Mayo deflectors to go.

kilasser

http://archives.tcm.ie/westernpeople/2003/10/22/story16332.asp


Stingy Mayo viewers put tv channels at risk

ALMOST half the population of Co Mayo are about to lose their television channels.
Mayo Community TV Ltd, the company who operate the television deflector system serving most of North Mayo, have announced that they will be switching off the system in ten days time because viewers won’t pay for the service.
The deflector, which is based at Glenadagh Mountain near Ballycastle, serves a huge population in the following communities - Lahardane, Crossmolina, Pontoon, Moygownagh, Ballina, Enniscrone, Attymass, Castleconnor, Easkey, Culleens and Bonniconlon.
Mr Joe Gibbons, Mayo Community T.V. Ltd., explained that the company has resolved to terminate the service due to a lack of co-operation from the communities involved.
It has proved almost impossible for them to collect fees from subscribers to the deflector system and to find nominees from each community to collect the fees.
Mr Gibbons explained that the company had installed the transmitter at Glenadagh Mountain at considerable expense some four years ago. The service replaced a deflector that had been operating in the Killala area but did not serve as large a population.
“It was installed in good faith with the expectation that we would get a very good response but that has not been the case,” Mr Gibbons said. “We have not been able to recoup even part of the cost of installing the transmitter.”
It is estimated that the average Irish household now has in the region of 4.5 television sets per house. Many of these households subscribe to SKY TV. But the channels provided by this service can only be watched on one set at a time.
Mayo Community TV Ltd believe that the majority of these households are using their deflector system for their other TVs.
“They’re willing to pay £600 a year for SKY TV but they won’t pay the £65 a year charge for the deflector service. It’s just over £1 a week,” Mr Gibbons said.
“There is only one way for us to bring the message home. We are going to shut the service off. Unless the community groups come together and get collectors for their area we will switch off within ten days.”
He explained that the company has the option of transferring the deflector system to the Newport area where there is strong demand for the service.
Mayo Community TV Ltd operate eight other deflectors elsewhere in the County and have not encountered the same reluctance to pay as in North Mayo.
“We have to upgrade this equipment on a regular basis at great expense to keep it up to speed,” Mr Gibbons said.
He pointed out that Mayo Community TV Ltd is a legal, fully licensed, VAT paying, tax paying company, who had been hoping to further develop their deflector system.
“We are a community group,” Mr Gibbons said. “We are not providing this service for a profit. We just want to get enough money keep the deflector system upgraded or else it will be over powered by other services,” he said.
Mr Gibbons appealed to community groups from the areas in question to contact the Mayo Community TV company and co-operate in every way to ensure the service can be maintained in the area.

Got this from the western people, why wont every one pay for this excellent service that is provided for the population here in Mayo. I will be lost when it goes. Any views why everyone will let it go or am I the only person that sees the value in this excellent service.

Mossy Monk

Originally posted by kilasser
why wont every one pay for this excellent service that is provided for the population here in Mayo

maybe some are getting a lousy reception. the people running the show down here came to my house demanding money automatically assuming that i used their deflector. the picture was lousy, lots of the time it was channel 998 on sky Digital. it is pure coincidence that my aerial goes that way with a booster for TV3. i have picked up a much better signal from another deflector since. i would pay except that i dont know who runs it

bkehoe

What other deflector is that? Where's the signal coming from?

Capt'n Midnight

Sounds like a great business plan
Setup a deflector and demand money from everyone in range !

A simple solution is to encrypt the signal - though you'd need a cheap decoder = perhaps something as simple as swapping the colours - so a scart cable could be used to decode it.

€65 a year that's way lower than NTL - Hmmm a repeator on top or three rock -
PS. you can get SKY for a lot less than €600

Mossy Monk

Originally posted by bkehoe
What other deflector is that? Where's the signal coming from?

is that to me?

if it is then somewhere in mid/east Co. Waterford

watty

I did consultancy on Retransmission scrambling (encryption is very expensive).

The cheapest kind of solution in low volume is over $100 per user, a Jerrold type system. You need one decrambler per TV or all watch the same channel.

The comreg probabily won't allow scrambling.

True encryption
Videocrypt would be cheap now (The system used on Sky Analog). But a Setop box would be expensive. The existing analog videocrypt receivers are for FM video, and Retransmission (so called deflectors) is AM video.


The encoders for scrambling or encryption are very expensive (only one per channel transmitted needed though).


