Television

If you’re going to cover stories about London on TV and radio, you need to justify properly why you’re covering it

Posted on 3 August 2010 in Radio, Television. (0 comments)

If there’s one thing that seems to provoke irie from the BBC’s viewers and listeners, it’s doing anything about London on air. Well unless said viewer and listener is in London. Probably.

The future of TV is… TV

Posted on 18 February 2010 in Television. (1 comment)

Yes on demand may be everywhere, however it appears we do still love our TV sets…

Pressing red turns the power off? Err… not most of the time…

Posted on 23 June 2009 in Television. (2 comments)

One of the comments that I occasionally hear about the red button is how people turn the TV off! Because, of course, most remotes have a red button to put them in standby.

Scouring the VHS tapes for hidden gems

Posted on 1 February 2009 in Television. (2 comments)

As I sit here typing this, my PC is hard at work recording onto computer, an old copy of News at Ten. Not just any News at Ten, but the “final” “ever” News at Ten from 1999.

The Pit

Posted on 13 July 2008 in Computers, Television. (0 comments)

Anyone following my microblog updates yesterday may have noticed a certain anger with the trauma centre that is iTunes. I’ve never been a huge fan of iTunes (bloated, slow, klunky), but after yesterday I now hate, loathe and despise it.

Freesat Logos

Posted on 30 November 2007 in Television. (2 comments)

I suspect that when the Freesat launched the other day, it was the first time that anyone had seen, publicly, the Freesat logo. And a few eagle eyed people might have noticed that Freesat originally had a completely different logo, which appeared at a press launch some time ago.

Freesat Website

Posted on 27 November 2007 in BBC red button, Interactive TV, Television. (30 comments)

Well the secret is out. Well right now as I type, it’s not hugely out because the website hasn’t been out for very long. But anyway, the Freesat website is now live, so you can find out all about it, and why you’d want it. Or not want it. Or something.

Whitehaven loses Ceefax

Posted on 14 November 2007 in BBC red button, Television. (7 comments)

In the early hours of Wednesday 14 November, an entire town lost something no one else has lost. Teletext and Ceefax.

No Beer and no TV make Bods something something…

Posted on 7 August 2007 in Shopping, Television. (0 comments)

What happened to the days when things lasted? I’m sure they existed. I remember owning a TV for about 12 years - and it got transported around the country a few times to boot… Sadly it doesn’t seem to happen very often any more. Just two months short of being five years old, and my TV has decided to give up the ghost.

Eurovision: Told You So

Posted on 13 May 2007 in Television. (0 comments)

Have to confess that I didn’t watch Eurovision - Catherine and myself were being more cultured and seeing the fantastic Waterson Family live at the Royal Albert Hall - but I came home to find we’d not only lost Eurovision, but we’d spectacularly come in joint second-to-last.

Congratulations. We’ve lost Eurovision again!

Posted on 18 March 2007 in Television. (0 comments)

I didn’t watch Making Your Mind up last night but caught a bit of the rather shambolic results programme (spectacularly they announced one person to be the winner, only to five seconds later decide they got it wrong).

Ditching the VHS tapes (or, getting a new Humax PVR)

Posted on 4 March 2007 in Shopping, Television. (0 comments)

A couple of weeks ago, I invested in a PVR - one of those digital video recorder things. It had been bubbling in my mind for a while, especially as I seemed to have a never ending pile of VHS tapes floating around the room with stuff on them, that had to be watched in strict order lest anything get missed.

AppleTV? No drolling necessary

Posted on 10 January 2007 in Television. (0 comments)

I’m sure half the blogosphere is busy drooling over the iPhone right now, but I was more interested in hearing about the Apple TV. Well I was interested until I actually took my eyes away from a very average looking grey box, and looked at the detail instead.

A Brief History of BBC Parliament on Freeview

Posted on 28 October 2006 in BBC red button, Interactive TV, Television. (0 comments)

Well the news is out - BBC Parliament on DTT/Freeview will be going full screen in November, rather than the horrible quarter screen format that it goes out in now.

Have I Lost Lost?

