Saorview Updates - 2023

This article from Clean Feed has implied that there have been video encoder changes taking place recently on Saorview. It says the changes add 4.8mbps of capacity to the platform.

This move does not degrade picture quality for the other channels.

However; the changes in additional capacity equates to 3 SD channels or 1 HD channel on Saorview. I would take a huge guess here that this will make way for the eventual launch of Culá 4, Sky Arts & Pick onto the Saorview platform in the near future.

Am I right to say this or do people here say otherwise?

A new encoder being put in place for statmuxing a DTT multiplex will not on its own create additional capacity - a change in the broadcast parameters would be required for that (with a corresponding reduction in effective coverage, you don't get "owt for nowt") - but that the modern encoder(s) are able to compress video more efficiently for a given codec, in this case MPEG4 Part 10, compared to older encoders for a given perception of picture quality. Also not only does that roughly 24.1 Mbit/s data rate contain video only, but also audio, EPG data, service tables etc. which other than for audio would be tricky if not impossible to compress any more than they already are (though they're small in the greater scheme of things).

Both the PSB and commercial multiplexes on Freeview in the UK have from time to time upgraded their multiplex encoders to allow them to fit in more services per multiplex, so it's not something that is groundbreakingly new. I'll make the assumption that with a rather recent sudden interest from a few broadcasters in having new services from them appear of the Saorview platform, 2RN have decided that with a good idea of how many such services are currently expressing an interest in appearing on Saorview, that it would be more cost effective for themselves - and possibly the service owners too - to upgrade the statistical multiplexing video encoders on one or both multiplexes rather than to add a third multiplex for Saorview, with its associated transmitters, installations and ongoing electrical running costs etc. with the proviso in that if there was to be an even greater interest that demanded a third multiplex being brought into service, then an old statmux encoder could be used for that.

We did have ITV years back in the form of UTV Ireland. ITV can't broadcast in Southern Ireland because of program rights and advertising that's the official standing .As you may well know ITV can be watched on Satellite and terrestrial overspill in the north and the eastcoast.

2XM is on there too now. I wonder why. Maybe moving the radio channels to make more room on Mux1, or testing to add new radio stations?

3 religious radio stations would be a bit much, no?

Scan your television or set top box and you should get 2xm back on

Does the Cúla 4 TV channel along with the possibility of including Sky Arts and Pick need that much bandwidth to be broadcasting on Saorview? There must be another specific reason why 2rn are doing this for some of the the RTÉ Radio channels at the moment. I would have thought the recent video encoder changes that occurred recently on Saorview before the duplicated the RTÉ radio channels appeared would have had enough capacity to be on it.

RTÉ1+2 might bring RTÉ back from the brink 🤔

Just did an Automatic Retune (Three Rock) and it found 57 channels (only 28 are on the EPG, the rest are hidden)

1 'RTÉ One' (Mux2) HD

2 'RTÉ2' (Mux1) HD

3 'Virgin Media 1' (Mux1)

4 'TG4' (Mux1) HD

5 'Virgin Media 2' (Mux1)

6 'Virgin Media 3' (Mux2)

7 'Virgin Media 4' (Mux2)

8 'Challenge' (Mux2)

11 'RTÉ One +1' (Mux2)

12 'RTÉ2 +1' (Mux2)

17 'RTÉ Junior' (Mux2)

21 'RTÉ News' (Mux1)

22 'Tithe an Oireachtais' (Mux1)

23 'Sky News' (Mux2)

29 'Saorview Information' (Mux2)

30 'Saorview Information' (Mux2)

200 'RTÉ Radio 1' (Mux1)

201 'RTÉ Radio 1 Extra' (Mux2) - 214 (hidden - 'RTÉ Radio 1 Extra' (Mux1)

202 'RTÉ 2FM' (Mux1)

203 'RTÉ Lyric' (Mux1)

204 'RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta' (Mux1)

205 'RTÉ Pulse' (Mux2) - 215 (hidden - 'RTÉ Pulse.' (Mux1)

206 'RTÉ 2XM' (Mux2) - 216 (hidden - 'RTÉ 2XM.' (Mux1)

207 'RTÉ Junior' (Mux1)

208 'RTÉ Gold' (Mux2) - 218 (hidden - 'RTÉ Gold.' (Mux1)

209 'RTÉ Chill' (Mux2) - 219 (hidden - 'RTÉ Chill.' (Mux1)

210 'Radio Maria Ireland' (Mux2)

211 'UCB Ireland' (Mux2)

I presume 'RTÉ Junior' (Radio) will move to Mux2 in the coming days

Those cheapskates would never pay to go HD.

A retune should restore the correct LCNs.

Scan your saorview set top box or television and you should have cula4 on channel 18 and TG4 plus 1 on channel 14

Curiously enough, a manual retune of both muxes yesterday didn't correct the LCNs, but today an auto retune did.

They’d want to launch virgin media one plus one as well

It does seem bizzare starting a +1 channel in this day and age, however ratings for +1 channels show they still have an audience.

VM HD is not going to happen anytime soon if ever imho

Only just noticed Challenge has been added after having to do a retune and wondering Uh? Any rumours or real stations being added in the future?