Could classic Presentation come back into use?

The total end-end delay is governed by the receiver too. Take two different TV sets, and tune them to the same Freeview channel, they will most likely be out of step, so any allowance the broadcasters might apply at their end, would be pointless.

The pips on BBC radio via DAB as heard on my DAB radio are around 3 seconds 'slow'.

Of course, at what distance from the loudspeaker are you supposed to listen to the pips ?

The speed of sound is 350 metres/second, in the order of a million times slower than radio waves

Once when babysitting world cup coverage for a venue, England had penalties, and we had two different Sky SD boxes both tuned in to the same channel. The one on the venue screens was about 2 - 3 seconds slower than the one we had as a preview. Annoyed a few punters by cheering / booing before the ball was even kicked

But yes, digital delay is so variable, it would be virtually impossible to correct for it.

I don't get the digital delay reasoning either. What does it matter if the clock is a few seconds out?

Do they really think the public is too stupid to cope with a delay between sets thats likely to be in the magnitude of a few milliseconds (like it is in my house).

They stick clocks on screen during breakfast time or on rolling news so whats the difference? And whats to say the clocks they used to show were entirely accurate anyway once the images were sent down the broadcast pipeline..I somehow doubt they were ever truly accurate.. They dont need to be..I

f you want to take it to the nth degree you could argue that the speaking clock is likely to be 'inaccurate' depending on your distance from London or wherever it is.

Remember "the public" are the same people who tweet daybreak complaining the clock is wrong on ITV1+1 ever morning

Good post! I hadn't thought of those examples. You're right about the on-screen clocks during breakfast programming - it seems they've conveniently ignored that one. Personally, I think the digital delay was an excuse that most people would swallow in order to get rid of the clocks. It was probably a design decision more than anything else. Let's face it, digital TV started in 1998, didn't it? So analogue clocks on digital TV existed for 4 years and nobody noticed. Most people I know seem to be aware of the new delay between various TV sets so it's really not an issue. Like I said, most people's clocks and watches are only fairly accurate anyway. So long as I get the minute right, I'm not bothered about the second hand being accurate.

Haha, you're winding us up, surely, Pete? Have people actually complained about that?!

http://themediablog.typepad.com/the-media-blog/2012/02/daybreak-viewers-confused-by-time-twitter.html

They actually have. I seem to remember a time where Daybreak's Twitter account seemed to constantly be replying to tweets saying 'Our clock isn't wrong - are you sure you're not joining us on ITV1+1?'

My sentiment exactly.

The best parallel I can think to draw would be the pips - an immediately recognisable and distinctive audio cue for news at the TOTH - but it's the sound, rather than the accuracy in relation to the time, that ultimately gives the signal to listeners.

In that sense, the clock itself - even if inaccurate - is the visual equivalent of the pips.

It allows the lead in to be instantly distinguishable from that of other programmes as an effective and very suitable way of introducing news. And without needing any sound at all - it appears ticking up to 1 or 6 o'clock, and you know it's the news before the announcer has even spoken.

I think the presence of the mute clock as a strong and appropriate on-screen cue, rather than an accurate timepiece, is its real strength. And as TV now gives even less time to silence, it makes a much greater impression when it is used.

They could do a compromise and have the clock at about the average time delay. E.g. if its 5 seconds for Virgin Media, 3 for Sky and 4 for Freeview then put the clock 4 seconds forward. Then it would only be a little out. Accurate enough for most people anyway.

Yep, they complain about it on the Facebook page as well. You wonder why they haven't overlaid the clock on +1 with a message or just the text '+1'.

What about the BBC News channel? They have the countdown on the hour - surely a (sort of) clock that manages to get to zero dead on the hour usually.