Last year we splashed out and bought an HD TV with a Freeview HD tuner built-in.
One of the aims was to get extra BBC channels to watch - BBC1 HD carried the BBC1 England schedule while as we live in Scotland the SD version of BBC1 often carried different programmes, so it gave us a choice of when to watch things - sometimes even giving us access to programmes not seen in Scotland. And BBC HD again carried a different schedule, mimicking BBC2 England or BBC4 or having its own separate programming.
But since then the two BBC HD channels have changed. BBC1 HD now carries BBC 1 Scotland programmes, and BBC HD has become BBC 2 HD - carrying BBC 2 England programmes - so we have seen a significant reduction in programme choice.
There's also a slight difference in programmes on STV, generally during the "regional news", when STV HD carries the programme from Glasgow, but STV SD carries the local programme from Aberdeen. So, like my item on DAB v FM, we find that the programme we want tends to be on STV SD rather than STV HD.
Also, on SD you can instantly flick to "Red Button Text" or the extra Red Button channels (like "Play Along" with "Antiques Roadshow").
We also find that the difference in quality between SD and HD, while it does exist is not significantly noticeable - compared in particular with the vast improvement in picture quality that we see between the SD picture on our new 32" screen and our old 22" TV. Maybe if we had a bigger TV than 32" we would make more of an effort to watch in HD.
There is one new HD channel available this summer: "Red Button 303". It often copies the SD "Red Button 301" channel or the recently restarted "Red Button 302" channel that also looks to be here for the summer, but it sometimes carries different programmes. The BBC have obviously leased this HD channel from the transmitter owners for the busy sporting summer. The transmitter companies are still struggling to find someone to pay longer term leasing costs.
Saturday, 22 June 2013
DAB - why I'm listening to FM...
I've just bought my second DAB radio - it was sold as an iPod dock with DAB - I bought it as a radio - the shelf price said £25 - the checkout price was £19 (even better).
I bought it to replace a kitchen radio which was getting annoying - the old one lost its tuning information whenever the power went off and only had 5 preset stations.
I can see the new one being just as annoying - but in different ways - it has 10 presets but it takes a lot of button pushes to actually pick a preset channel (new radio needs: "Preset" "Up/Down" potentially several times and "Enter" - the old radio had 5 dedicated buttons) - and the aerial needs to be positioned differently for FM and DAB...
Speaking of FM, despite buying a digital radio I still tend to listen mostly to FM.
The main station I listen to is BBC Radio Scotland - and this channel tends to have a number of variations depending on the frequency you are listening on.
For example, as a kitchen radio I listen to it while eating breakfast. At this time of day Radio Scotland broadcasts regional variations on FM but not on DAB/MW - and I want to listen to the local Aberdeen news and traffic news - so that means that I listen on FM.
In the evening there's a similar problem on Radio Scotland - DAB/MW often carries Sports programmes, while FM carries the scheduled music programmes. I prefer the Scottish Folk and Jazz shows, so listen to FM again.
In the car I want to hear local traffic news, and the RDS system for interrupting programmes with traffic news for each local BBC station area you pass through seems ideal. So, I listen to FM...
The only attraction of DAB is access to additional channels such as Jazz "FM", BBC Radio 4 Extra, BBC World Service.
I bought it to replace a kitchen radio which was getting annoying - the old one lost its tuning information whenever the power went off and only had 5 preset stations.
I can see the new one being just as annoying - but in different ways - it has 10 presets but it takes a lot of button pushes to actually pick a preset channel (new radio needs: "Preset" "Up/Down" potentially several times and "Enter" - the old radio had 5 dedicated buttons) - and the aerial needs to be positioned differently for FM and DAB...
Speaking of FM, despite buying a digital radio I still tend to listen mostly to FM.
The main station I listen to is BBC Radio Scotland - and this channel tends to have a number of variations depending on the frequency you are listening on.
For example, as a kitchen radio I listen to it while eating breakfast. At this time of day Radio Scotland broadcasts regional variations on FM but not on DAB/MW - and I want to listen to the local Aberdeen news and traffic news - so that means that I listen on FM.
In the evening there's a similar problem on Radio Scotland - DAB/MW often carries Sports programmes, while FM carries the scheduled music programmes. I prefer the Scottish Folk and Jazz shows, so listen to FM again.
