How about launching a multi purpose/emergency broadcast channel?

linkinpark875 · 03/03/10 - 16:33

Does anybody think there should be a channel zero on DTT carrying emergency news? Like one that can be switched on 24 hours if need be by say using BBC Parliaments space? Ideally new space sought so it can run 24 hours all year round.

If so should it be run by BBC/ITV/C4 or should the mux operators and Ofcom and the Government?

Also a text news service on channel updates would be good. I think Freesat has one now. Say they needed peoples attention it was much easier with 5 channels but with 50+ channels it's harder.

It should be a multi purpose channel. I'd use it as a welcome channel like Sky with looping adverts for Freeview and one that could be hired out to fund it. Like Information TV. It could also be a window for a guest channel from Sky and cable like a Free weekend pass?

Say it was publicly run it could be something like this:

Weekdays:

6am - 7am - Welcome - telling you a bit about the channel.
7am - 9am - EuroNews
9am - 3pm - Freeview adverts and changes
3pm - 4pm - Sky TV/Virgin Media adverts
6pm - 7pm - Community Channel
7pm - 8pm - National Lottery TV
9pm - 11pm Government channel/Political broadcasts
11pm - 12am - Pages from BBC digital text service
12am - 3am - Playphone Hits/Book Channel/Work in TV (all from Information TV.
3am - 6am - Push VOD service for Freeview programmes from BBC, C4, Five, ITV.

Weekends:

6am - 7am - Welcome - telling you a bit about the channel.
7am - 9am - EuroNews
9am - 3pm - Freeview adverts and changes
3pm - 4pm - Regional programming, Welsh, Gaelic services.
6pm - 7pm - Community Channel
7pm - 11pm - GUEST CHANNEL from Sky. FX? MTV?
11pm - 12am - Pages from BBC digital text service
12am - 3am - Playphone Hits/Book Channel/Work in TV (all from Information TV.
3am - 6am - Push VOD service for Freeview programmes from BBC, C4, Five, ITV.

In the event of using it as a public announcement channel all scheduled programming could crease and not return for a period of notice:

So here's an example:

Limited schedule:

6am - 7am - Welcome - telling you a bit about the channel.
7am - 9am - BBC News
9am - 3pm - Swine Flu Information service/Flooding snow information.
3pm - 4pm - BBC News
6pm - 7pm - BBC News
7pm - 11pm - Swine Flu Information service/Flooding snow information.
11pm - 12am - Pages from BBC digital text service
12am - 3am - BBC News
3am - 6am - Push VOD service for Freeview programmes from BBC, C4, Five, ITV.

Public Holidays:

6am - 7am - Welcome - telling you a bit about the channel.
7am - 9am - Euro News
9am - 7pm - Off air screen/Queen Speech at Christmas?
7pm - 8pm - BBC News update
8pm - 12am - Simulcast of BBC One for New Year?
12am - 3am - BBC News
3am - 6am - Push VOD service for Freeview programmes from BBC, C4, Five, ITV.

So:

Push VOD for Freeview
BBC getting priority over commercial broadcasters
Euro News granted space
Sky/Virgin Media allowed to hire airtime. Maybe going further to offer a few matches PPV?
A government channel and national lottery
A welcome channel
Maybe some short UK Films? Government stuff again?
Government, Emergency services, NHS adverts
A further 24 hour slot for World Cup matches, any bid for sporting events in the UK.
Programmes from anywhere like Information TV and anybody wishing to show programmes to millions on DTT
Regional Welsh, Gaelic services
Travel News

omnidirectional · 03/03/10 - 16:57

Radio 4 is the designated national emergency channel that people are advised to turn to in the event of a crisis such as a war breaking out, or other major incidents. Since people are likely to have battery powered radios, they can tune in and hear the latest news even if the power is cut off or they're moved to emergency shelter etc.

It can of course also be heard via Freeview. Perhaps your idea of removing radio stations from TV yesterday wasn't so good?

[Deleted User] · 03/03/10 - 20:19

I'm sure BBC News 24 can fill the void if needs must, 24 hour news stations are a bit of a void in any case...

In any case analogue radio is the most reliable method for making emergency broadcasts.

dimponk · 04/03/10 - 09:27

Even if it was possible, channel 0 would not be usable, as some boxes do not allow this as a channel number.

For example, my Topfield box uses 0 as an aspect ratio switch, so if I tried to go to channel 0 I would just change the picture from 16:9 to 4:3.

