. None of the others have been tested.

warlikedave wrote: »

according to my EPG the test transmission will be back on 3e at 8 am so it may just be a one day wonder in all honesty - for a while

Perhaps they are testing time sharing channels. BTW My EPG says your EPG is wrong. Tomorrow at 8am Infomercial.

Sam Russell wrote: »

I just do not appreciate this type of programme. I am not stopping anyone else watching e3, I would just rather a better channel ws available.

This really annoys me .... wait for it....

ITS 3E not E3

it's like older people calling TV3 RTÉ3 or when it was Network 2 older people calling it RTÉ 2. And just for that I think I will call it Channel 6.

It might improve.

Elmo wrote: »

This really annoys me .... wait for it....

ITS 3E not E3

...

I think I will call it Channel 6.
....

Does RTE News now exist so that 3e can be Number 6?

Visions of a village. Strange blazers. CCTV.

ftakeith wrote: »

we might get Setanta Sports Ireland or even Setanta Sports HD fta on saorview but not setanta sports 1 very soon

I would have said Setanta are pinning their hopes on HD for 2011 which means they are looking at Pay even with ITV (and the BBC???) having RWC rights Setanta will hope to make a splash with RWC in HD for Irish viewers. Setanta need to restructure and I am suggestion one of the first ways they can do that is develop Setanta Ireland in to a saorview channel, Imagine they didn't need to sell the Irish Games to RTÉ had they gone on to Saorview, imagine what take up would be like. RWC Ireland games on Setanta Ireland, other RWC games on SS1.

d.a.r.r.a.g.h wrote: »

..... I believe the present name "Saorview" is perfect, as, even though it is partly in Irish, it has an essence of implication that it is to do with your telly while still keeping with our National Heritage of the Irish language. .....

Interesting name Setanta

Hi all,

Great discussions going on.
For myself if I could just get RTE 1 and TG4 I'll be happy

Now a quick question!

Now that Payed DTT is dead in the water and
that it looks like all systems go for "Saorsat"
How will this work out?

Could people get all the DTT content by Sat and not bother with an Aerial?

busman wrote: »

Hi all,

Great discussions going on.
For myself if I could just get RTE 1 and TG4 I'll be happy

Now a quick question!

Now that Payed DTT is dead in the water and
that it looks like all systems go for "Saorsat"
How will this work out?

Could people get all the DTT content by Sat and not bother with an Aerial?

If it actually has a successful launch and commission.
Unless you have Freesat HD set-box, or planing to get it, particularly maybe PVR, the aerial route is cheaper. If you have a Combo TV that does Freesat HD and Terrestrial compatible with Aerial, then Aerial is better.

See
http://www.saortv.info/
http://www.techtir.ie/saortv/freesat

and
http://www.techtir.ie/tv-radio/satellite-distribution

Saorsat is really for people that can't get Terrestrial, and N.I. It can't really be used in mainland Britain once services start on the North France Spot adjoining the English Channel. It's just an exact satellite copy of Saorview content.


Unless Pay TV on DTT here ever happens in some form (which is vanishingly unlikely, Boxer only got 1,000 new customers in a whole year in Sweden!), Setanta is irrelevant to Saorview/Saorsat. It's a moot point if they can even survive at all.

watty wrote: »

Unless Pay TV on DTT here ever happens in some form (which is vanishingly unlikely, Boxer only got 1,000 new customers in a whole year in Sweden!), Setanta is irrelevant to Saorview/Saorsat. It's a moot point if they can even survive at all.

Sweden like Ireland for many years had a high take up of Cable and Satellite providers. Boxer take up was low but once analogue was switched off Boxer began to grow its customer base (many weren't happy with this). I think unfortunately that a Pay provide will appear in 2013 or whenever analogue has been switched off. Will it be too late, perhaps for regions without Cable and Sat but for those urban areas it might be a welcomed pay provider. UP€ and $ky might still get a competitor.

Do we have any info on how Setanta is doing? They still have their international arms. I would love to know what their Take up is? Setanta Ireland has 0.5% of the audience, making it more available might be the best option for them. Sky Sports 1 and 2 can get 1% of the audience it rare that Setanta get that nowadays.

watty wrote: »

Just about everyone that wants payTV sport has UPC or Sky. Setanta is on those platforms. It would be commercial suicide for them to go FTA on Saorview.

Should SkySport be FTA to have more viewers? yes, it would get more viewers but almost no money. Advertising won't pay for expensive sports channels. Even the enthusiasts watch such dedicated sports channels less than 1.5% of time. Hence Advertising can't finance it.

I understand for Sky sports that their business model is pay and it is working for them. But Setanta haven't been successful in this area. Currently Setanta Ireland is available on both Magnet and UPC as part of their Basic Package. As I am not a sports fan I don't see much need for an upgrade to Setanta Sports 1 and even if I was a sports fan I would wonder would that additional channel be worth €15 a month, I don't think I would. I don't think Setanta Ireland will happen in the morning but Sky do have a few FreeView channels (while they are depleting in numbers). I think for the following reasons it would be worth going on Saorview for setanta

1. The increased advertising prob out weights the money received from subs.
2. No need to sell FTA rights to second broadcaster for games such as RWC while being able to keep some of those games as PAY TV.
3. To promote the Brand, Setanta Ireland's schedule is becoming more an more mainstream as the years go on, Top Gear for example.

I wonder if TV3 are paying RTÉ for their SaorView slots? This still hasn't been answered?

I am being purely hypothetical and sure isn't that what Speculation is all about!

watty wrote: »

Extremely unlikely, I'd say impossible.

PayTV rights are EASIER and CHEAPER to get than FTA rights.

FTA would cost them more, result in less content, lose most of their sat subscribers and lose them most of the money UPC pay them.

You miss my main point that some of their content would remain on Pay. They bought full rights for FTA TV for the Irish Games and the RWC and then sold them on to a FTA partner, if they have a FTA channel they would not have need to have an FTA partner.

I would also assume that Setanta outbid RTÉ for the 3:30 games for the premiership. I would have thought that PAY TV rights are more expensive.

They could do with getting rid of allot of their content. More Content != Quality Content.

Again we don't know how much UPC or Magnet pay Setanta for such rights, nor do we know how many subscribers Setanta have, these would be things we would need to know before coming to any conclusions.

Machinehead wrote: »

Also picked up this from siliconrepublic site:
"Returning to RTE’s €70m DTT rollout, Carson said there will be a consumer launch in the spring, but in the meantime the broadcaster will be evaluating new services and new content. “It’s all about digital world convergence and this ultimately means more ways to access content and that means putting the audience in control of material.”

He's referring to the Dept of Communications recently launched Saorview content consultation - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056090029.