TV channel +1 (timeshift service)

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Van
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TV channel +1 (timeshift service)

Post by Van » Mon Oct 28, 2019 7:00 pm

I view a lot* of freeview UK TV. Many channels have an extra channel with an hour timeshift eg. ITV4+1, channel 5+1 etc. What is the exact point of this? And why doesn't the BBC have it -for as much as I know.

*actually not a lot but when I do big part of it is UK.
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Re: TV channel +1 (timeshift service)

Post by jifflemon » Mon Oct 28, 2019 9:14 pm

It’s simply a left over from the pre-streaming days; they could offset the whole channel by an hour, so if you missed the start of the show, you could catch it an hour later on the +1 channel.

BBC never did it, as they invested in iPlayer, pushing all their content online for streaming.

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jamescarruthers
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Re: TV channel +1 (timeshift service)

Post by jamescarruthers » Mon Oct 28, 2019 9:15 pm

Hello Van,

I think it comes from the days where TV wasn't also available streamed ‎or easily recordable. It's a simple way of making sure you didn't miss a programme that you really wanted to watch. 

Even though they won't be as popular with the modern technology available, I suspect that TV channels still ‎hang on to them nowadays, because they can then change them over to something new without having to to go through the complicated process of getting approval for a new channel. I think Channel 4's E4 station used to have a +1 service, which became More 4.

It must be a bit like airlines holding on to gates at airports or supermarkets getting planning permission to build new stores. They then ear mark those things, sit on them and then the competition can't get them and they can also move fast when required.

The BBC has always been more advanced technologically so they had iPlayer before everyone else did streaming (in the UK anyway) so they could see the future and see that they could do it. The other channels could achieve similar things (+1) with less money and investment, just be opening avery cheap +1 service.

I'm not sure if you are aware of how things used to be, but for years we only had 5 free to air channels before the explosion early this century of Digital TV which allowed many more channels. Was it similar in the NL?‎

I'd hazard a guess that the +1 services will eventually get switched off if they aren't popular. They're probably more popular that we think with people who don't stream stuff like you and I do. ‎
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jamescarruthers
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Re: TV channel +1 (timeshift service)

Post by jamescarruthers » Mon Oct 28, 2019 9:16 pm

Damn it Jeff, you're quick off the mark!
1987 Volvo 480 ES, 507274, 217 - Red (Ness)
2006 Citroen C6 Exclusive 3.0 petrol/LPG
2008 Mini Cooper convertible (Mau)

Previous 480's:
J123 CFU -- ES
J449 MNL -- ES auto
D864 CPV -- ES
L691 JFC -- Turbo
F70 MNR -- ES
H858 FGV -- Turbo auto
E981 KHM -- ES (509849)

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Re: TV channel +1 (timeshift service)

Post by jifflemon » Mon Oct 28, 2019 10:15 pm

The other thing with “hanging on” to channels is bandwidth;

A HD channel takes up the same space as 4 regular channels due to the amount of data that needs to be transmitted. Ever wondered why there’s so little 4K content? It’s all about bandwidth!

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Van
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Re: TV channel +1 (timeshift service)

Post by Van » Tue Oct 29, 2019 9:33 pm

Great explanations from you both, thanks!

I have been watching BBC via satellite since the nineties, and really discovered ITV and Channel 4 and 5 et al. since about 5 years. Apart from that I view a lot of the German channels and NHK-World -I am a big Sumo fan.

There are plenty of Dutch channels, I have many in my cable subscription but I rarely view them. On satellite curiously even for the free channels you need a paid subscription.
The German public broadcast broadcasts in 720p, the commercial channels can be received in SD for free. In German stores a smartcard can be had to receive the commercial channels in HD and a single one in UHD. I don't know if this is restricted to Germany like the UK subscriptions are. I know the Dutch satellite subscription is strictly limited to the Netherlands.
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Re: TV channel +1 (timeshift service)

Post by Van » Wed May 05, 2021 7:52 am

iTV Be +1 and iTV 4+1 no longer broadcast the same -1.
Also iTV 4 does not broadcast the current Premier League of Darts. I suppose it went to Sky exclusive?
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Re: TV channel +1 (timeshift service)

Post by Alan 480 » Wed May 05, 2021 5:06 pm

jamescarruthers wrote:
Mon Oct 28, 2019 9:15 pm
Hello Van,

I think it comes from the days where TV wasn't also available streamed ‎or easily recordable. It's a simple way of making sure you didn't miss a programme that you really wanted to watch. 

Even though they won't be as popular with the modern technology available, I suspect that TV channels still ‎hang on to them nowadays,
I'd hazard a guess that the +1 services will eventually get switched off if they aren't popular. They're probably more popular that we think with people who don't stream stuff like you and I do. ‎
it is quite handy if get 'three programmes' all on at the same time cos can only record a pair on the digi-box / HD thingy.

when streaming on the commercial channels you can't zip through the adverts, like you can with the digi, it is OK with the BBC's iplayer
Alan

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Van
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Re: TV channel +1 (timeshift service)

Post by Van » Sun May 09, 2021 6:25 pm

I've got iTV4+1 back, they seemed to have dropped that particular channel but there was another one. Not so for Be+1 though.
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