Sky turning off UHF?

[grolschie]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10583747

So what will happen to Prime?

[paulw]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10583747

So what will happen to Prime?

Sky's own version of DTT maybe??

[openmedia]

The article doesn't mention Prime who's transmission is handled by Kordia isn't it. This is just the Sky UHF Subscription frequencies.

[shadownz]

It says the frequencies are going to be handed over for Freeview, is it easy for the gear Kordia has installed already to add the 3 extra uhf channels? or more gear needed?

[Apsattv]

I hope Sky do not get given a direct channel for channel swap and that the Govt tells them they get capacity for 1 8 mhz channel =1 UHF Freq per region

No reason at all for them to be given dozens of UHF freqs other than them wanting to monopolize and interrupt DTT as well.

[shadownz]

What happens now to Maori TV? I assumed they just leased the sky news channel from sky

[kiwisteve]

No Change to Prime MTS and Trackside at this stage
Its just the pay service end of life

[openmedia]

It says the frequencies are going to be handed over for Freeview, is it easy for the gear Kordia has installed already to add the 3 extra uhf channels? or more gear needed?

Sorry I can't find any reference of their frequencies being handed over to Kordia.

As to additional DTT broadcasts, yes Kordia would need to install additional gear to expand beyond 3 multiplexes.

[Apsattv]

Goverment gets them when the license expires

Or Sky try to push a deal to "retire" the usage in exchange for being allocated new digital licenses.

Sky should be told go take a running jump! why should they monopolize the UHF band when they have an existing digital platform of their own in place.

They will be pushing for each FREQ to be replaced with a digital license. Giving them bandwidth for dozens of terrestrial channels.

A Stupid waste of resorces

A big NO! vote to terrestrial pay tv services using UHF.

[kiwisteve]

They may not get the same channel back for digital as they had on analogue . There will be a lot of re-channeling at some sites

[allstarnz]

If this means Sky can buy DTT bandwidth to put Prime on digital, all good then, I don't care if Prime are on Freeview or otherwise, all i'd like is FTA digital version of Prime to watch.

Also, Sky should play on the same ballpark as all others, no special deals.

Would Sky actually want DTT bandwidth for PayTV though? What use would it be to them? I guess they may want it for DVB-H transmissions perhaps?

[kiwisteve]

Sky could in fact have a DVB T UHF pay service It would only be a matter of an enc system . They could have HD and SD and Pay and FTA mix
But it does look like they dodn't want to put prime on the present freeview service
:D

[wiilliiss]

sky having a dvb pay service on cellphone would be extremely interesting.
for example having bored commuters on "the capital connection" a train service between palmerston north & wellington they would probably lose signal before levin needing infill there before finding service from forest hill, then tunapo then baxters knob [ how does tv signals go through tunnels?] before ending the journy with fitzherbert
no point in having high power at kaukau.
on the wairarapa line starting with fitzherbert fizzing out round upper hutt & the tunnel then signal from popoiti ending the trip with otahua.
lots of little sites & with the phone held on its side meaning horizontal or slant signal polarization.

[paulw]

No Change to Prime MTS and Trackside at this stage
Its just the pay service end of life

Who is responsible for Trackside at present. It becomes Sky's Discovery Channel when TS ends transmission currently..

[allstarnz]

Trackside is owned by the NZ Racing Board, they make their own decisions I suspect.

[paulw]

Trackside is owned by the NZ Racing Board, they make their own decisions I suspect.

True. But who transmits it. Sky or Kordia??

[sky_satt]

Trackside, - Sky cartage agreement to occupy is with trackside time an space once trackside concludes daily as sky does not own the frequency
sky uhf shut down will-not affect trackside uhf, many punters tune in via uhf fta, digital would need to be given consideration as analogue close comes to end.

[shadownz]

Safe to assume with Trackside it will just become a full rebroadcast of what is presently on Sky Digital like Prime ?

[kiwisteve]

Trackside / NZRB have their own transmitters but they are often at Kordia sites but its the broadcaster that will make the decision on whats carried on them

[shadownz]

I remember the days where Sky first won the rights to Professional Rugby (Super 12/14, All Blacks, NPC) and people jumping up and down about not being able to receive Sky.

I was in Taranaki at the time and it took getting the local MP involved to convince Sky to install transmitters at North Egmont, before that some of the TAB's and pubs had 91 element UHF aerials on very high masts pointing to Mt Kaukau (later Wharite) and in North Taranaki pointing to Mt Te Aroha.

It even got to the point where an Aerial installer setup a low power UHF repeater on top of the TSB Building in New Plymouth which was rebroadcasting the Mt Te Aroha Trackside signal and a trust setting up a transmitter at Dawson falls which I believe was doing the same thing using the Wharite signal. I'm sure the Daily News in New Plymouth have some photos somewhere of the Kordia (back then BCL) guys installing the uhf antennas at North Egmont

[kiwisteve]

I just added 3 more photos of the Antennas and Tower at Hen and Chickens Egmont in the Image section ( west north island ) 2nd photo shows the UHF antenna array in the white radomes

[shadownz]

Just out of interest, does Sky have a schedule of the order they will shut down UHF TX's ?
I believe Taupo is already gone...

[kiwisteve]

I presume it will depend when all the analogue subscribers have migrated to satellite or cancel subs !! :D:D

[shadownz]

yeah, I know its supposed to be done within 6 months
wonder how long it will take Freeview to do something with the frequencies where they currently have DVB-T

[openmedia]

yeah, I know its supposed to be done within 6 months
wonder how long it will take Freeview to do something with the frequencies where they currently have DVB-T


It isn't freeview's call. It is upto the MED to allocate the released frequencies.

[Rusty]

Well the spectrum looks pretty empty now that they are all gone. Makes tuning in the FTA analouge channels easy and fast now.

[wiilliiss]

see in "the headliner" financial newsletter that sky have spent 5m on quad lnb s and 5.4m on renewing their uhf freqs which have a 2 year use it or lose it clause

[Rusty]

see in "the headliner" financial newsletter that sky have spent 5m on quad lnb s and 5.4m on renewing their uhf freqs which have a 2 year use it or lose it clause

Yes they are a good piece of kit the Quad lnb. Awesome if you want to watch Aurora and freeview on different boxes off the same dish lol.

[wiilliiss]

a better idea would be quad lnb for d1/d2
those twin ones fron likes of satlink are garbage, ended up splattering one as they are designed for 6 deg sats in europe and dont like the optus skew.

[Rusty]

a better idea would be quad lnb for d1/d2
those twin ones fron likes of satlink are garbage, ended up splattering one as they are designed for 6 deg sats in europe and dont like the optus skew.

If you use a standard Sky dish pointing at d1 with a Sky quad or Dual you can add on a single lnb for D2 which works quite well. Tried this on the hills 60cm with sky lnb as the dish is wider.

[kiwisteve]

What would SKY's reaction be with an extra LNBF bolted to their Installed
dish ?? :D:D:D:D

[Rusty]

What would SKY's reaction be with an extra LNBF bolted to their Installed
dish ?? :D:D:D:D
Oh god knows...lol this person didnt have sky but had a hills dish just like the sky ones...;)