On 23/10/2007, Duncan Barnes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On 23/10/2007, Brian Butterworth <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > On 23/10/2007, Duncan Barnes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > On 23/10/2007, Brian Butterworth <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > Let's just get this 100% clear: Sky DO NOT OWN THE ASTRA SATELLITES. > > > > > > > > > > I wasn't suggesting that Sky own the Astra fleet at all, I am quite > > > aware of this. > > > > > > > Surely as the platform provider Sky have a responsibility to > > > > monitor all the content broadcast through their systems (even > > > > if they don't own the satellites and just lease bandwidth)? > > > > It would've seemed a bit pointless to not have the facilities > > > > to monitor all the channels being broadcast. > > > > > > Andrew's got in before me and is right, no Sky arent responsible > > > directly for every channel (although its still the biggest MCR I've > > > been in to date so they are monitoring more than they playout). I > > > suppose the responsibility is between the channel playout center and > > > whoever is uplinking will also have monitoring of various sorts > > > although it won't always be people looking at monitors, most of the > > > time its automatic video and freeze frame detection kit. > > > > > > When I was at BT Broadcast, we did indeed monitor all these kinds of > things, > > both for Sky and other broadcasters. Whilst putting up some of the > channels > > on screens was one option - it certainly wasn't mosaics - either the > picture > > went onto a dedicated small monitor on a video wall or to an operator's > > dedicated monitor (using a video switch). > > > > Ahh, your ex BT, I was wondering...!
The big advantage to working for BT Broadcast was getting into every broadcaster's MCRs, not just Aunties.. > We developed some sophisticated kit that can sit at various parts of the > > broadcast network and detect problems that the human eye wouldn't even > be > > able to detect, especially from a multi screen. For example, any break > in > > the audio (a few second of silence) or problems with the technical > nature of > > the picture would result in an alarm. Depending on where the actual > fault > > originated in the network, you would get a single alarm or the whole > network > > "lighting up red". > > > > Yes I've seen a few of the current incarnations around the place, 1U > units with a load of twinkling LED's, ASI/SDI inputs and network outs. > We've got various similar bits, mainly in house built as well. > > > Sometimes this could have quite humour effects - we had a contract with > C4 > > for delivery of their channel around the UK. The whole annual value of > the > > contract was due to be repaid if thirty-seconds of downtime happened > during > > the year. One day, C4 broadcast an obituary programme and left thirty > > seconds of silence at the end of the programme - unheard of. We had > > calibrated our instruments to regard more than five seconds of silence > as a > > systematic failure, so six seconds into the "silence" the monitoring > > systems, then the Master Control Room and then every automatic > escalation > > notification system went nuts. > > > > Thankfully as it didn't really happen, we didn't have to repay the £4m > to > > C4. > > > > > > > As Chris mentioned, its a value added sort of thing, its not a direct > > > money maker but might encourage people to subscribe to channels they > > > don't have. I do however take Andrews point that it is a lot of > > > 'pages'. Which equals a lot of expensive equipment to make it happen > > > for every channel. Even if you had 8 channels on each 'page', which is > > > about as many as I reckon you'd get away with thats still quite a > > > large number of pages. > > > > > > And you would get into all the usual arguments about 'prominence'... > > > > Yes, I guess you'd have to have it the same as the EPG. > > > > Added to that the complexities of bringing the channels together to > > > make the mosaics, for instance we have BBC1, BBC 2, ITV1, C4, Five at > > > the start of the EPG. Sky don't have access directly to ITV for one, > > > as it doesnt go through them, it goes from ITV to Arqiva > > > London->Winchester->Morn Hill so they'd have to bring the video feed > > > in to make their mosaic for this first page either off air or via an > > > expensive video circuit. And if you do that for every channel thats > > > uplinked by someone else thats going to get expensive unless you > > > reorganise the EPG to fit around the content provider. > > > > > > And here's the problem in a nutshell. Also, BBC1 has 17 UK regions on > > satellite. BBC2 has four, ITV1 has 24, C4 has six (used for advertising > > only), so it would be impossible to do a matrix for these channels. > > > > Yes the regions would make it even more difficult to justify the expense! > > Its possible at a user end to implement but only for the technically > minded, a chap I know had a linux box with a couple of DVB-T cards > which was multicasting the transport streams around the house network, > you could then in theory make up a mosaic on whichever PC you were > using, but thats not practical or a more widely applicable solution. > > It would be possible for individual broadcasters to do something like > this in the form of an interactive application but not really feasible > for Sky to do it directly. If you were sending a video stream > containing say 12 channels as a single split screen you then use the > set-top box to mask off the ones which aren't specific to the users > region and to resize the other ones to fit. The set-top boxes can do > this processing, the NHS direct application which was played out from > where I use to work relied upon this to work. > > - > Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please > visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. > Unofficial > list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ > -- Please email me back if you need any more help. Brian Butterworth www.ukfree.tv
