BLOGS
Is Blu-Ray better than DVD?
- Posted at 11:00am
- 02 August 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q What's so good about Blu-Ray? Should I be buying Blu-Ray discs instead of DVDs now?
Helen Martin, Sheffield
A Blu-Ray is better than DVD. But all the technical details come down to this: Blu-Ray discs can hold more data than DVDs - typically up to six times as much. And that extra room means Blu-Ray can carry high-definition releases, such as the HD version of Torchwood. So Blu-Ray will always be the better buy for picture quality.
But it's also more expensive. Prices are falling, but a Blu-Ray player still costs about £190, while you can pick...
What does widescreen mean?
- Posted at 10:55am
- 02 August 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q What exactly does "widescreen" mean? Are widescreen TV broadcasts only available via digital transmission? When we look at TV sets in the shops the "aspect ratios" seem wrong, with news journalists sporting Arnold Schwarzenegger-width shoulders, and incredibly fat faces!
Mitch, via email
A The only way to see a true widescreen picture (sometimes referred to as a 16:9) is via a digital set-top box, so invariably when you view programmes in analogue on a widescreen TV the picture will look distorted. Very often, electrical goods shops' picture source may be digital, but it's then "piped" across...
What does BBC iPlayer offer?
- Posted at 10:50am
- 26 July 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q I'm about to take the plunge and investigate watching TV online, armed with a new laptop. Can you run through the basics of iPlayer?
Margaret Stevens, Tonbridge, Kent
A Essentially, iPlayer performs a very simple function. It allows you to watch or listen to, via your home computer, most BBC TV or radio programmes broadcast over the last seven days. Simply visit www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer, type the name of the programme into the search box, and there it is. It's free, and you can revisit the programmes as many times as you like. You can access "streamed" content...
What advantages do PVRs offer?
- Posted at 5:00pm
- 19 July 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q You advised Barry Hyman (Feedback, 5 July) to buy a hard-drive recorder to solve the problem of recording one digital channel while watching another. Is that the only advantage they offer over videotape?
Janet Miller, Bristol
A It's the main one, but hard-drive recorders (also known as personal video recorders or PVRs) do much more. Get one with a twin tuner built in and you can record one programme and watch another, record two programmes, or record two while playing back another. But you can also pause live TV and rewind it, because the PVR makes a...
Regional digital switchover
- Posted at 4:55pm
- 05 July 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q In 21 June's Feedback you said Meridian's digital switchover would take place in 2011-12. What about my TV region, Westcountry?
Di Taylor, Plymouth
A For you specifically (the Caradon Hill transmitter), switchover will be July-September 2009. Westcountry as a whole makes the change from April 2009.
The full list of TV region switchover is as follows:
Border Nov 08-Jun 09
Central 2011
Westcountry Apr-Sep 09
Anglia 2011
Granada Oct-Dec 09
Yorkshire 2011
Wales Jul 09-Mar 10
Meridian 2011-12
West 2010
London 2012
STV North 2010
Tyne Tees 2012
STV Central 2010-11...
Recording digital TV
- Posted at 11:45am
- 05 July 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q On Virgin cable I can only VHS-record a programme if my TV is switched to the same channel. On terrestrial TV I could watch one and record another. On Freeview, I can't VHS-record at all. Not what you'd call progress, is it? Or is there a way round this? And I don't mean "chuck away your video recorder and get a hard-drive recorder"!
Barry Hyman, Bushey Heath, Hertfordshire
A Sorry, but the obvious solution here is…chuck away your video recorder and get a hard-drive recorder.
However, you can record Freeview onto VHS. If your video recorder and...
Can I buy a Freesat PVR?
- Posted at 11:05am
- 28 June 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q Are there no Freesat boxes with built-in hard-disk recorders (PVRs)?
John Lesley, Edinburgh
A It's inconceivable that there won't ever be any Freesat PVRs, but none is currently available. If you're very technically minded, you could try rigging something up with an existing PVR or even a PC, but we hear that viewers who have tried this have had only limited success.
**
Do you have a question for Doctor Digital? Just get in touch using the form below.
