Are SD only digital boxes going to be useless soon?

[Brian Gaff]

I wonder as I have a number of working Smarttalk boxes made by Goodman's
here which need new remotes of some kind and if the current sd channels are
all going to migrate inside the hd multiplexers, than these can go to the
recyclers, but if there is a life of normal channels staying receivable,
I'll get some remotes and sell them at cost of the remote. Their one foible
is that just sometimes the AD stops, and one has to tune away and back to
restore it. I am told it is a glitch in the hardware running too slowly. I
mean they were dirt cheap when new!

Brian

[Mark Carver]

Post by Brian Gaff
I wonder as I have a number of working Smarttalk boxes made by Goodman's
here which need new remotes of some kind and if the current sd channels are
all going to migrate inside the hd multiplexers, than these can go to the
recyclers, but if there is a life of normal channels staying receivable,

There is no roadmap (as they say) for the five present DVB-T muxes to
migrate to DVB-T2. Don't worry about it for the moment, it's not going
to happen in the short term

[Davey]

On Wed, 16 Aug 2023 12:16:09 +0100

Post by Mark Carver

Post by Brian Gaff
I wonder as I have a number of working Smarttalk boxes made by
Goodman's here which need new remotes of some kind and if the
current sd channels are all going to migrate inside the hd
multiplexers, than these can go to the recyclers, but if there is
a life of normal channels staying receivable,

There is no roadmap (as they say) for the five present DVB-T muxes to
migrate to DVB-T2. Don't worry about it for the moment, it's not
going to happen in the short term

But when it does, it won't be announced in advance, so nobody will be
prepared.

[Woody]

Post by Davey
On Wed, 16 Aug 2023 12:16:09 +0100

Post by Mark Carver

Post by Brian Gaff
I wonder as I have a number of working Smarttalk boxes made by
Goodman's here which need new remotes of some kind and if the
current sd channels are all going to migrate inside the hd
multiplexers, than these can go to the recyclers, but if there is
a life of normal channels staying receivable,

There is no roadmap (as they say) for the five present DVB-T muxes to
migrate to DVB-T2. Don't worry about it for the moment, it's not
going to happen in the short term

But when it does, it won't be announced in advance, so nobody will be
prepared.

I wonder if they will do a DSO game on it? If only four T2 muxes are
required to handle all of the channels we have now but in HD, surely the
simple answer would be to leave one T1 mux operational carrying the
basic BBC/ITV/4/5 channels in SD.

Having stayed on a campsite that had only a relay - 14 channels total -
for the better part of a fortnight, I can assure you it is enough to
drive you up the wall when you are used to getting on for 100 channels.
Such an event would surely make people who do not have a T2 equipped
receiver start saving their pennies - or go onto Freesat?

[Mark Carver]

Post by Woody

Post by Davey
On Wed, 16 Aug 2023 12:16:09 +0100

Post by Mark Carver

I wonder as I have a number of working  Smarttalk boxes made by
Goodman's here which need new remotes of some kind and if the
current sd channels are all going to migrate inside the hd
multiplexers, than these can go to the recyclers, but if there is
a  life of normal channels staying receivable,

There is no roadmap (as they say) for the five present DVB-T muxes to
migrate to DVB-T2. Don't worry about it for the moment, it's not
going to happen in the short term

But when it does, it won't be announced in advance, so nobody will be
prepared.

I wonder if they will do a DSO game on it? If only four T2 muxes are
required to handle all of the channels we have now but in HD, surely
the simple answer would be to leave one T1 mux operational carrying
the basic BBC/ITV/4/5 channels in SD.
Having stayed on a campsite that had only a relay - 14 channels total
- for the better part of a fortnight, I can assure you it is enough to
drive you up the wall when you are used to getting on for 100 channels.

Really ?   I don't think I rotinely watch more that three or four
different channels today, exactly the same number as 40 years ago !

Some days we don't watch any telly at all

[alan_m]

Post by Mark Carver

Post by Woody
Having stayed on a campsite that had only a relay - 14 channels total
- for the better part of a fortnight, I can assure you it is enough to
drive you up the wall when you are used to getting on for 100 channels.

