On 06/11/2007, Richard Cartwright <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > On 6/11/07 18:29, "vijay chopra" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I notice Ashley's misleading people again. From his blog-post: > "We do maximise the reach of our services by distributing our content via > closed or prioprietary networks (Virgin Media, Sky, Tiscali TV/HomeChoice, > mobile platforms, etc.)" > > The BBC doesn't distribute programs via Sky, it distributes them via the > Astra Satalite using the DRM free DVB-S standard; I don't have to get a sky > subscription to view the BBCs digital satalite content, just a satalite dish > and a decoder box. > Similarly with Virgin Media IIRC the BBC signal can be picked up using > any old DVB-C decoder. It's not encrypted in either case. I can't comment on > the other platforms he lists, but if he's wrong about the first two why > should I believe him about the others? > > Virgin Media and Sky are proprietary networks because a user requires a > Sky or Virgin proprietary receiver to take full benefit of all of all of > their services, not just video/audio. For example, EPG, channel list, > interactive services, pay-per-view content etc.. The DVB parts of the > network are open but a significant amount of the rest of the platform is > closed. For the average user, this extra network data is important as, for > example, they don't want to be typing in a transponder frequency just to > change channel. In the case of the Sky network, Sky network-specific data is > carried in the BBC transport stream that is up-linked via Astra alongside > the open video and audio streams. >
You are not entirely correct. Virgin is a 100% CLOSED network, but it is not proprietary, it uses DVB-S. However, the whole network is owned by Virgin, including the cables in the ground, the headends in the streets and the backend distribution network. Sky is a reseller's network. The satellites and their transponders are owned by SES Astra. The uplink sites belong to BT. The terrestrial networks are BT and NTLs. The encryption system is by News Corp's Datacomm. The software on the set-top box is owned by OpenTV. Sky run an EPG, but this is regulated by Ofcom and Sky MUST carry other broadcasters listings on it in a non-prejudicial way. Some broadcasters uplink their own content (the majority in fact), some use Sky's encryption systems, some don't. The BBC distributes EPG data and interactive services to both Sky and > Virgin according to the network's proprietary formats. To contrast this with > an entirely open and non-proprietary network, look at the differences > between Sky and Freeview (DVB-T). > Virgin's "propitiatory" format is HTTP! Sky's is OpenTV's data, but it is carried in the usual MPEG/DVB-S transport stream. There is very, very little difference between Sky and Freeview aside from using slightly different EPG format and having OpenTV rather than MHEG5 for the delivery of "interactive" stuff. I believe Ashley Highfield is correct here because he uses the word > "network". > > Richard > > -- > *Dr Richard Cartwright > *media systems architect > *portability4media.com > * > -- Please email me back if you need any more help. Brian Butterworth www.ukfree.tv
