BT goes multi-cast – awkward for TopUpTV?

A story on The Register today says that BT is planning upgrades to its network that will support multi-cast, which is good news for digital TV, but buried away in the middle is a comment that may be less good for those who are presently subscribing to Sky Sports via Freeview, and specifically via TopUpTV.

BT’s Steve White is quoted as saying

“It’s too expensive renting DVB-T multiplex space to deliver Sky Sports to BT Vision customers, so we want to send it multicast.”

For the less technical, that means that the capacity on Freeview which is used to broadcast Sky Sports is proving pretty expensive. What’s that got to do with TopUpTV, when this is a chap talking about BT Vision?

Well, BT Vision is the phone company’s TV on demand service, which works with a BT broadband connection, and has a receiver that includes a Freeview tuner. As an add-on to the service, you can subscribe to TopUp TV. But, because it’s hard to send live TV over the internet without multicast, which BT’s network doesn’t support yet, the Sky Sports streams are broadcast on Freeview, at considerable expense.

Those streams aren’t just used by BT vision, though – TopUp TV uses them too, and sells access to their own customers. I don’t know the details of the commercial arrangements, but it seems obvious that by sharing the streams, with two sets of customers paying for them – some paying BT, some paying TopUp TV – the costs are spread between the two.

And now BT is considering a network upgrade that will enable them to deliver the streams to their customers over the internet, at a lower cost. That, potentially, is going to mean less income from subscribers to cover the costs of the Freeview capacity. And I can’t see how that can be anything other than awkward for TopUp TV. If no one else is going to be reselling the streams for Sky Sports, they’ll have to make sure they have sufficient revenue to cover the costs themselves.

I’ll be asking TopUp TV for a comment on this, but it’s a bank holiday today, so likely to be later in the week before I know any more.

What is multicast anyway?

Although it could be awkward for TopUp TV, BT’s upgrade to multicast is good news for everyone else – even if you’re not a BT broadband customer, you will probably rely on part of their network for your service, and a move by the biggest player to support multicast is should prompt others to do the same.

You can already watch live TV on the internet, via sites like iPlayer, so what’s the big deal? Well, the standard internet is what’s called ‘unicast’ which means that each connection between a server and client is a one to one link, like an ordinary phone call. So, when you watch BBC News live via iPlayer, a dedicated connection between your PC and the BBC server is created. If someone else comes along and watches the same channel, there’s another dedicated channel created for them, even though the information is exactly the same. If 300 people in your area happen to be watching BBC News live via iPlayer at the same time, 300 identical copies of the same data will all be being sent down the link to your telephone exchange at the same time. And the same will be happening all over the country.

So, you can see that traditional broadcasting is going to clog up the internet pretty quickly like that, which is why it’s simply not practical for people like BT Internet to deliver Sky Sports over the internet. As more and more people watched, the quality would drop dramatically, and people would be asking for their money back.

Multicast solves that. It’s an enhancement to the traditional internet technologies that allows information to be sent to more than one destination at the same time. Instead of there being a separate connection to each person who’s receiving the broadcast, there’s one data stream, and multiple computers can connect to it.

It’s not exactly new technology – the ‘MBONE’ project to provide multicast over the internet dates back around 20 years, most famously with a Rolling Stones concert transmitted using the technology in 1994.

With the example I mentioned above, if 300 people were watching the same thing, all connected to your local phone exchange, the amount of data being sent would be exactly the same as if one person were watching.

That’s much more efficient, which in turn means more channels can potentially be offered that way too. Upgrading their network to multi-cast can save BT money on the broadcasting of Sky Sports, without compromising the quality – it may even increase it, given how squeezed pictures are on Freeview at times. And it also makes it much easier for them to offer extra live channels too, so they can fight harder against Virgin and Sky, which may bring increased competition in pay TV around the UK.

That’s a good thing for pretty much everyone, with the possible exception of TopUp TV.

Freeview, trailer booking, VOD and Richard Desmond

The other day I was watching a recording from Channel Five and spotted an advert for ‘OK TV’ which is, apparently, coming soon. Not that I expect readers of a quality blog like this to be interested in such things as celebrity chit-chat, but it did set off a chain of thought about minority programme content.

At the moment, channel space on Freeview costs an awful lot, largely because there’s limited capacity, and it’s been much more successful than many people imagined back in 2002.