Really ?   I don't think I rotinely watch more that three or four
different channels today, exactly the same number as 40 years ago !
Some days we don't watch any telly at all

I possible don't watch more than a dozen channels, but not necessarily
the same ones as a decade ago.

[Brian Gaff]

Yes I agree. I seldom see much difference. IE Yesterday has been
commissioning new series as has Really and WE, but the main channels have
just as many repeats, and since the shows with audiences on several of the
main channels are now far more noisy then when I went to recordings I find
them brash and tasteless most of the time with open cheering and jeering
all the time. Its more like a pantomime audience than anything serious.
Brian
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Post by Woody
Having stayed on a campsite that had only a relay - 14 channels total -
for the better part of a fortnight, I can assure you it is enough to
drive you up the wall when you are used to getting on for 100 channels.

Really ? I don't think I rotinely watch more that three or four different
channels today, exactly the same number as 40 years ago !
Some days we don't watch any telly at all

I possible don't watch more than a dozen channels, but not necessarily the
same ones as a decade ago.
--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

[MB]

and since the shows with audiences on several of the main channels are
now far more noisy then when I went to recordings I find them brash and
tasteless most of the time with open cheering and jeering all the time.
Its more like a pantomime audience than anything serious.

I suppose that it depends what you watch, I have never noticed that.

[alan_m]

Post by MB

and since the shows with audiences on several of the main channels are
now far more noisy then when I went to recordings I find them brash
and tasteless most of the time with open cheering and jeering all the
time. Its more like a pantomime audience than anything serious.

I suppose that it depends what you watch, I have never noticed that.

It's mainly the talent(less) shows where that happens. When, say, a
singer hits a (auto-tuned) high note the audience are encouraged to
cheer and clap.

[MB]

Post by Woody
Having stayed on a campsite that had only a relay - 14 channels total -
for the better part of a fortnight, I can assure you it is enough to
drive you up the wall when you are used to getting on for 100 channels.
Such an event would surely make people who do not have a T2 equipped
receiver start saving their pennies - or go onto Freesat?

We only have Freeview Lite here and I have never had desire to go and
get all the other channels by satellite, never seen an channels
mentioned that interest me.

[NY]

Post by Woody
Having stayed on a campsite that had only a relay - 14 channels total -
for the better part of a fortnight, I can assure you it is enough to
drive you up the wall when you are used to getting on for 100 channels.
Such an event would surely make people who do not have a T2 equipped
receiver start saving their pennies - or go onto Freesat?

We only have Freeview Lite here and I have never had desire to go and get
all the other channels by satellite, never seen an channels mentioned that
interest me.

I'd miss Yesterday and Drama, but those are the only two non-Freeview-Lite
channels that I regularly watch programmes from. OK, programmes are
available online on catchup sites, but watching something by streaming is no
substitute for having my own copy that never times out and from which I can
edit out the non-programme dross (continuity/commercials) before watching.

[SH]

Post by Woody

Post by Davey
On Wed, 16 Aug 2023 12:16:09 +0100

Post by Mark Carver

I wonder as I have a number of working  Smarttalk boxes made by
Goodman's here which need new remotes of some kind and if the
current sd channels are all going to migrate inside the hd
multiplexers, than these can go to the recyclers, but if there is
a  life of normal channels staying receivable,

There is no roadmap (as they say) for the five present DVB-T muxes to
migrate to DVB-T2. Don't worry about it for the moment, it's not
going to happen in the short term

But when it does, it won't be announced in advance, so nobody will be
prepared.

I wonder if they will do a DSO game on it? If only four T2 muxes are
required to handle all of the channels we have now but in HD, surely the
simple answer would be to leave one T1 mux operational carrying the
basic BBC/ITV/4/5 channels in SD.
Having stayed on a campsite that had only a relay - 14 channels total -
for the better part of a fortnight, I can assure you it is enough to
drive you up the wall when you are used to getting on for 100 channels.
Such an event would surely make people who do not have a T2 equipped
receiver start saving their pennies - or go onto Freesat?

what was the mobile network reception like?

I'm thinking iplayer, ITV hub, demand5 and All4 could have been possible?

