Digital TV, a FAQ

My background to Digital TV

I've gone digital proper now, 25th Oct. '01... with NTL cable.

I tried the off-air stuff from ITV Digital, using a Sony KV DX30U TV, rented through the new name for Granada Rentals, but it kept switching itself off, (yes, I know that I could get a man with a meter to put up a better aerial) so I succumbed to the plaintive telephone call from the NTL sales rep and agreed to spend more, at the discounted installation price, to get the cable digital service.

I'm not overly impressed.

The Daughter and her Partner seem happy with a Sky mini dish but, as I already have a BSB mini dish on the chimney, an Astra/Eutelasat dish and a 90cm dish (pointed at an obscure satellite that Microsoft used for their web training) on the wall, I thought that the cable might be less intrusive.

Michael will probably go broadband from his upstairs box soon (to play Quake, etc) but the living room box will stay as a receiver for a while.

I've run a lead from the T.V. output to the front room, my P.C. room, but none of my T.V. cards can get stereo from the VH1 classic channel (or any other cable channel)
so I'll have to wait to truly digitize this room.

Here in the P.C. room, I think I'm looking at my B.T. line to give me my fast Internet access next.

Earlier Research

Digital TV provides a new, more efficient way of transmitting television services,
because five Digital channels (bits of Data) can be carried in the space that was taken up by one analogue signal (wavy line Data). The increased bandwidth that this new technology provides will allow much more information to be transmitted into the home, offering more entertainment channels, shopping, travel and banking services and, with the addition of a telephone modem, there will be full Internet interactivity available to the viewer.

At the beginning of October '98, Sky TV began broadcasting a new bouquet of TV Channels from the Astra satellite, via the new technology that is Digital TV. By the middle of the month Granada had pulled the plug on its co-participation with BSkyB and concentrated its efforts on the launch of Ondigital, a joint venture it had also been working on with Carlton TV.

The BBC, ITV, Channels 4 and 5, S4C and Digital Teletext also joined ONdigital by launching their services by the middle of November. Eutelsat, the European Satellite organisation, along with all the major European Countries, are also setting up their own Digital networks and the middle of May '99 saw the announcement of the EasySat DVB Internet service.

NTL and BT look as though they have an interesting option of Internet TV,
using the TV aerial and cable.

Unfortunately the "black box" that will decode the Sky programmes will not be providing access to many of the new terrestrial (TV aerial) channels and you can guess what the terrestrial TV black box won't pick up. It really is a matter of paying your money and making a choice.

Now that the decoders are effectively FREE, it'll be interesting to watch the developments.

Over in the USA ?, their Digital revolution is also starting to gather momentum with the closure of terrestrial analogue services planned for 2006, while we in the UK will still be able to watch our existing services till the year 2009 ??

Microsoft ? has prospered so far with digital computing and when combined with the Digital telecomm phenomenon that is the Internet, will provide another fascinating gateway to TV information in the home and office.

From the first of October, 1998
British Interactive Broadcasting (BIB)
began a new service which is transmitting a wide selection of TV and Audio channels
via the Astra Satellite.

BIB is a consortium comprising
British Sky Broadcasting PLC (BSkyB),
British Telecommunications PLC (BT),
Midland Bank and Matsushita Electric

Companies such as Sainsbury, HMV, Thomas Cook, Great Universal Stores and Dorling Kindersley have all been working to develop content for the new service.

Subscribers will require a new, smaller, dish aerial and a digital satellite receiver or TV with a built in digital receiver.
Email and Internet access are also planned to be available later.

Rupert Gavin, BT's Director of Multimedia Services, commented: "Digital broadcast has a vital part to play in the development of the information society. This new venture will open up the information age to the television viewer - not just the PC user. It has called for the collaboration of a wide range of companies with different skills to develop a radically new service. The functionality of the box means that customers will be able to use a single device for all their services - satellite, terrestrial and Internet"

The basic packages start with the Sky Value Pack at £6.99 per month, there are then four packages, Popular mix, Lifestyle Pack, Kids & Music Pack and a Knowledge Pack at £8.99 (why is music only bundled with Kids?) and a Sky Family Pack comes in at £11.99. For the meaty stuff, Movies and Sport, you will be looking at one of the £24.99 Packs, Sky Movie World or Sky Sports World, or you can go for the full hit at £29.99 with Sky World.

The contract for the decoder and new dish aerial stipulates that the decoder must always be connected to the telephone line

18 March '99 *From:* Stephen Sullivan

There is an error in your summary of the costs of Satellite Digital TV. The cost of a digital satellite installation for Free to Air channels only is £199.99 if you are willing to have a permanent land domestic telephone line connected to your system for a minimum of 12 months. I have just had such an installation. If you breach this clause or if they discover that the line is not permanently attached then you are obliged to repay the "subsidy" of £167 to BiB. As an aside, do you know when Eurosport is planned to be transmitted digitally. Regards, Steve Sullivan.

ITVdigital was the new brand name for OnDigital 11.07.01
which was originally named British Digital Broadcasting (BDB).
British Digital Broadcasting was established by the Granada and Carlton ITV franchisees and, in conjunction with BBC/Flextech developments and some BSkyB input (movies & Sport), would eventually provide a choice of 30 new channels.

I had one of the early add on boxes and signed up for the basic £7.99 a month package, I got the Free to Air Channels, BBC1, BBC2, BBC News 24, BBC Choice, ITV, ITV2, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky One. The signal kept on dropping out and a man came and took away the box at the end of the first year.

Digital Cable

see above.

All the above info is based on my interest in the subject
and not on having seriously played with any of the services mentioned above
There was no intent to make any errors but I am happy to be corrected
if any such error has occured.

I will get around to updating it soon

Email...digital@drakesvision.com
Drake's Vision & Multimedia,

return to top