Ray Cathode · 04/03/10 - 12:32

Channel Zero will be the new name for Trove and its information and gaming service on Freeview. I wouldn't be surprised to see it appearing at position "0" in its own EPG which it will undoubtedly create. Maybe they could run an emergency service for gamers whose broadband doesn't work?

linkinpark875 · 04/03/10 - 12:44

Ray Cathode wrote: »

Channel Zero will be the new name for Trove and its information and gaming service on Freeview. I wouldn't be surprised to see it appearing at position "0" in its own EPG which it will undoubtedly create. Maybe they could run an emergency service for gamers whose broadband doesn't work?

What about Channel 8? Tele G in Scotland could easily be merged into a channel like this?

dimponk · 04/03/10 - 12:58

linkinpark875 wrote: »

What about Channel 8? Tele G in Scotland could easily be merged into a channel like this?

Where would Channel 4 go in Wales - S4C is on 4, C4 on 8?

figrin_dan · 04/03/10 - 13:00

dimponk wrote: »

Even if it was possible, channel 0 would not be usable, as some boxes do not allow this as a channel number.

For example, my Topfield box uses 0 as an aspect ratio switch, so if I tried to go to channel 0 I would just change the picture from 16:9 to 4:3.

I had a feeling that 0 was reserved for something special but I managed to get something on 0 on my Toppy. I could select it with ch up and down and from the channel list, never tried button 0 though.

Secret-Squirrel · 05/03/10 - 09:08

I think this is a good idea. Then we can declare war on the USA & Russia just to test how effective it is

mad_dude · 05/03/10 - 13:47

In a situation such as nuclear attack a freeview box would be as good as a paperweight in a furnace. Analogue signals are much more resiliant in a disaster situation and as such one analogue signal should be maintained for redundancy. It is very easy to set up a basic ATT transmitter. Setting up a DTT one is very complicated.

Heinz · 05/03/10 - 13:54

FFS, this government unnecessarily spends billions on propaganda and advertising its 'initiatives' already.

Don't put more ideas into their heads.

mad_dude · 05/03/10 - 22:12

Great idea! One problem, by the time it is needed no one will have analogue receiving equipment

Why not every single IDTV has a analogue tuner in and probably will for quite some time.

ney · 05/03/10 - 22:18

We dont need such an emargancy channel just to tell us that theres a very bad storm on the way or that in the next 12 or 15 years that the queen has died. We got news and other channelsa for this.
Also how many do listen to BBC radio 4. I think you will find at times some like to listen to a music station of some kind.

Darren

howard h · 05/03/10 - 22:19

The first emergency radio station in the event of war, disaster or Eastenders fans missing an episode would be Radio 4 on long wave, as this covers virtually all of the country.
One good reason why no-one has ever suggested NOT having a BBC station on LW.

linkinpark875 · 05/03/10 - 22:29

ney wrote: »

We dont need such an emargancy channel just to tell us that theres a very bad storm on the way or that in the next 12 or 15 years that the queen has died. We got news and other channelsa for this.
Also how many do listen to BBC radio 4. I think you will find at times some like to listen to a music station of some kind.

Darren

It could service as more a guest channel and a Freeview news and for public service information.

[Deleted User] · 06/03/10 - 13:44

howard h wrote: »

The first emergency radio station in the event of war, disaster or Eastenders fans missing an episode would be Radio 4 on long wave, as this covers virtually all of the country.
One good reason why no-one has ever suggested NOT having a BBC station on LW.

Bit of a shame then that a lot of modern analogue radios don't even have a LW tuner, and thanks to modern broadband, LW's heavily swamped with interference.

mad_dude · 06/03/10 - 14:09

Bit of a shame then that a lot of modern analogue radios don't even have a LW tuner, and thanks to modern broadband, LW's heavily swamped with interference.

EMP, powerloss equals modern broadband useless.

quin_the_eskimo · 07/03/10 - 02:15

ney wrote: »

Also how many do listen to BBC radio 4. I think you will find at times some like to listen to a music station of some kind.

Darren

More than listen to Radio 1 for a start. In times of true national emergency very few would choose the latest pop hits over the excellent Radio 4. http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/mar/03/bbc-6-music-listening-figures

mad_dude · 07/03/10 - 02:32

There are a few that don't. As analogue switch off continues a pace throughout Europe manufacturers are bound to save costs by dropping analogue decoding facilities.
My guess is Panasonic will be the first major manufacturer to do so as they hobble their sets to work properly in only one specific country already.

