Thread: SD Were cable customers able to subscribe to the encrypted BBC services in the 1980's?
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Old 13-11-2016, 18:15   #12
nodrogd
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Re: Were cable customers able to subscribe to the encrypted BBC services in the 1980'
Quote:
Originally Posted by RichardCoulter View Post
Thanks for such an interesting and comprehensive reply, much appreciated

As cable companies were the first form of pay TV in the UK, this would have been the first time that the public would have seen encrypted channels.

Were there any such things as off air slates in those days?

What did customers see on any unsubscribed channels?

I'm just wondering because of the alien contact fear regarding the BBC encrypted transmissions.
As far as the BBC transmissions, you would see the same as a viewer recieving the channel "off-air" (more than likley a scrambled picture). On the channels coming through the converter, unsubscribed channels would default to a slate, or a preset channel decided by the cable company (channel guide, or in our case our own local cable TV channel, West Herts Television).
Last edited by nodrogd; 13-11-2016 at 18:19.
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