BBC News 24 Relaunch

It's simply a matter that there's only enough room for 5 analogue channels, the new channels are only broadcast on analogue cable (if that's still going) or the digital services

to an extent yes. The UHF system and frequency allocations were designed to allow for 4 channels. This was in the run up to the launch of BBC 2 so at that time it was a reasonable assumption. Channel 5 had to be crowbarred into the spectrum, there weren't frequencies available for it everywhere which is why it hasn't got full coverage, particularly from relay stations. I don't think there's any question of News 24 etc going on analogue for that reason rather than the government making a few bob.

This issue of 2010 is an interesting one. They've said they won't pull the plug on analogue until everyone is able to receive digital services, but there aren't the available frequencies to make it available everywhere until analogue shuts down... see the problem here?

Could it be a quick switchover though, i.e. pull the plug on analogue via a particular transmitter and then start radiating digitally with minutes/hours rather than days?

Makes sense. Thanks.

Well, this hasn't quite much to do with the subject of the thread, but it is an extension of my previous reply's...

What about channels like Sky One and E4: are those pay channels? You know, those behind a decoder? Channels for which you have to pay extra money to watch them?

I think from what I read elsewhere that that would work but it would mean changing the frequencies of the digital broadcasts on the main transmitters to match where analogue is. The relay will just translate the frequency and throw it out as it does with analogue, providing it has whatever code is sent with it to verify that it is the genuine broadcast - there have been various pranks with students aiming a signal at the receive aerial of the relay and it rebroadcast that

the germans did it in another way, in the greater area of berlin. they told the public they have to buy DVB-T boxes if they want to receive tv via antenna. on one day they shut down the analogue system and started then the digital system.
(cable/satellite is more popular than in UK)

But in Berlin, and Germany as a whole, around 90% of viewing is by cable or satellite. Therefore it was only a small minority affected.

yes and i think the receiver were made cheaper than elsewhere during a certain period for poor people. some have 2 different source of their tv signals (antenna and satellite)
it's very strange that some countries have so different systems. you have a much better paytv (sky) than germany. made a short essay about this at the university.
no cable frequency means no viewers for switzerland, most of our national stations have a "must-carry-rule" on cable. only 10000-20000 of 3mio households have only an analogue antenna. in the alps they are building up a DVB-T network where fewer people live, the big cities are the last regions to build up.
(please tell me if you're bored about my offtopic and my infos from outside UK)

Hmm, currently a two-line story-reminder thing with "Egypt Plane Crash", but not in the BLOODY HUGE normal lettering. Did it not fit in, or is this a rethink..?

A mistake. TOG needs reseting

http://www.philtowers.com/upload/Simonluxton.jpg