Top Up TV has updated their software from v2.88 to v2.91. This appears to be a minor release that apparently addresses a “channel scanning issue” that affects users on the Sutton Coldfield transmitter, adds an option to the Engineering menus to temporarily stop the video preview window in the library, and adds some stability fixes.

The BBC and Channel 4 have added a stack of new TV shows for on-demand download via iTunes. Episodes of Torchwood, Skins, Fonejacker and Life on Mars are available for £1.89 an episode. You can also get an entire series of shows like Spaced and Black Books for about £8. Getting shows over iTunes is cheaper than buying on DVD, and they’re already in an iPod-friendly format. TV shows available from www.itunes.com.

Note that much of the Channel 4 content is available free for a PC, with Channel 4’s 4oD service.

We’ve today launched a special Listener’s Forum, where our show listeners can meet to discuss shows, pass on suggestions, point out cool new things for us to review, and pass on feedback on how our online radio shows are shaping up.

If you’d like to sign up, the forum is now live at http://frequencycast.co.uk/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.pl

We’ll be adding new features to the forum soon, but we’d appreciate it if you could sign up and get chatting!

Phorm is a US company that has a commerical offering called Webwise. They’ve done deals with broadband providers BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk about collecting information about sites that consumers are viewing, and serve up adverts based on browsing habits, back to consumers.

Phorm claims that no personal information is extracted, and that this type of activity is the right side of the law, but privacy and data protection campaigners aren’t convinced, and neither is creator of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who wants ISPs to keep their hands off his data.

Many are now referring to this practice as “Data pimping” - your ISP selling your browsing history off to a third party for advertsing purposes.

An Online petition to Downing Street collected over 9,000 signatures in its first month from users concerned about their privacy - http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ispphorm/ . More on the Phormwatch blog

Plans are being drawn up for “Channel 6” – a nationwide local TV service. The group United for Local Television is campaigning for a UK-wide network of local TV stations to fill the void in local TV news and content that’s not being servced by the BBC and ITV.

Campaigners include local TV operators, voluntary organisations and media campaigners, and has the backing of 126 MPs.

If successful, Channel 6 would launch before the end of 2012 the Digital Switchover

The latest two reviews on iTunes say we’re rubbish! Here are the headlines:

Are our shows tedious? Tired of our ham-fished attempts at humour? Catch our latest reviews here on iTunes

As requested by one of our listeners, we’ve taken a look at some of the ways you can access Mobile Internet, and taken a look at the packages on offer from the likes of 3, T-Mobile and Vodafone.

Just at the moment, there are some good deals to be had on the little USB modems that are used to get your laptop online to the mobile Internet, including a £15-a-month-for-life deal, half-price mobile Broadband, and Pay-as-you-Go access.

We’ve added a special page on the various options at www.frequencycast.co.uk/mobilebroadband.html

Top Up TV has started sending out a batch of new Top Up TV viewing cards to their subscribers. It’s not immediately clear from the rather condescending covering letter what the change is all about “Why a new viewing card? Well the boffins here did explain, but it’s a bit techy”

Here at FrequencyCast, we suspect the cards are to support a different encryption system, as the cards have a NAGRAVISION logo on them. To use the new card, you remove the old one, insert the new (chip down), then leave your Top Up TV Anytime box tuned to channel 5 for an hour. We’ll cover this in the next show, due out in April 08

We issued a quick audio update on 12th March 2008, exclusive to our blog and RSS subscribers. Here are the notes with the show. 

