yeah. Not sure i agree with all of your analogy, completely, but interesting points never the less. Obviously, i don't make up the rules, but I see this more as a consumer forum too. But I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Nice list of requirements.

A lot of them are answered by having a network PVR rather than hard disk:
- no disk issues - all on server
- no extra tuners needed - all programmes on server (no aerial needed!)
- no need to plan ahead - scroll back through the EPG and watch whatever you've missed

I use Very Tangy TV like this and find it great. It's the first truly internet based service I've found, its similar to a "thin-client" set-up on computers - most of the intelligence/data is at the centre. Effectively there is only one copy of a programme and lots of users can flag it to watch at some point. There are some minor niggles with the service but I wouldn't go back now - I believe this is the future of TV.

Well "What Satellite" use it regularly e.g. "Humax Freeview HD zapper PVR upgrade coming next month" and so do Pace, Triax, Philips, Amazon (UK) when describing satellite and freeview tuners. I know the more common usage is for a hand-held video/audio remote control device but it is also used for other things - even a type of Wii remote and insect 'zappers' (electronic fly swatters). Give Bob_Cat a break.

Don't you mean Wot Sat just call it what Humax call it?.

Except where there is no broadband or a flaky connection that can only get you 448Kbps, IPTV will have less coverage for the foreseeable future than terrestrial or satellite...

I can't even get basic iPlayer on my Freesat equipment.

I too believe that network TV is the future, but in terms of streaming stuff around the house from a central point rather than from the internet.

You see, this is just more stupidity on the back of the current stupidity and demonstrates very clearly the confusion that results from willfully using terms that already mean something else in the context in which you are using them.

The way that Humax use 'zapper' is to indicate a NON PVR STB.

So now, not only have Humax adopted a silly, confusing, non standard usage that most people won't understand but What Satellite have corrupted the meaning and further added to the confusion by effectively contradicting Humax's distinction.

It would be far better and lead to less confusion if people stopped this puerile schoolboy game of using a word in an obviously confusing 'in' manner.

No, Humax called it an "Over Air Software update" for their "Digital Terrestrial (Freeview+) Set-top Box". No mention of a zapper. In their press releases they have never called their STBs a zapper.
What the heck - why can't we just accept it has more than one meaning. Like PVR - it is an abbreviation of several things, not just a Personal Video Recorder but also for the Puerto Vallarta Airport in Mexico (IATA code PVR).
How far off-subject can one get ?

You see, it's even confusing you.

If it's Freeview+ then of course they're not going to call it a zapper.

On the other hand, Wot Sat also seem to be confused because they have used the term to refer to something that not even Humax call a zapper.

It's this gratuitous use of a word in a way that demonstrably causes confusion that's so daft.


The point is not that words can't have more than one meaning.

It's that in this particular case the word in question already means something in the same context.

No one is going to think that they are going to fly into a piece of consumer electronics or that they are going to record the latest episode of Doctor Who on an airport.

If, on the other hand, you talk about a Humax zapper, well, have a look here to see how that's commonly interpreted.

If you that a look here you will see how Wot Sat use the term zapper.

This thread has become very silly, what the use of the term zapper has got with the OP is beyond me.

Dan.

Agreed - While I was young - ZAP was "Zero and Add packed" in 370 assembler - I presume this [Zapper] was some form of extended instruction set

Even more off topic . Clive Sinclair is reputed to have called his ill fated electric vehicle after the Z80 assembly code instruction PUSH BC

To the unitiated the code for Push BC which stores the contents of the 16bit register pair B & C on the stack in hexadecimal is C5

One of the weirdest assembler intructions I have used is SNZ: Store Negative Zero. Negative zero? What's that then?

Words mean nothing any more..A dirty week-end with a soldier and pregnancy entitle the woman to a 'Widow's Pension' if the poor lad is then Killed-in=Action!

Stan

The trouble with your idea of a Internet full service is that ...
1) The UK broadband network is not ready for millions of viewers using it for TV & Internet and high data that would be needed.
2) The system would not be as stable as DTT, Sat & Cable.
3) Not all UK has full broadband and cost would be very high to give 98% of the UK.
4) The cost to have full HD channels would be to high at this time in the UK.

At this time there are many companies that piggy back on our public TV systems "freeview and freesat"

BT vision, very tangy TV, Tvchatchup any even BBC iPlayes and ITV player with others are linked to main TV as add on as our Public TV service is a mess due to space & vision of OFCOM.

We need a TV box that can handle both public systems with ISP link to give more TV services to the public.
Plus good hard drive space with up rateable chips for software and help with multi turners systems.

remember any system is as good as the weakest links and also to many links make for ease of break down too.

I assume it's Floating Point. Floating Point has a separate sign bit (not two's complement), so if you had a zero number (exponent and mantissa both zero) and set the sign bit, you'd have negative zero.

Simples.

Nah! It was a machine that used ones-complement arithmetic. All zeroes is positive zero, all ones is negative zero.