This is not just a numbers' game, technologist. Where whichever individuals or bodies responsible for withdrawing the EPG are really culpable is in the lack of notice.
There is also the wider issue of stability and consumer confidence in the DTT/Freeview platform which those responsible should have uppermost in their mind - which is why, in my view, the DTG have been lamentable.
As a member since 1989, I have asked Which? to reconsider their mild reaction, suggesting they might like to lobby the DCMS who should really be banging heads together to get the EPG reinstated at least for, say, 6 months while those affected plan for the change.
... should really be banging heads together to get the EPG reinstated at least for, say, 6 months while those affected plan for the change.
Yes, that's the sore point here.
We all knew, in our hearts of hearts, that the 14-day EPG was the weak link in our PVRs.
But to be given 7-days notice (via this forum) that the EPG was to be abandoned was absolutely shocking.
6 months' notice would be professional behaviour, and would allow all owners to find an alternative box (and perhaps HD would have matured by then too).
That said, if the technology to continue transmitting the EPG (even with just 8 days' information) is there then why on earth would they just not continue doing so as a goodwill gesture until HD is affordable and ubiquitious?
HD implementation was accelerated so the marketing men could use the tagline "see the World Cup.."
Had it kept to the original schedule there would have been a significant delay in the availability of FreeviewHD receivers as I suspect the ending of the 14-day EPG was set long before HD was planned.
Had an e-mail from Radio 4's You and Yours consumer affairs programme today - they are set to cover the missing EPG story on the show at lunchtime tomorrow (Friday 16 July).
Don't forget iPlayer if you're reading this after the event.
4tv as an entity have been sold to Thomson, as a consequene of this action fdt has undertaken to rewrite the source code to enable the current range to pick up the freeview guide should the plug be pulled on the guide (unlikely but you never know)
Keith worked for Digifusion, now I wonder if this was ever done and if so, do Beko have a copy of the updated software floating about somewhere....
Beko claiming that they don't have any of the software to people who have contacted them doesn't seem right as the Sony model came after the Beko acquisition....
The petition is up to 700+ signatures, we look set to hit 1K signatures by the weekend!
I'm getting 30+ emails a day by people supporting the campaign, sorry but I won't be able to reply to everyone personally!
Once the petition hits 1K, I'll be printing it out and sending it to Freeview, requesting that they do something as a goodwill gesture.
"You and Yours" are indeed covering the story tomorrow, they emailed yesterday asking permission to mention the petition on the show. They also said that they'd had numerous emails on the subject.
(I have also had a call from a TV show expressing interest, unfortunately I missed the call!)
I have started a blog which I'll update as and when news comes in, to save cluttering up the forums.
I'll also post any response from Freeview etc on there.
Please pass the link on to anyone interested.
(Note: The link currently points to the petition, I have updated it to point to the blog but it might take a few hours for it to trickle through the DNS system. If you get the petition when you click the link try again in a few hours)
Hopefully, we'll have a response from Freeview late next week.
I thought Freeview had already responded. They have said that, whilst its nothing to do with them and it shows the importance of only buying boxes that meet the specification, they will talk to the third parties.
Totally agree, and I believe most electrical goods that fail within 5/6 years is covered under a EU ruling.!
i would go into this in depth but seem no point, as every comment myself or my colleagues make on here get shot down by some people.
Lets hope they don't get a solution.. then we'll all be happy
Just to let everyone know - it is worth getting on to your original retailer. I'm not going to be specific in case I upset my original retailer but suffice it to say that after explaining my story in full I got a full refund on a 5 year old PVR.
Just wanted to say a big thanks to those of you who are trying to raise the profile of the issue and also trying to create a self support EPG. Won't mention individual names as there's quite a few and wouldn't want to miss anyone. You know who you are and a big THANK YOU. It's great to see that the community spirit of the Digifusion forum lives on.
I was initially going to buy a replacement box (or two!), but have managed okay with manual programming so far. Who knows, there may even be a reprive yet, even if only for a while. If there is, I'll be so glad a I didn't rush out and splash cash on a new box as a knee jerk reaction.
I thought Freeview had already responded. They have said that, whilst its nothing to do with them and it shows the importance of only buying boxes that meet the specification, they will talk to the third parties.
How much control does BSkyB have over Freeview again? :rolleyes:
None? But I'm not sure what that has to do with this thread.
BSkyB are one of the Freeview consortium members despite being the largest UK premium channel provider.
If this comes down to Freeview needing to spend money providing a service with no possibility of an ROI do you think that Sky would be totally on board with that or might they prefer a few more people gave up on Freeview and moved to their service?
BSkyB are one of the Freeview consortium members despite being the largest UK premium channel provider.
If this comes down to Freeview needing to spend money providing a service with no possibility of an ROI do you think that Sky would be totally on board with that or might they prefer a few more people gave up on Freeview and moved to their service?
Isn't there a fundamental conflict of interest here, our current situation notwithstanding?
Isn't there a fundamental conflict of interest here, our current situation notwithstanding?
I've always thought so, yes. Given the sneering tone of the Sky News article I don't think they have any great sympathy for those who have managed to avoid Sky subscriptions while enjoying similar functionality to Sky+!
Perhaps there are some controls built into the articles of association to prevent any anti-competitive practice by Sky. I would hope so.
There were 3 main risks on buying a digifusion 1) that the company would cease 2) that the proprietary guide would eventually cease 3) in a changing environment, digifuison would not be able to provide updates that would mean the box would continue to function effectively.