If you want to buy space to broadcast, there’s something of a quandary – the only time it’s really cheap is when there aren’t many people watching, so how are you going to make a decent amount of money? One solution is the sort of late night programming we’re all familiar with when we forget to switch over from some of the tackier channels – the ‘slappers on a sofa’ type of chat, or the competitions that were popular a few years back. You don’t need to encourage too many people to call expensive phone lines to make money, if you’re broadcasting when the airwaves are cheap.

There is another way of doing things, however, one that TopUpTV seized upon a few years back. They have several hours of broadcast time in the middle of the night, and operate what’s known in the business as a ‘Push VOD’ subscription service. VOD stands for Video On Demand, and it’s more normally associated with requesting content when you want it, like BBC iPlayer for example. In Push VOD you send the content anyway, and it’s recorded on the user’s hard drive, ready for when they want to watch it. Usually, there will be a special recorder – like the ones that TopUpTV uses – which decides which of the programmes to record.

So, for example, with a TopUp box you can select which channels you want from them, and the box automatically records the content from those channels; you then access it through the library on your box.

A third way

So, what’s all this got to do with an advert for ‘OK TV’ ? The answer lies in a relatively new feature on Freeview, mostly seen so far in Freeview HD PVRs, called Trailer Booking. It’s also available on Sky, too. Essentially, during a trailer for an upcoming programme on some channels – BBC and Channel 4 at the moment you may see a green dot on screen with the message ‘Book me.’

Press the green button on the remote control and you’ll be invited to set a timer for the programme, usually after seeing a bit more info about it. It can work across channels, so the BBC can show a trailer on BBC2 for a show that’s coming up on BBC1 and you’ll be able to set a recording very easily.

And, it struck me, couldn’t this be a way for some minority content to achieve delivery to people via a sort of Push-VOD system? Instead of just that advert for ‘OK TV’ you could have an advert that says “Want even more chav-tastic celebrity gossip from CheapoChat magazine? Press the green button for our exclusive celeb videos, delivered to your TV every Thursday morning!”

CheapoChat magazine could broadcast in the middle of the night, every Wednesday, and people who’ve responded to the advert by pressing the green button would have the programme sitting on their recorder Thursday morning, ready to watch whenever they want.

And – unlike TopUpTV – there’s no need for special recorders; it would work with any box that supports trailer booking.

Practical issues

Of course, right now, there aren’t that many boxes out there that support trailer booking, though that will change in future. But that’s not the only awkward problem to solve.

The other one is the signalling; the code to trigger the ‘Book me’ pop-up has to be broadcast alongside the promo for the programme, and that may be a little fiddlier to arrange. It’s easy enough to book an advert for one channel on another – look at the ads for Sky on other channels, for example – but getting the appropriate signalling alongside it might prove difficult.

And that’s where Richard Desmond comes in. The former pornographer and owner of unregulated tabloid newspapers – as well as OK! magazine – also owns Channel Five. With Channel Five also comes some other broadcasting space on Freeview. So if there’s anyone who would be in a position to make use of technology like this, it’s probably Desmond’s Northern & Shell group.

Will they do it? I honestly have no idea – and I don’t think the installed base of recorders with trailer booking is big enough yet. But it would certainly work, and it would be an interesting way of delivering short programmes, or ‘video magazines’ to people.

Ofcom rules against Sky on CAMs for TopUpTV

Now you’ll be able to get Sky Sports on Freeview without a set-top box

A few months ago, I wrote about how to get Sky Sports on Freeview (strictly ‘digital terrestrial television’, before someone nitpicks) and explained that the only equipment that was permitted to be used was that with ‘embedded encryption.’

That means that only a box that had a card slot, with up to date software, would be able to be used to receive Sky Sports. If you were using a CAM – a small module that fits into a larger slot on some digital TV recorders, and TVs, and into which the subscription card fits, you wouldn’t be able to carry on getting Sky Sports.

Although these modules have been quite popular elsewhere, especially in the satellite world, they’ve not been widely used in the UK. Most digital TVs have a slot – called a CI slot – into which they can be fitted, and the Setanta sports (now ESPN) service provided by TopUpTV was available with a CAM.

The practical upshot of that was that you could put a CAM in your TV, a subscription card in the CAM, and watch ESPN without a separate box. And while Sky Sports worked for a while, it was clear that at some stage it would stop working, as Sky weren’t happy that the solution was secure enough.

Ofcom’s new ruling

This week, Ofcom has ruled against Sky and their restriction on the usage of CAMs. That potentially opens the way to TopUpTV to sell subscriptions to Sky Sports using CAMs.