In the car I want to hear local traffic news, and the RDS system for interrupting programmes with traffic news for each local BBC station area you pass through seems ideal. So, I listen to FM...
The only attraction of DAB is access to additional channels such as Jazz "FM", BBC Radio 4 Extra, BBC World Service.
Lofi-Fisheye delivery date slips
It's not a great surprise to me that the camera delivery date has slipped to 20th July.
When planning these things out there is always a tendency to assume that things will run smoothly. In reality some problems are always encountered. Greg indicates that there was a delay in getting the finance through compared with his expectations and that this led to a delay in ordering components and this has led to a delay in the whole project.
I'm hoping that by delaying his announcement to just a week before the camera was originally intended to be shipped that Greg has managed to include all the delays to date in his new revised date and that we don't end up suffering further delays.
The delay does already mean that it's not going to be practical to take a photo with this camera for entry in this year's Countryfile photo competition!
When planning these things out there is always a tendency to assume that things will run smoothly. In reality some problems are always encountered. Greg indicates that there was a delay in getting the finance through compared with his expectations and that this led to a delay in ordering components and this has led to a delay in the whole project.
I'm hoping that by delaying his announcement to just a week before the camera was originally intended to be shipped that Greg has managed to include all the delays to date in his new revised date and that we don't end up suffering further delays.
The delay does already mean that it's not going to be practical to take a photo with this camera for entry in this year's Countryfile photo competition!
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
What are the odds of buying the Lofi-Fisheye camera late?
A recent post from Greg indicates that he is still getting emails from people asking to buy the Lofi-Fisheye camera - they obviously misunderstood the way the camera is being produced - in a batch of 1,000 cameras for which the parts order is no doubt already in... so there will be no more.
Incidentally, many cameras (and other modern electronics items) are also produced in batches - the manufacturer predicts how many they are going to sell, orders the parts, and has the batch made, then tries to sell them. If they sell well, there's a redesign exercise to see if the parts are still available or alternatives can be sourced cheaper, and a new batch - probably of a slightly improved model - is made.
If you missed out you might still have the opportunity to buy one of Greg's cameras or a lookalike...
I'm guessing that a number of people who bought two cameras in the final phase of camera availability actually only wanted one, and might be selling off the spare on eBay or wherever... so, shortly after the camera is released you could see some going for more than the £65 depending on demand. As always, take care that the seller really has a camera and isn't trying to get your money for nothing...
And then, cynic that I am, I suspect that the Taiwanese buyer of 50 cameras is actually planning to reverse engineer the device and then start to manufacture a lookalike - so 3 to 6 months after the release I'm expecting to see a very similar camera and it will probably be made in larger numbers, marketed worldwide and available cheaper - there's a risk it won't be as good - and a slight chance it could be better...
But, will they have missed the boat - is the time for this camera now and will Lofi-Fisheye shots be fashionable for just a short time, or will it be popular for longer? Who can tell...
Incidentally, many cameras (and other modern electronics items) are also produced in batches - the manufacturer predicts how many they are going to sell, orders the parts, and has the batch made, then tries to sell them. If they sell well, there's a redesign exercise to see if the parts are still available or alternatives can be sourced cheaper, and a new batch - probably of a slightly improved model - is made.
If you missed out you might still have the opportunity to buy one of Greg's cameras or a lookalike...
I'm guessing that a number of people who bought two cameras in the final phase of camera availability actually only wanted one, and might be selling off the spare on eBay or wherever... so, shortly after the camera is released you could see some going for more than the £65 depending on demand. As always, take care that the seller really has a camera and isn't trying to get your money for nothing...
And then, cynic that I am, I suspect that the Taiwanese buyer of 50 cameras is actually planning to reverse engineer the device and then start to manufacture a lookalike - so 3 to 6 months after the release I'm expecting to see a very similar camera and it will probably be made in larger numbers, marketed worldwide and available cheaper - there's a risk it won't be as good - and a slight chance it could be better...
But, will they have missed the boat - is the time for this camera now and will Lofi-Fisheye shots be fashionable for just a short time, or will it be popular for longer? Who can tell...
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