0 comments | Wednesday, October 8, 2008

The digital TV switchover in the UK is happening now and will be complete by 2012, by which time you won't be able to receive the old analogue signal anywhere. It's a great thing in the long term and will improve our TV viewing experience but what are the downsides? The negative side effects for some and the huge opportunity for others?

Bad for People Who Don't Understand It

The confusion and ignorance which has surrounded the switchover is a perfect breeding ground for unscrupulous operators who are moving in to take advantage. It's reported that some TV retailers have instructed their staff to deter people from buying a Freeview box (which may be only around £15) in favour of buying a nice new TV at around £400-500 - this would involve giving misleading information to play down the fact that the Freeview box is all you need, even lying about the technical spec to get the more profitable sale. Whether or not this is true of the high street shops it certainly doesn't take much imagination to see dodgy guys going door-to-door in an area where the switchover is imminent, telling elderly people that they need to have their aerial changed (not usually necessary) or buy and have fitted one of the boxes from their van (probably costing £10 second hand and sold to the victim for £40) or they 'won't be able to watch Eastenders next week'.

Bad for Power Consumption

Until the average household's transition from old gear to new gear is complete there'll be a lot more electricity used, as more devices - Freeview boxes, Sky or Virgin boxes, hard disc recorders etc - are added to people's existing set-up. This will sort itself out over time as firstly we'll see viewers move to TVs with integrated tuners, maybe built in hard disc recorders also, and in the longer term much more convergence between the PC, digital TV, music and all of the entertainment system in a house. So by extension...

Good for the Utility Companies in the Short Term

As all of those new Freeview boxes left on 24-7 will add up to a fair bit of extra revenue. So by further extension...

Bad for the Environment

Although only while people get their set-up right, after which it should be better. The other short term effect on the environment I guess could be the disposal of unwanted old gear. Most aerials don't need to be replaced so that should be minimal, and indeed most TV sets are fine to use with whatever means of digital TV you've opted for (I'm not upgrading my TV until I need to, regardless of switchovers) so disposal of TVs should only go up by a little as people buy the necessary kit receiving and decide to treat themselves to a nicer telly at the same time. The disposal problem may come from VCRs, and even some older DVD recorders that have an analogue tuner - no use after switchover. Now I'm pretty imaginative when it comes to reusing old stuff but I struggle to think of a use for a VCR that can't record - most families playrooms now have better gear than that for watching Peppa Pig on and that's the only idea that comes close.

Bad for Landlords

If you're a landlord or manager of a block of flats, say, you'll need to consider the communal TV set-up - if you had a communal analogue aerial there before that will be fine if everyone in the block wants to get a Freeview box but will it need adjustment in the signal strength, or will there suddenly be a demand from the tenants for permission to put up a Sky dish? Possibly a headache that landlords could do without at the moment, given their stress levels due to the world financial situation and all.

Bad for the Blind?

When the first switchover took place in Whitehaven in Cumbria in October 2007 there was concern from the RNIB that the set top boxes supplied as part of the town's 'Help' scheme didn't have talking menus, the software that helps people with sight problems navigate their way through the channels and other options. One local blind resident, Sharon Bowell, said 'I feel I am being excluded from the so-called digital TV revolution. I have no way of knowing what channel I am on or what programme is on, I can not use the on-screen guide to find out what is on now or next and I can't even record my favourite programmes. I simply won't be able to interact in a meaningful way with any of the affordable set-top boxes or digital TVs that are available in the shops.'

Good for Those with Special Needs

However, aside from this problem with the navigation there are a lot of good features to help those with sight or hearing problems - Sky TV have 2 channels on their Sky Box Office movie service for the hard of hearing and visually impaired (738 features signed movies and 739 narrative films with audio description). They also employ a team of six qualified interpreters as their Sign Language Team, and provides sign language on at least seven of their channels. Sky do seem to be leading the way when it comes to helping those with special needs as they also have available an Easy Grip remote control for people who have problems with their hands - it features big easy-to-read tactile buttons as well.