That is a shame because there are legions of devices. Mainly old games consoles that only work over UHF.

Richardcoulter · 07/03/10 - 05:13

dimponk wrote: »

Even if it was possible, channel 0 would not be usable, as some boxes do not allow this as a channel number.

For example, my Topfield box uses 0 as an aspect ratio switch, so if I tried to go to channel 0 I would just change the picture from 16:9 to 4:3.

Not much use in an emergency!

stuntmaster · 07/03/10 - 16:59

I can actually see a use for this channel.

In severe problems yes it's useless, but as an example, when the likes of 911 happened in the US, then news 24 was swamped with that article only. deterring from any other news. and this was ongoing for quite a few days.

having a channel like LP suggested would push that exclusive there, and freeing news 24 to still comment on it but allow other news in as well.

also as he suggested, when swine flu broke out you had to goto itv, press text, then goto NHS and ward your way through there. not every box likes MHEG as we know. having a video loop on a dedicated channel would be far better for everybody.

I'd have it run by the BBC/ITV in a joint venture.
Stick it on Mux 1 so everyone can get it.
you could call it BBC National Information and give it a simplistic easy to remember number like 100 or something. BBC news 24, BBC 1, 2 3 and 4, also Parliament could link to it via the red button mheg.

some will dismiss this idea as it has advertising. However I do see a very useful need for this.

Overnight VOD is clever, could be intergrated into Freeview+ thereby giving you a similar to TUTV system of BBC replay.

[Deleted User] · 07/03/10 - 17:26

I think there still is (it was scaled back after 1991) provisions in place for the takeover of BBC1 and Radio 4 by the national emergency alert system - how this works in the DTT age I don't know though. Whether there's any provision to feed it up to Astra or Eurobird these days is an interesting point as well. There is still some form of siren network, how widespread it is these days though I don't know.

Chocolate fireguard situation though, in instances where it would get used everyone will be pretty much screwed - be it dead or on your own in terms of what central government can do for you and they're going to be far more worried about if ELF still works than they are about whether LW or DTT works.

In lesser emergencies the local and national media and 24hour news channels will do a much better job than the government about reporting the situation. DTT might be a good thing in that it's fairly de-centralised so even if some localities are destroyed or taken out it can reach other areas.

[Deleted User] · 08/03/10 - 01:14

In the case of a nuclear war EMP means we're all instantaneously back on battery power. And 'nuclear war' doesn't necessarily mean a Threads-style vaporisation of major cities anymore - an EMP that permanently knocks out all power and communications could be created by a single megaton-class warhead detonated in the ionosphere 300 miles above the UK.

This would register as a bright flash and leave cities intact but would destroy both power and communications infrastructure (it can also occur naturally if the planet passes through intense solar magnetic radiation - Google 'Carrington event' which if it happened today instead of in the 1850s would have destroyed a little more than a few Victorian telegraph systems).

So no electricity, no cell phones, few vehicles still running (all controlled by computers now), certainly no digital broadcasting, the cables and transmitters on which they depend irreparably damaged on a scale to make resurrection nigh impossible. Within days our complex, technologically dependent society begins to fall apart and as Government / outside aid agencies attempt to re-establish basic transmissions s/he with the foresight to keep an old analogue radio and batteries wrapped inside a metal tin would have access to news and information, an immensely precious post-Pulse commodity.

OTOH a Sky or Freeview box would be worse than useless because it would take longer (if ever in the worst case scenario) to get mains power back up and running, most TV monitors would have been burned out (and again depend on a 220v supply that would no longer exist) and even a battery DAB radio is both more sensitive and relies on more complex broadcasting infrastructure than 'low-tech' longwave.

For most occurrences below this sort of level (9/11 and other localised terrorist attacks, severe weather events, chemical / nuclear spillage, political crises etc) the 24-hour news channels and the Internet seem to be the primary sources of information. Even cell phones - remember how the circuits all clogged to a standstill on July 7th despite constant rolling news coverage?

linkinpark875 · 08/03/10 - 01:27

Some suggested radio 4 but in the modern day if they can fit Ideal World teleshopping in I think this would be a good channel. As I say even at the cost of BBC Parliament as they would integrate it to the channel or even cut it back to a 1/4 screen and have a lower bitrate emergency channel.

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