BT has decided to market FTTC under the name of "Infinity". The "Infinity" brand probably covers some FTTH installations as well. It will offer download speeds of up to 40Meg.
There is now an official list of when areas are being upgraded which can be found on this page. Much to Nomad's excitement, it arrives in his backyard before the end of the year.
We assume that this will automatically improve your uplink and download speeds. Lets say you are currently paying for "up to 10Meg" but only get 3Meg, which is fairly typical, you should be able to see speeds of 10Meg just by re-booting your modem.
Other service providers will presumably be offering competing products once your exchange is upgraded.
Update: Another useful site for information on broadband availability can be found here.
Saturday, 31 July 2010
Friday, 30 July 2010
TV Licence? PC Licence?
Jeremy Hunt has hinted that collection of the TV Licence Fee may have to change as more people are watching TV on thier computers.
So are we dead in the water? Probably not. That the use of a PC to watch video is exempt from a licence fee is actually in the primary legislation. If the Culture Secretary wants to make a change then he has to go back to parliament.
The most plausible change would be requiring a licence to use iPlayer. There is already DRM 'encryption' on iPlayer, why not hand out user accounts with the TV Licence? The BBC would prefer to live in denial however and are unlikely to want this. We think that the most likely outcome at present is no change. We shall be watching what happens next.
So are we dead in the water? Probably not. That the use of a PC to watch video is exempt from a licence fee is actually in the primary legislation. If the Culture Secretary wants to make a change then he has to go back to parliament.
The most plausible change would be requiring a licence to use iPlayer. There is already DRM 'encryption' on iPlayer, why not hand out user accounts with the TV Licence? The BBC would prefer to live in denial however and are unlikely to want this. We think that the most likely outcome at present is no change. We shall be watching what happens next.
Monday, 19 July 2010
TVersity gets its act together (mostly)
Nomad downloaded upgraded to TVersity Version 1.9.1 today. The upgrade process was much improved and it was now obvious how to upgrade as opposed to downloading a new installation.
There appears to be no major new functionality but some additional transcoding options are now supported. There is more support for the latest iGizmos (we care not). On the downside, access to BBC iPlayer content still does not work.
There appears to be no major new functionality but some additional transcoding options are now supported. There is more support for the latest iGizmos (we care not). On the downside, access to BBC iPlayer content still does not work.
Ask for a refund!
It seems that the unions at the BBC are upset over the changes to the pension plan and are contemplating taking industrial action.
Why anyone at the BBC would imagine that this is a good point to take industrial action is a matter beyond our comprehension.
The apposite question however is as follows. If the BBC fails to provide a service for some period of time, are TV Licence holders entitled to a refund? The service has been paid for in advance, if it is not delivered surely recompense must be due.
Why anyone at the BBC would imagine that this is a good point to take industrial action is a matter beyond our comprehension.
The apposite question however is as follows. If the BBC fails to provide a service for some period of time, are TV Licence holders entitled to a refund? The service has been paid for in advance, if it is not delivered surely recompense must be due.
Saturday, 17 July 2010
Promises, Promises......
Will Jeremy Hunt really cut the TV Licence fee?
It is disappointing that things are not happening more quickly and we have to wait till 2012 to find out. It is good to see that this government does seem set on observing the constitutional niceties however.
It is disappointing that things are not happening more quickly and we have to wait till 2012 to find out. It is good to see that this government does seem set on observing the constitutional niceties however.
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Licence Fee Evasion
An article in the Telegraph today claims that the real rate of TV Licence evasion is much higher than the BBC claims.
See this story.
Some of the assumptions used in this story appear wrong. In particular it is not valid to claim that everyone who is not paying by direct debit is trying to avoid paying at all.
There are 26.1 million households in the UK. If the BBC is really selling 25.4 million licences then that is an astonishingly high level of acceptance given the level of discontent with the BBC and the licence system in general. Our gut feeling is that the real rate of avoidance is likely to be higher than the official figure. This analysis does not really shed light on the issue though.
However we think the article is correct in its conclusions about the coming crisis for the BBC. After all that is what we have been saying for the past few months.
See this story.
Some of the assumptions used in this story appear wrong. In particular it is not valid to claim that everyone who is not paying by direct debit is trying to avoid paying at all.
