Why Switching Off Freeview Would Be a Bad Idea

The future of streamed only TV?

The way we watch television is undoubtedly changing. Streaming services, smart televisions and catch-up platforms now play a major role in British homes. For example, I now like to watch YouTube videos whilst I'm walking to the shops.

However, that does not mean the traditional Freeview service has become unnecessary, or that switching it off would be a sensible move.

The Government is currently consulting on the future of digital terrestrial television, with possibilities including ending Freeview broadcasts in 2034 or extending the service until 2044. Importantly, no final decision has yet been made.

Supporters of an internet-only future argue maintaining television transmitters will become increasingly expensive as more people switch to online viewing. That may be true, but television is a public service as well as an entertainment business.

Freeview works because it is simple. Connect an aerial, tune in the television and watch. There is no broadband contract to arrange, no password to remember, no app to update and no additional monthly internet bill. And no sudden loss of service when your broadband fails or the nearest cell town goes on the blink. But more on this later.

For older viewers, people with disabilities and anyone who is uncomfortable with digital technology, that simplicity is enormously valuable. Ofcom has previously found the households most likely to continue relying entirely on terrestrial television include older, less affluent and disabled people.

An internet-only system would also shift costs onto viewers. Freeview itself does not require a subscription, whereas online television needs a reliable broadband connection. Even if the programmes remain free, the connection required to receive them certainly is not.

Rural communities could be particularly badly affected. Broadband coverage and speed have improved substantially, but there remains a considerable difference between a property technically being able to receive broadband and having a connection that is affordable, dependable and fast enough for uninterrupted television.

Internet services can also fail. Broadband outages, overloaded networks, faulty routers and power interruptions can suddenly remove access to every online television service in a household or even a neighbourhood or village. 

Terrestrial broadcasting provides a valuable alternative, particularly during major emergencies when people need dependable access to news and public information.

There is also the question of privacy. Traditional television broadcasts travel from the transmitter to the viewer without the broadcaster needing to know who is watching. Internet television can generate information about viewing habits, devices and accounts. Moving everyone online would make anonymous television viewing increasingly difficult.

The answer should not be to oppose streaming technology. Services such as BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, My5 and Freely offer convenience and additional choice. They should continue to develop alongside terrestrial television.

A hybrid approach would give viewers the best of both worlds: Freeview for universally available live channels and internet services for catch-up programmes, additional content and on-demand viewing.

According to Ofcom’s research, millions of people are still expected to depend on terrestrial television well into the 2030s. The Government’s own discussion papers acknowledge that extending Freeview until 2044 would offer a lower-risk transition.

Technology should expand people’s choices, not take reliable services away from those who still need them. Until affordable and dependable internet access is genuinely universal, and everyone is comfortable using it, switching off Freeview would be premature, exclusionary and potentially very costly for viewers.

Freeview should be modernised where necessary, but it should not be sacrificed simply because internet television is growing. Sometimes the most sensible technology policy is to keep a system that continues to work.

Silver Voices are running a petition which you can access here:- https://c.org/48hGy7wK4W

Hugo Gernsback's Teleyeglasses: The 1963 Smart Glasses That Predicted the Future

Discover Hugo Gernsback's revolutionary 1963 Teleyeglasses, the wearable television concept that used miniature CRTs, phosphor screens and precision optics to predict today's smart glasses.

As someone who is interested in technology you have most likely seen an image of inventor, science fiction author and publisher Hugo Gernsback smiling whilst wearing his Teleyeglasses back in 1963. But what exactly were Teleyeglasses? 

What were the principles behind the design? And why did they never go into production? Let's take a look at them, now.

Long before virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses and wearable displays became reality, science fiction pioneer and inventor Hugo Gernsback imagined a world where people could watch television through a pair of spectacles.

In 1963, Gernsback introduced his concept for the "Teleyeglasses", a remarkable idea that anticipated many of the wearable display technologies we are only now beginning to take for granted. Although the design never reached commercial production, it remains one of the most fascinating examples of futuristic thinking from the early days of television.

A Television You Could Wear

The Teleyeglasses were designed to allow the wearer to watch television without the need for a conventional TV set. Rather than viewing a large screen across the room, each eye would receive its own miniature image inside a pair of specially designed glasses.

At the time, televisions relied on bulky cathode ray tubes (CRTs), making the idea of a wearable television seem almost impossible. Gernsback's proposal cleverly sidestepped this problem by moving most of the electronics away from the spectacles themselves.

The glasses were connected by cable to a separate electronic receiver, which could be worn on a belt or carried nearby. This external unit housed the television tuner and much of the circuitry needed to generate the picture.

The Technology Behind the Concept

Unlike today's OLED microdisplays or LCD panels, the Teleyeglasses relied on an entirely different technology.

Each eyepiece contained a tiny cathode ray tube, similar in principle to those used in televisions of the era, but dramatically miniaturised.

