TV Home Forum

BBC to switch off red button text

Service to end in early 2020 (September 2019)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
WH
whoiam989
noggin posted:
whoiam989 posted:
I think there should be a global standard for such kit, so the customers can update their TVs to the latest standard without having to buy a new set, regardless of manufacturers.


I think that the market for that is kind of covered by third party set top boxes like Apple TV 4K, Amazon Fire TV stick, Roku Streaming Stick etc. - you replace those rather than your TV if you want to upgrade your online connectivity ? Or do you mean a way of replacing MHEG5 with HbbTV in the field ? I doubt that kind of thing will happen - as the timescales for those kind of upgrades are once every 10 years or more - which is 'replacement TV' territory.


I meant an idea about updating, for example, a DVB-T TV to the latest DVB-T2 standard with an easy implementation of a kit on the back of a TV set, so the customers don't have to buy a new TV or set-top box.
MA
Markymark
whoiam989 posted:
noggin posted:
whoiam989 posted:
I think there should be a global standard for such kit, so the customers can update their TVs to the latest standard without having to buy a new set, regardless of manufacturers.


I think that the market for that is kind of covered by third party set top boxes like Apple TV 4K, Amazon Fire TV stick, Roku Streaming Stick etc. - you replace those rather than your TV if you want to upgrade your online connectivity ? Or do you mean a way of replacing MHEG5 with HbbTV in the field ? I doubt that kind of thing will happen - as the timescales for those kind of upgrades are once every 10 years or more - which is 'replacement TV' territory.


I meant an idea about updating, for example, a DVB-T TV to the latest DVB-T2 standard with an easy implementation of a kit on the back of a TV set, so the customers don't have to buy a new TV or set-top box.


You can't bolt anything onto a TV to turn it from T1 to T2, the only solution is a T2 set top box, plugged into the Scart or HDMI socket
BR
Brekkie
Virgin have begun ditching a few SD simulcasts - slowly but surely we might be moving in the right direction.

Taking this back on topic what is the situation with BBC text on cable - is it now the "connected" version by default. Also is the connected version available on SkyQ - I know on Sky+ only the text version was available.
NW
nwtv2003
Brekkie posted:
Also is the connected version available on SkyQ - I know on Sky+ only the text version was available.


Sky Q only has the text version available, which can only be accessed by the red button, as the Sky Q remote doesn’t have a text button.

20 days later

CA
Capybara
Computeractive magazine always have something to do with the BBC in their issues. In the latest issue's Best Free Software section, Alan emailed in to ask what he can download for an Android phone to replace the Red Button. The half-page answer basically says "Download the BBC News app, turn your phone sideways and Chromecast it to the TV".
JA
JAS84
That's a bit complicated isn't it? If he was just asking about Android downloads, then downloading the app is all he needs to do. Doesn't sound like he needs it to be on the TV.
LL
London Lite Founding member
I think they tried to answer the question to as close as a replacement for the Red Button on the tv as possible, although I agree the reader would benefit more from reading BBC News on his phone or tablet instead.

Computeractive and WebUser are both Dennis titles which pride themselves on explaining tech in plain English.
JA
JAS84
The language they used isn't the problem - I just think they were giving him needless instructions. "Download the BBC News app" is all they needed to say.
JA
james-2001
Brekkie posted:
Virgin have begun ditching a few SD simulcasts - slowly but surely we might be moving in the right direction.


Yes, they've removed the BBC SD versions (bar BBC1 in the English regions), S4C, the Discovery channels, Bloomberg and GOLD so far. I think Channel 4 in London too, but not the other regions. Possibly a couple of others I've forgotten. They've recently re-ordered the Sky channels so the HD versions come first on the EPG, though the SD ones are still there too. Hopefully we'll get more as contracts expire and free up more space on the service.
BM
BM11
james-2001 posted:
Brekkie posted:
Virgin have begun ditching a few SD simulcasts - slowly but surely we might be moving in the right direction.


Yes, they've removed the BBC SD versions (bar BBC1 in the English regions), S4C, the Discovery channels, Bloomberg and GOLD so far. I think Channel 4 in London too, but not the other regions. Possibly a couple of others I've forgotten. They've recently re-ordered the Sky channels so the HD versions come first on the EPG, though the SD ones are still there too. Hopefully we'll get more as contracts expire and free up more space on the service.

BBC2 sd is still available somewhere in the 800's on virgin and is where the links automatically went when 102 went HD. The picture quality is pretty poor on it through,
It's annoying because a holiday worth of recordings is way too much to fit in if all HD. Plus HD seems to increase the risk of my box crashing. And ITV Hub is still I think subtitle free through connected tv so not something I like using as I find subtitles help me understand things better. BBC Iplayer is excellent through no subtitles on live streaming of broadcast programs. 4OD has subtitles, haven’t used Five’s for a long time so not sure,
BT and Eurosport HD only as well
Last edited by BM11 on 24 October 2019 12:09pm - 2 times in total
BA
bilky asko
JAS84 posted:
The language they used isn't the problem - I just think they were giving him needless instructions. "Download the BBC News app" is all they needed to say.


Not if you want to have it displayed on your TV.

26 days later

MI
TheMike
Red Button text to close on 30th January 2020 alongside BBC News and Sport TV apps

https://www.rxtvlog.com/2019/11/bbc-culls-apps-alongside-text-service.html

&

https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/entries/3dca8d69-0530-4dd8-8177-98930425302a

Newer posts