RTE Announce FTA Saorsat service

The Cush wrote: »

TV3's licence expires in September 2018.

I was half hoping it would be longer

zg3409 wrote: »

If the BAI or government added a clause saying "if you want to be on Saorview you need to also pay reasonable Saorsat costs" then it would give 100% coverage for all, and make Saorsat more "commercially viable"

What would happen if RTENL/2RN decided Saorsat was now a commercial failure and shut it down?

I do think asking is worth the effort, as all organisations/groups are concerned by "pressure groups".

Saorsat is cheap way for RTENL to backup feed to TX sites. It won't be closed. In that sense it's a commercial success.

TV3 are daft and broke, are they even paying terrestrial carriage yet? BAI are clueless. Pat Rabbitte has been taken over by Sir Humphry. TV3 NEVER EVER paid their share and fulfilled intentions of licence conditions on Analogue.

So I'd hardly expect better now.

Nothing will change.

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Why would the 'owners' of the transmitting apparatuses not cut off a customer for non-payment of due fees over a very long period?

In other words ..... why is TV3 still being carried at someone else's expense and not cut off, IF all this speculation about non-payment of fees is accurate?

AFAIK TV3 are paying fees to be on Saorview but I am happy to be corrected by proof. (My Source: BAI)

Had a scan of 9E this morning and on the KA Saorsat transpnder now have --
RTE One
RTE Two HD
RTE News Now
TG4
Seirbis Thrialach 1 (test card 2 EIREANN and music)
Seirbis Thrialach 2 (test card with bar going back and fore and talking )
RTE Junior.

For you information
Regards

OH !!
Maybe I should rescan more often !!
I've been spending too much time trying to sort out the Terrestrial signal over here since MUX2 came into operation...........
Thanks.
Regards

There is bound to be eventually as 2RN (formerly RTE NL) use Saorsat as site feed backup. Likely they are negotiating the extra bandwidth costs or waiting till there is actually HD content.

Is there a new virtual transponder on Saorsat?

GBCULLEN wrote: »

just to say the 7 day epg is still on saorsat or it is now as I just checked in case people are interested.

watty what is a virtual transponder and any frequency?

Each Transponder used to equate to one actual Travelling wave Tube. Nowadays most Satellite Transmitters can have multiple carriers per transmitter. The Modulation type and Symbol rate defines the channel width.

So each listed "Transponder" frequency now is really just a carrier. Ka Sat has 82 spot beams! These use two bands and two polarities. Frequencies are reused. We don't know how many real "Transponders" there are. Also there is on board multiplexing and switching, so the relationship between uplink and downlink isn't physically fixed like on a traditional transponder.

Early diagram
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=66911631&postcount=12


Hence the existing frequency is a "Virtual" transponder. It uses shared physical resources.

So the Band & Polarity for Ireland already has multiple virtual transponders. Some are used for Internet. But there is or was space reserved for a 2nd same size channel. There is a limit to Symbol Rate of receivers, so having a single larger width channel, while more efficient of bandwidth has a limit.

20185 - 20008 = 177 MHz
So either 10767 -177 or 10767 + 177 depend if frequency inversion.
10590 sounds too low so maybe inverted so 10944

Keep an eye out here too
http://www.lyngsat.com/Eutelsat-Ka-Sat-9A.html

According to Wikipedia

Each spotbeam is associated with a 237 MHz wide transponder, allowing a data bit rate througput of 475 Mbit/s per spot.

The 475Mbps is an aggregate theoretical maximum for clear skies with no ice crystal. A typical aggregate is more like 200Mbps.
The Internet access is adaptive depending on weather. The Saorsat being Broadcast TV can't be adaptive, it's at a suitable bitrate, FEC and power vs channel width for the wettest day and recommended dish with a margin for some degradation.

No, there is no margin for spider's nests.

When RTE decides to pay, 2RN will stick it on Saorsat. It's possible the Purchase Order is sitting on someone's desk. A lot of Bureaucracy and middle management in RTE. Everyone is managed on a "need to know" basis as if it was GCHQ.

As I said earlier it will be on Saorsat. I'd not bet on TV3 & 3E though unless there is legislation and then threats of fines, then licence removal. So TV3 & 3E unlikely, more likely to see UTV Ireland on it eventually!

Just checked the frequency and no signal on it for me....
What I have noticed is that RTE2 HD is very jerky --- "Top Gear"
Regards

use 25000 there is a signal and a longer epg.

Yes I did use 25000 ---- I may delete the transponders and start again.
Interesting that you now have a longer EPG --- mine is only "Now and Next"
Regards

Full EPG restored --- it was a combination of signal strength and the frequency entered --I had 10765 which gives Now and Next but 10766 gives the full EPG .
Odd.
Regards

Peter Rhea wrote: »

I know the co-channel is gone now, since Mt. Leinster moved to the old analogue freqs.

Did you try a dedicated aerial for Mt. L.? Think I would have done, if I was already getting signal on the 'wrong' aerial. The new mast at Mt. L. should have improved coverage in a few areas compared to what it was pre-switchover.

But I suppose if you're badly in the shadow of a hill or something, there isn't much can be done about it.

Hi Peter,
I tried everything for Mt. Lenister, a big hill in the way
I have a very good group B aerial for freeview and a very good wide band aerial for Forth.
The old Monasootha Relay never had tv3 anyway.
Possibly could of tried a top of the market C/D aerial for Forth I think, however may not have been guaranteed.
I already had an 80cm dish set up for Astra1, it was cheaper to buy the saorsat Lnb and have a guaranteed service.

Have a Finlux Sao 634 box. Its only giving me the Irish stations. Have a saorview telly and its giving me English and Irish stations so the aerial is doing its job. Anyone know why the box is not giving me uk stations in my house? It was previously in my mothers house where it worked fine.

Copyerselveson wrote: »

That's intentional interference on the part of 2RN (formerly RTE NL) - it wouldn't do for the Irish in the UK to legally pick up Irish TV transmissions. There are other options but can't be discussed on this board.

So 2RN is secretly running Tooway France http://www.tooway.fr/ in order to block Saorsat reception?

Do tell us more of your conspiracy theory :eek:

CDTV wrote: »

can you get saorsat in surry south england ?

No. I tested it myself near london and it will not work.

Regarding intensional interference from speaking to people in "the know" 2RN are not paying for intensional interference but the satellite broadcaster may be "accidentally" broadcasting blank carriers in order to prove how tight and reliable this narrow broadcast can be. They could easily use the same frequencies for internet services, thus having the same effect.

From what I gather 2RN would normally have to pay extra if they wanted "extra" blank broadcasts, which they are not doing. These blank broadcasts may stop at any moment, but I cannot test them regularly as you would need to be in east Scotland or South East England to check they are still there.

From what I gathered at least at the start 2RN were not aware of the jamming signals even though on the ground tests were performed at the extremes by non 2RN intermediaries to check performance and recommended dish sizes. Indeed the power levels varied during these tests a few years back.

Regarding the legality of all this I suspect if they happened to accidentally jam while providing internet or TV in other regions this would not be illegal, much the same as some Irish TV broadcasts block some terrestrial TV broadcasts from the UK in border areas.

Having said all that RTE "accidentally" jammed some Dublin pirate radio stations in the past which was definitely illegal, as they had no licence for the broadcasts.