The page on A516's site says that the streams "will be live from 5th August - 21st August 2016". However, the 5th is the first day of the Olympics, so presumably they will exist for a while before that. Has anyone heard when that might be so that retuning of COM8 can be done in advance?

I must ask my MP, whoever he or she is, if they know what T2 AVC AAC is.

By the time we get to it they will be debating another method as they will claim something else is even better still.

I can see it just being allowed to be a slow switch - maybe one of the multiplexes will swap, then others to follow ...in time.

More likely to switch when their frequency changes .....
And the viewers need to change their aerials ..
So like DSO 1 region by region ...

Careful folks! This thread is about the Olympics, not the future of COM8.

Point taken but comm8 may not exist in 4 years time!

The first part of the sentence has the answer. The streams should be there at the beginning of August (i.e. week commencing 1st Aug) so your device may need retuning then, if it can't automatically process the changes.

But the streams officially go live with coverage on the 5th. Whether you'll see a caption or looping video prior to this, I don't know.

The BBC also confirmed that changes to CBBC HD and CBeebies HD start "shortly before" the Olympics - but I've not been told the date. Likely to be reconfigured during the week commencing 1st August at the same time as the BBC RB stream activations and additions in a coordinated config across PSB1/BBC-A, PSB3/BBC-B, COM7 and COM8.

Most DVB-T2 receivers will add new channels automatically if you choose another channel on the same mux. If you already have QVC+1 HD then you have COM8 reception, so all you need to do is select QVC+1 HD and your TV will add the new red button feeds when they become available.

If you cannot get QVC+1 HD right now then quite simply you won't get these red button feeds.

The bit rate reduction of Channel 4 +1 HD compared to Channel 4 HD on the small sample I've looked at is about 8%. Not for every one but for some people, on some programmes, for some TV set-ups that will be perceptible, but from the people I know of their viewing perceptions much larger reduction should be feasible without creating many complaints providing the channels are still called 'HD'.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/abouttheb...3-3ef9d90e3403

Unless RB 2 and 3 are moving, there only seems to be four SD Olympic streams on COM8, and maybe CBBC HD.

a516's version of what is happening, with more technical details than the BBC blog:
http://www.a516digital.com/2016/07/c...-freeview.html

According to link from this very informative website 30% of Freeview viewers will not be able to receive vast majority of extra streams. Some of these will use satellite no doubt while others will depend on the internet.

Not every household has freeview.
It actually 30% of UK households, and so it's not as bad as your reworded version!

Not interested in sport or the Olympics here so the TV will be mostly off for the duration. Will see if I need to retune afterwards...

But freeview is in about 97% households ....,

I don't know what that statisic has to do with it but where do you get the 97% figure from? That can't psossible be correct.

Freeview coverage is a reported 98.5% or 99% (depending on which recent ofcom document I look at), then there are housholds without a TV set which removes at least another 4% of that (http://dtg.org.uk/news/news.html?id=5510). Reducing that figure further are households without any freeview/DTT equipment or a working aerial..

Not everyone gets all of the freeview channels - what u get depends on where u live. The very high 98% number is for the most basic channel selection, "freeview lite" or "core service" - about 16 channels.

The middle group get much more. This has about 90% coverage. This is the 6com group, twice as much as core service. Some people may need a new aerial to get this.

The top very lucky group get everything, this inc the com7 + 8 stuff. Not sure how many get this number of channels, but way less than the other groups. Again, some may be able to get this if they have a new aerial.


Also, some things are in freeview HD format, so not only do u need to be able to receive the service u also need freeview HD box, recorder, or a tv with freeview HD built in to view the affected channels.

Sorry using old info .. From 2012

So here is the pop coverage fir current set up ..

The three PSB muxes have At least compArable coverage to analogue which was 98.5 % so say ( just under) 99% at the cost of over 1000 transmitters
One is T2 avc AAC

The three com muxes give about 93% coverage at the affordable cost of 84 transmitters

The temporary muxes give about 70-75 % coverage at a bargain rate using old equipment from about 30 sites. They are both T2avc AAC to drive take up of equipment
Because at dso2 it is likely that this will be the main profile for emission ...
As T MPEG 2 etc will be stopped..

So discounting by the lack of TVs in every home 89% , 86.5% ,69%

Slight exaggeration, over 70%, a substantial majority.

Plus those with Cable, Satellite, Freeview HD receivers with the connected Red Button, Roku's, Chromecasts, Now TV Boxes etc. I'd imagine many of those on the Freeview-Lite transmitters already have another platform on the main set too. Up to 70% of Freeview viewers are getting a better deal now than we did for the London Olympics too.

Many may need new TV aerials to get these extra multiplexes, but many of us needed to get Wideband aerials at DSO (heck, here on Waltham a new aerial was needed for Channel 5 and pre-DSO Freeview anyway, and the SDN and Local TV Multiplexes post-DSO).

As posted on the Change Log, these streams have now been added and 602-608 are showing video.

Is there a particular reason CBBC HD has to change number temporarily during the Olympics? From what I understand, CBeebies HD is moving from COM7 to COM8 yet is retaining the same number - why is CBBC HD different? Is it in some way because CBBC HD is moving from a PSB mux to a COM mux with reduced coverage?

It's not possible to use the same channel number for services split across 2 multiplexes. The temporary number saves people without access to COM7 having to re-tune again when the channel returns after the Games.

Is that perhaps why CBeebies HD is then due to have a new multiplex after the Olympics - i.e., it'll move to COM8, then stay there to avoid a retune?

IIRC they've done that before when a service has moved multiplex temporarily - a slate on the existing channel number (which all CBBC viewers will be able to see) and CBBC HD on a new channel number for a subset of viewers. Probably very sensible given the intended audience.

As Cbeebies HD will be staying put in it's new home a retune will be needed anyway.