What If FREEVIEW Keeps Going...?

[@GrahamC-eg6ln]

Distributing scheduled programs through an RF signal (i.e. DTT) is much more efficient than Internet delivery, where each viewer gets their own IP packet stream which requires a lot of broadband bandwidth at the exchange. If the U.K. broadband infrastructure were upgraded to support IP multicast addresses this could change as there would then just be one stream per sceduled channel going into each exchange which would then be shared by all viewers on that exchange curently watching that channel. Such a redesign of the broadband network would be a major undertalking requiring acceptance and some sharing of resources by all the retail ISPs, so I dont't think it is likely in the near future.

[@anthonyperkins7556]

It needs to continue in some form, especially for the areas that do not have good broadband speeds or inadequate mobile phone broadband reception i.e. places like the rural idylls of Cumbria such as Ulpha, Kirkby In Furness, Grizebeck, Torver, Hawick, Broughton In Furness, Foxfield, Corney, Coniston, etc, and Freeview needs total upgrading to DVB-T2 format transmission to increase transmission space and capacity, so getting back to full 24h operation of all digital terrestrial tv services in linear form (not a few hours here and there in linear and a few hours via IPTV) and once that's done, adding new linear services with the increased DVB-T2 capacity from all transmitters.

[@rogerdarthwell5393]

A friend of mine who lives up in the Orkney Islands watches TV channels purely through Freesat, because up there it's very difficult to get a Freeview signal, I can't imagine about broadband speeds and mobile phone reception

[@tgheretford]

I guess the argument will be that as Starlink exists, they don't need digital terrestrial or satellite television.

[@anthonyperkins7556]

@@tgheretford Think about others not so well endowed, this is the UK, not America, and we don't have Starlink TV. A selfish ignorant attitude!

[@tgheretford]

@@anthonyperkins7556 We do have Starlink, Elon Musk has been offering it for a while in the UK and while it is expensive, for those in rural communities far away from fibre and mobile, it's their only option. But it will be seen as the solution to that problem. Ultimately one of the rationales to go online is to shift the cost of distribution from broadcaster to viewer.

[@PastPresented]

@@rogerdarthwell5393 Crazily, Orkney has 3 Freeview transmitters, serving most of the islands' landmass, but just over 10,000 homes between them (compared with millions for a transmitter like Winter Hill in Lancashire). In the absence of really high hills, Freesat is a much better option because it has more channels.

[@dlarge6502]

Currently, I can watch DTT, even satellite on holiday in Yorkshire in a caravan. Costs me nothing and signals generally are everywhere, and in the case of satellite I just put up a dish and fiddle with it and a compass for a bit. So, I'd love to know how I will watch Freely, in Yorkshire, in a caravan. Or do I just do without news and weather etc? Oh and there is no mobile signal and I'm a frugal bastard too so I rarely pay to have more than 2GB of data on my mobile.

[@firstlast5350]

Terrestrial TV will be with us for a very long time. Satellite TV is not very good or reliable eg when it rains, and it is natural that it will be abandoned in favour of internet TV. If a TV show is really good, I would happily watch in black and white yet alone HD. What good is 4K dross?

[@G6JPG]

The main thing that irritates me about any "put it all on streaming" suggestion - as well as those who have difficulty with technology for whatever reason, or can't get good internet - is that [access to] THE INTERNET IS NOT FREE - or rather, that that fact is rarely given more than about two or three seconds. If those pushing an internet-based solution would give more time to that point, I _might_ listen to them more. But they seem to assume "everyone has an internet connection anyway, apart from some weirdos and a few wrinklies, and we don't really care about either of those".

[@allansutcliffe648]

We will still be able to record from freeview but not from Freely enabling people to fast forward adverts which is a big plus for freeview.

[@anngulliver5964]

I also think that Talking Pictures could be one of the last to drop out because its older audience mostly doesn't solely use streaming and watch it on Free view

[@skadooshly]

I love the idea of talking pictures, I wish BFI would launch something similar.

[@anthonyperkins7556]

They also watch it on satellite if they have Freesat or Sky, or like myself, have a suitable smart tv with built-in satellite tuner that can pick it up from a minidish.

[@dlarge6502]

I'm 43 and talking pictures is a god send.

[@anngulliver5964]

@@dlarge6502 I'm 42, and it's one of my favourite channels.

[@liamread3215]

I still can't believe I met you in person at Copenhagen Airport and then find that we were on the same flight back to Manchester, it's so mad, it was really nice meeting you and it really made my day.

[@AdamMartyn]

It was nice meeting you too Liam! Glad to hear that you'd also had a fabulous time at Eurovision!

