RTE have launched a new live service. Now you can watch programs live and online. You’ll need Windows Media Player or Real Player and a broadband connection. Not all programs will be streamed, but today’s it looks like they’ll be streaming all the major matches and events. Sit back and relax.
Posts Tagged ‘Media’
RTE Live
Saturday, March 17th, 2007IPTV Coming to Ireland
Tuesday, March 6th, 2007Babelgum, who are providers of IPTV services, have announced that they are to set up their international headquarters in Dublin. Apparently their decision was based in part on the fact that Dublin serves as the European headquarters for companies such as Google, Paypal, Yahoo and more.
IPTV allows you to watch television over your broadband connection, and in Babelgums case will require the installation of their software to view programming. Programming will be supported by advertising, but they do not give any details of how this will be implemented. At the moment Babelgum are looking for beta testers (Windows XP users only though), but given the woeful state of broadband in this country, are they sure they can make this work?
Digital Television Is On The Way
Tuesday, March 6th, 2007Today saw the start of a trial of digital TV. 1,000 people in Dublin and Louth are taking part in the trial, which is due to last 18 months. All going well, this trial signals the beginning of the end of analogue television.
I’m not so sure about digital television. It means investing in new equipment, and it’s going to cost. It also means new DRM schemes, and new ways for the content companies to make money by selling you multiple copies of the same program/ DVD / music. The content companies want you to buy a separate copy for your computer, your DVD player, and your personal jukebox. Who’s to say that with the advent of digital television that you’ll have to pay an exorbitant fee just to record your favourite program? Or worse, that you’ll be prevented from making any recordings? With digital broadcasts these are a possibility.
If implemented properly, digital television services promise a much better viewing experience. Better quality reception, more channels, and better integration with the Internet. Convergence is the name of the game, with all your media and network requirements available at the touch of your television remote. There’s a lot of hype to live up to, and we’re reliant on the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources to do the job properly. Hopefully they’ll handle this better than the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government handled the electronic voting fiasco.
Digital TV is coming and there is no way to stop it. Analogue services will be switched off in 2012 whether we like it or not. I just hope than when it does, we’re not going to be held to ransom by content providers.
Perspective & Bias in the Media
Monday, February 12th, 2007I was browsing the web as I am sometimes wont to do, and I noticed this headline on the RTE News website: “Abortion vote likely to fail in Portugal”. As I continued on my wanderings across the web, I came across this headline on BBC News: “Portugal will legalise abortion”.
Now both stories are, in their basics, the exact same. They both deal with the fact that the turn-out was too low to be legally binding, and that the Portuguese Prime Minister will bring a law before the parliament to legalise abortion anyway. The only significant differences between the two stories are the headlines.
What do you think are the chances that the different headlines are due to the fact that here is Ireland abortion is illegal, and in the UK it is not?
It’s for these type of reasons, that it’s important that you get your news from more than one source. If you don’t, you’ll never know if you’re being fed a line or not. Just ask the makers of “The Wind that Shakes the Barley“.