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The TV Question Amnesty Thread

A thread to ask questions about things you want to know about television but were too afraid to ask (March 2019)

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JK
JKDerry
rdd posted:
Indeed RTÉ’s Aertel still exists in Ireland - albeit the WST version is now recievable only by people who still connect their Sky boxes via SCART.

Not for much longer, as RTE Aertel will close in 2020 under the budget cuts announced
TE
Technologist
And the sky platform still uses teletext for subtitles ... as do most playout systems..
Mkre about odd uses of teletext from SMPTE UK
Slide pack here https://www.smpte.org/sections/united-kingdom/events/untold-stories-teletext-celebrating-40-years-digital-broadcasting

There was a great expansion of teletext text systems world wide in the late 1990s into the early noughties
NG
noggin Founding member
Markymark posted:

WST was used by a number of other broadcasters world wide, (and some services still exist)


Yep - quite a number of European countries continued with WST over DVB, rather than going MHP or MHEG5. HbbTV is making in roads though.

SVT, NRK and DR all have text services still in Scandinavia (though I think TV4 in Sweden has closed theirs). ZDF and ARD have them in Germany - and ZDF are one of the few to use Level 2.5 enhancements (The ZDF logo uses the better graphics and a couple of pages have more colours)

The UK was quite unusual in not continuing with WST when it introduced DVB services (The Sky platform had some for a while admittedly, and the BBC had to reintroduced a slightly expanded service after initially almost closing CEEFAX on satellite to keep the Benelux viewers happy with TV listings and recipes - as their cable feed was sourced from Astra 28.2E).
RK
Rkolsen
noggin posted:
Markymark posted:

WST was used by a number of other broadcasters world wide, (and some services still exist)


Yep - quite a number of European countries continued with WST over DVB, rather than going MHP or MHEG5. HbbTV is making in roads though.

SVT, NRK and DR all have text services still in Scandinavia (though I think TV4 in Sweden has closed theirs). ZDF and ARD have them in Germany - and ZDF are one of the few to use Level 2.5 enhancements (The ZDF logo uses the better graphics and a couple of pages have more colours)

The UK was quite unusual in not continuing with WST when it introduced DVB services (The Sky platform had some for a while admittedly, and the BBC had to reintroduced a slightly expanded service after initially almost closing CEEFAX on satellite to keep the Benelux viewers happy with TV listings and recipes - as their cable feed was sourced from Astra 28.2E).


This causes me to ask: why did/should the BBC reintroduce a service for people that aren’t paying the license fee?
ST
Stuart
Markymark posted:
IBA Oracle stood for, Optional Reception of Announcements by Coded Line Electronics

I suspect that was a backronym, or one of the most amazing coincidences in history, since 'Oracle' means ". . . a medium through whom advice or prophecy was sought from the gods in classical antiquity"
IS
Inspector Sands
Definately a backronym, it's far too convaluted to be what they naturally came up with
MI
TheMike
Rkolsen posted:
noggin posted:
Markymark posted:

WST was used by a number of other broadcasters world wide, (and some services still exist)


Yep - quite a number of European countries continued with WST over DVB, rather than going MHP or MHEG5. HbbTV is making in roads though.

SVT, NRK and DR all have text services still in Scandinavia (though I think TV4 in Sweden has closed theirs). ZDF and ARD have them in Germany - and ZDF are one of the few to use Level 2.5 enhancements (The ZDF logo uses the better graphics and a couple of pages have more colours)

The UK was quite unusual in not continuing with WST when it introduced DVB services (The Sky platform had some for a while admittedly, and the BBC had to reintroduced a slightly expanded service after initially almost closing CEEFAX on satellite to keep the Benelux viewers happy with TV listings and recipes - as their cable feed was sourced from Astra 28.2E).


This causes me to ask: why did/should the BBC reintroduce a service for people that aren’t paying the license fee?

...because what was then BBC Worldwide had contracts with the Dutch and Belgian cable companies - they weren't getting the BBC for free. [BBC Worldwide is now part of BBC Studios - details of services in the Netherlands and Belgium can be found here: https://www.bbcbenelux.com/ ]
TI
TIGHazard
TheMike posted:
Rkolsen posted:
noggin posted:

Yep - quite a number of European countries continued with WST over DVB, rather than going MHP or MHEG5. HbbTV is making in roads though.

