As most of you must know Freeview has now got BBC HD and ITV1 HD and 4HD soon with 5HD by the end of the year.

As FreeSat is a public system too, WHY are they not the same channels on both systems?

FreeSat HD has help to show that the UK public likes HD.

We need to have a joint public TV system that gives public rights to have all free TV channels in SD & HD on both systems, so that people that can not have freeview because of bad planning & cheapness, can have FreeSat that have the same channels.

We now have postcode lottery on public tv....
1) You may not have rights to have Freesat because of a dish and planning.
2) You may have your rights taken away with the DSO, with local transmitters relay not used after the DSO.
3) You may have 2 hd or 4 hd channels with your public TV and mix of channels that may not be able to see.

So we should have rights to have the same channels for all the UK with the TV tax we all pay now to the BBC

Oh, I can't wait for all the responses on this one....... I'll just sit back and watch....

And the TV license pays for...??

bodatron

Most regions in the UK do not have access to Freeview HD yet. A significant proportion of UK households cannot receive any Freeview at the moment.

By 2012 most the UK will in theory have access to the Freeview HD channels. Some HD is already available on Freesat. By 2012 the number of Freesat HD channels may increase with the launch of new satellites.

Technology roll out in the UK takes time. I think we have learn to be patient.

I think you will find that the default TV delivery system to which the rules apply is still terrestrial, albeit analogue or digital. Not sure Five comes into it either. Five never had the analogue terrestrial coverage that the other four had. HD is probably also regarded as an extra at the moment. I see your point but don't think it will change anything.

Jonathan Ross’s wages.

My limited understanding of the Freesat issues with C4HD and others is that the channels are encoded (FTV not FTA) due in part to the footprint of the satellite beam. There seems a simple solution to this - a card that decodes this encryption and can be used in the Freesat kit. It could be limited by shipping address (UK only) and I would gladly pay a one off charge to cover the cost of manufacture and shipping. Sky could make a small profit on the card and the main 'terrestrial' channels would be accessible to all, not just those lucky enough to live near a powerful freeview transmitter.

Will probably happen just after I perfect the software to predict the lottery results.

It already exists, and has for years - it's called a FreeSatFromSky card - however it only works in Sky boxes. Freesat deliberately made sure that there was no encryption system specified or desired for Freesat.

Ok, just to clear up once and for all, the different ways of receiving your TV :-

1) Freeview - A large collection of free to air channels, most of which nobody want or needs.

2) Freesat - A slightly different large collection of free to air channels, most of which nobody wants or needs.

3) $ky, Virgin, BT Vision - An even larger collection of pointless channels that you pay a subscription for, only to spend most of the time watching the same free channels as everyone else.

4) Analogue - A small collection of 5 channels that is being phased out, forcing everyone to choose one of the other options, so they can spend most of the time watching same 5 channels that they used to watch on analogue.

Have i missed anything ?

You could do the same type summary for the change over from FM Radio..please..as
never understood this DAB stuff

My understanding of DAB is lower quality for more channels.

Bit like satellite really.

Phew! I thought it was just me! It's a fair comment and is proven by the fact that I have a Foxsat HDR box to record stuff if my Sky HD box fails to. On Sky the wife watches a bit of sport, we watch the odd film, House and Lie to Me on Sky 1, the rest comes down to BBC stuff and a few American shows plus the Gadget Show on 5.

I have perfected software to predict the lottery results, it works every time. However, I hope one day it will predict the correct lottery results!

(said in a Midlands' accent) I'll get me coat...............

I love this post! It should be framed by DS and published for all UK TV viewers to see! You have just about summed it all up perfectly!

GG

'Just About'.. But did not the Bard say..
"There's the rub"..?
My wife opened the Radio Times this morning and saw after about 5 minutes that..
The 'Dog Whisperer' is coming back with a New Series on his visit to the UK..
"That's good" she said..
I made her another slice of toast and said "Nowt"...
The programme is on Geography Wild..
Any day now i was going to cancel the Sky Subn..
I have no objection to paying to see such programmes but at a reasonable price ..
which is not the Subn X number of months prog runs for ONE hour per week..
Has anyone seen any inkling of alternative economics for this quandary?

So, your "Dog Whisperer" is my "Lie to Me/House". It is amazing how we get caught in this situation. The business model must stack up for Sky. There are enough "idiots" like me to prevent them from going to pay-per-view on programmes. They COULD lose a fortune by adopting such a model, the number of new people who would pay a couple of quid to watch an episode of Dog Whisperer would never offset the number of existing customers who would cancel to take advantage of pay-per-view.

I realise this is the Freesat+ forum and we have wandered into a Sky area, but PaulB67b's provocative post encouraged it (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it ).

Originally Posted by PaulB67b View Post
Ok, just to clear up once and for all, the different ways of receiving your TV :-

1) Freeview - A large collection of free to air channels, most of which nobody want or needs.

2) Freesat - A slightly different large collection of free to air channels, most of which nobody wants or needs.

3) $ky, Virgin, BT Vision - An even larger collection of pointless channels that you pay a subscription for, only to spend most of the time watching the same free channels as everyone else.

4) Analogue - A small collection of 5 channels that is being phased out, forcing everyone to choose one of the other options, so they can spend most of the time watching same 5 channels that they used to watch on analogue.

Have i missed anything ?

Yes PaulB67b you have.

When the Conservatives get back in later this year, it will not take them long to sell off the BBC. They will sell it to Sid and in no time Rupert Murdock will buy it off Sid.

You might think I am joking, I wish I was.

Which Sid are they selling it to? Sid who bought a load of British Gas shares or Sid James look-a-like Alan Sugar?

I meant Sid who bought and sold is Gas shares.

Oh, I forgot about Alan Sugar just imagine him in charge he would sour everything.

That is why so few people have it - you need a £10 per month subscription to make the PVR functions work. We've had Sky+ for over 8 years now, meaning our Sky+ box has cost over £960, not including the initial purchase cost. We watch a number of Sky shows, making the cost (as part of the subscription) less of an issue. The main reason we pay is the lack of alternatives.


Which is a bit like designing a web service that would run perfectly on a 100Mbps connection and then blaming the ISPs for not providing fast enough connections. The channel line-up on the FTA transponders would have been known at the time, along with the amount of spare capacity, so why design a system to run without encryption when a number of the core (perceived to be free to watch) channels were not going to be available?

The further we progress toward HD TV as the standard, the narrower the options for viewing are becoming. Sky offer 37 compared to the one and a half currently on Freesat (before anyone chips in with LuxeHD, I count the ones you don't have to do any complicated menu switchery to receive). I don't mind at the moment, but would like to watch Channel4HD and E4HD, along with any future options from C5.

Apologies if this all sounds a bit pro Sky, but we have no cable infrastructure here, a weak Freeview signal and thus only satellite as a digital TV option. Would just like a few more options on that service. Not after much, just the channels provided by the old analogue companies, BBC1, 2, 3, 4, cbeebies & HD, ITV1, 2 etc, on a box capable of recording with series link.

And my "Dog", "Lie" or "House", was 'Lost' and I pondered long and hard "if I ditch Sky I'll lose Lost".

But the reality is, that I now buy the season on Blu-Ray for about £40. I was stumping up £57 a month for Sky and, out of that £684 I saved last year, I've spent less than £200 in series' and films.

John

most interesting PJ.. i had never thought of that..
Is there a company which specialises in such matters that i could loginto and leave my reqirements..
OR
How do i become aware that a series is actually available..?

Stan