[NY]

Post by Woody

Post by Davey
On Wed, 16 Aug 2023 12:16:09 +0100

Post by Mark Carver

Post by Brian Gaff
I wonder as I have a number of working Smarttalk boxes made by
Goodman's here which need new remotes of some kind and if the
current sd channels are all going to migrate inside the hd
multiplexers, than these can go to the recyclers, but if there is
a life of normal channels staying receivable,

There is no roadmap (as they say) for the five present DVB-T muxes to
migrate to DVB-T2. Don't worry about it for the moment, it's not
going to happen in the short term

But when it does, it won't be announced in advance, so nobody will be
prepared.

I wonder if they will do a DSO game on it? If only four T2 muxes are
required to handle all of the channels we have now but in HD, surely the
simple answer would be to leave one T1 mux operational carrying the basic
BBC/ITV/4/5 channels in SD.

It's a shame that on satellite, BBC couldn't leave a single,
non-regionalised SD version of its channels, in addition to all the
regionalised HD versions of BBC 1 etc.

HD is great, but there are times when the simpler coding of MPEG rather than
H264 makes it so much quicker to search through a recording at high speed
using VideoRedo etc to find cut points for continuity or commercial breaks.
OK, that's rather a niche requirement :-)

[charles]

Post by NY

Post by Woody

Post by Davey
On Wed, 16 Aug 2023 12:16:09 +0100

Post by Mark Carver

Post by Brian Gaff
I wonder as I have a number of working Smarttalk boxes made by
Goodman's here which need new remotes of some kind and if the
current sd channels are all going to migrate inside the hd
multiplexers, than these can go to the recyclers, but if there is
a life of normal channels staying receivable,

There is no roadmap (as they say) for the five present DVB-T muxes to
migrate to DVB-T2. Don't worry about it for the moment, it's not
going to happen in the short term

But when it does, it won't be announced in advance, so nobody will be
prepared.

I wonder if they will do a DSO game on it? If only four T2 muxes are
required to handle all of the channels we have now but in HD, surely
the simple answer would be to leave one T1 mux operational carrying
the basic BBC/ITV/4/5 channels in SD.

It's a shame that on satellite, BBC couldn't leave a single,
non-regionalised SD version of its channels, in addition to all the
regionalised HD versions of BBC 1 etc.

What programmes would it put in the regional slots? Or transmit nothing>

[Mark Carver]

Post by charles

Post by NY

Post by Woody

Post by Davey
On Wed, 16 Aug 2023 12:16:09 +0100

Post by Mark Carver

Post by Brian Gaff
I wonder as I have a number of working Smarttalk boxes made by
Goodman's here which need new remotes of some kind and if the
current sd channels are all going to migrate inside the hd
multiplexers, than these can go to the recyclers, but if there is
a life of normal channels staying receivable,

There is no roadmap (as they say) for the five present DVB-T muxes to
migrate to DVB-T2. Don't worry about it for the moment, it's not
going to happen in the short term

But when it does, it won't be announced in advance, so nobody will be
prepared.

I wonder if they will do a DSO game on it? If only four T2 muxes are
required to handle all of the channels we have now but in HD, surely
the simple answer would be to leave one T1 mux operational carrying
the basic BBC/ITV/4/5 channels in SD.

It's a shame that on satellite, BBC couldn't leave a single,
non-regionalised SD version of its channels, in addition to all the
regionalised HD versions of BBC 1 etc.

What programmes would it put in the regional slots? Or transmit nothing>

Well, since March there has been a single national SD version of BBC 1
running on satellite ! In the regional gaps there's a caption explaining
what's what.

[Brian Gaff]

Yes who pays for Freesat, as if Sky carry on soon they will only be on line.
Brian
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This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
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Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!

Post by Woody

Post by Davey
On Wed, 16 Aug 2023 12:16:09 +0100

Post by Mark Carver

Post by Brian Gaff
I wonder as I have a number of working Smarttalk boxes made by
Goodman's here which need new remotes of some kind and if the
current sd channels are all going to migrate inside the hd
multiplexers, than these can go to the recyclers, but if there is
a life of normal channels staying receivable,

There is no roadmap (as they say) for the five present DVB-T muxes to
migrate to DVB-T2. Don't worry about it for the moment, it's not
going to happen in the short term

But when it does, it won't be announced in advance, so nobody will be
prepared.

