CRTC requires Bell TV and Shaw Direct to carry more local television - Page 4 - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

disparishun · 2011-05-05, 11:32 AM

Spots on the way, but using them for this would be a waste of bandwidth -- use spotbeams in Canada for broadband.

Quote:

Really? Those receivers costs hundreds of dollars each. Nothing is free in this world.

Right. Nor do MPEG2 receivers last forever in this world. They will be upgraded through natural attrition and new subscription, and they will be subsidized by Bell so that they can use the extra bandwidth gained by MPEG4 to sell you more HD channels. The SD locals here are a sideshow, as is the over-reaction over this decision.

Pinza · 2011-05-05, 01:44 PM

Bell will only be converting HD Channels to MPEG4, not SD.

By my reckoning, they will need about 4 transponders to fit the 43 extra channels onto.

I wonder if they could add these 43 Channels in SD MPEG4 and make people who want them buy new SD MPEG4 receivers, or make them but an HD MPEG4 Receiver.

Did the CRTC say they had to be available with EXISTING Receivers.?

reidw · 2011-05-05, 02:11 PM

@pinza: Would Bell be able to do this?

1. Move all SD channels including any of the 40+ new locals to one satellite? Is there enough room on one satellite?
2. At the same time move all HD channels to MPEG4 on the other other?

They could then make it clear that anyone who wants HD has to get an MPEG4 capable receiver but those who just want SD could stay as is.

Pinza · 2011-05-05, 02:29 PM

Right now 91 is 100% SD and 4 or 5 transponders of 82 are also SD,(total of 36/37 TP's) no I do not think there is room on 1 bird, unless they compress the hell out of them and drop a few PPV etc. I think at the current compression they will need 40 TP's, for existing and new SD Channels.

When they have swapped out all the 9200 & 6100 models and they switch HD to MPEG4, that should free up about 4 or 5 TP's. They will then need 4 of these for the new SD Channels, leaving 1 free TP for new HD content.

This is of course just a guess.

reidw · 2011-05-05, 02:38 PM

@pinza: As I feared it doesn't look to me that Bell has much spare capacity unless they add another satellite. Without it they might get away with a couple more new HD channels but which ones? It is quite clear that the current subs. all have different ideas about what to add.

David1953 · 2011-05-05, 03:12 PM

I have to say that all of this is sure depressing, and we might as well give up any hope of seeing channels like History HD or Movietime HD for the forseeable future.

My contract with Bell expires next January, and I am quite sure I will be looking at other options then.

reidw · 2011-05-05, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David1953

I have to say that all of this is sure depressing, and we might as well give up any hope of seeing channels like History HD or Movietime HD for the forseeable future.

My contract with Bell expires next January, and I am quite sure I will be looking at other options then.

Actually I'm optimistic about Bell adding more channels. I think the Bell will be adding more channels but that PQ is going to suffer as a result. Bell has decided that their audience chooses more services over better PQ.

DEV666 · 2011-05-05, 08:41 PM

There must be over 50 Pay Per View channels on bell. I'm sure they could make room for new channels if they need to.

ScaryBob · 2011-05-05, 08:56 PM

Bell may drop the PPV channels in favour of their VOD scheme. That downloads the movies on unused TPs in off peak hours and stores them on a reserved section of the hard drive. It also reduces hard drive capacity but that will be compensated for by the improved compression provided by MPEG4. Bell has pulled rabbit out their bag of parlour tricks every time they appeared to be running out of capacity. There are probably one or two waiting in the wings now.

special k · 2011-05-05, 11:10 PM

as long as bell does not pull the HD lite crap that dishnetwork has done....broadcasting 720i. yes that's correct 720i. if i can remember where i've seen a screen grab of it, i will try to find it.

reidw · 2011-05-06, 11:05 AM

Here in PEI we have only one local OTA station, CBC Charlottetown. Except for the early evening news this station simply carries the CBC network schedule intact. Bell has set up a special shared channel (197) to pick up the PEI news for the 90 minutes that CBC Charlottetown has its own programming. After the news is over, the channel is given over to SRC to enable the French audience to catch up on the day. I've never heard anyone complain about this arrangement. One channel serving many markets when those markets are doing something different from the main network makes more sense than adding 40+ stations that for the most part of the day are just repeating the same programs as the main network stations.

mjjl · 2011-05-06, 09:10 PM

Quote:

I've never heard anyone complain about this arrangement. One channel serving many markets when those markets are doing something different from the main network makes more sense than adding 40+ stations that for the most part of the day are just repeating the same programs as the main network stations.

Except that viewers watching other CBC stations will find the local ads irrelevant, and PEI businesses can't reach viewers watching other CBC stations.

boxoctosis · 2011-05-07, 11:31 AM

what about bell creating a "local" theme pack and you get to pick the channels you want

j0dest3r · 2011-05-07, 11:35 AM

I'd like them to take it a step further and offer that free local access that the CRTC approved a while back. No BDU has stepped up to the plate offering free serivce. I'm thinking that is because the stock holders wouldn't be happy with a freebie.