Posted on 19 October 2006 in Television. (0 comments)

As a Lost adict, the news that Sky have poached the programme from Channel 4 so that they can put it on Sky One, is not one I especially wish to hear. Especially as I don’t have pay-TV.

Doctor Who

Posted on 1 July 2006 in Television. (0 comments)

Cybermen AND Daleks? ARGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The times they are a changin’

Posted on 18 March 2006 in Television. (0 comments)

People might understand a Freeview set top box, but how about a PVR? A TiVo? A Media Center PC? Howabout how a simple games console has become a media centre in the home? And so on. Which is why Auntie runs sessions about such things, and that’s where I found myself yesterday afternoon. Not learning about it all - but helping to explain such things to other people.

Sofa Tour!

Posted on 26 January 2006 in Television. (0 comments)

So I’m flicking through the North West Tonight website (don’t ask) and I come across an interesting link. Yes, it’s the North West Tonight sofa tour! Gordon Burns and Dianne Oxbury go out, sit on a sofa in the Trafford Centre, and have their pictures taken by as many people as they can possibly persuade. Fantastic!

The More Complicated They Are, The More They Go Wrong

Posted on 16 January 2006 in Television. (0 comments)

Reading through the BBC’s Reception Advice help pages can be a bit depressing sometimes - all the problems that users have just recieving services. OnDigital boxes crashing, video and audio being out of sync, channel numbers not working properly… And that’s not the half of it.

Satellite Signal Found

Posted on 6 October 2005 in Television. (0 comments)

I know, I know. You’re all desperate to know what the state of play is on my satellite signal. I can tell this because of the flood of emails that have been bombarding my email address ever since I first mentioned the problems.

Online TV Gateways

Posted on 4 October 2005 in Internet, Television. (0 comments)

The Guardian’s Emily Bell seems to suggest that that the iMP is the bold new world for the BBC, and that the BBC backed service could be opened up to ‘host’ services from Channel 4 and ITV. The suggestion is a sort of TV programme version of Google News - do a search and find legal-to-download programmes.

No Satellite Signal 3

Posted on 25 September 2005 in Television. (0 comments)

Should you be wondering - unlikely I know - but no, I still don’t have satellite television.

No Satellite Signal 2

Posted on 20 September 2005 in Television. (0 comments)

The trauma of Sunday where I spent far too long nudging my satellite dish is still in my mind, especially when various Googling and discussions at work did suggest it might be a problem with the LNB (that’s the prong that sticks out of the dish) but before I started buying new satellite bits, or calling up people to check things, I thought it would be worth just checking the box on someone else’s satellite dish.

No Satellite Signal

Posted on 18 September 2005 in Television. (0 comments)

When we moved into this house, I was rather delighted to find a satellite dish on the side. After some time I got a cheap second hand set top box for it, then a remote. Before going on holiday, I finally got a viewing card too.

The Weather

Posted on 29 May 2005 in Television. (0 comments)

There’s been a lot said about how much more accurate the new weather forecasts are. How much easier they are. How much clearer they are. How much better it is than having one big symbol covering a large area.

Tape Playing

Posted on 11 February 2005 in Television. (0 comments)

Some of the tapes in my collection are probably getting on for 15 years old, and with the DVD collection expanding all the time, I thought it was about time I sifted through some of the VHS tapes cluttering up the shelves - watch through them to see if there was anything worth saving, and binning the rest.

Vive La Revolution

Posted on 10 February 2005 in Politics and Government, Television. (0 comments)

Out of the entire BBC News at One, there was only five minutes of actual news - the rest of the programme taken up with hoardes of journalists talking about a bloody royal wedding.

More BBCi Page Numbers

Posted on 6 December 2004 in Interactive TV, Television. (0 comments)

Less than a month (just!) after BBCi launched page numbers on satellite, at around 4:20 today, they went up on the DTT/Freeview version as well!

Crap Video Recorders

Posted on 8 October 2004 in Television. (0 comments)

My Sanyo VCR - probably about three years old if that - has recently started chewing up tapes for Britain. Which is, to be blunt, shit. Three years old and its knackered.

