7 channels to be sold off on Freeview
Ken Hill1
Member Posts: 261 ✭✭
in Discussion
All Sony channels to be sold off plus a few more Freeview channels like pop no more on the 25th of May
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Ken Hill1
Member Posts: 261 ✭✭
Ken Hill1
Member Posts: 261 ✭✭
Comments
Pop will retain its name due to its popularity with the kids.
Sony Christmas 🎄 is the Uk's most watched festive channel so that also will stay, albeit with a new name.
For the moment content remains the same.
No current Sony or pop channels will close.
We have no idea what you read or where you read it 😢
Forthcoming changes to digital platforms (UK & Ireland) – TVCL – TV Channel Lists
And here is the takeover:
Narrative Capital Buys Sony Pictures Television U.K. Channels - Variety
Richard
Hopefully Sony Movies will improve a little after the takeover. For I hate when a movie is stopped for 1 or 2 mins of entertainment news.
Sorry duplicate post
Yes 4k dose look good but more HD versions of channels is what is needed for a start.
Over broadcast spectrum or the internet?
Re Visionman
The former.
There are only two problems with broadcast 4K.
Firstly, there isn’t the bandwidth to send it.
Secondly, there isn’t any equipment to receive it.
There is equipment to receive 4k transmissions over satellite and terrestrial.
It's not being broadcast because every step in the chain from studio to transmitter needs to be updated to 4k. It's barely being moved to HD as there's just not enough interest. Most people aren't buying 4k TVs because they want 4k, they buy them because that's all there is.
There would be enough bandwidth for 4k if the duplicate SD channels were removed and the coding updated but that means many people with old equipment will no longer be able to receive the channels (along with their adverts) and if they aren't willing to update their equipment for HD, what's the point going 4k?
Finally as there's no 4k transmissions, there is no incentive to put 4k decoders in all TVs.
Edit: On second thoughts, it looks like @Roy is talking about IP. I thought, as he was responding to @kodikid's post, that he was referring to traditional tv.
Don't you understand? Television transmissions are slowly being taken off the air and over time moved to the internet. Digital UK is selling off its UK TV spectrum to telephone companies for money, and we're talking a lot of money. But thats not a problem as the internet can cope with the transmissions for 97% of UK users.
Presumably, that 97% is as here:-
https://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/8946-uk-finally-reaches-97-superfast-broadband-coverage-goal
We spent three years ‘qualifying’ for this definition because we had a bit of fibre linking our local exchange to a cabinet at the other end of the village, from which a copper-only link reached our home. And yes, our 26 Mbps just about reached the older definition of superfast, 24+; but it was only available from BT, not from anybody else, and nothing that they or we could do would get this up nearer the 35Mbps BT said we could get, and which would have matched the newer definition of superfast, 30Mbps.
Downloading a satnav update there would knock the BBC iPlayer for six; fortunately Garmin, who clearly have a grasp of the realities here, offer a slower download option.
Mostly, though, that 24 sufficed for our needs as a couple; but how families with three teenagers in the house are faring doesn’t bear thinking about. Switching on several TVs working OTA doesn’t divide your OTA bandwidth in any way; watching a Player on each one surely does.
When I said ‘broadcast’, I was talking about Freeview.
When I - not queried exactly, but qualified - Visionman’s observation about 97% broadband coverage, I was talking about IP.
When I said there wasn’t any domestic 4K receiving equipment, I also meant broadcast (OTA, Freeview) as you can see 4K demo channels on satellite (not Freesat though, I don’t think).
http://www.astra2sat.com/ultra-hd/uhd-channels/
I’m watching 4K on channels 213, 214, and 215 on my LG TV right now.
Also in Spain, it’s worth pointing out that their HD comes over DVB-T just like SD does; we use DVB-T2 for improved compression, and therefore less bandwidth, but it’s not technically obligatory for HD. So maybe we could get 4K on DVB-T2?
As regards end-to-end 4K, it’s worth observing that those of us with 4K TVs watch everything in 4K, due to our local upscaling; I see no technical reason why the upscaling can’t be applied earlier, maybe at the transmitter, as they apparently due in Sweden with SD materials shown on HD; and show the local SD news upscaled to HD instead of the bothersome red thing that tends to make us stay on SD all the time, out of sheer inertia.
The same technique could be used for non-4K material on 4K channels, if there were to be any.
Thats actually very well thought out. Which makes one wonder why Digital UK doesn't do it.
https://www.cordbusters.co.uk/now-tv-discontinues-own-streaming-devices/
Its actually no biggie as their devices are in the same category as PVR's. ie they weren't a big seller in large numbers and so have been discontinued. Theres also speculation (more a rumor at this point) that Sky are going to go internet only eventually as its cheaper than than renting satellite capacity, which it is.
If Sky did ditch the dish and now gets uhd why would anyone buy Sky?
For a pvr....really doubt it.
The more Sky broaden nows appeal the less attractive Sky becomes.
Thanks for the link was a very good read.
I can sort of see why they have discontinued the Now TV stick. As you can get the Now app on the Youview box, Fire TV and on smart TVs that come out in the last 2 or 3 years.
Also although pvrs are still being sold they have been on a slow decline over the last 2 years even more so since the first lockdown last March.
The likes of a pvr can still came in handy as 10%/12 of whats broadcast is still not on a catch up or on demand service.
Would I subscribe monthly to get my hands on a pvr....no.
Still struggling to understand why anyone would subscribe to BT tv when what it's offering (box and now pass) are readily available much cheaper elsewhere.