What it doesn’t mean, however, is that an older TV you have, and an old TopUpTV or EPSN CAM will now be able to receive Sky Sports via Freeview. TopUpTV tells me that you will need a new CI+ CAM for Sky Sports.

CI+ is an enhanced version of the original CAM system, which I described in this post. It should meet the security requirements of Sky, but of course it will need equipment that has a CI+ slot. Some recent TVs have them (I’ll investigate more to find out which ones), and it’s also worth noting that the Humax HDR Fox T2 Freeview HD recorder does as well.

So, in theory, the Humax will allow you to record Sky Sports (in SD only, as it’s not transmitted in HD on Freeview), once it’s equipped with a CI+ CAM. In practise, that’s something I’ll need to check up on – since there weren’t any services using CI+ in the UK, they might not have added everything necessary in the firmware yet.

What do you need?

If you want to get Sky Sports without a separate box, you’ll need a new CI+ CAM from TopUpTV. I expect these will be available early in the new year.

You will also need a TV that has a CI+ slot. On that front, you’re going to have to check the specs for your TV, and look for CI+ on any new kit you buy. It would be wise to make it clear to the shop that that is one of the reasons you’re buying a new TV, just in case you find the hardware’s present, but the software’s not up to scratch.

When I look at TVs in future for RegHardware, I’ll try to check whether or not they include CI+.

Calling time on Sky Sports via a CAM?

When Sky Sports was launched as an add-on to Freeview by TopUpTV and BT Vision, quite a few people wondered if they’d be able to use a CAM – the module into which a subscription card fits, which itself slides into the slot on most digital TVs and a fair number of recorders.

At the time, I wrote that it was possible, but I’d been told by TopUpTV that CAMs would stop working for Sky Sports later this year, though they’ll continue to work for EPSN.

It looks like that time is almost here. I’ve been sent a copy of a letter – see the attached PDF – posted to subscribers who receive Sky Sports via TopUpTV. From the letter, it looks like this is going mostly to those customers where the company isn’t entirely sure which equipment they’re using.

(TUTVletter)

Essentially, subscribers are asked to indicate which box they use to watch Sky Sports, and whether it’s a TopUpTV model, one of two Sagem models, or anything else. You’re supposed to provide this information by Monday (18^th October), “to ensure there are no interruptions to your viewing.”

I’m awaiting a comment from TopUpTV on this, but since they’ve previously confirmed that CAMs will stop working, then it’s very likely that this is the start of an update to their systems that will make that happen.

If you do use a CAM for Sky Sports, and you’ve not received a letter, it might be a good idea to call them on 08444 124 898 and have a chat.

Sky Sports on Freeview – how do you get it?

Now that Sky Sports 1 and 2 are available on terrestrial TV, a lot of people are wondering just what equipment they need to receive it, and what it will cost. Essentially there are two ways to get the channels through an aerial.

The first is via a BT Vision subscription. That means that you need a BT phone line, and you have to subscribe to BT Vision, which is their combined Freeview and internet TV package.

The price that BT shouts about in the adverts is £6.99 per month, but that’s just for one of the Sky Sports channels, together with EPSN and BT’s own Vision Sport. Add another fiver if you want both. And, on top of that you need a BT Vision package, which includes broadband service, and a free box. The Vision subscription is £17.99 per month, so you’ll pay £29.98 for the cheapest option, every month. There’s a 24 month minimum term, and you’ll also have to pay £60 for the box, and of course BT line rental of at least £9.49 per month. To get a free box, you’ll have to go for either the £32.99 or £48.99 a month package; both still have a 24 month contract, and you need to add the sports bundle on top, taking them to £44.98 or £60.98 respectively, if you want both of Sky’s channels.

On Top

BT Vision isn’t the only company from which you can now buy Sky Sports. The second is via small-scale pay TV operator TopUpTV. TopUp has offered various pay services as an adjunct to Freeview over the last five years; their current service is largely based around access to EPSN, plus a service that provides overnight downloads of films and popular TV shows to PVRs with dedicated software.

You can, with TopUpTV, subscribe to just Sky Sports 1 or 2, and nothing else; each channel will cost you £22.99, but if you take both together the bundle price is £31.99 per month, and there’s no minimum contract term. Adding ESPN is £9.99, with the bundle discount bringing the total for all the sports channels to £39.99 per month. There’s a £20 connection fee, which is cancelled out by a ‘first month free’ offer at the moment.

The i-Can EasyHD provides access to FreeviewHD, iPlayer and sports via a card slot for TopUpTV

You will need a suitable box to use the TopUpTV service; there’s a range available on their site, and elsewhere – including most recently the i-Can EasyHD 2851, which picks up FreeviewHD and offers iPlayer too.

