https://rxtvinfo.com/2022/smithsonian-channel-closing-falls-victim-to-streaming

The Smithsonian Channel will cease broadcasting in the UK and Ireland.
Its programmes will continue to be available online.

Why is it always the interesting channels that close down, and the
"complete arse-gravy" (a Stephen Fry-ism, IIRC *) channels such as
shopping, lifestyle, makeover and low-budget music video which are
allowed to live to see another day.

There's evidently money to be made in religious channels, since I see 4
have been added to Freeview recently. Important for those people who
actually believe in it.

(*) Ah yes,
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/493218-it-is-complete-loose-stool-water-it-is-arse-gravy-of
;-)

On 17/12/2022 00:04, NY wrote:
> https://rxtvinfo.com/2022/smithsonian-channel-closing-falls-victim-to-streaming
>
> The Smithsonian Channel will cease broadcasting in the UK and Ireland.
> Its programmes will continue to be available online.
>

Shame. :-(

--
Brian Gregory (in England).

So who makes such decisions, and on what data?
I'd have thought that this particular channel was very popular, BECAUSE ift
not just an on line one.
However it has recently started to regurgitate stuff from other channels
recently, and maybe that is the issue here.

I'm not sure of the point of channels like Legend, Blaze and others now. I
think they should mostly be forced into a channel group called regurgitated
TV.
We do not need all these channels with the same stuff on them at different
times, do we?
Brian

--

--:
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
briang1@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"NY" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:4IGdndcx_fwcmgD-nZ2dnZfqn_WdnZ2d@brightview.co.uk...
> https://rxtvinfo.com/2022/smithsonian-channel-closing-falls-victim-to-streaming
>
> The Smithsonian Channel will cease broadcasting in the UK and Ireland. Its
> programmes will continue to be available online.
>
>
> Why is it always the interesting channels that close down, and the
> "complete arse-gravy" (a Stephen Fry-ism, IIRC *) channels such as
> shopping, lifestyle, makeover and low-budget music video which are allowed
> to live to see another day.
>
> There's evidently money to be made in religious channels, since I see 4
> have been added to Freeview recently. Important for those people who
> actually believe in it.
>
>
>
> (*) Ah yes,
> https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/493218-it-is-complete-loose-stool-water-it-is-arse-gravy-of
> ;-)

On Saturday, 17 December 2022 at 10:35:53 UTC, Brian Gaff wrote:
> So who makes such decisions, and on what data?

The content provider, usually on advertising revenue, unless they are selling directly, then sales.

In this case most of the viewers are likely to be techie and living in developed countries, so they can easily move online and save satellite transponder revenue.

On 17/12/2022 18:18, R. Mark Clayton wrote:
> In this case most of the viewers are likely to be techie and living in developed countries, so they can easily move online and save satellite transponder revenue.

They may also be skilled at recording and skipping the adverts, whereas,
online, it can be more difficult to avoid the adverts.

On 17/12/2022 18:34, David Woolley wrote:
> On 17/12/2022 18:18, R. Mark Clayton wrote:
>> In this case most of the viewers are likely to be techie and living in
>> developed countries, so they can easily move online and save satellite
>> transponder revenue.
>
> They may also be skilled at recording and skipping the adverts, whereas,
> online, it can be more difficult to avoid the adverts.

I certainly don't watch adverts. Either I skip over them by editing them
out of the recording, or else I mute the sound and do something else if
I'm watching online and the technology won't let me skip over them.

Does anyone actually sit through the adverts and watch them as if they
were part of the programme? Doesn't everyone get up fr a pee or to make
a cup of tea during the adverts?

On 17/12/2022 19:46, NY wrote:
> I certainly don't watch adverts. Either I skip over them by editing them
> out of the recording, or else I mute the sound and do something else if
> I'm watching online and the technology won't let me skip over them.

You're not a suitable product for a commercial TV channel! I assume
they have moved out of UK FreeView because the product quality was too poor.

> Does anyone actually sit through the adverts and watch them as if they
> were part of the programme? Doesn't everyone get up fr a pee or to make
> a cup of tea during the adverts?

You Tube seem to think passing exposure to 5 seconds of the branding,
often enough, is quite effective.

In message <uvucnQtYPO4vgQP-nZ2dnZfqnPqdnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>, NY
<me@privacy.net> writes
>Does anyone actually sit through the adverts and watch them as if they
>were part of the programme? Doesn't everyone get up fr a pee or to make
>a cup of tea during the adverts?

