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Virgin media standard definition

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  • 22-10-2019 9:12pm
    #1
    smelly sock
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,820 ✭✭✭


    Trying to watch football on it. Its not even standard definition. Its shocking. Why is it not HD on Saorview? Is it 240p? Nowhere near 360 id think.


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    #2
    Kurn
    Registered Users Posts: 874 ✭✭✭Kurn


    smelly sock wrote: »
    Trying to watch football on it. Its not even standard definition. Its shocking. Why is it not HD on Saorview? Is it 240p? Nowhere near 360 id think.

    I think wrong forum for saorview, but the answer is it's too expensive for them to be on HD on saorview.

    Quoted from a random article in the past "TV3 has blamed RTE, which owns Saorview, for this letdown, claiming it would have to spend €3m to set up a new HD station on the service." https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tv-viewers-suffer-hd-world-cup-knockout-w8kr50lksfg


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    #3
    dulpit
    Registered Users Posts: 10,267 ✭✭✭✭dulpit


    Kurn wrote: »
    I think wrong forum for saorview, but the answer is it's too expensive for them to be on HD on saorview.

    Quoted from a random article in the past "TV3 has blamed RTE, which owns Saorview, for this letdown, claiming it would have to spend €3m to set up a new HD station on the service." https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tv-viewers-suffer-hd-world-cup-knockout-w8kr50lksfg

    This should probably be in the broadcasting forum, and there's been plenty discussed here: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057205314

    In short - it's not that it's too expensive for them, it's because they are too cheap to pony up the cash for HD...


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    #4
    Kurn
    Registered Users Posts: 874 ✭✭✭Kurn


    dulpit wrote: »
    This should probably be in the broadcasting forum, and there's been plenty discussed here: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057205314

    In short - it's not that it's too expensive for them, it's because they are too cheap to pony up the cash for HD...

    Either way it was for financial reasons, they probably should spend the money on content - but that's neither here nor there. They have actually stated it's too expensive for them.

    In answering the OPs question and based on what TV3/VM have previously stated.

    "“TV3 HD is available to viewers on all other platforms but is not available on Saorview as it is cost-prohibitive for TV3. The cost to make TV3’s HD service available on Saorview is substantial,” the Virgin Media-owned TV3 said."
    https://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/no-launch-date-for-rt%C3%A9-s-delayed-saorview-connect-service-1.3226968?mode=amp


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    #5
    lertsnim
    Registered Users Posts: 9,717 ✭✭✭lertsnim


    Their SD picture is poor on all platforms.


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    #6
    Harry Palmr
    Closed Accounts Posts: 40,061 ✭✭✭✭Harry Palmr


    lertsnim wrote: »
    Their SD picture is poor on all platforms.

    My sister's house has Virgin SD package and it's a disgrace for 2019.


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    #7
    icdg
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 11,511 Mod ✭✭✭✭icdg


    moved to terrestrial


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    #8
    TAFKAlawhec
    Registered Users Posts: 589 ✭✭✭TAFKAlawhec


    The Virgin Media channels on Saorview, in common with all SD channels on the platform, broadcast with a resolution of 544 x 576 pixels which on 16:9 ratio video results in fairly poor to mediocre picture quality & definition of along with a significant amount of "smearing" on fast action scenes even when the actual bitrate is fine. This is because the individual pixels, instead of being square or moderately rectangular, are stretched to being nearly twice as wide as they are high.

    2RN really should be offering such customers the ability for their "streams" to be delivered in 720/704 x 576 instead. The difference in TG4 on Saorview and TG4 on the NI Mux (the latter being 720 x 576) is quite noticeable especially on text captions.


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    #9
    Simi
    Registered Users Posts: 1,864 ✭✭✭Simi


    It's nonsense that only RTE 1 & 2 are in HD (and 1440x1080 at that!). What exactly are they saving the bandwidth for? All saorview channels should be 1920x1080 with 5.1 sound. There's only 6 actual channels!


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    #10
    TAFKAlawhec
    Registered Users Posts: 589 ✭✭✭TAFKAlawhec


    Simi wrote: »
    It's nonsense that only RTE 1 & 2 are in HD (and 1440x1080 at that!). What exactly are they saving the bandwidth for? All saorview channels should be 1920x1080 with 5.1 sound. There's only 6 actual channels!

    2RN aren't really saving any "bandwidth", or rather bitrate - it's up to the channels themselves to decide wherever it is better for them to be on SD, HD or not at all on the Saorview platform. Same goes for Saorsat. AFAIK there is nothing stopping such channels in terms of regulations to start broadcasting in HD on these platforms if they wish to.


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    #11
    Gerry Wicklow
    Registered Users Posts: 4,538 ✭✭✭Gerry Wicklow


    TAFKAlawhec wrote: »
    2RN aren't really saving any "bandwidth", or rather bitrate - it's up to the channels themselves to decide wherever it is better for them to be on SD, HD or not at all on the Saorview platform. Same goes for Saorsat. AFAIK there is nothing stopping such channels in terms of regulations to start broadcasting in HD on these platforms if they wish to.

    Likewise there is nothing to make them broadcast anything other than the lowest quality they can get away with.


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    #12
    TAFKAlawhec
    Registered Users Posts: 589 ✭✭✭TAFKAlawhec


    Gerry Wicklow wrote: »
    Likewise there is nothing to make them broadcast anything other than the lowest quality they can get away with.

    I'd presume that 2RN have set a "floor" as to the minimum resolution they will allow such channels to be broadcast at, which is the current 544 x 576.

    Imagine if Virgin Media could get away with 352 by 288 pixels in 16:9 :eek:

    A couple of years back, CNBC on 28 East went by accident or design into broadcasting with a resolution of 352 by 576 in 16:9. To say it looked pretty bad was an understatement. It was "fixed" a few days later.


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    #13
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    The dept slipped up when Virgin had their broadcasting licenses renewed a year or two ago. Should have insisted on a PSB requirement that at least VM1 be broadcast in HD on Saorview. There will be no change I suspect until these licenses are up for renewal again. They last 10 yrs I think.


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    #14
    Former Former
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,728 ✭✭✭Former Former


    This comes up all the time. Two reasons :

    1. Additional cost to broadcast in HD.
    2. VM want you to pay for your TV. Giving HD content away for free makes paying for it less attractive.


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    #15
    dulpit
    Registered Users Posts: 10,267 ✭✭✭✭dulpit


    Former Former wrote: »
    This comes up all the time. Two reasons :

    1. Additional cost to broadcast in HD.
    2. VM want you to pay for your TV. Giving HD content away for free makes paying for it less attractive.

    3. VM are not interested in providing a quality product.
    4. If VM could pay less, they would.


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    #16
    lertsnim
    Registered Users Posts: 9,717 ✭✭✭lertsnim


    The TG4 PQ on Saorview is just as bad as Virgin's channels imo.


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    #17
    Digifriendly
    Registered Users Posts: 4,015 ✭✭✭Digifriendly


    lertsnim wrote: »
    The TG4 PQ on Saorview is just as bad as Virgin's channels imo.

    One of the few advantages of having NIMM ( RTE1/2 and TG4 on Freeview) over Saorview is that TG4 PQ is superior.


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    #18
    FRIENDO
    Registered Users Posts: 1,390 ✭✭✭FRIENDO


    I made a difference with adjusting the picture setting on the TV, noise reduction turned onto low made a difference and the football on Virgin media more watchable.


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