I wonder if they will do a DSO game on it? If only four T2 muxes are
required to handle all of the channels we have now but in HD, surely the
simple answer would be to leave one T1 mux operational carrying the basic
BBC/ITV/4/5 channels in SD.
Having stayed on a campsite that had only a relay - 14 channels total -
for the better part of a fortnight, I can assure you it is enough to drive
you up the wall when you are used to getting on for 100 channels. Such an
event would surely make people who do not have a T2 equipped receiver
start saving their pennies - or go onto Freesat?

[R. Mark Clayton]

Post by Brian Gaff
Yes who pays for Freesat, as if Sky carry on soon they will only be on line.
Brian

Advertisers and / or the channels I thought, plus the TV makers pay a royalty.

BTW Basic Freeview dongle from Amazon <£30
Combined DVB-T2, DVB-S2 receiver from Amazon <£40

Assuming your TV has an HDMI socket then either will do, the latter also has SCART, which might save you an unnecessary upgrade.

[SH]

Post by R. Mark Clayton

Post by Brian Gaff
Yes who pays for Freesat, as if Sky carry on soon they will only be on line.
Brian

Advertisers and / or the channels I thought, plus the TV makers pay a royalty.
BTW Basic Freeview dongle from Amazon <£30
Combined DVB-T2, DVB-S2 receiver from Amazon <£40
Assuming your TV has an HDMI socket then either will do, the latter also has SCART, which might save you an unnecessary upgrade.

SCART sockets on a DVB-T2/S2 box is a bit of an oxymoron as SCART will
not carry analogue HD signals.

[Mark Carver]

Post by SH

Post by R. Mark Clayton

Post by Brian Gaff
Yes who pays for Freesat, as if Sky carry on soon they will only be on line.
Brian

Advertisers and / or the channels I thought, plus the TV makers pay a royalty.
BTW Basic Freeview dongle from Amazon <£30
Combined DVB-T2, DVB-S2 receiver from Amazon <£40
Assuming your TV has an HDMI socket then either will do, the latter
also has SCART, which might save you an unnecessary upgrade.

SCART sockets on a DVB-T2/S2 box is a bit of an oxymoron as SCART will
not carry analogue HD signals.

I doubt you'll find anything these days that has Scart outputs !

[NY]

Post by SH
SCART sockets on a DVB-T2/S2 box is a bit of an oxymoron as SCART will
not carry analogue HD signals.

Although our old Sky box would play HD recordings quite happily through
its SCART socket: it did the 1080i to 576i downscaling.

[SH]

Post by NY

Post by SH
SCART sockets on a DVB-T2/S2 box is a bit of an oxymoron as SCART will
not carry analogue HD signals.

Although our old Sky box would play HD recordings quite happily through
its SCART socket: it did the 1080i to 576i downscaling.

which is my point exactly....

whats the point of putting in a HD tuner if its downscaled before
exiting out of SCART?



it should be a DVB-S/T tuner with SCART and DVB-S2/T2 with HDMI.

[Andy Burns]

Post by SH
whats the point of putting in a HD tuner if its downscaled before
exiting out of SCART?

Because SD channels exist within S2/T2 muxes (it's not the tuner that's HD)

[Max Demian]

Post by SH

Post by NY

Post by SH
SCART sockets on a DVB-T2/S2 box is a bit of an oxymoron as SCART
will not carry analogue HD signals.

Although our old Sky box would play HD recordings quite happily
through its SCART socket: it did the 1080i to 576i downscaling.

which is my point exactly....
whats the point of putting in a HD tuner if its downscaled before
exiting out of SCART?

Because, whatever the source, SD is better than nothing if you only have
an SD TV with a SCART input.

My Humax HDR Fox T2 has a SCART as well as HDMI outputs. Admittedly it
is an old box.