Good for the Retailers and the Entrepreneurs

Staying in the digital pioneering town of Whitehaven, retailers have seen that the rush to buy Freeview boxes has the benefit of the secondary purchases that come with it. If you're in the shop already the chances are you're going to pick up some batteries, that iPod charger you've been meaning to buy and lots more. In fact it's often been the opposite way round - customers coming in for the £14.99 set-top box are tempted by the lovely flat screen HD TV in the window. Craig Carruthers, manager of Currys in Whitehaven, said of Freeview boxes; 'Our sales are growing 20 to 30 per cent week on week. A lot of people are buying not just a set-top box but a flatscreen TV.' This customer rush caused by the staggered timing of each area's switchover makes me wonder about setting up Freeview Shops advertising Cheap Digital TV, in much the same way as the Fireworks Shops and Christmas Tree stalls appear for a lucrative 2 weeks then disappear. All the entrepreneur needs to do is find out the date of switchover in each area and Bob's your uncle, there's a ready made market. Will anybody do this? Feel free to take the idea and run with it, I need to go and rewind the Peppa Pig videotape in the playroom then settle down to watch our black and white portable telly.


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For a while, the big satellite TV providers (DISH Network and DirecTV) lacked the ability to be competitive in the multifamily space mostly due to inability to offer a viable Internet solution as part of their offering. In fact, there are still challenges with satellite-delivered Internet solution, such as an increased cost for slower speeds when compared to local DSL and Cable Modem solutions.

As a property owner of an apartment or condominium, it's incredibly complicated to even consider replacing the local cable company with a service provider that strictly offers video, no matter what the rate increases from the local cable company might look like. The most successful multifamily service providers realize this and focus on proposing solutions that offer both Internet and video service as a bundled solution to customers.

Typically the multifamily service provider will purchase Internet bandwidth from the LEC (local exchange carrier) or CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier) and provide that Internet bandwidth to customers directly. In most cases, these services are delivered to customers over coax (cable modem) but Ethernet and Wi-Fi solutions have also found their way into the mix. Any company with a hefty pocketbook can purchase bandwidth and resell it, but it takes a good system and real network management to make a viable solution to the cable company. Cable modem customers have grown accustomed to being able to access the Internet, most of the time anyway. After all, why risk ending up with a worst solution than what you had in the first place.

Due-diligence is the key. Service providers must have the capital, resources, back office systems and call center to serve your residents and address your needs. When evaluating your next provider, keep in mind that almost every video customer will require Internet. Your new provider should have a competitive solution to address this.

Adam Tuiaana is VP of Suite Solutions, a multifamily shared-dish provider serving core markets of Chicago, Atlanta, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.

For more information, visit http://www.apartmentsatellitedish.com, contact Adam directly at 419-461-2892 or email him at: atuiaana@mdunity.com

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Whether you wish to offer your residents a bulk or individual subscription TV service, satellite TV providers definitely have some advantages over cable. It's really all about the flexibility. Satellite TV providers that serve multifamily properties have the ability to offer owners customized cable TV lineups. From the content to the total number of channels and pricing, owners are able to customize many of the packages to suit their needs.

Satellite TV service is hitting in a huge way with hundreds of channels and features, but not all residents are "digital" customers with plasma screens who wish to digest hundreds of high definition channels.

Many residents have grown accustomed to having some "no fuss-no frills" basic TV service that simply provides them with the basic necessities at an affordable price. Even though "over-the-air" broadcasts of analog TV will cease in 2009, a satellite TV provider still has the capability of providing an analog cable TV service to a property through what's known as a "headend system". A headend system will receive digital signals from a few satellite dishes on the property and then output those signals on lower frequencies and channel assignments, thus delivering an analog "cable-ready" product to the end user.

For those residents who wish to receive more upgraded programming (such as high definition, DVR, pay-per-view, premium channels or international programming) would have the ability to upgrade their TV service to a "digital satellite TV service" and be billed on an individual basis. The beauty is that a digital upgrade would only require a set-top box (satellite receiver) to be installed at the customers TV. An independent satellite dish would not be required.

Solutions are out there. Take your time and perform some due-diligence to find the best solution that serves your needs.

Adam Tuiaana is VP of Suite Solutions, a multifamily shared-dish provider. For more information, visit http://www.apartmentsatellitedish.com, contact Adam directly at 419-461-2892 or email him at: atuiaana@mdunity.com

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First of all, if you want to watch sports with the DirecTV sports package, you would have to start with their 150+ channels package. This has the basic cable channels that will show some sports, like TNT, TBS, and USA. Sports channels like NFL Network, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN News are also included (ESPN Classic comes with the 200+ channels package as does your regional Fox Sports Net channel). Then, if you want even more sports you should get the Sports Pack. Extra premiums like a pay movie channel or the Sports Pack start at $12 but it could be a bit less if you order more premium packages.