There are 26.1 million households in the UK. If the BBC is really selling 25.4 million licences then that is an astonishingly high level of acceptance given the level of discontent with the BBC and the licence system in general. Our gut feeling is that the real rate of avoidance is likely to be higher than the official figure. This analysis does not really shed light on the issue though.
However we think the article is correct in its conclusions about the coming crisis for the BBC. After all that is what we have been saying for the past few months.
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Smooth Radio "hacked"
Nomad has been trying to connect to the Smooth radio feed (102.2 FM). After a bit of work he eventually found this address on their website.
http://streaming.gmgradio.com/smoothradiolondon.asx
The address was accompanied by this warning "Please note that we only allow Wi-Fi Radios to connect through this address". How can they tell? Anyway it seems to work when the address is plugged in to TVersity.
Why would a radio station want to restrict peoples ability to listen? Surely they need listeners in order to attract advertisers. Perhaps we are missing the point and there is an entirely new business model for radio stations? Anyone care to enlighten us.
http://streaming.gmgradio.com/smoothradiolondon.asx
The address was accompanied by this warning "Please note that we only allow Wi-Fi Radios to connect through this address". How can they tell? Anyway it seems to work when the address is plugged in to TVersity.
Why would a radio station want to restrict peoples ability to listen? Surely they need listeners in order to attract advertisers. Perhaps we are missing the point and there is an entirely new business model for radio stations? Anyone care to enlighten us.
Saturday, 10 July 2010
iPlayer "Encryption"
It turns out that the BBC have introduced "encryption" on the iPlayer. To be more precise they have updated the encryption used. This explains why TVersity no longer downloads from iPlayer. The encryption has already been cracked (it was laughably simple) but we will presumably have to wait for a new release from TVersity before this route works again.
This opened up a whole new area of research for Nomad. Look at this site for instance.
This opened up a whole new area of research for Nomad. Look at this site for instance.
Radio Feeds Fed
If you are looking for a radio station feed try the RadioFeeds.co.uk site. We probably have already recommended them but it wont hurt to do so again.
The site can be found here.
Dont bother wasting time with the website of the particular radio station. Especially if you want to route the feed to your media player!
The site can be found here.
Dont bother wasting time with the website of the particular radio station. Especially if you want to route the feed to your media player!
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
Not getting it at all
The BBC somewhat like the present Israeli government has become so isolated that it no longer accepts criticism even from its friends.
See Rod Liddles post here.
For the record Nomad is not in the pay of by Rupert Murdoch, he does sometimes read "The Mail" as McDonalds usually have a copy of it; nevertheless he wants an end to the BBC and the licence fee in particular.
See Rod Liddles post here.
For the record Nomad is not in the pay of by Rupert Murdoch, he does sometimes read "The Mail" as McDonalds usually have a copy of it; nevertheless he wants an end to the BBC and the licence fee in particular.
Monday, 5 July 2010
Disregard that last post
Reality has not sunk in at all. Mark Thompson still thinks that he is in competition with other broadcasters. Thompson runs a quango which is funded by a tax on people who consume content from his "competitors". How can that be regarded as competion?
If Thompson thinks that he can get away with anything less than transparency under the new government then he is making a serious mistake. The next review of the licence fee is due in 2012, the BBC would be well advised to put its house in order before then.
Increasing the executive pay bill would not have been our recommendation. We also, initially, wondered how the BBC manages to calculate inflation as running at 14%. The real trick though, turns out to be that the BBC manages to report on pay rises almost two years after they happen. Transparency delayed is transparency denied.
If Thompson thinks that he can get away with anything less than transparency under the new government then he is making a serious mistake. The next review of the licence fee is due in 2012, the BBC would be well advised to put its house in order before then.
Increasing the executive pay bill would not have been our recommendation. We also, initially, wondered how the BBC manages to calculate inflation as running at 14%. The real trick though, turns out to be that the BBC manages to report on pay rises almost two years after they happen. Transparency delayed is transparency denied.
Saturday, 3 July 2010
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Victory?
The war is not yet won but some battles are going our way.
The BBC cuts back on its pension scheme here.
The BBC is told it must reveal information on stars salaries here.
Niel Midgely comments on Jeremy Hunt vs Michael Lyons
Sir Martin Sorrell made these comments on pay TV
The BBC cuts back on its pension scheme here.
The BBC is told it must reveal information on stars salaries here.
Niel Midgely comments on Jeremy Hunt vs Michael Lyons
Sir Martin Sorrell made these comments on pay TV
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