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YouView recommends radio hams' pet peeve

IPTV outfit's set-top box to prompt powerline usage surge?

Radio hams with a downer on powerline Ethernet are set to be even more upset by the debut of YouView. The IPTV platform is recommending the networking-over-the-mains technology.

YouView is currently running a closed trial of service. Trial support documents seen by The Register recommend punters whose broadband box is more than a Cat 5 cable length from their TV should bridge the gap with a pair of powerline adaptors.

YouView's platform combines live Freeview and Freeview HD viewing with online catch-up services from the BBC, ITV and Channel Four. Digital TV and IPTV programmes are listed in a common EPG.

Without net connectivity, there's no IPTV, so linking the YouView box to a broadband feed is essential. Future YouView set-top boxes may, of course, incorporate Wi-Fi, but for the moment a fair few folk may need to employ powerline.

Short-wave radio users won't like that. They say powerline kit fills their favoured band with noise. Some adaptors do, though whether over such large distances as naysayers claim has yet to be proven.

YouView's launch is expected to be announced at an event the organisation is hosting on Wednesday. Of course, YouView was supposed to have debuted two years ago. Back then, there weren't the number of BBC iPlayer gadgets and TVs that there are now, so YouView may not prove as popular as it once might have done.

In which case, its launch now may prompt fewer fresh powerline installations that hams fear. ®

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