Pops, Clicks, and Anti-Piracy

MTV would care about piracy because if people are recording the shows and videos onto their PC's and distributing it by means of peer-to-peer filesharing software, people will probably find it easier (and cheaper) to just download video X or show X off a P2P network, rather than having to fork out for a satellite/cable subscription, which decreases the amount of money that MTV get.

Also, people can record sound from their set-top boxes directly into their PC's and distribute them as MP3 files over P2P networks. So if they show, for the sake of argument, a music video that won't be released for weeks, people will MP3 it and release it onto the web. Depending on how badly compressed the MP3/broadcast is, the quality can be pretty good or completely shíte, but it's usally the latter.


I'm not sure about this, so don't quote me on this, but I've heard there were many problems with there CR3 update to the software on their set top boxes, many of which included remote control buttons not working and volume controls not working.


Just out of interest, how loud is the sound on the videos when they arrive at the station?

I notice it upstairs, but not down. I used to get it downstairs until I replaced the cable with some tripple sheilded silver plated copper teflon sheaved coax. Sounds like a jitter or rejection problem.

Improved colour and sound no end as well.

MTV don't get money for showinf videos anymore, thats why for every 3 minutes of video they have 5 minutes of adverts.

With CR3 and CR2 the Volume button on the NTL remote never does anything, same with the Text button, they are both useless. I've had the odd problem with the remote at times, though it seems to be better now, as it was playing up and went like....

TV; somehow started doing the same thing as the Ch+ button
8 and 1 were buggered up and did nothing at times and occasionally swapped operations. Now with Box Clicking that has never happened to my box, I don't know if it is because of what box you have, I have a Pace 1000 box and it always seems to be fine.

Try reinstalling all the software on your DTV box, perhaps there is a new codec out. Switch it off at the mains, put you finger on the 'backup' button, kepp it depressed and switch the mains back on. Keep you finger on 'backup' until the message appears on the screen saying it's downloading, unless you use 625/525 progressive PAL where it has no message.

I don't know. I suspect the music channels use audio processing similar to that used in radio, which will make it a lot louder than channels using TV style processing (which is a lot softer). I reckon that's why all the music channels pop and click on NTL.

And by the way howesey, on NTL you can't force a software upgrade, they do it themselves when they're ready. I'm afraid I have to say that practically every "upgrade" I have ever received has been worse than the previous; horrible colours, slower response and now the volume problem are the classics.

sounds like the batteries going

The batteries are fine, I only replaced them not too long ago, but the problems I have go on about don't seem to happen that much now, it happened alot until a few weeks ago and it's now fine again. But I assume it is the remote, as we have got another box which we've had for 3 years (It's a Pace 1000+) and the remote with that one has worked without any problems. So I assume it was my remote.

Alright maybe MTV doesn't get paid for showing videos but surely there has to be some cost to it - it's not simply sticking a video in the machine or calling it up off a server and broadcasting it out.

I think the reason that the music often clips (thats where you get the horrible popping sound) on the music channels is that they compress the audio giving it a smaller volume range, i.e. the quietest stuff is louder and the loudest stuff quieter. They then broadcast it fairly loudly and because digital audio has only a finite range it pops. The difference between digital and analogue audio is that when stuff is very loud when it goes on to tape a compression effect occurs, which simply makes it sound a bit different (indeed producers used to use it to gain a nice effect) whereas if digital audio exceeds its range, there is no way to store the information that is out of the range and so it simply makes noise instead.