The Newsroom

DW News

The new 24-hour news channel (June 2015)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
NG
noggin Founding member
Inspector Sands posted:
Rkolsen posted:

There are certain things that you just don't screw with when you've been associated with them for so long. BBC News is known for their countdown sequence and if they removed it there would likely be significant viewer outrage.

There really wouldn't. It's only there as a buffer anyway, presumably it only exists because there's no adverts


The countdown on the News Channel was originally there purely to get to the top of the hour on time (just like a closing pre-fade on any other show)...

It was originally just fluttering flags, and the aim was to show of little of it as possible. Originally it had burned-in graphics (so you had to run the right one at the right time), then it had live graphics keyed over, then it was replaced by the countdown which had a lot more production. The countdown became quite popular - and is now an element of the BBC News brand. So much so that BBC World News ended up adopting a version of it too (though they are less likely to need to use a pre-fade to get back on-time...)
RK
Rkolsen
noggin posted:
Rkolsen posted:

It's kind of like the Greenwich Time Signal - in this era of digital transmission/distribution are the pips really necessary? Surely there are other ways to which the BBC could sync up their analog transmitters in this modern era. But it's kept because people like them and it's a legacy of the BBC's past.

Synchronise transmitters? The pips were really only ever there to give you an accurate time signal - at sea (where accurate time is useful for navigation), or at home (when the speaking clock cost money and lots of people didn't have phones) Never heard of it being used to 'sync up analogue transmitters'? (Sync to what and why?)


For some reason I got the origins confused regarding the transmitters. I read somewhere that with digital transmission they pips aren't as accurate as the analog world and got screwed up. I apologize.

But my point still remains that the pips are no longer needed in the developed world where everyone likely has a cell phone, internet access and most likely an RF clock. People have other ways of getting an accurate time.
NG
noggin Founding member
Rkolsen posted:

But my point still remains that the pips are no longer needed in the developed world where everyone likely has a cell phone, internet access and most likely an RF clock. People have other ways of getting an accurate time.


Still pretty important for people at sea, or those in cut off rural areas (where amazingly there isn't cell phone coverage and broadband - or mains electricity or landline telephones), just as the Radio 4 shipping forecast is.
MA
Markymark
noggin posted:
Rkolsen posted:

But my point still remains that the pips are no longer needed in the developed world where everyone likely has a cell phone, internet access and most likely an RF clock. People have other ways of getting an accurate time.


Still pretty important for people at sea, or those in cut off rural areas (where amazingly there isn't cell phone coverage and broadband - or mains electricity or landline telephones), just as the Radio 4 shipping forecast is.


No, although any maritime GPS equipment (which all vessels really have to be equipped with) will give UTC, which is near as dammit the same as GMT. I can't think of any domestic situation, where the 3-4 second 'inaccuracy' with the pips as heard over digital platforms, is going to be an issue ?

By the way, there's a leap second tomorrow night Cool

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11706014/Clocks-to-read-115960-as-time-lords-add-leap-second.html

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