Whether or not those risks were recognised at the outset, is another matter.
The risk of losing the 4TV EPG was discussed frequently on this forum about 4-5 years ago. So was the issue that the 4TV EPG is not capable of being dynamically updated. Later the lack of support for Freeview Playback (now termed Freeview+) was identified as a significant disadvantage.
I have looked at the boxes for the 145 150 and 200
They all have the logo and the digital checkbox
Do you have any pictures? This needs to be chased up with the DTG and Freeview.
If it turns out they shouldn't have had the digital tick then that might provide a good cases against retailers (for mis-selling). Mind you I think mine came in a plain brown box as a refurbised unit (from MicroDirect).
I have looked at the boxes for the 145 150 and 200
They all have the logo and the digital checkbox
Have a look at this site and search using 'Beko' and 'Digital Television Recorder' - it lists FVRT200 & FVRT400. I assume that means they were registered as digital tick certified?
Still think the best glimmer of hope here was the post about Sony possibly picking up the service, but I haven't found anything about it anywhere else yet...............
Comments
There is also the wider issue of stability and consumer confidence in the DTT/Freeview platform which those responsible should have uppermost in their mind - which is why, in my view, the DTG have been lamentable.
As a member since 1989, I have asked Which? to reconsider their mild reaction, suggesting they might like to lobby the DCMS who should really be banging heads together to get the EPG reinstated at least for, say, 6 months while those affected plan for the change.
We all knew, in our hearts of hearts, that the 14-day EPG was the weak link in our PVRs.
But to be given 7-days notice (via this forum) that the EPG was to be abandoned was absolutely shocking.
6 months' notice would be professional behaviour, and would allow all owners to find an alternative box (and perhaps HD would have matured by then too).
That said, if the technology to continue transmitting the EPG (even with just 8 days' information) is there then why on earth would they just not continue doing so as a goodwill gesture until HD is affordable and ubiquitious?
Had it kept to the original schedule there would have been a significant delay in the availability of FreeviewHD receivers as I suspect the ending of the 14-day EPG was set long before HD was planned.
http://www.reghardware.com/2010/07/15/freeview_digifusion_dvr_epg/
"And we suggest the owners of these old boxes toddle off down to Argos and buy a modern HD Freeview box"
Er, thanks, I hadn't thought of that.
How come the FVRT200 outer carton has a big red 'Freeview' trademark logo on it?
Yep checked mine and it does also..
Don't forget iPlayer if you're reading this after the event.
Details at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sz3rr
Keith worked for Digifusion, now I wonder if this was ever done and if so, do Beko have a copy of the updated software floating about somewhere....
Beko claiming that they don't have any of the software to people who have contacted them doesn't seem right as the Sony model came after the Beko acquisition....
The petition is up to 700+ signatures, we look set to hit 1K signatures by the weekend!
I'm getting 30+ emails a day by people supporting the campaign, sorry but I won't be able to reply to everyone personally!
Once the petition hits 1K, I'll be printing it out and sending it to Freeview, requesting that they do something as a goodwill gesture.
"You and Yours" are indeed covering the story tomorrow, they emailed yesterday asking permission to mention the petition on the show. They also said that they'd had numerous emails on the subject.
(I have also had a call from a TV show expressing interest, unfortunately I missed the call!)
I have started a blog which I'll update as and when news comes in, to save cluttering up the forums.
It's here: www.freeviewfrenzy.com
I'll also post any response from Freeview etc on there.
Please pass the link on to anyone interested.
(Note: The link currently points to the petition, I have updated it to point to the blog but it might take a few hours for it to trickle through the DNS system. If you get the petition when you click the link try again in a few hours)
Hopefully, we'll have a response from Freeview late next week.
Just to let everyone know - it is worth getting on to your original retailer. I'm not going to be specific in case I upset my original retailer but suffice it to say that after explaining my story in full I got a full refund on a 5 year old PVR.
I was initially going to buy a replacement box (or two!), but have managed okay with manual programming so far. Who knows, there may even be a reprive yet, even if only for a while. If there is, I'll be so glad a I didn't rush out and splash cash on a new box as a knee jerk reaction.
How much control does BSkyB have over Freeview again? :rolleyes:
http://www.avforums.com/forums/freeview/1280141-view-epg.html#post12576136
and invited them to sign the petition.
None? But I'm not sure what that has to do with this thread.
BSkyB are one of the Freeview consortium members despite being the largest UK premium channel provider.
If this comes down to Freeview needing to spend money providing a service with no possibility of an ROI do you think that Sky would be totally on board with that or might they prefer a few more people gave up on Freeview and moved to their service?
I've always thought so, yes. Given the sneering tone of the Sky News article I don't think they have any great sympathy for those who have managed to avoid Sky subscriptions while enjoying similar functionality to Sky+!
Perhaps there are some controls built into the articles of association to prevent any anti-competitive practice by Sky. I would hope so.
Colin
They all have the logo and the digital checkbox
Do you have any pictures? This needs to be chased up with the DTG and Freeview.
If it turns out they shouldn't have had the digital tick then that might provide a good cases against retailers (for mis-selling). Mind you I think mine came in a plain brown box as a refurbised unit (from MicroDirect).
Have a look at this site and search using 'Beko' and 'Digital Television Recorder' - it lists FVRT200 & FVRT400. I assume that means they were registered as digital tick certified?
http://digitallogo.digitaluk.co.uk/company_search.php
Still think the best glimmer of hope here was the post about Sony possibly picking up the service, but I haven't found anything about it anywhere else yet...............