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Presfax closes

(January 2018)

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IS
Inspector Sands
denton posted:

From the late 90s the DTA (Digital Transmission Area) schedules generated an SSD (Schedule Status Display). This was much better than Presfax, was in colour and it gave you real-time info on exactly what was happening (including bus cuts on the mixer).

The NTA before that also had an SSD display, but it was never used (AFAIK) by the regions. It appeared both in the various rooms in the NTA as well as monitors next to the doors of the suites. They were also on channels on the TV system around TVC so anyone could see them


When I was there both sets of SSD were on the TVs, so 6 in total (including BBCs Choice and Knowledge). Though the playout systems for UKTV also generated the same sort of display IIRC. They didn't go anywhere, just useful for people working on their playout to see what's happening at a glance
Last edited by Inspector Sands on 13 January 2018 8:10am
SP
Steve in Pudsey
Blake Connolly posted:
One useful thing about XPlayer was that it would also show you what Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast were doing as well.


How did that work back in the days of CBBC saying "Goodbye Northern Ireland"? Did NC1 just phone up Belfast and ask when they were going to opt?
DE
deejay
There was reverse talkback from the nations to NC1 and 2 in the days of the NTA, so they could have confirmed via that. It would have been planned in advance though when they were due to opt out. London knew when regional opts were supposed to have been happening. That’s not to say some regions didn’t occasionally stray from the plans. Ahem.
DE
denton
Actually... when I started in Belfast in 2000... we only had reverse talkback to NC1 (and DNC1).

If you wanted to ask NC2 or DNC2 a question you had to pick up the phone... which we often did for Schools Programmes opts, Thursday night politics, Saturday afternoon Gardeners' World and Mastermind displaced from the Friday night, and Sunday morning Irish Language programmes. I can't remember exactly when the talkback was upgraded, sometime in the early 2000s. Probably around the time BBC Choice NI closed / Digital BBC Two NI opened.
Last edited by denton on 13 January 2018 4:26pm
DE
denton
Inspector Sands posted:
denton posted:

From the late 90s the DTA (Digital Transmission Area) schedules generated an SSD (Schedule Status Display). This was much better than Presfax, was in colour and it gave you real-time info on exactly what was happening (including bus cuts on the mixer).

The NTA before that also had an SSD display, but it was never used (AFAIK) by the regions.


It's a pity it never made its way to us. It would have been so much more useful than dear old monochrome static Presfax.
MM
MMcG198
I reinstated a few old features last weekend from an old CMS. Here's an article from April 2000. Is that SSD in some of the screengrabs on this page:

http://thetvroom.com/features/spotlight-bbc-network-control.html
Last edited by MMcG198 on 13 January 2018 5:06pm
IS
Inspector Sands
MMcG198 posted:
I reinstated a few old features last weekend from an old CMS. Here's an article from April 2000. Is that SSD in some of the screengrabs on this page:

http://thetvroom.com/features/spotlight-bbc-network-control.html

Yes they are the DTAs SSDs. They differed from the NTAs mainly by showing the play status of the item in the right hand column with a few other additions


Incidently I remember that item and whereas most of it was filmed in the DTA the toilet scene is in the NTA. The DTA bogs didn't have the network audio in them (and of course there sold have been 4 different networks to select)
Last edited by Inspector Sands on 13 January 2018 6:01pm
MMcG198 and Steve in Pudsey gave kudos
RT
Run_Telecine
denton posted:
noggin posted:
Run_Telecine posted:
On another note, sort of related to the Presfax/Playout changes - the Trails on BBC1 still seem to be in SD, except the Oneness bumpers and a QT trail a bit earlier. Are they not making Trails in HD yet?


Trails made by the BBC Creative team (who replaced Red Bee for trail production I think) are still being played out (not sure about production) in SD.

Bumpers made by the shows themselves and delivered to playout close to transmission (or played out by the teams themselves) will be in HD. (Question Time, The One Show, Watchdog, Springwatch etc. all make their own 'on-the-day' bumpers and deliver them in HD, and they are usually played out in HD)


Except in NI, where all locally produced trails have been HD for the past 5 years. Wink


Thanks for the replies - it's surprising that these trails are still being played out in SD in 2018. Perhaps I'll start watching BBC1 NI! Can't be cost, as they could make the trails in HD on a Macbook, - and play them out in HD via DIRAC coding.
DE
denton
Inspector Sands posted:
MMcG198 posted:
I reinstated a few old features last weekend from an old CMS. Here's an article from April 2000. Is that SSD in some of the screengrabs on this page:

http://thetvroom.com/features/spotlight-bbc-network-control.html

Yes they are the DTAs SSDs. They differed from the NTAs mainly by showing the play status of the item in the right hand column with a few other additions


Incidently I remember that item and whereas most of it was filmed in the DTA the toilet scene is in the NTA. The DTA bogs didn't have the network audio in them (and of course there sold have been 4 different networks to select)


We had the same displays in our digital Pres suites showing our local schedule... we called these HUDs. The SSDs we saw of London's DTA suites was slightly different than those HUDs, a bit more stripped back (i.e. no movable little white arrows, no cued icons, etc)... but as I've said before, still much better than Presfax.
IS
Inspector Sands
You mentioning little white arrows reminds me, the SSDs were also used for previewing items, the director could move the white arrows down to a future item and could then run and recue it
DE
denton
Inspector Sands posted:
You mentioning little white arrows reminds me, the SSDs were also used for previewing items, the director could move the white arrows down to a future item and could then run and recue it


Yes... the MIP had some controls on it to allow you to move the little white arrows up/down the HUD... in order to preview or cut the selected event. Quite handy for cutting events while in the middle of a junction if network dropped something. Easier than having to reach across to the PC.
NG
noggin Founding member
Rkolsen posted:
noggin posted:
Inspector Sands posted:
Not sure what you mean by an analogue version except for sending schedules through the post


I suspect rkolsen means the first-generation version that was only ever distributed in the analogue network VBI, unlike the current version which is digital WST packets (as there is no VBI left to insert it in!) - though it may also have been distributed in the analogue network (itself carried as 140Mbs digital signals in most areas) VBI at one point.

The current 'CEEFAX-like' version (i.e. the one that uses a teletext packet distribution and teletext-style display) is definitely a newer version than the one in use in the mid-90s which was entirely monochrome and could display much larger numbers for the junction count-downs (don't think they were Teletext chunky bitmaps but they could have been). (It didn't look to use a teletext character generator for output)

And to answer the question - YES! It wasn't unusual for it not to be updated (or not to be received) and to be totally incorrect...

That and could a region reliably know when to opt based on PresFax data and time stamp if lines of communication such as talk back failed?


Sort of. To be honest you usually 'felt' the opts anyway...

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