Flashmob - The Opera

Posted on 6 October 2004 in Music, TV Programmes, Television. (0 comments)

Okay I’ll be honest. When it comes to opera… well. And as for flashmobbing… well the phrase ‘new media wanker’ is what usually springs to mind.. So you can perhaps see why something called ‘Flashmob - The Opera’, well… might not really work in my mind…

Should that be 179?

Posted on 23 September 2004 in BBC red button, Interactive TV, Television. (0 comments)

In the week that Ceefax turns 30, it’s kinda appropriate that on Monday I did something which a couple of people probably did 30 years ago.

It’s Anti-Political Correctness Gone Mad!

Posted on 12 August 2004 in Television. (2 comments)

It’s quotes like these that make the rabid, foaming-at-the-mouth brigade such easy targets.

BBCi Zooms Along

Posted on 28 July 2004 in BBC red button, Interactive TV, Television. (0 comments)

Today the new and improved BBCi launched on DTT (digital terrestrial television - the platform also known as Freeview).

Why is BBCi so slow?

Posted on 5 July 2004 in BBC red button, Interactive TV, Television. (2 comments)

Mention that you work for BBCi, the BBC’s digital text service and you may regret it as you’ll get told 500 things that are wrong with what you work on. And the big gripe is speed.

Henman or News?

Posted on 28 June 2004 in Television. (0 comments)

Coverage of Tim Henman playing tennis means digital viewers wishing to get regional news viewers in England are told to go back to analogue…

The Nick

Posted on 19 June 2004 in TV Programmes, Television. (0 comments)

In Ealing Common is a road - it cuts through the common, although is a dead end. Quite often in the morning, there will be a series of film crews and trucks wandering around. But that’s nothing in comparison to what is right next door to our new place…

Bye Bye GDB3, Hello DT210F

Posted on 17 June 2004 in Shopping, Television. (0 comments)

So after it being initially perfect and then very bad indeed, my Goodmans GDB3 DTT (Freeview) set top box went back to Argos last night.

Set Top Box Woe

Posted on 9 June 2004 in Shopping, Television. (0 comments)

Last September I bought (and raved about) a new Goodmans GDB3 set top box. It was a good box. Until a few months ago…

Key dates from BBCi history

Posted on 14 May 2004 in BBC red button, Interactive TV, Television. (1 comment)

Key dates from the BBC interactive text service history.

Are you?

Posted on 6 May 2004 in Internet, Television. (0 comments)

Had an email via my website email form today. Rather odd one cos someone had obviously been searching through websites and spamming them through website contact forms.

DVD Grinding Noises

Posted on 16 January 2004 in Television. (0 comments)

Loud grinding noises on some DVD discs. Why? Why? Why? Why can’t things just work properly.

Code navigation for digital teletext

Posted on 14 January 2004 in Interactive TV, Television. (0 comments)

Pretty much ever since it was launched, people have been moaning about the lack of page numbers on digital teletext services. But wouldn’t it be interesting to add a little more of a link between the numbers and the content they point to?

Teletext Future

Posted on 26 November 2003 in Interactive TV, Television. (0 comments)

Teletext has been in a bit of a limbo land on digital and questions had to be asked as to whether it could even survive in the digital land. Recent developments do seem to give it a chance…

Little Britain DOG Pondering

Posted on 18 November 2003 in TV Programmes, Television. (0 comments)

One thing puzzled me whilst watching the excellent Little Britain on BBC Three which ended a few weeks back but iscoming soon to BBC Two - why was it shown without a DOG?

Interesting Digital Television Launches

Posted on 21 October 2003 in Interactive TV, Radio, Television. (0 comments)

The BBC has launched News Multiscreen, and EMAP seems to have some big plans, but what they’re not saying. Interactive services on Freeview are really getting interesting.

Alchemists of Sound

Posted on 20 October 2003 in TV Programmes, Television. (0 comments)

BBC Four told the story of the wonderful Radiophonic Workshop.

Freeze It!

Posted on 15 October 2003 in Television. (0 comments)

A Sagem DTT set top box has a rather nice freeze frame function, oh yes.

DAB Text on BBCi Radio Stations.

