Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Whilst this may be the case for most of the dross on TV, sport will remain the Jewell in the crown of standard tv channels as viewers will not stand for the continuous buffering problems streaming has at present.

Of course when the majority of people have broadband speeds in excess of those currently available streaming UHD sport should not be a problem - until then
Streaming of sport will not take off in any large numbers and sky/BT will continue to harvest the majority of important sports rights.

Eleven Sports are streaming the 1st 2 rounds of the USPGA tournament free - but if you want to watch the important weekend rounds then you have to subscribe - to a fledgling service with mainly foreign to rights.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Yes the inconvenient truth is often painful for those in never-ending denial..

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

That is the bottom line and for the majority FTTP is not that many years away. Once it comes the likes of Sky & BT will be the ones to be able to supply them via streaming, VM once DOCSIS 3 is finally rolled out. Where is that going to leave linear channels?

Linear broadcast income will decrease resulting in a lack of finance. Hardly rocket science.

http://news.openreach.co.uk/pressrel...gramme-2576879

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

I am afraid to say, Den, that you are the one in denial here.

Yes, we currently have some buffering problems with live streaming, but this is early days. It will not be long before such problems will be a thing of the past.

It's a problem for today, not tomorrow.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

I agree, also this debate about linear TV was never all about sport being streamed, it was about linear TV in general being overtaken by people streaming other content, such as dramas etc, when it suited them to watch those programmes.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

But Sky's business model (and to a lesser extent BT's) is built on sport not movies and the dross that fill the other hundreds of channels.

So replacing linear tv is all about being able to stream sport reliably - unfortunately for the majority we are light years away from being able to do that.

Additionally, if streaming of sport is so imminent why are Eleven Sports looking to do a deal with Sky and others to carry their sports rights via a linear channel?

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

It wasn't just about Sky and BT, it was about any scheduled programme that people would to have to watch at the stated broadcast time, could have been something like Coronation Street or East Enders for example, but obviously you don't have to do that nowadays with On Demand etc.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Live tv is linear in nature regardless of how it’s delivered - even when it’s carried on a stream over the internet. If and when the U.K. has sufficient infrastructure to deliver HD streams to every household simultaneously (we are many years away from having either the network or the power generation capability to do it), the need for certain events to be shown as they happen will ensure linear TV never really goes away.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Linear TV in its technical meaning will certainly never go away because that is live TV. However, most people when they refer to linear tv are talking about our conventionally broadcast channels, and they now have a limited lifespan..

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Correct, and that was my point in an earlier post.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Except that a decade is not 'light years' away.

Well before 2030, the whole country should be able to receive fast broadband speeds because at long last the Government is getting its act together on this. Once we have that, and with advances in streaming technology, streaming for us all will be as good as live tv on our existing channels is.

Incidentally, whenever I watch the live broadcasts on the i-Player, the streaming is faultless. So it can be done.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

If you believe all of the country will have 300+ Mbps in 10 years time you are delusional. There are vast swathes of the country that only have 2mbps at present.

Politicians tell you what you want to hear then conveniently develop amnesia.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Well, the work is already being carried out, and 300 mbps is not necessary! I have 200 and it is more than ample for streaming and all the gadgets we have going here.

Do you really think the country is going to stand still forever? Some on here do seem to live in that dreamy cocoon!

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

The difference between 200 and 300mbps has more to do with network capacity than the last mile of cable to your house. For most people their choice isn’t between 200 or 300mbps, it’s a range of options below 100mbps, and for a depressingly large number of people it’s still below 10mpbs. That’s down to the “last mile” local loop connecting individual homes to the network, which even in ‘superfast’ areas is still relying on a twisted copper pair to deliver services to each customer.

The issue isn’t that some people think the country is standing still, the issue is that you have little concept of other people’s experiences being different than yours (hence your incredulity that anyone is bothered about Virgin getting Dave back, purely because you personally don’t rate it).

Delivering HD content to a PVR by satellite or terrestrial broadcast is relatively inexpensive, using established technology that has years of life left in it. There is no commercial imperative to abandon it in favour of a wholly IP based system. The universal delivery of a high speed IP network connection to every British home ultimately depends on the government wanting to save money by delivering its services online. That’s why it will be many years before it’s even possible to deliver a universal TV service that way.