TopUpTV’s own box – a 250GB Freeview+ recorder – can be bought for £49.99 with a subscription to Sky’s channels, or you can get the 160GB version free if you add EPSN or one of TopUp’s other services to your order, and are prepared to commit to a 12 month subscription.

If you’re hoping to use a CAM, so that you can receive Sky Sports through the internal tuner in a digital TV, or in a PVR that you already own, you need to read this post.

Sky Sports on Freeview – can you use a CAM?

While many are eager for the chance to watch some top class football without installing a satellite dish, not everyone wants to have a dedicated receiver sitting under their TV just for a couple of extra channels. Especially when almost all digital TV sets, and many other set top boxes and recorders, include a CI slot.

The CI slot is a standard interface into which a PC-card module can be plugged to provide encryption services. A smart card (or ‘viewing card’) slots into the module (called a CAM, or Conditional Access Module), and the whole combination unlocks the paid content.

So, in theory, if you have a TV with a CI slot, or a similarly equipped Freeview recorder, all you’d need is an appropriate CAM, together with a viewing card from TopUpTV, and you’d be able to watch Sky Sports 1 and 2 using your existing equipment.

Ofcom ruling

Last week, an Ofcom decision was reported, in terms which suggested Ofcom was refusing to allow a ‘blocking’ or ‘spoiler’ move by Sky against TopUpTV. Many have assumed that this has given a green light to the use of CAMs to receive the Sky channels on equipment of users’ choice, just as they can be used to receive the ESPN sports channel at present.

In fact, the ruling was on a different matter entirely. Sky’s contention was that, by forcing them to allow other companies to sell Sky Sports 1 and 2, Ofcom had not intended those to be the sole thing sold, but that they should be add-ons to other services. In other words, that TopUpTV – whose main service is provided by overnight downloads to a dedicated recorder – should only sell the sports channels as an adjunct to that service. TopUpTV wanted to sell boxes that had no hard drive, and so couldn’t access the overnight service, and would thus be primarily used only to receive Sky Sports. Sky objected, Ofcom overruled them, and on the 16^th of August, i-Can unveiled the ‘TopUpTV-ready’ version of their EasyHD set top box. It provides FreeviewHD, iPlayer, and if you put a TopUpTV viewing card into the slot on the front, you can have Sky Sports 1 and 2 as well. It’s being sold for about £125, and more stockists will be announced soon; if you already have an EasyHD, you’ll need a firmware update to enable the card slot. I reviewed the box for RegisterHardware a few months ago.

So what about CAMs?

If the Ofcom ruling wasn’t about CAMs, what’s the current situation? According to TopUpTV, the only officially supported boxes at the moment are those with embedded encryption. That means that TV sets, or third party set top boxes and PVRs with CI slots aren’t supported. They may work at the moment – several people on sites like Digital Spy have reported success – but there is no guarantee that they will continue to do so in future.

Obviously, TopUpTV would like as many subscribers as possible, and so would prefer to be able to allow anyone with a CAM to subscribe. However, the design of the CI/CAM system is pretty old now, and there are some security concerns, alongside issues to do with the way CAMs fit into the user interface of different bits of equipment.

One way of addressing that is via a system called CI+ (or CIplus), which offers several improvements over the existing system, and is already found in some equipment, including the Humax HDR-Fox T2 FreeviewHD recorder. It’s reportedly included in some TVs from major manufacturers as well.

TopUpTV tells me that talks with Sky are ongoing; the most likely outcome is probably a compromise that will see CI+ modules being made available. In the long term, though standard CAMs may work today, it’s not guaranteed that will remain the case.

With no minimum contract for Sky Sports via TopUpTV, if you already have a CAM (for example, for ESPN) it may be worth taking a punt on trying the service. If you’re buying new equipment and hope to use one, then your best bet is to make sure that your new TV or PVR also supports CI+, in case a compatible module is released later.

The important thing to remember, though, is that all that’s guaranteed to work for Sky Sports is receivers with embedded encryption, and that’s all that TopUpTV is selling at the moment – though they will sell you a CAM for £19.99 if you just want ESPN.

Anything other than a box with embedded encryption is at your own risk, and may stop working, leaving you out of pocket for the cost of a CAM and a month’s subscription.

Update: I’ve just had confirmation back from TopUpTV, for those who are using a CAM at present: “These will stop working with Sky Sports later in 2010 when new security measures are introduced.”