Channel Television

Going back to basics here so bear with.

It's common knowledge that Channel took their network feed by effectively rebraodcasting an off air signal of the South West, and later South region, even after the creation of the Network Centre.

I've two questions though.

1. What are the technical arrangements now? Are they played out from Chiswick and their DSAT feed used for DTT? But how do Channel Reports inject themselves into that feed, or is there a "return" line now?

2. When Channel launched on DSAT the picture quality was atrocious, like a really bad old skool NTSC > PAL conversion. With no DTT at the time it was obviously 4:3 and I assume what we saw on DSAT was an off air feed of an analogue UHF broadcast - but how did it become so soft and washed out?

I think nowadays there is a fibre connection so they work like any other ITV region. Previous to takeover they got a dirty feed of Meridian from Chiswick via fibre which they opted out of, then sent their output back to Arqiva for DSat uplink.

On the subject of Channel, I understand that after they switched to being fed from Rowridge (TVS), they maintained a feed from Stockland Hill (TSW) to use as a backup. I presume this gave them the option of opting out of TVS’s local output if they preferred TSW’s offering, yet it appears they rarely, if ever, did so. I wonder why?

I think they still do use a dirty feed of Meridian (South) fed to them via fibre, and locally playout their pres and the local ads. Their operation is very similar to a mainland BBC English region. Probably too expensive (even as an ITV internal cost) to have their opting and pres done in Chiswick). They return their output back to the mainland, and mux coding and D-Sat uplink is centralised with the other ITV regions. Fremont Point PSB 2 is fed from the same mux farm as the other Southern Britain transmitters

Too much paperwork and administration ?

They don't use a dirty feed from Meridian anymore.

This is because when they previously opted out of the network for regional programmes and showed the network programme at another time (e.g. late at night), the end credits included the ECP and voiceover for the original network transmission, which must have been a bit confusing for Channel viewers!

Now when they show network programmes at other times, the end credits are clean (as with Wales and Border Scottish).

I'm guessing the TVS feed was usually higher quality, so they only used the TSW feed when the quality of the TVS feed dropped. I don't think both were deemed equal quality, so I doubt the IBA would have wanted them to mix-and-match?

If these are pre-recorded shows, then wouldn't they be available as files now shows are delivered file-based rather than tape-based?

You wouldn't have to record them from a dirty-feed for timeshifting, you'd just need to source a copy of the DPP AS11 delivery file (or an SD downconversion) for later playout surely?

If they are live shows - that's different.

I'm not saying that Channel haven't switched to the same model as other ITV plc regions, just that the lack of ECPs doesn't mean they definitely have.

Would that not be offset by not having to provide a playout suite in their new building? I'm struggling to see why they are not just like any other ITV plc region these days.

They don't need a playout suite, I think the news gallery/studio handles all the opts they need to do, as I say rather like a BBC English region ?

The TVS feed was provided for political, not technical reasons (Channel wanted to be 'tied' commercially etc to TVS rather than TSW) and engineering wise it was more expensive (involved using a French Tx site in Cherbourg to receive Rowridge on a SABRE array and provide an onward SHF link to Jersey. Someone from Arqiva told me the telemetry circuit to Cherbourg cost a fortune to rent alone) Also Rowridge had to have a pair of high gain yagis installed to generate the narrow beam required to Cherbourg to provide ITV and C4. That said the SABRE array at Cherbourg benefited from 10 or so years development of experience etc, from the 1976 SABRE at Alderney

I can't work out why it would be either. My understanding is that it is just like any other ITV region - it's played out from Chiswick.


No matter how it's done it requires a feed from the islands to Britain and vice versa so it might as well just be done in the same place as all the others