Very occasionally an advert can be better than most programmes, though.
I'd sooner watch almost any Specsavers ad than most programmes, for
example. And at this time of year, the adverts for perfumes have a
certain charm of their own. Presumably the idea is to make men think
that, if they will only buy the advertised scent for their wife or
girlfriend, she will magically be transformed into a sex goddess.
--
John Hall "Do you have cornflakes in America?"
"Well, actually, they're American."
"So what brings you to Britain then if you have cornflakes already?"
Bill Bryson: "Notes from a Small Island"

On Sat 17/12/2022 21:00, John Hall wrote:
> In message <uvucnQtYPO4vgQP-nZ2dnZfqnPqdnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>, NY
> <me@privacy.net> writes
>> Does anyone actually sit through the adverts and watch them as if they
>> were part of the programme? Doesn't everyone get up fr a pee or to
>> make a cup of tea during the adverts?
>
> Very occasionally an advert can be better than most programmes, though.
> I'd sooner watch almost any Specsavers ad than most programmes, for
> example.  And at this time of year, the adverts for perfumes have a
> certain charm of their own. Presumably the idea is to make men think
> that, if they will only buy the advertised scent for their wife or
> girlfriend, she will magically be transformed into a sex goddess.

You mean it isn't true????

Damn!

Well I find it a little annoying that on some channels you get audio
described adverts, while on others you don't Specsavers makes little sense
unless you can see the picture or hear the narration. Many of the sale ads
for shops are the same, a lot of the Virgin ads are the same.
It is nice to listen to Waitrose adds as they paint a pastoral yesteryear
that probably never actually existed.
Brian

--

--:
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
briang1@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Woody" <harrogate3@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:tnlc2l$3ofe4$2@dont-email.me...
> On Sat 17/12/2022 21:00, John Hall wrote:
>> In message <uvucnQtYPO4vgQP-nZ2dnZfqnPqdnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>, NY
>> <me@privacy.net> writes
>>> Does anyone actually sit through the adverts and watch them as if they
>>> were part of the programme? Doesn't everyone get up fr a pee or to make
>>> a cup of tea during the adverts?
>>
>> Very occasionally an advert can be better than most programmes, though.
>> I'd sooner watch almost any Specsavers ad than most programmes, for
>> example. And at this time of year, the adverts for perfumes have a
>> certain charm of their own. Presumably the idea is to make men think
>> that, if they will only buy the advertised scent for their wife or
>> girlfriend, she will magically be transformed into a sex goddess.
>
> You mean it isn't true????
>
> Damn!

On 17/12/2022 20:41, David Woolley wrote:
> On 17/12/2022 19:46, NY wrote:
>> I certainly don't watch adverts. Either I skip over them by editing
>> them out of the recording, or else I mute the sound and do something
>> else if I'm watching online and the technology won't let me skip over
>> them.
>
> You're not a suitable product for a commercial TV channel!  I assume
> they have moved out of UK FreeView because the product quality was too
> poor.
>
>> Does anyone actually sit through the adverts and watch them as if they
>> were part of the programme? Doesn't everyone get up fr a pee or to make
>> a cup of tea during the adverts?
>
> You Tube seem to think passing exposure to 5 seconds of the branding,
> often enough, is quite effective.

They often have 20 or 30 seconds of adverts. Then another 5 seconds. Or
where you have to watch the bottom rhs to check for the skip option.
Then the video isn't worth watching.

--
Max Demian

On Sun, 18 Dec 2022 12:47:27 -0000, "Brian Gaff"
<brian1gaff@gmail.com> wrote:
>Well I find it a little annoying that on some channels you get audio
>described adverts, while on others you don't Specsavers makes little sense
>unless you can see the picture or hear the narration. Many of the sale ads
>for shops are the same, a lot of the Virgin ads are the same.
> It is nice to listen to Waitrose adds as they paint a pastoral yesteryear
>that probably never actually existed.
> Brian
I was watching a recording on my Humax Foxsat HDR recorder, and
suddenly realised that the woman's voice describing scenes was audio
description, not part of the programme. I discovered that my recorder
had been set to record audio description, but I did not know that
there is no way to switch it off during replay.
--
Dave W

On 18/12/2022 20:21, Dave W wrote:
> On Sun, 18 Dec 2022 12:47:27 -0000, "Brian Gaff"
> <brian1gaff@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Well I find it a little annoying that on some channels you get audio
>> described adverts, while on others you don't Specsavers makes little sense
>> unless you can see the picture or hear the narration. Many of the sale ads
>> for shops are the same, a lot of the Virgin ads are the same.
>> It is nice to listen to Waitrose adds as they paint a pastoral yesteryear
>> that probably never actually existed.
>> Brian
>
> I was watching a recording on my Humax Foxsat HDR recorder, and
> suddenly realised that the woman's voice describing scenes was audio
> description, not part of the programme. I discovered that my recorder
> had been set to record audio description, but I did not know that
> there is no way to switch it off during replay.