...HDTV film quality confusion
- Posted at 11:00am
- 28 June 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q I understand that initial HD transmissions on the new Freesat service will be 1080-interlaced. Is there any hope that this will be upgraded to 1080-progressive in the near future, with a 24-frames-per-second
option for films? I have a 1080p HDTV and want to maximise the quality of picture received.
Peter Cash, Manchester
A It's no to both, we're afraid. The highest-quality HD system at the moment, called 1080p, is used by Blu-Ray (high-definition DVD ), but not much else: no UK HD broadcaster transmits in this format as yet. Most are broadcasting in 720p, which is lower quality,...
How to boost a weak Freeview signal
- Posted at 10:40am
- 21 June 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q I have a digital TV with built-in Freeview. Since getting it, I've noticed that whenever my neighbour uses his ride-on mower, my TV picture breaks up. I have a roof-mounted aerial and the neighbour is at the other side of a one-acre field! What can I do?
Viv Bell, Bournemouth, Dorset
A It sounds as if your signal is weak. Look at your Freeview settings: there should be an option to show signal strength. If it's below 30 per cent, there may not be much you can do. Freeview's signal will be boosted once analogue TV is...
Do I need a TV licence?
- Posted at 10:35am
- 21 June 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q If I only watch TV programmes via catch-up services such as the BBC iPlayer, can I stop paying for my TV licence?
Alan Gray, London SW19
A In theory, yes! You need a licence to watch programmes as they are being broadcast, so watching channels that are streamed live online requires a licence (BBC News and BBC3 are available this way, and BBC1 will be within the next 12 months). But catch-up services aren't covered by the law. What you actually watch is what's crucial: whether or not your receiving equipment could be used to watch programmes...
Recording digital radio
- Posted at 4:50pm
- 14 June 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q Before digital, I taped radio programmes onto cassettes, which I could listen to in my car. Now I record both TV and radio programmes from digital TV on to DVD-RW, but these can only be viewed/listened to on the same recording device (unless you finalise them, making it impossible to re-record on the disc). Is there any other means to record digital radio and play it in a normal CD player?
John Collison, via email
A You'll need some new equipment. There are DAB radios that come with SD cards, the same type of memory card...
Where should my Freesat dish point?
- Posted at 3:55pm
- 31 May 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q My HD satellite receiver says the Freesat channels I receive, including BBC HD, are coming via Astra 19.2° East, but all the set-up instructions I have seen so far say I should point my dish towards Astra 28.2° East. Please advise.
Leslie Rushbrook, Stevenage, Hertfordshire
A Freesat is using two satellites: Astra 2 at 28.2° East and Eurobird at 28.5° East. (Readers who are baffled by this needn't worry about it! But you'd be surprised how many people asked.)
**
Do you have a question for Doctor Digital? Just get in touch using the form below.
...Does Freesat carry regional programming?
- Posted at 3:45pm
- 31 May 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q Does the new Freesat carry regional programming?
Michael Bates, Bristol
A Yes. When you first set up your digibox, you're asked for your postcode: that sets the correct BBC1 and ITV1 regions for your area. But all available regions are still accessible wherever you are. Just as with Sky, you can find them listed at the bottom of the channels' EPG, should you fancy watching news or other programming from a different part of the country.
**
Do you have a question for Doctor Digital? Just get in touch using the form below.
...Will my Sky dish receive BBC/ITV Freesat?
- Posted at 3:35pm
- 31 May 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q I currently watch digital TV via Freesat from Sky. Can I use my existing equipment to receive the new BBC/ITV Freesat service?
Andy Bowen, Manchester
A All you need is a new Freesat box: your Sky dish should work perfectly with the new service. Freesat recommends that you check, however, when you're buying the box - and you should also know that if your Sky dish is still under warranty, you'll void that by connecting different equipment to it.
**
Do you have a question for Doctor Digital? Just get in touch using the form below.
...Will Freesat offer broadband internet?
- Posted at 5:05pm
- 24 May 2008
- by DoctorDigital-RT
Q Are there any plans for the new Freesat to provide a broadband internet service?
Martin de Wolf, Westenhanger, Kent
A It's a nice thought, given that many Freesat customers might be in more remote areas - but no, Freesat tell us they have no such plans.
**
Do you have a question for Doctor Digital? Just get in touch using the form below.
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