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Sep 30

C4+1 Has Finally Arrived

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C4+1 has finally made it to Freesat’s EPG this afternoon, your Freesat receiver should automatically update at some point today.

121 C4+1
975 C4+1 London (for London postcodes only)

Now we just wait on C4 HD!

Channel list updated

30 Responses to “C4+1 Has Finally Arrived”

  1. Steven Says:
    September 30th, 2008 at 9:34 pm

    Yes, finally . . it’s been FTA for some time . . I suppose $ky’s “configuration” process must be complex and requires at least 10 buttons to be pressed . . One a week, on average . . :-)

  2. Wouter Says:
    September 30th, 2008 at 10:28 pm

    I never understand the need for any +1 channel when we have PVRs these days. Would have preferred a new channel instead

  3. chrislayeruk Says:
    September 30th, 2008 at 10:49 pm

    Wouter, the point of +1 is that its for us who can’t be bothered to plan our TV viewing ahead of time.
    There are better things in life to do IMHO.
    I actualy watched a +1 station the other day, Poirot or Miss Marple. Anyway, I was glad of it.

    Cheers, Chris

  4. lkemp Says:
    October 1st, 2008 at 12:53 am

    With N Ireland postcode Channel 4 & Channel 4 +1 on 974 & 975 only.
    Still nothing on 104 & 121.

  5. liz Says:
    October 1st, 2008 at 9:46 am

    Great to see 4+1 .. not everyone want’s a PVR .. it takes me all my time to watch what’s on without recording anything .. ( I have stuff I recorded on video from years back that I still haven’t watched LOL )

  6. Al Says:
    October 1st, 2008 at 10:05 am

    PVR’s are useful but there’s always the time when you particularly want to see something but get unenexpectedly delayed so would never have bothered setting a record time. For that. +1 is useful.

    If bandwidth ever becomes an issue, because of the number of quality channels wanting to join, and I don’t see why it should as there’s plenty of sats covering 28 North and plenty of space on them collectively, then the answer is simply to not to offer lesser quality channels etc the chance to renew when their agreements expire.

  7. Glen McFarlane Says:
    October 1st, 2008 at 10:11 am

    Wouter, we haven’t got C4+1 ‘instead’ of a new channel. It’s a bonus. And when you see the next lot of new channels (Dating, Betting, etc) you’ll be wishing we had gotten C4+2 instead.

  8. Nigel Whitfield Says:
    October 1st, 2008 at 10:20 am

    +1s can still be useful with a PVR - sometimes you do get a three way clash with recordings, even on Freeview. The metadata that’s in the EPG will allow PVRs to automatically use the +1 channels to help resolve clashes.

  9. Wouter Says:
    October 1st, 2008 at 10:55 am

    I have no problems with the +1 service on FreeSat, where bandwidth is indeed not an issue, but on FreeView it is a problem and literally a waste of space.

    But my main point is, I would rather have extra content, instead of the same content +1, especially when FreeSat needs a content boost (and in particular HD)

    I would personally rather prefer a ‘best of BBC’ or ‘best of ITV’ channel, with a repeat of the good stuff. Don’t need to see the same game show again an hour later.

  10. Nigel Whitfield Says:
    October 1st, 2008 at 11:59 am

    The BBC can’t launch extra channels easily at all; they have to go through a torturous “public value test” which seems to be mostly an excuse for other companies to say “it’s not fair, cos the BBC has good programmes and people would watch them instead of our rubbish”

    For ITV or C4 to create a new channel, I think there’d be the danger of it appearing even more obviously how thinly content is spread across their present outlets. A +1 channel is cheap and easy to run; compiling everything across channels into another outlet causes lots of complications with scheduling, rights, and so on. A channel with genuine extra content would cost a lot to create; if you just want repeats of things you may have missed, that’s what a +1 is giving you - on the cheap.

    There are lots of arguments against them, but in the present climate, I don’t see them being replaced with something shiny and new.

    Curiously, looking at the BARB figures, in August the viewing share of C4+1 was 0.8% - only 0.1 behind Sky 1! That’s higher than BBC4, fiver, Five US, Virgin 1 or UK TV History!

  11. Steven Says:
    October 1st, 2008 at 7:22 pm

    Is this +1 scenario a UK only thing? Perhaps it should be called -1?

    It’s difficult now to remember how precious TV viewing used to be before recording was affordable. If you missed a programme, that was it. Family life could revolve around TV programming.

