http://www.entertainment-iuk.com A DTT and Virgin Media blog Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:42:42 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The new Gaelic TV channel from the BBC will launch on cable and Sky on the 19th September and will be available throughout the country on those services. The channel will also be available on Freeview in Scotland only once digital switchover is completed and if the BBC Trust gives ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/08/13/bbc-alba-to-launch/ Hallmark +1 and Diva TV are now available on Virgin TV. Hallmark +1 is on channel 191 and Diva TV +1 is on channel 193. Both channels are one hour timeshift channels. http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/08/09/hallmark-1-and-diva-tv-1-now-available/ Freeview The Olympics opening ceremony is this Friday on the BBC. Olympics coverage has been expanded on the Freeview platform. As previously mentioned, BBC Parliament will be used to provide an additional video feed (BBC Parliament can be used because parliament is in recess for the summer anyway). It has also ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/08/03/olympics-coverage-on-freeview-and-virgin-media/ FX programming is now available On Demand on Virgin TV. Programmes include Dexter and Sleeper Cell. http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/07/17/fx-content-now-available-on-demand/ Gems TV have extended their hours on Freeview by two additional hours - but on a separate channel name and number. The new slot is called Gems TV1 and their existing Gems TV slot also remains. This means Gems TV will broadcast on channel 43 from 9.45am to 12.45pm and ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/07/12/gems-tv-extends-freeview-broadcast-hours/ Challenge Jackpot has launched on Virgin Media on channel 154. http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/07/04/challenge-jackpot-launched-on-channel-154/ The Hits will be relaunched as 4music in August, and will be available on Freeview, cable and Sky. At GetMeMedia.com they say "the launch will take place in late summer and the 4music channel will feature a must see mix of Channel 4's unrivalled music programming, including intimate documentaries, unmissable live ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/07/04/the-hits-relaunching-as-4music-in-august/ Warner TV content has been added to the Top Up TV Anytime service. Programmes such as The West Wing and Nip/Tuck will be available. Up to 14 hours worth of Warner TV content will be available on Top Up TV Anytime. http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/06/30/warner-tv-now-on-top-up-tv-anytime-service/ The sports section on the Freeview BBC interactive service has been improved. When you press red from any BBC channel, you can now select Sport Home which takes you to a new and improved section. The section now links to the BBCi video streams for Interactive video services and tells ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/06/24/bbc-sport-interactive-on-freeview/ BBC iPlayer is now integrated into the Virgin Media On Demand menus. All BBC programmes On Demand now use the iPlayer versions of recordings. If you go to All Channels in the Catch Up TV section and choose iPlayer it just loads the red button version of the BBC iPlayer. ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/06/06/bbc-iplayer-is-now-integrated-into-the-on-demand-menus/ The Virgin Media owned TV channels (commonly known as the VMTV channels) are now widescreen. The channels had always been 4:3 but have finally made the leap into 16:9 format. VMTV channels include Virgin 1, Challenge, Living and Bravo. UKTV channels made the switch to widescreen a few months ago. ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/06/03/virgin-media-owned-channels-now-widescreen/ A new radio station has been added to the Virgin Media lineup today. NME Radio is now available on channel 975 on Virgin TV. You may need to restart your set top box to see this new addition. http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/06/02/nme-radio-launched-on-channel-975/ The Jewellery Channel on Freeview channel 44 has ceased broadcasting. It had been available on Freeview for the past six months. Channel 44 is now just a placeholder. It's not known what (if anything) will replace the channel. One popular view is that Nuts TV could take the additional space ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/06/02/the-jewellery-channel-ceases-broadcasting-on-freeview/ The 'soft launch' of BBC iPlayer on Virgin Media happened a few weeks ago with it being available through the red button from any on-air BBC channel. From next week a BBC iPlayer channel will be added to the Virgin Media EPG. The news comes from an official Virgin Media ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/05/28/bbc-iplayer-channel-launching-next-week/ The new interactive dating & chat service from Teletext - 'Rabbit' - has launched on Freeview channel 102. The channel used to be home to Teletext Cars but was renamed to 'Rabbit' on the EPG recently. The 'Rabbit' service has now launched. The service enables viewers to text in and ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/05/18/rabbit-has-launched/ Updates are rolling out to Virgin Media set top boxes at the moment. These updates are for standard set top boxes (the 'V' boxes) - 'V+' boxes got upgraded a while back. The application version my set top box is now running is '13.100.1_ukcable' (ex-NTL area). To get the update, ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/05/15/virgin-media-rolls-out-set-top-box-update/ The proposed pay TV service from Sky called 'Picnic' doesn't look likely to launch on DTT anytime soon as the Ofcom consultation continues, and delays any plans. If 'Picnic' were to launch, it would replace their existing free channels on Digital Terrestrial and they would likely be replaced by Sky ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/05/15/picnic-service-not-launching-anytime-soon/ Teletext Cars - the interactive service from Teletext - has been removed and replaced with a placeholder message for the new interactive dating service 'Rabbit' on channel 102. 'Rabbit' is thought to be launching this month. Teletext Cars had been dormant on Freeview for a while. http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/05/15/rabbit-placeholder-appears-teletext-cars-removed/ BBC Parliament will be temporarily removed from Freeview for the duration of the 2008 Olympic Games this August. The freed-up video stream will mean more Olympic coverage can be provided for Freeview viewers. MediaGuardian is reporting "BBC Parliament's Freeview capacity will be used to enhance the quality of the interactive ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/05/15/bbc-parliament-to-be-removed-for-the-olympics/ The Setanta Sport channels are free for the entire Bank Holiday weekend (2nd-5th May). You must be subscribed to the M or L TV package for this offer. XL TV customers already get them for free, so they will see no change. The Setanta channels are, Setanta Sports 1, Setanta ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/05/03/free-setanta-weekend/ The catchup service from the BBC - iPlayer - has 'soft launched' on Virgin TV. The service can be accessed by pressing the red button on any BBC TV channel. BBC iPlayer on Virgin TV works in a similar way to the online service at bbc.co.uk, but streams programmes off ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/04/30/bbc-iplayer-has-launched-on-virgin-tv/ Five Life has now been rebranded as Fiver on the Freeview and Virgin Media EPGs. Freeview viewers will need to rescan their box if it doesn't pick up the new channel name automatically. Virgin Media customers may need to restart their set top box for the channel name to change. http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/04/29/five-life-rebranded-as-fiver/ Teachers TV programming can now be 'subscribed' to on Top Up TV Anytime. The short amount of time the channel broadcasts on Freeview will be automatically recorded to your Anytime box if you choose to do so. Teachers TV remains free, and still broadcasts on its normal channel. http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/04/24/teachers-tv-added-to-anytime/ BBC News 24 has dropped the '24' from its channel name as part of the overhaul of BBC News services. Freeview viewers will need to rescan their boxes to pick up the new channel name. Virgin Media customers should automatically see the new channel name on their boxes, but a ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/04/21/bbc-news-24-rebranded-as-bbc-news/ By the 1st June, Virgin Media will be increasing the price of some of their services. The XL TV package will cost an extra £1.50 a month, TV Choice On Demand content will go up by £2 a month (it stays free for XL TV subscribers) and calls will increase ... http://www.entertainment-iuk.com/2008/04/12/virgin-media-price-increases-in-june/