Is this True? re:mpeg4 / terrestrial channels

Swift66

Posted by 'a bientot' -

It is amazing that 'out of date' tv sets continue to be sold here in Ireland because retailers seem to think (or want their customers to think) that UK tv sets are standard here. This is ok if one is a satellite (Sky) or UPC (cable) customer. But if the service breaks down now it is possible to pick up the four Irish services. When digital terrestrial tv (DTH) launches in mid 2009 and analogue is withdrawn then the set becomes a mere monitor......For those with aerials receiving the UK stations then the same applies in a short few years.

This new service (replacing analogue through the air) will be provided in
MPEG4 (NOT MPEG2 that most sets are here on sale in Ireland showing the HD ready/enabled logo))

In France all tv sets since 1 December 08 have to show the HDtv logo if thetv set is capable of receiving HD tv via terrestrial means and in order to
do this the tv set MUST be DVB-T MPEG4. It is interesting to note that 90% of tv sets in the main stores (observed by me last week) are in this category thus the other sets are effectively obsolete even though they adequately pick up the ordinary 18 dth FREE channels. Likewise in the U.K.

I want a widescreen for watching dvds and the four Irish channels. So am i correct in assuming from info above that I have to get an mpeg4 enabled t.v. to be able to receive these channels when digital terrestrial t.v. comes in? If so, is there a name / number /code on models I should look out for?

Cheers

big_moe

there are very few tvs with mpeg4 tuner in them. and because the irish dtt isnt out officially yet, no manufacturers pushed this feature.

the analogue service isnt going to be switched off overnight when dtt launches, its going to be around for a few more years, by which time all major tv manufacturers will have their sets with built in mpeg4 tuners. or just buy a little mpeg4 decoder and connect that to your tv

adam

Swift66

Cheers Adam,

that clears up the mpeg4 issue, just saw a notice in an ad for a t.v. in richersounds PLEASE NOTE: this is a U.K. model and will not tune analogue T.V. signals in the RepubliC of Ireland,

Will any t.v. that I buy up north be able to pick up the 4 irish stations with an aerial?

Thanks

Mark#1

An atypically knowledgable Harvey Norman sales guy told me that there are a few TVs on sale now with MPEG4 tuners. He mentioned a couple of Sony's and Philips - sorry, I didn'd catch the model numbers.

There was a boards member (mullingar, IIRC?) who was able to receive DTT on his Panasonic PZ81, which has a Freesat tuner, which IIUC uses MPEG4.

The HN guy also said that separate set-top boxes will come on sale to allow TVs without the internal ability to receive DTT and that they'll cost around €30.

Some on here and many elsewhere are of the opinion that a TV today is simply a display device, and that its own tuner(s) can be irrelevant.

I agree with this, particularly in the case of larger & higher spec TVs - IMO, it's likely that a consumer who buys a 50" 1080p TV will also have some decent sources, probably including a means of receiving HD (as well as SD) TV broadcasts and probably PVR fuctionality: Sky HD, NTL's equivalent, Freesat HD, and eventually some sort of PVR device for Irish DTT.

A TV bought in NI (where I'll be buying mine) may or may not need a separate tuner to allow it to receive DTT. If it's not capable out of the box, you'll need a separate tuner, possibly giving you the option to select a PVR, rather than a basic tuner.

If it is capable out of the box, you'd still need to buy a separate tuner if you wanted PVR functionality.

I'm a newbie, but I've been reading and asking questions for a while now - I think what I'm saying is accurate, but am quite happy for my opinion to be challenged and my comments to be corrected.


Mark

The Ritz

Mark#1.

his Panasonic PZ81, which has a Freesat tuner, which IIUC uses MPEG4.

Just for the sake of accuracy, a Freesat tuner is a satellite tuner (dvb-s), the MPEG4 issue relates to the dvb-t (for Freeview in the UK, DTT here) tuner in the tv.


Ritz.

Mark#1

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055401024

For those interested, some responses on the above thread may be relevant, particularly post #16?

Mark