Three new HD channels coming to Sky HD

• Sky Sports HD 3 , Sky Movies Premiere HD , FX HD – all coming in March / April 2008, only to Sky HD

Broadband deals

We had a text from a listener, Martin, asking about current Broadband deals - here are the links we mentioned in the show:

• Half-price Broadband if you get your phone service from Virgin Mobile. Speeds of up to 20 Meg. Their basic package is £4.50 a month for the first year. Offer ends 30th April 08. Details here
• Free special edition Black BT Home Hub on BT’s Option 1 - only till 31 March. You also get a free BT Vision box. Online deal only until 31 March 2008. BT Broadband offer
• T-Mobile. Their “never pay more than £15 a month” includes a free USB modem from T-Mobile, until the end of March 2008. More at www.t-mobile.co.uk

Sky’s current deal

• For a limited time, when ordered online. 4 of their mixes (well over 200 channels), free broadband and off-peak phone calls, for £19 a month, including free digibox. There’s £15 off Sky TV setup if you take out a Sky Movies or Sky Sport package. Details of the Sky offer

Audio Description

• We mentioned audio descriptiuon, the service that lets the blind or partially-sighted hear a special audio commentary. For details on how to set your Sky or Virgin box to Audio Description, click here for the RNIB guide

iTunes review

• Here’s where we need your help. We’ve had a two-star review, and we’re not happy. We’re not feeling loved. Please put a smile on our face, and give us a review on iTunes: Review FrequencyCast

Share and Enjoy!

 

 FrequencyCast Update 12 Mar 2008 [8:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The BT Home Hub is currently FREE - but only until 31 March 2008. You can also get the limited edition Black hub.

We’ve covered the BT Home Hub lots on our online radio show - More details on our BT Home Hub page.

If you sign up to BT Total Broadband Option 1, 2 or 3, you get a Home Hub wireless adapter (saving £50). BT Total Broadband is available for £8.95 a month for the first six months.

BT Home Hub, free on Option 1 only till 31st March ‘08. Order from www.bt.com/btbroadband.

The BBC’s 7 day catch-up TV service is now available on Apple’s iPhone.

 The service is currently a beta. You can access the iPlayer from an iPhone by typing in the URL http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer from the iPhone’s browser (a little pink triange stating “Beta BBC iPlayer for iPhone” pops up.

You can only watch video when you’re connected via wi-fi - there’s not enough bandwidth over GPRS or EDGE for video.

On the subject of the BBC’s catch-up TV service - this will apparently be available to Virgin Media customers from April. It’s already available on the free BT Vision set-top box.

A new channel is coming to Freeview. “National Lottery Xtra” has appeared in the Freeview channel lineup, on Channel 45. But is it actually a channel? It seems that National Lottery Xtra will broadcast for one hour a day, from  08:45 to 09:45, seven days a week.

Does this really consistitute a TV channel? To us, that sounds like a “TV programme” not a “TV channel”. Presumably, the channel’s entry in the Programme Guide will show 23 hours of nothing, then a one hour show… and presumably Freeview will count this “programme” as a channel, upping the number of channels on their platform. At least it’s not taking up much space on the system, as it appears to be using the dead time where the channels Gems TV and Film4 aren’t broadcasting.

It’s the first of March, and Show 24 of FrequencyCast has just been released. Yes - 24 shows… we’ve reached our second birthday. Thanks for being with us for the ride!

Here’s what we cover in today’s show:

• News Updates: An end to the High Def DVD format wars, BBC on the iPhone, the US strike’s over, we discover more about podcast listening, and we say hello to the 21st Century KITT.
• Focus - Digital Radio: After DAB has had a really rough couple of months, Carl and Pete pick up the pieces, look at some DAB technology, ask whether the future is Net radio, and read through listener’s texts and mails on digital radio.
• Neuros OSD: A new piece of kit - a gadget that converts your video, streams your content and acts as a PVR.
• Your Questions: Listeners questions on wireless V+ box connections, Freeview Series Link, video on a whiteboard, TV in other rooms, HDMI cables and Freeview in hilly areas.

You can download Show 24 direct to your MP3 player, listen online, or view the show notes at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/cast24.html

Enjoy the show? Add a quick iTunes review: Review us.

 

 FrequencyCast Show 24 [31:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download