BBC 2012 - The Olympic Broadcaster

If you have a decent broadband connection and no data caps, then it IS becoming a replacement. The new Freeview HD boxes even stream interlaced iPlayer content - so you get full motion. In fact it won't be long until the quality you get over IP is higher than you get via SD Freeview... (For 25p content you could argue the HD iPlayer streams already are...)

It looks as if the next generation of Red Button services are likely to be IP distributed - there is an acceptance that straight PC web browser based streaming services aren't a panacea, and that services delivered to a main living room telly are still very an important service to continue to provide - it's just that their video content is likely to be delivered via a different method.

Will be interesting to see if MHEG5 continues to be the dominant authoring app, or whether HBB (which is being added to the latest Freeview HD and Freesat G2 platform requirements AIUI) will see significant use (it's replaced MHP in some countries already).

I'd argue that online streaming will become a viable substitute, particularly for red-button style programming due to the many ways it can now be delivered to TVs and increasing broadband speeds.

EDIT: noggin put it a bit more eloquently than I did.

Its already been said a number of times on this forum that one of the major reasons the Freesat / Sky red button feeds are being cut back is because it frees up a whole transponder, saving several £m per year. When the BBC is having to make as many cuts as it is, something like that - which is a relative luxury - is an understandable target. Especially given what noggin has pointed out.

What's your broadband speed Brekkie? I've recently got a YouView box and all that's required for TV quality pictures with no buffering is 3mbps - almost everyone has that. I was amazed at the quality on slow broadband connections and I guess other smart TV's are the same. There is really, really no point in the BBC paying money for another Red Button stream on Freeview with all the other options out there today.

Yes, although a third audio steam is unlikely to ever be used in England for any opts, so that could be inserted centrally (the nations might be a different matter),



301 was moved to the pre DSO Mux 1 a couple of years ago, so BBC 1SD and 301 do now actually co-exist on the same mux in all regions.

I'm around the 3mb mark now - though up until a couple of weeks ago was struggling along at less than 1mb. I now have a Humax and can watch the iPlayer via the TV but not the sport app - and it appears only Samsung and Sony Smart TVs (certain models) can access the app - so they're downsizing the linear offering before the IP option really is available to all. In many ways London has come too late rather than too early for them to make the best use of Freeview.

It's not also about watching too - many people will want to record and keep the Opening Ceremony and I suspect many of those who do would prefer the no commentary version.

Once again you're assuming everyone thinks / feels the same way you do. I'd guess that most of those keeping the Opening Ceremony - and it probably won't be that many - will just record the BBC 1 version, because, most people aren't that bothered - infact may even quite enjoy - the commentary. For any sports event I've kept I want the original commentary and presentation, because that's all part of what I remember about it.

My point was more that you'd have to ensure it was blanked during opts (the occasional english region opt-outs as well as the more varied nations opt-outs - but I guess the nations would have to handle their audio streams themselves if they went down this route)



Ah - hadn't realised that. Does that mean they're squeezing yet another stream into 18Mbs pre-DSO Mux 1? Yuck...

Don't you worry, the News Channel won't be missing out. They'll be coming from Lund Point Studio A.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7620193444_4b2f3017e8_z.jpg
As will the One/Six/Ten from later this week, in HD.

World will spend much of the day in Studio B - but then get kicked out in the evening to make way for BBC London.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8155/7620186330_7fdbb1c510_z.jpg

World will then relocate to Ironworks, which you might have seen on air already - it's just next to Old Ford Lock. This is one of the views available to them:


This is BBC Sport's studio block inside the park:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8153/7620156252_2575692155_z.jpg
the balcony in the middle is also for News use - that's where Jon Sopel was presenting from on Friday.
BBC One will be using the big glass box on the left, BBC Three from the tent on the right.

All being well, Breakfast will be live from Stratford tomorrow morning.

Those side panels, in the two studios based in the old flats, are very East Midlands Today!

Excellent views though.

Got hold of the Olympic Radio Times special yesterday. Unsurprisingly as at Christmas most places haven't put it out yet - and the newsagent I got it from pointed out it wasn't the one that started that morning! Yep, I'm the one buying it a week ahead

The layout of the listings pages has been changed quite considerably. BBC1 and BBC3 sit alongside each other on the main pages with a little box for Freeview 301/302 listings, with Channel 5 bumped over into BBC3's old position in the Freeview listings. The "daytime" panel has gone so all the channels list the whole day in one column (which surely will happen to the design eventually anyway). The "Choices" section is down to one page, reflecting there's not a lot on other than the Olympics.

On the radio pages, Talk Sport, Asian Network and Absolute have been canned for the Olympics in order to fit in 5 Live Olympics Extra, which they claim will be on Freeview 723 - although as Talk Sport sits in that position I think they may have just left that detail on by accident. Curiously Planet Rock's listings survive - I''ve had thought they would move Asian Network into that position so all the BBC stations were covered.

The 72-page pullout is a bit unusual. It is basically a mini-Radio Times for the entire 16 days, starting with a double page "Choices" with the best sport of that day, then pretty much a straight copy of the BBC1/BBC3/Freeview Red Button page from the main listings magazine on one side and the 24 Olympics channel listings on the other. The only difference from the main magazine on the BBC1/3 page is a different picture, instructions to switch to BBC2 during the news, and no details for the BBC3 non-Olympic programming (as it's not confirmed for the second week yet). They also seem to have missed the midnight BBC1 News bulletin for some reason (what is the point of that anyway?). Other than that, the text is all identical to the main magazine. All in all a bit weird - I guess it's nice to have all the sport in one place but you're still going to have to cross-reference with the main magazine unless you see yourself watching nothing other than the Olympics for 16 days. It's as if they wanted to do a Christmas-style double issue but couldn't because the listings deadlines haven't been brought forward like at Christmas, so end compromising with a pull-out of the bits they know won't change.

Yep. It's been like that since 302 was closed on Mux B. 301 and 302 were ditched from Mux B to make room for Sky Sports 1 and 2 (as part of BT's Vision package) which the Beeb are leasing the space to until DSO in NI completes in October.

In post DSO areas SS1 and 2 are carried on the Arq B mux. The pre DSO 16QAM version of Arq B of course didn't have the bandwidth to carry them, though even at 64QAM it still doesn't really. Arqiva have degraded the FEC to squeeze them in !