[R. Mark Clayton]

Post by SH

Post by NY

Post by SH
SCART sockets on a DVB-T2/S2 box is a bit of an oxymoron as SCART will
not carry analogue HD signals.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Freeview-Satellite-Receiver-Compatible-FreeSat/dp/B095CDN6TD/ref=pd_day0fbt_sccl_1/261-5399399-6876617

Post by SH

Post by NY
Although our old Sky box would play HD recordings quite happily through
its SCART socket: it did the 1080i to 576i downscaling.

which is my point exactly....
whats the point of putting in a HD tuner if its downscaled before
exiting out of SCART?
it should be a DVB-S/T tuner with SCART and DVB-S2/T2 with HDMI.

The OP is Brian, and my replay was addressed specifically to him.

Brian is only interested in the sound (read his sign off!), which does come out on Scart, so he would not need to upgrade his old TV.

As it happens this box also has sound out on coax, so Brian could listen on a suitable amp with coax input.

There are loads of radio only [and SD] channels on satellite too and many of them are [or soon will be] on DVB-T2 and S2 channels.

[Mark Carver]

Post by Davey
On Wed, 16 Aug 2023 12:16:09 +0100

Post by Mark Carver

Post by Brian Gaff
I wonder as I have a number of working Smarttalk boxes made by
Goodman's here which need new remotes of some kind and if the
current sd channels are all going to migrate inside the hd
multiplexers, than these can go to the recyclers, but if there is
a life of normal channels staying receivable,

There is no roadmap (as they say) for the five present DVB-T muxes to
migrate to DVB-T2. Don't worry about it for the moment, it's not
going to happen in the short term

But when it does, it won't be announced in advance, so nobody will be
prepared.

Oh, there'll be consultations published by Ofcom, the BBC will
procrastinate for months, only those with their heads in the sand will
fail to notice.

Just look how long it's taking to switch R4 LW off !

[MB]

Post by Mark Carver
Just look how long it's taking to switch R4 LW off !

Is there still the cricket lobby who do not want to change? They prefer
to sleep through a LW commentary rather than a DAB or online one.

[James Heaton]

Post by Mark Carver
Just look how long it's taking to switch R4 LW off !

Is there still the cricket lobby who do not want to change?  They prefer
to sleep through a LW commentary rather than a DAB or online one.

Cricket has finished on 198LW now; the last test vs Australia was the
last game apparently.

James

[MB]

Post by James Heaton
Cricket has finished on 198LW now; the last test vs Australia was the
last game apparently.

Never watched or listened to cricket so had no idea, I manage to get to
sleep OK without it.

[Brian Gaff]

I have found a new sleep sound other than sports commentaries. its on the
Amazon echo. Open sleep jar
Space deck
It sounds like a slightly basier version of brown noise and is supposed to
be what you might hear on Star Trek.
However played low level it does mask out those little noises in a house
that keep you awake.

Does anyone know what they are going to put out in the late night slots of
local radio after 5th October. We really need a mixture of relatively quiet
music, a person who is more than just a talking head and doing phone ins on
less than serious things, which in the main was what the regions did before
unless bloody sport overran of course.
Brian
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Post by MB

Post by James Heaton
Cricket has finished on 198LW now; the last test vs Australia was the
last game apparently.

Never watched or listened to cricket so had no idea, I manage to get to
sleep OK without it.

[Brian Gaff]

Some sd channels are not visible on these boxes, so one assumes someofthe
channels are already moved, hence my question... Sadly the shopping channels
are not amongst them.

It is a bit like the early DAB radios like the Pure sonus 1, the number of
stations it can pick up is becoming minimal, most are bbc stations, I heard
Classic say it was going dab plus the other day.
Brian
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Post by Davey
On Wed, 16 Aug 2023 12:16:09 +0100

Post by Mark Carver

Post by Brian Gaff
I wonder as I have a number of working Smarttalk boxes made by
Goodman's here which need new remotes of some kind and if the
current sd channels are all going to migrate inside the hd
multiplexers, than these can go to the recyclers, but if there is
a life of normal channels staying receivable,

There is no roadmap (as they say) for the five present DVB-T muxes to
migrate to DVB-T2. Don't worry about it for the moment, it's not
going to happen in the short term

But when it does, it won't be announced in advance, so nobody will be
prepared.
--
Davey.