    Can anyone now imagine queuing at a telephone box to make that important phone call and dial-up internet (of sorts), if you were lucky, at 300 baud..

    I just wonder what we used to do before there were 1,000 plus channels available.. Talk, read and listen to music and the radio . .

    Have we become a nation of ‘channel collectors’ the content of which is irellevant?

  12. Steven Says:
    October 1st, 2008 at 8:27 pm

    Ooops . . should read . . ‘irrelevant’ . .

  13. Denis Says:
    October 2nd, 2008 at 10:40 am

    +1 channels are vital especially if you have two programmes on at the same time that you want to record. Just record the other programme an hour later.
    Some may not see their use but I for one find them very useful.

  14. Paul Says:
    October 2nd, 2008 at 10:49 am

    Hundreds of channels, +1 channels, TV Recorders.

    Its a far cry from being brought up in the seventies when there were 3 channels and if you missed a program you had to wait 2 or 3 years for it to be repeated !!!!

    But you did have “its a knockout” !!!!

  15. Denis Says:
    October 2nd, 2008 at 11:59 am

    Paul - what about the fifties when you only one channel at first. That was when “Muffin the Mule” was a TV programme and not an offence.

  16. Liz Says:
    October 2nd, 2008 at 12:24 pm

    lololol @ Denis :)

  17. Denis Says:
    October 2nd, 2008 at 2:31 pm

    Liz - Thanks for laughing at my joke.

  18. diamondirish Says:
    October 2nd, 2008 at 4:16 pm

    Just following up on IKemp’s observation, I have the same problem with an NI postcode - C4 & C4+1 on 974 & 975… I even completed a re-installation because I thought there was something wrong with my auto-update.

    How do we report this ‘error’!?

  19. lkemp Says:
    October 2nd, 2008 at 10:20 pm

    According to Digital Spy forum member HumaxSupport the N Ireland postcode problem was reported to freesat.
    http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=27566121&highlight=#post27566121

  20. Steven Says:
    October 3rd, 2008 at 1:00 am

    We should see the return of “Captain Pugwash” . . In HD?

  21. Steven Says:
    October 3rd, 2008 at 1:03 am

    I don’t think the +1’s are vital at all . . It’s just a cheep way to increase advertising revenue . . Hence no BBC1+1 or BBC2+1 I imagine? Plus they’re taking up shedloads of valuable bandwidth that could be better used for HD broadcasting . . I vote.. get ‘em off . .

  22. Denis Says:
    October 3rd, 2008 at 6:29 am

    Steven - Just because you don’t find +1’s useful that is no reason to get rid of them. I could easily say get rid of all channels I do not watch eg Channel 5, BBC3, Zone channels etc etc .

    Yes see that would be ridiculous. Freesat needs to apeal to as wide a group of viewers as possible, so just because some of us do not watch certain channels we have no right to say get rid.

  23. wayne Says:
    October 3rd, 2008 at 9:09 am

    I remember when SKY One was not a station ident but the total number of Sky channels available!

  24. Paul Says:
    October 3rd, 2008 at 9:31 am

    And that was one too many !!!

  25. Steven Says:
    October 3rd, 2008 at 10:33 am

    My ‘get ‘em off’ comment Denis on the +1’s was tounge in cheek but it’s good to raise interesting debate, I have been know to record a +1 when there’s been a clash ;-) ..

    Out of interest, do $ky actually make any decent programmes? I can’t think of a single memorable production.. I don’t subscribe to $ky so perhaps I have missed out on that particular avenue of enjoyment.

  26. Paul Says:
    October 3rd, 2008 at 11:26 am

    I am currently a sky subscriber, (but waiting to ditch it when the freesat PVR comes out), and I can honestly say that apart from the sports channels, the rest are not worth paying a penny for.

    I will miss my sport when i do get rid of it, but i just can’t justify the costs any more, especially as i don’t always get the time to watch it.

  27. Steven Says:
    October 4th, 2008 at 12:12 pm

    Looks like Channel 4 Northern ireland might be making an appearance soon . .

  28. lkemp Says:
    October 14th, 2008 at 1:44 am

    C4 & C4+1 NI has appeared on EPG positions 104 & 121 with NI postcode, Mon 13 Oct.

  29. Steven Says:
    October 14th, 2008 at 7:30 pm

    Took a while . . Ch4 and the +1 have been FTA for some time on Astra 2D.. Great news . .

  30. Steven Says:
    October 14th, 2008 at 11:02 pm

    The NI version that is . .

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