MCIBUS · 2011-05-07, 11:44 AM

One question?

When they do add these locals(SD & BTV) will everyone get to see them or just in those "local" regions. The reasion being at present(BTV) has certain locals not viewable by all subs, wlll this apply to these new locals?

2011-05-05, 02:38 PM	#50
reidw Veteran Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Stratford, PE. Posts: 2,470	Poor Bell @pinza: As I feared it doesn't look to me that Bell has much spare capacity unless they add another satellite. Without it they might get away with a couple more new HD channels but which ones? It is quite clear that the current subs. all have different ideas about what to add.

2011-05-05, 08:56 PM	#54
ScaryBob Veteran Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: The Dandelion City Posts: 7,133	Bell may drop the PPV channels in favour of their VOD scheme. That downloads the movies on unused TPs in off peak hours and stores them on a reserved section of the hard drive. It also reduces hard drive capacity but that will be compensated for by the improved compression provided by MPEG4. Bell has pulled rabbit out their bag of parlour tricks every time they appeared to be running out of capacity. There are probably one or two waiting in the wings now. __________________ At 20 I had a good mind. At 40 I had money. At 60 I've lost my mind and my money. Oh, to be 20 again. --Scary

2011-05-06, 11:05 AM	#56
reidw Veteran Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Stratford, PE. Posts: 2,470	The PEI Solution Here in PEI we have only one local OTA station, CBC Charlottetown. Except for the early evening news this station simply carries the CBC network schedule intact. Bell has set up a special shared channel (197) to pick up the PEI news for the 90 minutes that CBC Charlottetown has its own programming. After the news is over, the channel is given over to SRC to enable the French audience to catch up on the day. I've never heard anyone complain about this arrangement. One channel serving many markets when those markets are doing something different from the main network makes more sense than adding 40+ stations that for the most part of the day are just repeating the same programs as the main network stations.

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2011-05-05, 01:44 PM	#47
Pinza Veteran Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: GTA Posts: 8,583	Bell will only be converting HD Channels to MPEG4, not SD. By my reckoning, they will need about 4 transponders to fit the 43 extra channels onto. I wonder if they could add these 43 Channels in SD MPEG4 and make people who want them buy new SD MPEG4 receivers, or make them but an HD MPEG4 Receiver. Did the CRTC say they had to be available with EXISTING Receivers.?

2011-05-05, 02:11 PM	#48
reidw Veteran Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Stratford, PE. Posts: 2,470	@pinza: Would Bell be able to do this? 1. Move all SD channels including any of the 40+ new locals to one satellite? Is there enough room on one satellite? 2. At the same time move all HD channels to MPEG4 on the other other? They could then make it clear that anyone who wants HD has to get an MPEG4 capable receiver but those who just want SD could stay as is.

2011-05-05, 02:29 PM	#49
Pinza Veteran Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: GTA Posts: 8,583	Right now 91 is 100% SD and 4 or 5 transponders of 82 are also SD,(total of 36/37 TP's) no I do not think there is room on 1 bird, unless they compress the hell out of them and drop a few PPV etc. I think at the current compression they will need 40 TP's, for existing and new SD Channels. When they have swapped out all the 9200 & 6100 models and they switch HD to MPEG4, that should free up about 4 or 5 TP's. They will then need 4 of these for the new SD Channels, leaving 1 free TP for new HD content. This is of course just a guess.

2011-05-05, 03:12 PM	#51
David1953 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia (Eastlink Motorola DCX3400, Motorola DCX700) Posts: 621	I have to say that all of this is sure depressing, and we might as well give up any hope of seeing channels like History HD or Movietime HD for the forseeable future. My contract with Bell expires next January, and I am quite sure I will be looking at other options then.

2011-05-05, 08:41 PM	#53
DEV666 Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 239	There must be over 50 Pay Per View channels on bell. I'm sure they could make room for new channels if they need to.

2011-05-05, 11:10 PM	#55
special k Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 101	as long as bell does not pull the HD lite crap that dishnetwork has done....broadcasting 720i. yes that's correct 720i. if i can remember where i've seen a screen grab of it, i will try to find it.

2011-05-07, 11:31 AM	#58
boxoctosis Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 44	what about bell creating a "local" theme pack and you get to pick the channels you want

2011-05-07, 11:35 AM	#59
j0dest3r Veteran Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 1,623	I'd like them to take it a step further and offer that free local access that the CRTC approved a while back. No BDU has stepped up to the plate offering free serivce. I'm thinking that is because the stock holders wouldn't be happy with a freebie.

2011-05-07, 11:44 AM	#60
MCIBUS Veteran Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Ottawa Posts: 2,093	One question? When they do add these locals(SD & BTV) will everyone get to see them or just in those "local" regions. The reasion being at present(BTV) has certain locals not viewable by all subs, wlll this apply to these new locals?