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Will BBC Freeview end FTV cards?

  • 24-08-2002 10:25am
    #1
    TVDX
    Closed Accounts Posts: 510 ✭✭✭


    Now that the BBC hold that Digital licence to launch the service to be known as freeview, will they curtail or stop altogether the policy of giving out FTV cards?, and instead begin recommending to people who are calling the FTV phone number(you know all of us people from The UK!!!!!!!!) that they should get in their new system. After all the FTV card system isnt as airtight as it should be.

    And of course this systme can bve accessed terrestrially making it far less expensive then buying a Sky box or subscribing and then cancelling.


Comments

  • #2
    seano
    Closed Accounts Posts: 371 ✭✭seano


    Good point!!!
    I am also waiting for the day that FTV cards can only be activated via the modem


  • #3
    bkehoe
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,153 ✭✭✭bkehoe


    A lot of the channels, including ITV2 have always been available FTA on terrestial digital in the UK, so there's not much change there, and people near NI and near the South-East coast can get DTT from the UK anyway without having to go to the trouble of obtaining a card, etc - just buy a box somewhere, e.g. ebay and plug it in. :)


  • #4
    byte
    Moderators, Regional North West Moderators Posts: 19,137 Mod ✭✭✭✭byte
    byte


    I can't see FTV cards stopping. DTT isn't as widely available as satellite is. As for activation via phoneline, this could be possible though a lot of people who have FTV cards in UK probably don't have it connected to a phoneline as they're not obligated to and have them in other rooms etc.


  • #5
    Mossy Monk
    Closed Accounts Posts: 28,128 ✭✭✭✭Mossy Monk


    IMO FTV cards will never be taken away. the BBC cannot be seen to favour one platform over another one


  • #6
    carrolls
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,011 ✭✭✭carrolls


    Three things can happen to stop our FTV cards working.
    1: BBC/ITV/CH4/CH5 leave Sky Platform (Very unlikely)
    2: BBC/ITV/CH4/CH5 becoming part of the Sky Subscription package(Even more unlikely)
    3: Sky changing the encryption code. (Not as unlikely, but replacing up to 10,000,000 cards as well as all the extra phone calls needed to do this means that it is not going to happen either.)

    Unless someone cracks the Videoguard encryption, the FTV cards are here to stay.


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  • #7
    DMC
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,726 ✭✭✭✭DMC


    And one more point..

    The Digital Terrestrial signal will have to improve drastically before it can make any inroads for RoI folk.

    I, for one, will be looking at the signal improvement come November, and seeing what sort of a signal I can get before getting at £99 box. I'll be getting the lend of a DTT box, and making a judgement.


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