No one would even know those channels exist to the regular television watcher.
You would still get the mpeg2 streams, but on 20, 70, 90, 15 and 30.
Your mpeg2 only TV wonât have long to live, it will break down eventually.
Donât even bother getting it fixed as there is no-one around to do that anymore.
Much cheaper to buy a modern day TV anyway than to fix an old clunker.
Bandwidth has nothing to do with the numbers channels are assigned. It also has nothing to do with simulcasts (eg ABC TV on 2 and 21 takes up the space of 1 single service)
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I agree with sending MPEG-2âs further down the channel list to give MPEG-4 priority. Using the '000s isnât a bad idea. Iâd probably prefer just allocating 102, 103, 107, 109, 110 instead to avoid clashes with radio.
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Not to many people, I would think, would know of the 000 channels?
(I mocked up a Foxtel tv guide with moving those channels to those numbers.)
That would be the most ideal scenario. Give MPEG4 HD versions the prime LCNs while the MPEG2 SD versions continue broadcasting on the secondary channel positions.
While I agree, realistically itâll probably take a major analogue TV switchoff-style campaign to finally get MPEG2 SD out of Australiaâs DVB-T ecosystem.
All good points.
Itâs well worth remembering that when Digital TV was first launched in Australia, the main computer operating systems were Windows 95/98/2000 while Java & Macromedia Flash were the exciting new things for websites. Just as weâve moved on from all that stuff, MPEG2 encoding on DVB-T will eventually be a thing of the past.
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The way ABC News interrupts the main channel all the time now is irritating. Why have a stand alone News Channel if the main channel keeps getting interrupted?
As the ABC Main Channel daytime schedule is always repeats except for the likes of National Press Club, Landline (which could easily live fulltime the ABC News Channel), the ABC should rethink their TV outputs.
ABC Main Channel LCN 2 (SD)/20(HD/21(SD redirect) daytime ABC KIDS from 0600 to 1800 / 1800 to 0600 ABC Main Channel general schedule as now LCN 2/20/21.
ABC ME LCN 22 0600 to 2000 / ABC TV PLUS LCN 22 2000 - 0600 and convert to Mpeg4 HD.
Delete LCN 23 as SD bandwidth saved used to change LCN22 to HD
ABC News 24 as is, mpeg2 SD, but no longer pre-empts main channel as that will bump off ABC KIDS. Do as what the BBC does and run crawls during kids programming to alert viewers on ABC KIDS and ABC ME to switch to ABC News 24 for significant breaking news.
I already know, too damn sensible of course, and wonât happen. But if the ABC were to switch all output to mpeg4 HD, it should be looked into, especially when made to drop one output when Mux sharing with SBS ever happens.
I think that just makes it all too confusing. Why would a news crawler be needed for a kids channel? Itâs the main channel, yeah, but like not anymore if you time share it out to kids content.
I just hate time shared channels with a passion. Any MPEG-4 upgrade should see ABC KIDS and ABC TV Plus turn into full time channels, even if theyâre just SD.
ABCTV HD
ABC TV (MPEG-2 SD)
ABC TV Plus HD
ABC KIDS (MPEG-2 SD)
ABC ME (MPEG-4 SD)
ABC NEWS (MPEG-2 SD)
This leaves three âessentialâ MPEG-2 services which seems to be the norm.
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To help them learn to read?!
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You mean with 10 bold, 9 gem, 7mate?
Not for a very long time.
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Iâm not sure whatâs going on with 10bold on Foxtel but it suddenly looks a lot clearer. It looks like Itâs HD now but there is no mark in the EPG so I canât be certain. The channel is also still on the same number.
You literally missed the entire conversation above your post. 10Bold is now in HD on FTA so I assume it has carried one on Foxtel
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The ABC wonât have itâs own TV Mux to itself forever. Over time, along with SBS, they will need to cut some of their linear TV streams when they go on to a shared Mux.
Up until ABC Kids and ABC ME, you may recall all ABC childrenâs and education content used to be on the single channel the ABC once had in the analogue days with general programming not commencing until the early evening.
So my idea to channel share is nothing new.
The money needed to make all their multi-channels fulltime would outweigh the ability to purchase any extra programming to fill multiple 24 hour schedules.
As it is now, the ABC donât have enough fresh content to fill a single channel, let alone 5 fulltime multi-channels.
ABC News should learn to live on their own fulltime channel and never interrupt other channels, or why bother to exist?
And why continue to persist with mpeg2 SD, give me strength! We may as well bring back 4:3 B&W transmission for those sods who still linger to watch their on their 1960s Astor wood panel entertainment centre combo with mini-bar and turn table.
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I agree that the ABC & SBS will eventually share a multiplex, but does that mean a reduction in TV channels? Not necessarily, if we decide to eventually transition from DVB-T and MPEG2/4 to DVB-T2 and HEVC.
True, when this occurs, the Govt should mandate minimum 1080i and no more SD, whether it is mpeg2 or h.264 or even hevc.
The continuation of SD is embarrassing as they are next to unwatchable now being they are so blurry and washed out due to being bit starved, as in now very squeezed, to enable equally not so great bit starved h.264 bit starved HD channels. There needs to be a technical limit with regards to PQ balanced with the number of services, but no minimum standards exist sadly to force broadcasters to lift their game.
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Interestingly the ABC and commercial TV stations have only just upgraded their news studio in places like Brisbane to HD. Up until recently the SD local news was just upscaled to HD. Perhaps the 600Mhz band clearance when it happens will be the start of DVB-T2. Sad news for me, my 2007 Sony Bravia will have to perhaps be retired. My AV budget doesnât sound much worse than the broadcasters was though.
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You could buy a set top box for it?
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True, when this occurs, the Govt should mandate minimum 1080i and no more SD, whether it is mpeg2 or h.264 or even hevc.
If itâs HEVC than you mean 1080p. There is no sense in using interlaced with HEVC anymore. Also no sense in using MPEG2 with DVB-T2, all tuners with DVB-T2 can at least do H.264.
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1080i is the Australian TV HD standard. 1080p would mean a channel took up more space of the limited space on the multiplex.
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It doesnât matter what the TV standard is right now⌠in HEVC interlaced has only been patched in as an afterthougth relatively late in the development of the codec. So even though 1080i only carries half the picture information as 1080p, in HEVC the saved bandwith is absolutely minimal.
So much so that all the countries that already have adopted HEVC (Germany, the Netherlands, Croatia, the Czach Republic and Poland) went with 1080p for HD broadcasts and 540p for SD broadcasts. Even though the playouts continue to run at 1080i.
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