Early Cable/Satellite TV thread

I said on the other thread that the Sky tombstone looks more like a petrol station signboard in my opinion. Like this: https://www.google.com/search?q=petrol+station+signboard&rlz=1C5CHFA_enMY727MY727&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjLheq6wI7UAhUFGJQKHbrRDAUQ_AUICygC&biw=1088&bih=637&dpr=2

They actually had two different versions, 1995 and 1996. Both were very good at the time, IMO.

1995: (One rather than 1)


1996: (change to numeral because of Sky2, with added falling silky bits)


I'm not sure either reminded me of petrol station signage at the time.

It's the design of the tombstone that reminds me of petrol station signage. And Sky sounded like a petrol company to me. Think of BP, Shell. Anyway not going off topic.

The odd thing is that they redid all of them at that point, with a different soundtrack (and I think it's been commented before about the similarity between the Sky News version and a certain Tyne Tees ident). Now 1990s Sky went through presentation at a lightening rate but I always found that particular change odd.

I'd hazard a guess that the launches of Sky Scottish and Sky Sports 3 prompted it. That's also when Sky Sports became Sky Sports 1.

Apparently there was a 1995 style ident for Sky 2, but it was never used because the 1996 look launched on the same day the channel did.
http://web.archive.org/web/20150530065956/http://hub.tv-ark.org.uk/images/skytv/sky_images/skytwo/sky2_prelaunch1996.jpg

Sky Sports 3 launched with the original version of that look only two weeks before the changeover to the new version.

The 1996 idents in particular had pretty good music:

I'd have thought it would have been pretty similar to the outcome when it did happen many years later

OF course UKTV would have never gone ahead..

Sky never had that many different types of idents style pre 95 or post 98

1993:


1997: Personnel I thought the look was crap even thought there was a tone of them there were just meh.


1998 thats when it got somewhat interesting
http://tvlive.org.uk/tv-presentation/sky/sky1/1998-2002/

If anyone is interested in really early cable services you can see this thread which covers alot of the 1980s services

https://tvforum.uk/tvhome/satellite-tv-1985-38932/

Hmm...



... Er, not quite


Here's more info on those '90s satellites at 19.2 deg East – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astra_19.2%C2%B0E

Don't think there's any English services left on Astra 19.2° now, they all moved to 28.2° E in 2001 and what's left is primarily aimed at the rest of Europe.

Somebody said on Digital Spy if you get a funky enough LNB (Monoblock?) you can get 19.2° and 28.2° without having to move the dish, though I suppose there wouldn't be a lot of point in this on Sky+/SkyQ but any FTA satellite receiver should in theory be okay, but then it would probably be easier to have a motorised dish

Off topic, the ARD logo looks more like Russia's Channel One's.