Freeview EPG revamp set for September
Channel funnel
You'll need to retune your Freeview set-top boxes and TVs yet again this coming September. DMOL, the organistion that provides the Freeview EPG, is rejigging the terrestrial broadcasting servicer's channel listing.
DMOL (DTT Multiplex Operators Ltd) said yesterday that the newly organised EPG will debut on 19 September. Kit not set to automatically spot the change and to retune accordingly, will require manual retuning. There will be on-screen prompts to remind you.
The change is all about shuffling the channels to make room in the listing for more stations of given types. For example, HD services will be shifted from channels 50 to 101, in the process gaining room for 20 HD channels in all.
Channel 100, incidentally, will be reserved for a Freeview HD information page.
Channels 1 through 99 will become home to "general enterainment" stations. There will also be room made in the listing for IPTV stations, though clearly not video-on-demand services which, of course, have no need of a time-based programme guide.
DMOL said it will reserve certain channel numbers for new public service local TV channels. These will be carried at 8 (England and Northern Ireland) and 45 (Wales and Scotland)
The reorganisation follows a consultation process DMOL initiated back in March. DMOL has an in-depth PDF discussion of the changes and the reasoning behind them on its website. ®
COMMENTS
Re: Good...
I'd love to be able to remap the numbers locally.
1,2,3,4 = BBC 1,2,3,4 followed by ITV 1,2,3,4 etc, etc, etc. All the shopping and subscription only channels could be punted off to the far end as well.
Re: Good... @FartingHippo
On Sony TVs you can reorder channels (or at least up to the 2011 products you could, not checked this year). You can also delete channels. It isn't the best UI but at least we didn't drop it entirely even though Freeview wanted us to. [We is not fanboist brand association as I was working at Sony TV Product Planning at the time and was actually involved the discussion].
Downsides are having to repeat the process after major retuning processes and that the numbers don't match those in the dead tree listings guides but for me it is still worth it to make some changes (swapping HD services into the low numbers, killing shopping channels, adult and pay services.
Bad
What's the point of having an EPG if it bears no relationship to the programmes being transmitted? I tried ten times over the weekend to watch or record Click! The EPG said it was on. The BBC web site schedule said it was on. The Click! pages on the BBC web side said it was on. The 'info' button said it was on. Was it hell? All I got was people gassing on about some sports thing that seems to be going on at the moment. Amd at 3.30 in the morning too!
Tonight exactly the same thing has happened on the World Service. With all this gee-whizz digital technology why is impossible for the UK's leading broadcaster to put out correct information?
This gets on my nerves.
My Humax Freeview+HD box forgets all its recording schedule whenever a retuning has to take place.
Re: Every time I re-tune
There was a plan to support a mode of this but I'm not sure what happened to it. It is more complicated than you would expect.
It looks like it might be an optional feature:
http://www.dtgtesting.com/content/freeview-hd-freeview-hd-receiver-testing
The HD channels aren't exact replacements (at least BBC 1 HD doesn't have the regional opt-outs) so it needs to be dynamic at channel selection time (and programme change time). It also requires a multiplex jump so it needs a retune, lock and then to start filling the buffer until the next group of pictures starts, this takes a noticable time and could be really annoying if channel surfing. Then there are a set of issues if the HD signal is off-air or marginal signal strength.
I think these are the reasons that most devices don't support this feature.
Then there is the question of whether BBC 2 should jump to BBC HD if it showing the same content but actually you'll find that the two channels are not running to the same exact timing.
