27-12-2013, 12:50 AM
On the topic of adverts and cue dots.
They got rid of cue dots as soon as software to detect them came along.
Advert detecting VCRs did work for a time as the adverts were not gen-locked to the transmission so there was a second or two of black level transmitted and if you increased the brightness a little a bit of faint frame roll could be seen. The VCR just had its own long time constant PLL that created the stop and start pulses to cut the adverts out of the recording.
They now lock all signals so that does not work any more.
With the sound they transmit the adverts at the correct level. The programs are transmitted with low sound.
Channel 5 were the worst of all. They used to fade the sound down a bit before the first advert during movies.
The routine was to pick up the remote to get the last few minutes of the dialogue on the film but do not put it down as your finger has then to be hovering over the mute button.
In the days when I had TV I can remember switching a movie off in disgust at there being adverts so soon after the start of the film.
I used to watch the James Bond films until they cut them in half with 15 minutes of news and 20 minutes of adverts in three brakes in the middle of them. The news was scheduled as half an hour but the adverts added another 5 minutes before and after the news with another load of them in the middle of the news itself.
The other adverts that I got sick of were for up-coming programs on the BBC. See one of them three times on a Sunday and you bet what we want to know about the schedule will be missing. Set the VCR for a couple of hours if you put it on for The Sky At Night. That will not be on at the scheduled time for sure!
I will keep my rusty satellite dish and show it off to the TV tax man. Last time I invited him through to see it the expression on his face was amusing to put it mildly.
They got rid of cue dots as soon as software to detect them came along.
Advert detecting VCRs did work for a time as the adverts were not gen-locked to the transmission so there was a second or two of black level transmitted and if you increased the brightness a little a bit of faint frame roll could be seen. The VCR just had its own long time constant PLL that created the stop and start pulses to cut the adverts out of the recording.
They now lock all signals so that does not work any more.
With the sound they transmit the adverts at the correct level. The programs are transmitted with low sound.
Channel 5 were the worst of all. They used to fade the sound down a bit before the first advert during movies.
The routine was to pick up the remote to get the last few minutes of the dialogue on the film but do not put it down as your finger has then to be hovering over the mute button.
In the days when I had TV I can remember switching a movie off in disgust at there being adverts so soon after the start of the film.
I used to watch the James Bond films until they cut them in half with 15 minutes of news and 20 minutes of adverts in three brakes in the middle of them. The news was scheduled as half an hour but the adverts added another 5 minutes before and after the news with another load of them in the middle of the news itself.
The other adverts that I got sick of were for up-coming programs on the BBC. See one of them three times on a Sunday and you bet what we want to know about the schedule will be missing. Set the VCR for a couple of hours if you put it on for The Sky At Night. That will not be on at the scheduled time for sure!
I will keep my rusty satellite dish and show it off to the TV tax man. Last time I invited him through to see it the expression on his face was amusing to put it mildly.