This package has everything the sports lover craves. You will get more NBA games with NBA TV, horse racing action, ESPNU, CBS College Sports and all the regions of FSN (although some MLB and possibly other games will be blacked due to broadcasting rights agreements). For soccer lovers (I know, if you want to watch soccer you have to spend more since it's not too popular in the U.S.) there is the Fox Soccer Channel, GolTV and, importantly for some, Fox Sports En Espanol. You can also order Setanta Sports for a lot more soccer, rugby and a few others sports for $15 a month though I will not use that in my calculation as I will assume most readers will not buy it. So, using the DirecTV 220+ channels package and the Direct TV sports package, if you got all of this it would cost about $51 every month to get all the sports you want. It would cost five dollars less if you do not care to watch ESPN Classic.

As for the Dish Network Sports Package, it is more or less the same but with a few different variables. With Dish Network, you just get more sports channels the more channels you get. With the Top 100 package you will get ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News and the other basic channels that show some sports like TNT, etc. Next, the Top 200 package gives you a lot more like ESPN Classic, NFL Network, all the Comcast Sports and FSN channels, the Big Ten Network and basically everything you would get in the Sports Pack minus the soccer channels.

If you want the Fox Soccer Channel and GolTV, you will have have to get the Top 250 and if you absolutely wanted Fox Sports en Espanol you could only get it by adding a Spanish channels package for $13 a month (you can also add Setanta Sports for the same price as DirecTV). So, basically if you want all the sports you can get with the Top 250, it is going to cost you about $55 for that package. Alternatively, you could just get the Top 100 and get the Dish Network Multi-sport Pack (lots of sports for $6 a month, which is the only way to get NBA TV outside of getting a special NBA package). So you see there are ways the Dish Network Sports Package can be more or less than DirecTV depending on what you want.

So, should you get the DirecTV sports package or the Dish Networks sports package? It's really up to you. If you want all of everything, DirecTV is $4 cheaper. There are many sports channels these days, and each provider has just a couple channels that the other will not have, and they each put some channels at different levels of their packages. You have to decide what sports you want to watch the most and if you decide on price you have to do the comparisons yourself. There are a lot of variables involved with everyone's different tastes but I hope I have you a good overview to help you in making your decision.

Peter Mathis sells both DirecTV and Dish Network at his site http://dishordirectv.blogspot.com/ You can order today from both providers there and further compare the two packages.

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Have you ever wanted to catch your latest shows right on your laptop? The truth of the matter is that more and more people are looking into installing a TV tuner onto their laptops and enjoying all their favorite programming as it gets downloaded onto their machine. If you want to reduce the amount of hardware that you have around the house or apartment, you'll find that you can turn your laptop into an excellent home entertainment system, so if you feel that this technological innovation is something that you would enjoy, there is some information that you should be aware of. Choosing the right TV tuners for laptop computers can make all the difference.

The first thing that you need to know is that your computer is capable of operating just like a television, as long as it has some equipment that will allow it to do so. Find out if your computer has a TV tuner in it. In many new models, this is something that you can find, but if you have a slightly older or more stripped down model, you will need to go find yourself an external TV tuner. An external tuner will connect to your computer using a USB cord it will use an adapter plug to hook your laptop up to the cable outlet in your apartment. See what the right TV tuner for notebook computer will do for you.

If you are going to go hunting for an external TV tuner adapter, which is also known as TV tuner card, you will find that you can find them easily at any basic electronics store. When you have a selection in front of them, make sure that you are looking for the number of channels that it will support as well as the frame rate that it will support. You will also find that you are going to need to make sure that it will sync up with the sound card that it provides, and finally, always make sure that the adaptor will fit what you have at home. This is all fairly basic, but don't decline the help of the store employees if you want clarification on a few things. Finding the right TV tuners for laptop computers is something that you need to make sure that you get right the first time.

When you are looking to turn your laptop into a place where you can watch TV, you'll find that for the most part, you are going to want a PCMCIA based TV tuner. These tuners are much more portable than those meant for desktop PCs, but you'll also find that they tend to have fewer outlets and fewer features. A USB-based TV tuner is actually quite easy to use and easy to install, but keep in mind that if you have an older computer that it might not be able to process the heavy data flow.

Remember that finding the right TV tuner for notebook computer use is something that you are going to need to consider. This means that you can enjoy hours of entertainment, all without logging out or missing your AIM Chat, simply by finding the right TV tuners for laptop computers.

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Vidhya Perumal is the author of this article. This article can be used for reprint on your website provided the links are intact.