I thought that selecting AD (which is always in addition to the "normal"
sound) can always be selected on playback, like subtitles. I think
that's the case with my Freeview Fox. Perhaps the broadcasters
transmitted the sound incorrectly.

--
Max Demian

"Max Demian" <max_demian@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:tnpvp0$catn$1@dont-email.me...
> I thought that selecting AD (which is always in addition to the "normal"
> sound) can always be selected on playback, like subtitles. I think that's
> the case with my Freeview Fox. Perhaps the broadcasters transmitted the
> sound incorrectly.

The AD track seems to be used two different ways by different broadcasters.
Either it is *in addition* to the programme sound and is narration *only*,
so the player needs to mix the two tracks together (this is what BBC and
maybe other UK broadcasters do); or else it is *instead of* the programme
sound track and is *already* a mix of programme and AD sound (this seems to
be mainly a non-UK convention). A player that is designed for the non-UK
convention (eg VLC player on a computer) will not be able to mix the two
soundtracks of a UK broadcast so the listener has to chose between AD
narration and programme sound (eg dialogue) - neither of which in its own is
sufficient.

I presume that TVs and set-top boxes that are provided by the (British)
Royal National Institute for the Blind can perform the mixing of programme
and AD tracks, and maybe can alternatively play just AD track for broadcasts
that supply AD pre-mixed with programme sound.

On 19/12/2022 20:09, NY wrote:
> "Max Demian" <max_demian@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
> news:tnpvp0$catn$1@dont-email.me...
>> I thought that selecting AD (which is always in addition to the
>> "normal" sound) can always be selected on playback, like subtitles. I
>> think that's the case with my Freeview Fox. Perhaps the broadcasters
>> transmitted the sound incorrectly.
>
> The AD track seems to be used two different ways by different
> broadcasters. Either it is *in addition* to the programme sound and is
> narration *only*, so the player needs to mix the two tracks together
> (this is what BBC and maybe other UK broadcasters do); or else it is
> *instead of* the programme sound track and is *already* a mix of
> programme and AD sound (this seems to be mainly a non-UK convention). A
> player that is designed for the non-UK convention (eg VLC player on a
> computer) will not be able to mix the two soundtracks of a UK broadcast
> so the listener has to chose between AD narration and programme sound
> (eg dialogue) - neither of which in its own is sufficient.
>
> I presume that TVs and set-top boxes that are provided by the (British)
> Royal National Institute for the Blind can perform the mixing of
> programme and AD tracks, and maybe can alternatively play just AD track
> for broadcasts that supply AD pre-mixed with programme sound.

In my experience the BBC usually mixes the original audio with the
narration on the narration track but will often fade it down really low
while the narrator is speaking.

However it's not often I stray on to the narration track.

--
Brian Gregory (in England).

On 20/12/2022 03:16, Brian Gregory wrote:
> On 19/12/2022 20:09, NY wrote:
>> "Max Demian" <max_demian@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
>> news:tnpvp0$catn$1@dont-email.me...
>>> I thought that selecting AD (which is always in addition to the
>>> "normal" sound) can always be selected on playback, like subtitles. I
>>> think that's the case with my Freeview Fox. Perhaps the broadcasters
>>> transmitted the sound incorrectly.
>>
>> The AD track seems to be used two different ways by different
>> broadcasters. Either it is *in addition* to the programme sound and is
>> narration *only*, so the player needs to mix the two tracks together
>> (this is what BBC and maybe other UK broadcasters do); or else it is
>> *instead of* the programme sound track and is *already* a mix of
>> programme and AD sound (this seems to be mainly a non-UK convention).
>> A player that is designed for the non-UK convention (eg VLC player on
>> a computer) will not be able to mix the two soundtracks of a UK
>> broadcast so the listener has to chose between AD narration and
>> programme sound (eg dialogue) - neither of which in its own is
>> sufficient.
>>
>> I presume that TVs and set-top boxes that are provided by the
>> (British) Royal National Institute for the Blind can perform the
>> mixing of programme and AD tracks, and maybe can alternatively play
>> just AD track for broadcasts that supply AD pre-mixed with programme
>> sound.
>
> In my experience the BBC usually mixes the original audio with the
> narration on the narration track but will often fade it down really low
> while the narrator is speaking.
>
> However it's not often I stray on to the narration track.

My Humax HDR T2 has only one AD option, and that has both the AD and the
"normal" sound. I don't know whether that is done by mixing or a
separate channel with both.

--
Max Demian

On 20/12/2022 03:16, Brian Gregory wrote:
> In my experience the BBC usually mixes the original audio with the
> narration on the narration track but will often fade it down really low
> while the narrator is speaking.
>
> However it's not often I stray on to the narration track.