SVT, NRK and DR all have text services still in Scandinavia (though I think TV4 in Sweden has closed theirs). ZDF and ARD have them in Germany - and ZDF are one of the few to use Level 2.5 enhancements (The ZDF logo uses the better graphics and a couple of pages have more colours)

The UK was quite unusual in not continuing with WST when it introduced DVB services (The Sky platform had some for a while admittedly, and the BBC had to reintroduced a slightly expanded service after initially almost closing CEEFAX on satellite to keep the Benelux viewers happy with TV listings and recipes - as their cable feed was sourced from Astra 28.2E).


This causes me to ask: why did/should the BBC reintroduce a service for people that aren’t paying the license fee?

...because what was then BBC Worldwide had contracts with the Dutch and Belgian cable companies - they weren't getting the BBC for free. [BBC Worldwide is now part of BBC Studios - details of services in the Netherlands and Belgium can be found here: https://www.bbcbenelux.com/ ]


Indeed, someone shared a contract on here a few years ago which stated that the BBC had to also buy the non-exclusive english language rights to programming in the Netherlands and Belgium for everything they show.

(Speaking of which, what do they air when the regional news is on? BBC London, the HD red screen or the News Channel?)
MA
Markymark
TIGHazard posted:
TheMike posted:
Rkolsen posted:

This causes me to ask: why did/should the BBC reintroduce a service for people that aren’t paying the license fee?

...because what was then BBC Worldwide had contracts with the Dutch and Belgian cable companies - they weren't getting the BBC for free. [BBC Worldwide is now part of BBC Studios - details of services in the Netherlands and Belgium can be found here: https://www.bbcbenelux.com/ ]


Indeed, someone shared a contract on here a few years ago which stated that the BBC had to also buy the non-exclusive english language rights to programming in the Netherlands and Belgium for everything they show.

(Speaking of which, what do they air when the regional news is on? BBC London, the HD red screen or the News Channel?)


Depends upon the cable co and or platform operator. Those that carry BBC SD carry BBC 1 London, those that carry HD carry BBC 1 HD England (aka the Red Screen)

I was in a hotel in Luxembourg last May, and the hotel there had all five of our main channels in HD, plus others, plus all the other neighbouring countries in HD
TE
Technologist
Even in the days of the Calais relay ... which received analogue Dover and then sent BBC 1 to the Low Countries ..BBC Enterprises ( Worldwide now Studios) got a lot of money from this relay ....
.... and as it is CIN time I can mention that the dynamic electronic "co- channel interference" caption system used to put up a Brussels phone number fur donations !!!

The production gets no extra money as they grant a free licence for these SER rights
Defined in the General Terms as
. SER” – simultaneous relay rights, meaning the right to transmit and authorise the transmission of the Programme by all and any technical means in and to Belgium, the Netherlands and Eire (or such other territories as shall be notified to the Producer by the BBC) provided that:
(a) such transmission is simultaneous with the BBC’s transmission in the UK of the Programme and utilises unaltered the same signals as are used for the BBC’s UK transmission;
(b) the Programme so transmitted is not cut, altered, amended or edited in any way;
(c) the Programme does not include subtitles nor dubbing except insofar as they are
included in the Programme as delivered by the Producer to the BBC;
(d) except as herein provided any third parties authorised to transmit the Programme shall not be entitled to authorise others to exploit the Programme nor themselves to
make copies thereof save to the extent that they are required to do so by law;
(e) the BBC shall be solely liable in respect of any payments due to the owners of any underlying rights in the Programme in respect of the exercise of the rights described
herein; and
(f) appropriate payment is made for such use;
See http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/site/bbc-general-terms-august-2018.pdf
MA
Markymark
Anyway, if you want Ceefax back, vote for Count Binface (formerly Lord Bucket head) in the Uxbridge consitsuency



SP
Steve in Pudsey
I seem to recall reading that the analogue transmitters at Dover got replaced shortly before DSO, because of the importance of the service to the overseas countries.

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