I’m not an expert on the bandwidth allocation, QAM guards or that stuff, but…
SBS SD || 7SD
SBS HD || 7HD (both MPEG4)
VICE || 7TWO (MPEG2 vs 4)
MOVIES || 7MATE (MPEG2 vs 4)
NITV || 7Flix (Both MPEG2)
Food || 7Food (Both MPEG2)
(+radio) || RACING.com / Shopping
Going off this, they are essentially the same (radio channels take up very little), however SBS has allowed for 3HD channels by using MPEG4 for them instead of MPEG2 as 7 does.
MPEG4 HD channels typically use around the same bandwidth as an SD MPEG2 channel.
So really, if 7 was ready to bite the bullet, they actually could make both 7TWO and 7MATE MPEG4 HD channels.
Yeah, although SBS has something like seven radio channels the combined bandwidth of those services probably is less than that of one low bandwidth SD channel?
Since 9GemHD was only able to happen after the closure of Your Money, I wouldn’t be holding my breath for Seven to add a 2nd HD channel anytime soon. The cash made from channels like RACING.COM and Open Shop is probably far too important for them!
You’d be surprised. They’d come close. Racing.com and Openshop are MPEG-4 SD and barely running above 1Mbps each.
The SBS radio channels are Layer 2 and probably minimum 192kbps, could even be 224 or 256?
They do use AAC on the Pop channels which would be less bits:
SBS Arabic24 MPEG-1 Layer 2 SBS Radio 1 MPEG-1 Layer 2 SBS Radio 2 MPEG-1 Layer 2 SBS Chill MPEG-1 Layer 2 SBS Radio 3 MPEG-1 Layer 2
SBS PopDesi AAC SBS PopAsia AAC
I’d like to see them do more MPEG-4 exclusive services. 7Flix was launched as MPEG-4 but then quickly reverted to MPEG-2 with a fear Seven was losing audience.
Several years later though with MPEG-4 more common they should be more comfortable to run MPEG-4 only services.
Here’s what they should do.
7 SD MPEG-2 7TWO SD MPEG-2
7HD HD MPEG-4 7mate HD MPEG-4 7flix HD MPEG-4
7food SD MPEG-4 Racing SD MPEG-4 Openshop SD MPEG-4
I’d actually leave 7 and 7TWO as the only MPEG-2 services. My theory is the 7TWO audience is older and won’t like losing it if it went MPEG-4. 7Flix has a lot of movies and newer shows that would benefit being HD.
I seem to heavily recall a TV Blackbox article (you know, the exact site that stated Ten were going to launch a FTA version of MTV a while ago) from when 7HD converted to a full-time Seven simulcast in all markets (the AFL-driven Seven/7mate focus got a bit of controversy), stating that it was just for the 2016-2017 tennis season and that it would become 7mate again in Syd/Bris/Perth once it was finished.
Presumably the 2016-19 concept of LCN-70 occasionally switching between the main channel & 7mate in various markets for AFL coverage reasons will now be thrown in the bin (thank goodness) in favour of having both channels in HD on a fulltime basis.
Hopefully, Seven will prioritise the bandwidth to the HD versions of the main channel (The fact that 7mateHD will be on LCN-74 rather than 70 is a positive sign, right?) and 7mate with the SD equivalents receiving the minimum required.
Is regional Queensland getting the slide? Am I right in thinking they still have the setup of 7HD in MPEG2 as the only primary channel, or did that change when Seven shifted playout centres?
Wonder why it’s taking them so long to actually launch the channel - especially as right now they have cases where 7Mate is showing the cricket in horrible SD quality, would seem like a good time to launch the HD simulcast.
Channel numbers are a mess on both Nine and Seven, and indeed Ten’s channel 13 for Ten HD is just as bad. I just think there’s too much of an installed base that’d be confused by a change, as much as it might stop all the people who are HD capable but pick the easier channel number, there’s too many who are still not MPEG-4 capable, which I think played a part in 7food’s failure in the first place.
Although I understand why Seven have decided to keep a SD version, I would’ve pulled a SBS VICELAND and made 7mate available only in MPEG4 HD.
Ten: The ball is now in your court. Launching a HD version of 10 BOLD, 10 Peach or better still both would be a far better use of space than having a fourth multichannel when at times, it seems like you’ve barely got enough content to adequately fill three!
Possibly because there’s a pause on any major technical changes to the multiplex over the Christmas/New Year period? The LCN name (or whatever the technical term is) for 74 is still “7Food Network” even though programs have ceased, while the picture resolution also remains in SD.
That would explain it, but then why not just run 7food up until mid-Jan? They’d planned the death of the channel for a while so could have put arrangements in place for a better switch - or indeed just a non horrible placeholder slide.
It’ll be quite interesting to see if the watermark for this relaunched version of 7mateHD follows that logo design or a different one, because I don’t think any network O&O market has temporarily seen 7mate in HD on LCN-70 for 24 hours since playout moved from BCM to NPC on August 21.