[@liamread3215]

@@AdamMartyn Yeah, I did, it was the semi-final 2 evening preview show I saw at Malmo Arena and it was a brilliant show indeed, that production number "We Just Love Eurovision Too Much" was hilarious, I couldn't stop laughing at the comedy lyrics of that one, for most of the trip, me and my parents were staying in Copenhagen and I must say, it's a really good city when it comes to food places as there was plenty of nice herring dishes that I enjoyed very much

[@TumbleTower]

How about a combination of options 1 and 2? Cut down to what are the current 3 PSB multiplexes at all sites, but convert them to DVB-T2. The HD channels currently on PSB3 would continue, and the SD versions of those discontinue. What are currently PSB1 and PSB 2 would have much more capacity than now. The space across the present day PSB1 and PSB2 could provide a combination of HD and SD TV channels, and radio stations. Thus some of the channels on the current COM multiplexes could be moved over to the converted multiplexes. The resulting three multiplexes could be moved so that all sites are confined to UHF channels 21 to 34 (Group A), and the rest of the band used for other purposes.

[@PastPresented]

9:23 re Ofcom option 2; scaling back Freeview to public service channels only: _"Now this might be a good idea, reducing it to a core service"_ It would be an awful idea, because it would require keeping the myriad tiny local transmitters while discouraging people from using the much more cost-efficient main transmitters.

[@anthonyperkins7556]

Not all areas can pick up the high power main transmitters. Parts of South West Cumbria, especially those close to the coast or slightly inland, can receive Winter Hill transmitter from Bolton, Lancashire, which gets quite some distance from its original transmission service area.

[@anngulliver5964]

​@@anthonyperkins7556some parts of Northumberland and Somerset have similar problems

[@LumpyMoose]

One of the problems with iptv is how long it sometimes takes for a daily program to appear for streaming. My big problem is with channel 4 news, which takes hours before it’s available to stream. This forces me to use freeview to record to memory stick. There’s no need for encoding to take this long. Also freeview lets me easily skip through horrible adverts. So I’ll be using freeview for as long as possible, even though I already have access to everything else.

[@picoultimate7707]

For me, I personally feel the core service idea is the best option for Freeview. It'll still provide a decent variety of stuff to watch from the public service broadcasters, which are the more watched channels here in the UK, and though it isn't a lot, it still allows people something to watch in the event of an internet outage. Trust me, even though I've been watching more of Pluto TV at present (mainly for the never-ending reruns like Bangers and Cash, Abandoned Engineering or The Crystal Maze), even our internet at home has its flaws and isn't always perfect, and it mainly depends on the signal reach between rooms.

[@ynyslochtyn]

The only thing I really bother with is BBC text service so I can get the news and finance info without having sit through dreadful bbc live news. They tried to cancel that too!

[@picoultimate7707]

@@ynyslochtyn Yeah. Red Button deserves to stick around as well.

[@dlarge6502]

I grew up with 4 channels before we got sky. I have no issues with going back to 5 channels as most of what I will watch is on physical

[@frankshailes3205]

I'm glad you had a great time at Eurovision!

[@thisisjmx]

They need to switch all channels to DVB-T2 and drop the SD channels and keep the HD channels. We're still babysitting people who haven't upgraded their TVs. BBC & other PSBs have shut SD for sky, Freesat, virgin TV. I agree to keep a minimum channel line up. Look at freely as it is now. It's only got BBC's channels with all of ITV's channels, Channel 4 and Channel 5's channels. That should be Freeview but in HD. Then freely can have the full line up. Everyone TV that runs Freeview have never really made the service there best it could have been. The British have really bad a need of DTTV.

[@scottpeacock5492]

@thisisjmx Here an idea for the TV broadcasters if they want to save money switch off all the DVB T at the transmitters centre across the country and switchover to DVB T 2 and force the baby boomers home viewers kicking and screaming over to the new tv broadcasting format job done.

[@rogerdarthwell5393]

Very good upload Adam! BTW I have a question for you, are you considering the idea of calling videos like this one where you read articles from various websites as AMTV News? I think that by putting a brand to videos where you comment about the day's news in media would make them more successful in the algorithm, I hope you consider this!

[@AdamMartyn]

It's certainly one I've contemplated Roger! I've held off for various reasons, but perhaps soon may be the time to implement this!

[@rogerdarthwell5393]

@@AdamMartyn I hope that you will implement this soon!

