The very generic colour bars are a bit odd though.
'Generic' colour bars? Not everyone puts patch idents on their bars, and if you don't - they all look identical. Because they are. (Edited shows will have non idented bars on them normally, though as-live shows may have studio bars before their record start)
Anybody got a recording of the SVT opts anywhere? Would love to see the snap, crackle and pop on that switch.
No snap, crackle or pop. Just a drop to grey and silence (though that may be receiver specific) for a short period on the opts I've seen. They are switching PIDs, not splicing MPEG streams.
Transmitting London on BBC 1 England HD would solve the problem at a stroke for 25% of the 'England' audience. Can anything clever be done, just inserting an MPEG domain generated caption into the PSB 3 feeds
to all but London ? (Seeing as the Beeb are so worried about inflicting London news on the rest of the country) ?
Yeah, fair point. (I mean surely, they should be able to split it into 'London', 'North West' and 'South West'.
You're back to extra codecs, and front/backhaul extending beyond London, so significant cost again. In any case the first priority is to get all the non HD regions in upscaled form on BBC 1 HD (as well as the three HD regions)
Yes - and until the roadmap for HD upgrades is agreed the approach taken to HD opt-outs probably can't be decided. Can you imagine if the BBC engineered a full BBC One HD opt-chain for every English region, based on upscaling the current services, then decided to move to an IP-production model for HD, which required a totally different opt-chain config and set-up?
You can do stream switching, in the same way as the Germans do it. Some might say, it's very 'clunky', and the picture mutes, and/or crashes about for a few seconds, while switching between the two versions which is (apparently) unacceptable.
But surely to do stream switching it still needs the transponder space for 12 linear programmes at certain odd times of the day. If they're going to do that then they may as well be there 24/7
You could do something clever with statmuxing - the regional services could go blank when there's no regional content, thus giving more space to the core service.
SVT do this in Sweden on satellite - they have PID switching opts as follows :
1. There are two core feeds of SVT1 Stockholm (I think) and SVT 2 Stockholm - which are the sustaining services.
2. There are Services for SVT1 and SVT2 for lots of regions. When there is only network content, these map to the Stockholm streams.
3. There are PIDs for a single regional audio and video service for each region. When SVT1 OR SVT2 opt-out, the reigonal versions of SVT1 OR SVT2 switch to their regional audio and video streams.
This allows opt-outs on both channels (but not at the same time) - and this is I believe the reason behind the PID switching (as it avoids simulcasting two regional services).
However there is a flash and a bang on the opt-out and opt-back - it would be impossible to cleanly do the regional idents and opt-out headlines/comings up this way, unless you soft-opted the whole junction and news bulletin (which would be feasible)
AIUI this is only used for SD regional opts - as all the streams need to be on the same transponder (re-tuning for an opt-out would take a LONG time)
So this isn't an immediate solution for HD...
Quote:
(Sky aren't still doing the Anytime service where Sky+ boxes recorded a non-EPG channel to make on demand content available to non-network-connected boxes, are they? I'm trying to think of things which could be done with the leftover bandwidth during downtime...)
I think they are - for people who don't have broadband connections. Not sure it helps much though.
BBC One pres are experimenting several days a week by maximising marketing and running trails straight off EE before the summary. Presumably to try and hit the biggest audiences.
Wasn't that the thinking behind putting the 8pm there in the first place
I don't think there's an open talkback line from the network master control counting down the times to a SR. However networks have made their productions control room audio feed available on election night so the local stations can listen in and know what's going to happen.
I believe Fox can remotely control and override a stations signal for a special report.
Edit
: Worth noting that some special reports are optional while others are mandatory.
That's a major difference to the UK.
The BBC have a permanent talkback circuit to every English region and the three national presentation operations (Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland). This usually is a switched talkback from Network control for each network (NC1 or NC2 usually) but NC1 is switched to talkback from the news gallery for the integrated headlines in the One/Six/Ten o'clock News. (This feed had the director and the digital countdown voice on it.) This is a complicated network switch - as the ident before the One/Six/Ten is an opt-controlled by NC1, the 15" headline opt in the headline sequence is an opt controlled by the One/Six/Ten gallery. Only a brief period to make the talkback switch every day. (I think NC1 switch it)
For the General election, Children In Need etc. and other shows with major opt-outs controlled by a particular production gallery, the talkback will be switch to those.
How about Presfax?
Presfax is there for guidance, but not control. It isn't, or wasn't, always that reliable, and has no real integration with the non-playout opts within News, Children in Need etc. It IS useful for seeing what you are opting out of and back in to (if you are blanketing a network trail for instance)
To be fair, I almost asked the same question yesterday – it normally comes straight after Eastenders (at least on Holby days!) and I have definitely noticed it missing on some evenings in recent months.
It usually directly follows The One Show on Wednesdays, no trails between them.
I don't think there's an open talkback line from the network master control counting down the times to a SR. However networks have made their productions control room audio feed available on election night so the local stations can listen in and know what's going to happen.
I believe Fox can remotely control and override a stations signal for a special report.
Edit
: Worth noting that some special reports are optional while others are mandatory.
That's a major difference to the UK.
The BBC have a permanent talkback circuit to every English region and the three national presentation operations (Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland). This usually is a switched talkback from Network control for each network (NC1 or NC2 usually) but NC1 is switched to talkback from the news gallery for the integrated headlines in the One/Six/Ten o'clock News. (This feed had the director and the digital countdown voice on it.) This is a complicated network switch - as the ident before the One/Six/Ten is an opt-controlled by NC1, the 15" headline opt in the headline sequence is an opt controlled by the One/Six/Ten gallery. Only a brief period to make the talkback switch every day. (I think NC1 switch it)
For the General election, Children In Need etc. and other shows with major opt-outs controlled by a particular production gallery, the talkback will be switch to those.
It's not just the E7 stuff that is carried by R4 LW, I'm told some government agencies also use remote signalling facilities on there.
Are there any websites with analysis of the signal or anything useful/interesting to read about it?
There is a BBC R&D paper from the 80s that defines the signalling code - but not the usage of the data. It essentially allows small packets of data to be sent to specific groups - how that data is then used and defined is up to those groups I imagine.
The BBC RATS system is/was activated but a signal transmitted in the data stream alongside the Radio 4 long wave signal
Yes - Radio 4 LW has a data stream used for a number of low bitrate systems. Didn't know RATS was one of them. AIUI the BBC said they were considering discontinuing BBC R4 LW if the transmitter failed, as repair/replacement wasn't deemed economically viable. Wonder how many of the systems hanging off the data feed have a plan B? (It is, or certainly was, used to trigger electricity metering between high and low tariff 'Economy 7' ISTR)
Operation London Bridge is as far as I'm aware a code word (that doubtless has now changed) used by the civil service and so on. It's not something I've ever heard of in use in broadcasting. I would be very surprised if any newsroom had mistaken what happened this afternoon with the death of a royal.
Yes. The BBC use a different code word entirely. And it isn't in widespread use in BBC News - so no misunderstanding would be likely for both reasons.
Reading on the NOW TV community forum, the 2nd gen Black streaming boxes have been converted to 50Hz. This was done during the same update to disable the developer mode to stop piracy on the devices.
Seriously? Were they showing Freeview 50Hz stuff at 60Hz before this?!
No that's the Smart Box. I meant the 2nd gen NOW TV Box which has been updated to render at 50Hz.
Ah - did the white first gen boxes get an upgrade? And are Now TV doing any 50p stuff, or is it all 25p still? (Is iPlayer 50p on them?)