Posted on 26 September 2003 in BBC red button, Interactive TV, Radio, Television. (1 comment)

The BBC stations on DTT/Freeview now have an updating text feed. It’s cool.

All Day In The Company of Set Top Boxes

Posted on 23 September 2003 in Television, Work. (0 comments)

Deep in the delves of Bush House is a room full of set top boxes. They are there for speed testing…. And it’s fun testing. Oh yes.

New Media Blog

Posted on 21 September 2003 in Radio, Television. (0 comments)

Transdiffusion launch a new MediaBlog.

Goodmans Digital Box (or how to impress a potential customer).

Posted on 15 September 2003 in Shopping, Television. (0 comments)

I’ve got a new digital set top box. It’s great. But the customer service is even better.

Political Correctness my arse

Posted on 4 August 2003 in Television. (0 comments)

Funny how when anyone ever mutters the words "political correctness" in association with the curent BBC One idents, they always point to the one where there’s a black man in a wheelchair, doing some wheelchair dancing

Futurama

Posted on 13 July 2003 in TV Programmes, Television. (0 comments)

Futurama is good, Futurama is great.

Video of Police Squad? Yes I know.

Posted on 1 June 2003 in TV Programmes, Television. (0 comments)

From the Files of Police Squad - one of the best TV programmes, and the one that gave birth to The Naked Gun.

Eurovision 2003.

Posted on 24 May 2003 in Music, TV Programmes, Television. (0 comments)

It’s Eurovision! For some reason…

Ali G in da USAiii

Posted on 11 April 2003 in TV Programmes, Television. (0 comments)

Ali G has a new series set in the USA. Tired or revitalised? Matter of opinion really.

The Fall of a Statue.

Posted on 9 April 2003 in Television. (0 comments)

The destruction of a statue in Iraq saw the world once again united in collective viewing of an event that’s liable to go down in history.

ITV Digital returns for the final time

Posted on 3 April 2003 in Television. (0 comments)

The letter arrived from the liquidators. ITV Digital could give you some money to make up for that cash you lost. How much? Well… not a lot!

BBC Three: The Experiment Results

Posted on 2 April 2003 in Television. (0 comments)

Ah, and the results of the DOGless weekend are in!

The Mysterious Missing BBC Three On Screen Logo

Posted on 31 March 2003 in Television. (0 comments)

BBC Three went DOGless, those blobs are great and I’m reading No Logo. It’s a brand world apparently.

The World Of Television

Posted on 10 February 2003 in Television. (0 comments)

Radio Times reports what annoys TV viewers, BBC Three launches and I watch Phoenix Nights on DVD. Oh yes.

Where’s the money?

Posted on 21 January 2003 in Television. (0 comments)

What was the incentive for Carlton and Granada to buy all those set top boxes and give them away to former subscribers? Several millions of pounds a year it seems…

The Great Set Top Box Fiasco

Posted on 20 January 2003 in Television. (0 comments)

So the news comes in that we don’t have to return our ITV Digital boxes after all. But was the whole exercise viable at all?

Where have all the boxes gone?

Posted on 19 January 2003 in Television. (0 comments)

Are they incompetent? Have they given up? Does anyone actually know what’s going on? Isn’t this ITV Digital stuff fun!

Boxes, Get Your ITV Digital Boxes!

Posted on 5 January 2003 in Television, Television. (0 comments)

Waiting, endlessly waiting. This time I’m waiting for my letter from ITV Digital asking me to pay £40 or send their box back. It hasn’t come yet… They’re obviously in a hurry.

Boxing Steady

Posted on 12 December 2002 in Television. (0 comments)

No letter yet from ITV Digital, but some interesting developments occuring non the less. Speculation abounds that former pre-pay customers like myself, may not end up giving up their set top box!

The Great Set-top Box Swindle

Posted on 10 December 2002 in Television. (0 comments)

ITV Digital lost me £60. And now they want me to give them even more money so that I can keep the digital box I have in my flat. Err. Yes. That sounds like a good idea.

Bye Bye LWT.

Posted on 28 October 2002 in Television. (0 comments)

London Weekend Television signs off from the air waves for the last time.