[@anngulliver5964]

Welcome back from Sweden 🇸🇪

[@Tvsnumber1fan]

I would say option two. Option one is just a wast of time and money since that would undermine freely since you are just offering a unnecessary competing product to Freely since the broadcasters want everyone to transition to Freely at some point in the future. Option three would only become viable in 2060 at the earliest if Freely ever becomes fully viable at all. Option two would give the people who want and can afford and can have access to Freely that option whilst individuals who either can’t afford access to Freely for whatever reason; don’t have access to good quality internet access; cannot afford the internet, or they don’t have any access to the internet at home whatsoever can still have access to the main public service broadcasters. That’s the only option that is practical in the near to medium term at the very lest. Especially considering that over 25% of households will not have Freely by 2040 with these current projections. At the end of the day you cannot leave a large part of your population behind in order to achieve a world first. Especially if you are going to leave behind the poor, the elderly and individuals with disabilities and other challenges.

[@Tvsnumber1fan]

When it comes to HDTV there are a number of people who don’t care about it. It could be individuals who don’t care about technology in anyway shape or form. It could also be older individuals who grew up with 405 line television in either the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s or even the 1970s before switching to 625 line television either in black and white or colour in the 1970s and the 1980s before the 405 line system was switched off in early 1985, with a small number switching to 625 starting in 1964 in order to get BBC Two. So when it comes to these individuals they are happy with 576i SDTV.

[@interstat2222]

Our country is so defective. Compare this to the roll outs in the last century and it's laughable.

[@andromedaone3640]

If they think people are going to pay a tv licence and Internet they can jog on because lots won't includeing me.

[@ErinStephanie-mf2qk]

Great upload, raising some serious future issues. Don’t know if it’s occurred to the powers that be, but a few years back, we had the small matter of a global pandemic. That required urgent public information to be dispatched to pretty much the entire population. Thankfully, almost everyone had access to media enabling people to receive such crucial information. What worries me, is this is Britain. A country run by neoliberal zealots, who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Shortsighted and short termist by nature. We’ve seen this corner cutting and cost cutting to get blood out of a stone, and its consequences, in recent years. And I have a nasty feeling, our poltical and media class, will persist with this idea of placing all terrestrial services online. And then realise this is as counter productive, when it’s too late.

[@scottpeacock5492]

Yeah and i can guarantee you that the government will force everyone over to online tv kicking and screaming like they did with the digital tv switchover from analogue by promotion and helplines.

[@1701Wren]

DTT transmitters could switch to DVB-T2 & provide the core service only & the rest of the bandwidth turn over to 5G but for Freely TVs only

[@dlarge6502]

5G has a broadcast mode and that is what many countries are testing to upgrade DTT services. Being broadcast it requires no SIM or data allowance, but it is receive only so Freely won't work as Freely needs to collect user data.

[@garytilford6503]

Read this a couple of days ago and I agree with you on option 2. Keep a core service of the main 5 channels plus BBC News but in my opinion they should ALL BE IN HD. Only one multiplex would be needed.

[@skadooshly]

Honestly, if they could at least max out the SD bitrate it wouldn't be so bad, but some of the lower bitrate channels are unwatachable.

[@syed_mamoon99]

Genuinely bummed out they kicked Joost Klein and Europapa from Eurovision. Freeview could stay on, if they completely switch it to 1080p@50 HEVC format, instead of the current mess that is legacy MPEG2 and a dozen MPEG4 services.

[@simonjones1342]

Is there going to be a Freely app to run on existing Smart TVs?

[@picoultimate7707]

I really hope there will be.

[@AntiKirkTime]

Like Samsung?

[@scottpeacock5492]

According to an tv article i read recently tv manufactorys are developing an apps for Freely which you will need firestick, It may join the IPTV EPG Channel section 250+ We will have to wait and see. It not official yet.

[@fluffybadger9832]

I hope so or nobody is going to take it up in large numbers if you are limited to certain brand of TV. Should also be made available on streaming devices such as Roku etc.

[@dlarge6502]

No

[@jonkasonic]

The TVs are not free either. I was looking at those hisence TVs and a small one starts at £179. Obviously that would go down as time goes on but it's still quite a lot of money to part with for something which is at this stage (In my opinion) a half baked service.

[@scottpeacock5492]

A £179 that sounds cheap to me, the one i saw in Curry didn't even had Freely on it. No one in store have even heard of Freely, i was told to buy a fire stick for more channels or go to the website. Sound to me some disinformation here.

[@dlarge6502]

​@@scottpeacock5492 Freely TVs haven't been made yet so no, you won't find one in a shop.

[@interstat2222]

​@@dlarge6502The 2024 Chinese brand (Hisense) ones have it, including a shortcut remote control button (in place of FreeviewPlay on previous models) and are now available.

