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BBC One Continuity Now Pre-Recorded?

(February 2005)

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HD
Humpty Dumpty
From what I have read on here before as a guest..

BBC ONE/TWO have live announcers from 9am till 1ish - with regional opt-outs pre-rec'd.
ITV1 is live between 9:25am and around 11:30pm - with regionals recorded earlier.
Channel 4 and five are live from 9am and 1am.
BBC THREE and FOUR are pre-recorded in advance.
ITV2/ITV3 have announcers recording during the day for transmission that night and the following day around 5pm.
E4 is live from 4pm and midnight.
Living TV is live during peak.
All UKTV channels are pre-recorded days in advance, which would also be the case for Sky One as well.

Am I right?


I would assume that there are pre-recorded breakdown announcements for the BBC and ITV channels for the times that there is no live announcer, but I am sure I have heard occassions when the live person hasn't been the voice apologising??
DA
Dan Founding member
britbat posted:
For those of you that seem to care whether or not BBC continuity is or isn't pre-recorded... why?

Not being rude or anything but can't find one single reason why I should care whether continuity is read by real person and played out later by a computer or read by real person live.


The difference is noticeable:

a) When the computer plays the wrong announcement, or the right announcement at the wrong time, or no announcement at all; and

b) When there's a breakdown or a news report or a late change to programmes - the 'generic' pre-recorded announcements can't possibly cater for every eventuality, and even if they are factually correct, don't exactly inject any personality into the output of the channel.
DA
Dan Founding member
Humpty Dumpty posted:
BBC ONE/TWO have live announcers from 9am till 1ish - with regional opt-outs pre-rec'd.
Channel 4 and five are live from 9am and 1am.
I would assume that there are pre-recorded breakdown announcements for the BBC and ITV channels for the times that there is no live announcer, but I am sure I have heard occassions when the live person hasn't been the voice apologising??


The BBC are now using recorded announcements to cover meal breaks.

C4 is pre-recorded from 10pm or midnight, depending on the shift.

When the announcer goes home they may leave specific breakdown announcements for the rest of the shift, but there will also be a selection of generic announcements available so they wouldn't necessarily have been done by the announcer on shift.
HD
Humpty Dumpty
Thanks for that extra bit of info Dan.
DA
Dan Founding member
Humpty Dumpty posted:
Thanks for that extra bit of info Dan.


That's okay - welcome to Tv Forum Smile
BB
Big Brother Founding member
Adam posted:
Big Brother posted:
tvarksouthwest posted:
Adam posted:
How long until the BBC start using the computer voice to do all the annos? Wink

I was thinking exactly the same!


FirstScotrail have a more or less automated computer voice on some of their trains which announces where you are, where's next and all this other jargon. She's clearly been recorded before hand and the on-board computer must just fit all the words together but your don't even notice it.

"This is Dundee.... This train is for Aberdeen, calling at Carnoustie, Arbroath, Montrose, Stonehaven and.... Aberdeen..... The next stop is.... Carnoustie" around ten minutes later she dings again "We're now approaching... Carnoustie...... This is Carnoustie...."

I find it hilarious when the conducter does the same 5 seconds before she starts rofl. But really I know it's all pieced together but it's not noticeable.


Actually what I meant is the "Speakable Items" sort of voice you get. On Windows this is called Microsoft SAM, and a quick look on OSX reveals that the voice engine is 'MacinTalk' my current voice is called "Agnes". Laughing


Yes but these voices orginate from actual voice do they not? I know of a few programs (not off by heart, but they do exist) that can speak in a normal sounding voice rather than a robot sounding thing.

On the Scotrail thing, I haven't read the latest FirstInsight although I usually read it to see what they're saying about delays and problems this time.

The woman at Waverly is just disturbing, I thought she was real to begin with but she speaks in the same dulcet tone with no emotion or anything to it.
HA
harshy Founding member
Dan posted:
Humpty Dumpty posted:
BBC ONE/TWO have live announcers from 9am till 1ish - with regional opt-outs pre-rec'd.
Channel 4 and five are live from 9am and 1am.
I would assume that there are pre-recorded breakdown announcements for the BBC and ITV channels for the times that there is no live announcer, but I am sure I have heard occassions when the live person hasn't been the voice apologising??


The BBC are now using recorded announcements to cover meal breaks.

C4 is pre-recorded from 10pm or midnight, depending on the shift.

When the announcer goes home they may leave specific breakdown announcements for the rest of the shift, but there will also be a selection of generic announcements available so they wouldn't necessarily have been done by the announcer on shift.


Believe me it will only be a matter of time before continuity announcers will be redundant to be replaced by BBC Columbus Announcing Robot System.
DA
Dan Founding member
harshy posted:
Believe me it will only be a matter of time before continuity announcers will be redundant to be replaced by BBC Columbus Announcing Robot System.


I hope not! Confused
MD
mdtauk
What BBC One needs is more drama and comedies...
RU
Ruski
Dan posted:
harshy posted:
Believe me it will only be a matter of time before continuity announcers will be redundant to be replaced by BBC Columbus Announcing Robot System.


I hope not! Confused


So do I!!
IS
Inspector Sands
harshy posted:
Believe me it will only be a matter of time before continuity announcers will be redundant to be replaced by BBC Columbus Announcing Robot System.


Columbus..... very close Laughing
MA
marksi
Inspector Sands posted:
harshy posted:
Believe me it will only be a matter of time before continuity announcers will be redundant to be replaced by BBC Columbus Announcing Robot System.


Columbus..... very close Laughing


To do something like that would be a colossal mistake.

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