BBC LDN news - no sound!

Did anyone see the BBC LDN news bulletin (at 5.40 on Saturday 15th) - there was no sound at all and it was quite funny watching the presenter talking completely oblivious to the fact that no one could hear her! Then about a minute from the end it suddenly switched to UK today which did have sound but was just about to end. I wonder why no one did anything about it before! http://web.ukonline.co.uk/tv.home/forum/emoticons/biggrin.gif

(Edited by frogman at 5:51 pm on Dec. 15, 2001)

I didn't realise that UK TODAY goes out during the weekends. Who normally presents? And also, did I hear that UK Today was being scrapped in the new year? Can anyone confirm?

UK today has to go out all the time, because viewers of sky digital recieve that instead of the local bulletins. Someone said that UK today would be scrapped in the new year when the BBC local regions go on sky digital but then what'll the local bulletins fall back onto when theres a technical failure? Anyone else got any more info?

(Edited by frogman at 5:55 pm on Dec. 15, 2001)

Fallback will be LDN

Second wave of regions on DSAT by the way, is to be late August/early September so I found out last week

People keep asking what will happen in the case of technical failure when UK Today goes in the new year.

Well, consider what happened when UK Today didn't even exist !

BBC LDN will simply become the regional back up (as Newsroom South East was in the old days). This will be the default region on Sky Digital if another region is not selected.

If BBC London goes down, the backup is apparently Southampton and then Norwich. Although there has been some discussion about it being the other way around.

The sooner they ged rid of UK Today the better. I never watch it, the beige theme is rubbish and the presenters are useless.

Oi - watch what you say about Gwenan Edwards

Similarly, BBC NEWS 24 had no sound briefly between 1028 and 1030 this morning, there was no sound from the sting played after the weather, the trailers, and the Short Ident (RTS Award Winner 2001), until Maxine Mawhinney spoke!

We've had the same problem before here in the North West, when the Breakfast NWT bulletin has had no sound whatsoever. Something odd happened on Friday - at 0726, just before the regional opt out, during the main network Breakfast, our Travel graphics appeared on screen with shuffling of papers going on in the background. It stayed on for about 10 secs and then flicked back to Breakfast!

It seems to be happening quite regularly with the titles of BBC LDN news (no music, that is). It never used to happen with Newsroom South East (at least I don't remember it happening). I wonder why... http://web.ukonline.co.uk/tv.home/forum/emoticons/confused.gif

Didn't someone discuss at one time that since LDN runs on similar technology used by News 24, that it's prone to more mistakes because only a few people run the programme from the gallery compared to shows that run on old technology (and a lot more people)?

That could be one reason.

Yeah I thing you are right, both BBC News 24 and BBC LDN share the Carry on Columbus technology!

A little harsh to call it 'Carry on Columbus'!

It is actually pretty reliable when operated properly, and not used to automate absolutely everything...

BBC LDN have actually moved to automatic sound mixing for their short bulletins - which seems to be why their titles and music VTs never seem to be allowed to reverb and dip slowly away...

In this case it sounds like a problem on the sound feed from Marylebone High St to TV Centre (where the remote control opt switch for Crystal Palace - the main transmitter fed directly for the London region - is... ISTR That all other BBC London transmitters are off-air fed)

I expect that the sound was fine locally in the gallery - and as London are quit-low staffed they may not have had a TM checking their off-air (analogue or digital) vision and audio... and may not have known their sound was not going out correctly.

(BBC Elstree who spun off to become London - didn't have to opt out until recently, as they were the Network feed prior to UK Today, and will have different working styles... They are also unique in not having a feed of Network and a local opt-switch... I know in most regions the gallery TM controls the opt-out switching, and monitors off-air at the opt junctions to confirm vision and sound levels are matched etc. )