I'm sure in the past it's been on recordings from BBC channels that I've
heard complete silence on the AD track (even while characters are
visible speaking), and then suddenly there is an isolated sentence
describing some action, before silence returns. So you'd need a mix of
programme sound and AD to get the full effect if you're blind.

But checking Monday's episode of Strike (which I happen to have on the
laptop I'm using now) the AD track behaves as you describe.

Later this morning I'll check some older recordings of programmes to see
if I can find examples of the exclusive use of the AD track (ie
narration and nothing else) and see which channels do/did it like that.
You've got me starting to doubt my sanity now ;-)

In article <AEKdneYv_LYWyj_-nZ2dnZfqnPqdnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>, NY
<me@privacy.net> wrote:

> I'm sure in the past it's been on recordings from BBC channels that I've
> heard complete silence on the AD track (even while characters are
> visible speaking), and then suddenly there is an isolated sentence
> describing some action, before silence returns. So you'd need a mix of
> programme sound and AD to get the full effect if you're blind.

> But checking Monday's episode of Strike (which I happen to have on the
> laptop I'm using now) the AD track behaves as you describe.

> Later this morning I'll check some older recordings of programmes to see
> if I can find examples of the exclusive use of the AD track (ie
> narration and nothing else) and see which channels do/did it like that.
> You've got me starting to doubt my sanity now ;-)

If someone is using VLC or similar to capture/watch the stream they could
check what the actual streams are as it will list them, and they'll be in
the .ts file recorded.

Jim

--
Please use the address on the audiomisc page if you wish to email me.
Electronics https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scots_Guide/intro/electron.htm
biog http://jcgl.orpheusweb.co.uk/history/ups_and_downs.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html

"Jim Lesurf" <noise@audiomisc.co.uk> wrote in message
news:5a5a384e9cnoise@audiomisc.co.uk...
> In article <AEKdneYv_LYWyj_-nZ2dnZfqnPqdnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>, NY
> <me@privacy.net> wrote:
>
>> I'm sure in the past it's been on recordings from BBC channels that I've
>> heard complete silence on the AD track (even while characters are
>> visible speaking), and then suddenly there is an isolated sentence
>> describing some action, before silence returns. So you'd need a mix of
>> programme sound and AD to get the full effect if you're blind.
>
>> But checking Monday's episode of Strike (which I happen to have on the
>> laptop I'm using now) the AD track behaves as you describe.
>
>> Later this morning I'll check some older recordings of programmes to see
>> if I can find examples of the exclusive use of the AD track (ie
>> narration and nothing else) and see which channels do/did it like that.
>> You've got me starting to doubt my sanity now ;-)
>
> If someone is using VLC or similar to capture/watch the stream they could
> check what the actual streams are as it will list them, and they'll be in
> the .ts file recorded.

Yes, VLC and other software shows two audio streams - one of them typically
named "NAR" (short for "narration"?). But it's a matter of what those two
audio streams contain. The programme sound will be just that - a mix of
dialogue, music and effects (maybe stereo, maybe 5.1). But the other will be
either

- narration only (no dialogue, music and effects)

- narration plus dialogue, music and effects

El jueves, 22 de diciembre de 2022 a las 12:02:52 UTC+1, NY escribió:
> "Jim Lesurf" <no...@audiomisc.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:5a5a384...@audiomisc.co.uk...
> > In article <AEKdneYv_LYWyj_-...@brightview.co.uk>, NY
> > <m...@privacy.net> wrote:
> >
> >> I'm sure in the past it's been on recordings from BBC channels that I've
> >> heard complete silence on the AD track (even while characters are
> >> visible speaking), and then suddenly there is an isolated sentence
> >> describing some action, before silence returns. So you'd need a mix of
> >> programme sound and AD to get the full effect if you're blind.
> >
> >> But checking Monday's episode of Strike (which I happen to have on the
> >> laptop I'm using now) the AD track behaves as you describe.
> >
> >> Later this morning I'll check some older recordings of programmes to see
> >> if I can find examples of the exclusive use of the AD track (ie
> >> narration and nothing else) and see which channels do/did it like that..
> >> You've got me starting to doubt my sanity now ;-)
> >
> > If someone is using VLC or similar to capture/watch the stream they could
> > check what the actual streams are as it will list them, and they'll be in
> > the .ts file recorded.
> Yes, VLC and other software shows two audio streams - one of them typically
> named "NAR" (short for "narration"?). But it's a matter of what those two
> audio streams contain. The programme sound will be just that - a mix of
> dialogue, music and effects (maybe stereo, maybe 5.1). But the other will be
> either
>
> - narration only (no dialogue, music and effects)
>
> - narration plus dialogue, music and effects
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