[@scottpeacock5492]

@@dlarge6502 Funny that Freely tv launch it service and no one watching it because no one can receive it because there no new smart tv's in shop to receive it.

[@EastAngliaUK]

you need to have fttp to be a reliable connection. I had fttc and it was pretty crap used to have to reboot the router every few days but fttp don't ever cut out. any more on BT. but I do keep hearing other peoples serive can be down for hours round hear in Clacton. edit then he said about this

[@Lycanroc-korrina2019]

Oh and hi Adam u doing alright mate I'm a fan of ur channel

[@pjuk]

I'd go with the keep it for core channels option. Less and less people are watching live TV, but its useful for news or live events of National importance. Have OFCOM not asked the ISPs for their opinions, as surely the added pressure on the data they process will be huge if everyone's TV services are going through their networks. Imagine the surge they'll get for a Royal wedding [or funeral!], World Cup, or a Boris style annoucement of doom in 2020.

[@anthonyperkins7556]

Standby for for frequent buffering problems, should it all go online through the Internet, the servers won't cope with the strain of everybody watching big important events, as happened a little while back with the Euros football matches in Ultra HD online via the BBC!

[@kellydavis6342]

My free view box die at home

[@gordon3178]

Ofcom should stop taki g the wee wee as they are the ones that closed loads of Freeview hd channels and sold the frequencies off for the 5g network

[@tgheretford]

Closing the HD multiplex would be a retrograde decision particularly when other countries are upgrading to DVB-T2 or even testing 4K broadcasting using HEVC. It would be the TV equivalent of closing down FM and going back to AM! At that point, you may as well do like the Swiss and Belgians and just close down DTT there and then. The cut of revenue to Arqiva would also put pressure on radio services who would face higher costs and would likely go online only (like Irish services intend to do when FM closes). I wonder if the future isn't TV but live and on demanding streaming via platforms, live streaming done directly via the event organiser and on demand streaming by over-the-top services?

[@kawrght]

I hope it does. Freely is just freeview but worse. No movies or sports. Plus freely is a much worse service. There are people i know who have difficulty using streaming services.

[@2511dhall]

I hope it carries on.

[@DavidMander-rs4uk]

Today Adam put his fingers into the nearest live socket 😂

[@AdamMartyn]

🥱

[@IainDavies-z2l]

The time they had an opportunity to finish with terrestrial tv was when BSB launched, instead of BSB having its own channels it should have carried BBC1, BBC2, ITV, CH4 and CH5. I know CH5 didn't launch until later but there was a 5 channel option. BSB Marcopolo satellite was very powerful and covered the whole UK so the very expensive terrestrial network could have been closed. They could have given all households a BSB system, this would have been paid for by the closure of the terrestrial system in a short time.

[@stickytapenrust6869]

No technology had been developed in 1990 to discriminate channel regions (especially important for ITV at that time) based on postcodes. That’s why it wasn’t done.

[@footynutguy]

In the short term I think one of the multiplexes should be converted to T2 and the smaller channels should be transferred there. In the medium to long term, I expect it to be switched off as the frequencies could be more efficiently used for the next version of mobile services. They’ll probably go for that as it would generate more money for the government.

[@Mark-kq3nz]

It would be good to see how the UK OTT services compare with other countries. I can provide an insight on Spain.

[@Lycanroc-korrina2019]

Come on please live free view

[@stephenpeat3885]

I believe freeview in the future will broadcast in 4k like in France who have started to broadcast in 4k.

[@anthonyperkins7556]

A technical standard for digital terrestrial UHD tv was hammered out several years ago but was never explored, UHD-DVB, and it's a shame this was ignored.

[@harryelliott4310]

Tv

[@bobwoodhouse9178]

The letter H is spelled AITCH. The H is silent.

[@DrWhoFanJ]

No, it isn’t.

[@dlarge6502]

H-h-Haitch

[@Nostalgic80s-nd3qb]

It would be very pointless as Freely is here now. Also, congrats on that history of Eurovision logo video.🙂

[@Beansontoast93911]

The U.K.’s entrance in the Eurovision song contest was embarrassing, I can even sing better than him. And let’s not even talk about the dancing 🤦

[@AdamMartyn]

The vocal wasn't perfect on the night, but having been there live when he rehearsed for the Semi Final performance he was on point 👌 the dancing I thought was fab! The whole staging was fun and unique! It's a shame it didn't all translate into a higher place on the scoreboard but hey ho we're used to it at this point 😂

[@Beansontoast93911]

@@AdamMartyn I don’t think I’ve ever watched any semifinals of Eurovision because I’m not the biggest fan of competition, but everybody had fun I guess. I shall go and search out his other videos because I never heard of the guy before.