The image from these miniature CRTs was projected through a system of:

Precision lenses

Mirrors

Optical prisms

These components magnified the tiny image so that it appeared to the wearer like a much larger television screen floating several feet away.

The result was an immersive viewing experience without requiring a physically large display.

What Were the Viewing Screens Made From?

One of the most interesting aspects of the design was the viewing system itself.

The wearer did not look directly at a conventional screen.

Instead, each miniature CRT produced an image on a phosphor-coated glass faceplate. Just like a traditional television, the inside surface of the glass was coated with phosphorescent materials that glowed when struck by an electron beam.

The optical system then enlarged this tiny phosphor image using carefully aligned glass lenses and mirrors before presenting it to the eye.

In essence, the "screen" was:

A miniature glass CRT faceplate

Coated with phosphor

Viewed through magnifying optics rather than directly

This was an ingenious solution decades before flat-panel displays became possible.

Surprisingly Advanced Ideas

Several aspects of the Teleyeglasses now seem remarkably familiar.

Gernsback envisioned:

Personal television viewing

Hands-free entertainment

Private viewing in public places

Portable electronics worn on the body

Lightweight eyewear connected to a wearable processor

These concepts strongly resemble modern products such as smart glasses and mixed-reality headsets.

The Limitations

Despite its visionary nature, the technology of the early 1960s imposed significant constraints.

Miniature CRTs were:

Expensive to manufacture

Fragile

Power hungry

Relatively heavy

Limited in brightness

The electronics required vacuum tubes and early transistor circuits, while batteries capable of powering such a system for long periods simply did not exist.

As a result, the Teleyeglasses remained a conceptual design rather than a practical consumer product.

A Vision Ahead of Its Time

Today, companies including Apple, Meta and Xreal are bringing wearable displays to market using micro-OLED screens, waveguides and advanced optics that Gernsback could scarcely have imagined.

Yet the underlying ambition remains strikingly similar: placing a large virtual display directly in front of the user's eyes while keeping the device compact enough to wear comfortably.

More than sixty years after Hugo Gernsback unveiled the Teleyeglasses, his vision serves as a reminder that many of today's technological breakthroughs began as bold ideas sketched on paper. 

While the materials and electronics have changed dramatically, the dream of carrying a personal cinema wherever you go is one that Gernsback saw coming decades before the rest of the world.

You can learn more about the amazing author, publisher and inventor Hugo Gernsback in the biography Hugo Gernsback a Man Well Ahead of his Time, which you can purchase here at our own Amazon-powered shop:-https://amzn.to/3QOF1Ut

7 days left to save £159.90 with Virgin Media

New customers with Virgin Media can make a genuine saving of £159.90 when signing up online for any triple bundle of Virgin TV with TiVo®, broadband and calls before 24 November 2011.

Prices start from just £23 a month plus line rental of £13.90 for up to 10Mb unlimited broadband, 75 digital TV channels with 500GB TiVo® and unlimited weekend calls.

All combinations of Virgin Media TV with TiVo®, broadband and calls will qualify for a free 500GB TiVo®, free TiVo® activation worth £49.95, free installation worth £49.95, a free wireless router and £60 off, for a total saving of £159.90.

Additional savings can be made on other types of Virgin Media bundles until 24 November 2011. Packages of TV, TiVo® and either broadband or calls include £30 off, free TiVo® activation and free installation for a total saving of £129.90.

Bundles of broadband and calls without TV are also eligible for free installation worth £49.95 and £30 off, giving a total saving of £79.95, plus a free wireless router.

Paul France of Cable.co.uk said "There has been so much buzz about TiVo® since Virgin Media announced its launch earlier this year and this special offer gives new customers a fantastic saving of up to £159.90."

"This is one of the best Virgin Media deals we’ve seen this year. Our advice to consumers is, if you’re planning to sign up with Virgin Media, now is the time to do it."

Win a 3D TV with Broadband Choices

Broadbandchoices.co.uk, an Ofcom-accredited price comparison site for broadband services, is running a competition throughout September offering visitors the chance to win one of two top of the range 3D TV with a year's Sky World service subscription completely free. The highly coveted subscription includes movies, sports, all entertainment channels and Sky's newly launched 3D channel.

The free to enter competition can be won by completing a puzzle found on the Broadbandchoices.co.uk website (www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/win-a-3d-tv.html) and is running throughout September.

Michael Phillips, product director at Broadbandchoices.co.uk commented: "3DTV is the next generation of television viewing so we are delighted to be teaming up with Sky to offer this competition throughout September.

"Anyone hoping to win the prizes can enter by completing a simple puzzle on our website – go to (www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/win-a-3d-tv.html) for more details and the chance to benefit from the newest digital TV innovation on the block!”

Winners will be chosen at random at the start of October.