This is common, often after a bit is collected (sometimes even shutting down for a few days) the service restarts.

People in such areas would be better off with a Digibox and FTV card or a Free to Air Digibox or a FTA non-Sky digital Receiver.

All the BBC plus a dozen other very good channels free.

(FTV card + Digibox only needed for UTV, C4 and Five).

Over 540 Radio and 600 TV on a single fixed dish.

I set up a motorised dish in Croom on Saturday and he can expect nearly 800 FTA TV and 650 FTA radio on 14 satellites.

An NI postcode address and £23 stg gives UTV/C4/Five for 2 years on a Digibox.

Capt'n Midnight

Thought the £23str was just to Upgrade one of the old SKY cards.

Ah well wishfull thinking as I have no NI address
Just have to settle for London programming & add channels

bkehoe

Ah yes, probably one of the ones on the Comeraghs. You must live a good bit to the west of the city then?

Brendan.

BrianD

I think this story underlines what a bankrupt (literally) idea the whole deflector system. A poor quality TV service with an ineffective business model. Communities empowering themselves, yeah, right. What were ComReg doing when they licensed this lot? The more progressive deflectors (down in cork) are investing in digital equipment and there is no way that this is going to financed by voluntary payments!

However, could the new breed of digital "delectors" provide the terrestrial digital TV service that RTE can not afford to roll out? Could be the bones of a good public-private partnership and assist the indigenous TV industry on many levels...

icdg

Originally posted by BrianD
I think this story underlines what a bankrupt (literally) idea the whole deflector system. A poor quality TV service with an ineffective business model. Communities empowering themselves, yeah, right. What were ComReg doing when they licensed this lot?

Well, we shall just mention the phrases "government dependent on independents", coupled with "No DTT". The first no longer exist. DTT is unlikely to ever happen now, that particular ship has well sailed. I don't think it was ever intended that the service Southcoast proposed (has it fallen through? I haven't heard anything) was ever intended to be financed by voluntary payments, they would have employed a conditional access system like any modern company. Thing is they are no longer a community (if ever they were) group then but a commerical TV system, and should such a use of public frequencies be put up to competitive tender?

Mike 1972

You can knock the deflector system all you want but in many parts of the country there is simply no alternative.

MMDS is a bad joke and Chorus & NTL cable are little better (that is when you can even get it. Many towns were promised cable almost 20 years ago and have yet to get it. If the companies are unable/unwilling to provide a service COMREG should revoke the licence and readvertise it)

In the last few of years Sky has emerged as an alternative but only a realistic one if you have family/friends resident in the UK who can get you a card (Because lets face it anyone still prepared to pay a higher subscription than a UK resident to access an inferior service in this day and age is a fool) and even then many digibox users still use the deflecors for portable TV's and Video timeshifting

Deflector groups in other places have experienced similar problems in the past and suspending the service has usually solved the problem although it is rather unfair on those who paid up already

As for deflectors on Three Rock Chorus have a licence to do just that although I suspect it was done in order to stop anyone else from trying it.

Mossy Monk

Originally posted by bkehoe
Ah yes, probably one of the ones on the Comeraghs. You must live a good bit to the west of the city then?

a good bit indeed, about 25 miles to the west of the city

BrianD

Well, I suppose I was being ironic when I asked what ComReg were doing handing out delector licences! When are these going to end? Irish solution to an Irish problem!

I was thinking out loud when I referred to the possibility of the likes of South Coast becoming links in a DTT chain. They appear to have some infrastructure down there and this could be replicated elsewhere. They could broadcast the national channels and still provide some community TV access for the local population. A great way of providing TV choice and community access?

Our man in Havana

Do these deflector people have any legal right to demand money?

Mike 1972

Nope they can request money but you can always tell them to :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: - :mad: :mad: :mad:

On the other hand do cable TV companies have the right to run cables across non subscribers property without seeking permission ?

kilasser

Thanks for your valid opinions on this very interesting topic. I got some FTV cards from the brother in England this week. Channel 4 without snow and ghosting, excellent. Not knocking the deflectors I think they were a great Idea and served people in this part and many other parts of the country before the days of $ky, MMDS ect.

Thanx 4 The Fish

Originally posted by Mike 1972
..... although it is rather unfair on those who paid up already....

The payments are made in arrears so I pay now for the last 12 months. Is not a bad system, I haven't paid this year but only because I do not use it anymore, I have paid for it before I had sky though.