Sentech DTT Down in Cape Town?

IdlePhaedrus said:
Still nothing here either, just rescanned. Waiting for the link you sent on Sentech's site to count down to zero, which should be at 10:00AM tomorrow and will try again then. Hopes not very high :whistle:
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Well, ten AM has come and gone, the sentech count is at zero, but still no signal this end...
 
Wrote to Sentech about this a couple of weeks back and have not had a response, so today I wrote to the DA's shadow minister for communications. Regardless of what you might think of SABC or eTV's programming, I want to know why the signal has been terminated in Cape Town and when it might be back.

PS: sorry to revive an old post
 
Don't know why you are making such a big deal out of this. It was/is only a test transmission. The commercial launch is only in a few months.
 
Quantum Theory said:
Don't know why you are making such a big deal out of this. It was/is only a test transmission. The commercial launch is only in a few months.
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ja ja, we know :p

@IldePhaedrus: Two weeks ago I have sent an email to sentech with a link to this thread asking what is going on. Still waiting for a response. Hope you have better luck. Keep us updated!
 
dade said:
ja ja, we know :p

@IldePhaedrus: Two weeks ago I have sent an email to sentech with a link to this thread asking what is going on. Still waiting for a response. Hope you have better luck. Keep us updated!
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@Dade,

Marian Shinn wrote back to me yesterday afternoon already (gotta love the DA) and has promised to write to the Sentech CEO and ask what is happening with the CT signal with reference to this thread and another article I sent.

@QT,
It is not really a big deal, but I do have a few reasons for following up on this:
  • I am worried that Sentech might mess with the DVB-T2 standard so that only locally manufactured decoders will work, thereby creating another state sponsored monopoly we don't need.
  • The whole DTT rollout has been delayed so many times, if it launches commercially in December I will fall off my chair. It needs to be pushed otherwise the spectrum will not be available for other applications come 2015
 
@IdlePhaedrus makes some very valid points. It seems QT can still fully receive on ch 38 with really superior equipment while Dade with a "cheap chinese ebay decoder" can't. Neither can I (also with a cheap and cheerful). Are we being stitched up by Sentech? What about the rest of the country? Do we have any idea about what is going on in Gauteng for instance? Are they also still "in test mode"?

The following claims (which read like politico-speak) from the Sentech web site are very interesting:

3. Achievements to Date
The rollout has already been completed in the main centres and will now progress from one province to the next as the SENTECH DTT network grows across the country. By 31 March 2012, SENTECH had achieved the targeted 60% population coverage on the DVB-T2 standard.
(emphasis added)

Cape Town is obviously not considered "a main centre" and not part of the "60% population coverage". In fact, according to the Sentech website Western Cape Province doesn't even feature in the 80% rollout either.

4. Towards 80% Network Rollout
The targeted network rollout for the 2012/13 Financial Year is 80%. At a minimum, provincial rollout will be completed in the Free State, Limpopo, KZN and Mpumalanga.

80% and no Western Cape mentioned?
 
So far my reception is a-ok. My tiny little aerial pointed towards signal hill gets me signal strength of 98% ~ 100%. Listening to 5FM as I'm typing this using dvb-t2
 
@Chubster
Thanks for the info. Guess I'll have to try and upgrade my antenna. STB managed to find one tv and one radio channel yesterday evening but couldn't resolve into a picture or sound. What sort of stb are you using? Chinese cheap and cheerful like Dade and me or fancy connection like Quantum Theory?
 
for the last week or two there are no broadcast on 38 (610Mhz). :cry:
 
IdlePhaedrus said:
one is SABC HD (not getting audio there at the moment).
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Won't actually be too worried about not receiving audio - probably still in the testing phase. The quality is really good for all the source material that was shot in HD, so I hope they keep on doing that right.

I also have a sneaky suspicion that there will be more than one HD channel, considering the one we're receiving is called "SABC HD 1".
 
dj_jyno said:
Won't actually be too worried about not receiving audio - probably still in the testing phase. The quality is really good for all the source material that was shot in HD, so I hope they keep on doing that right.

I also have a sneaky suspicion that there will be more than one HD channel, considering the one we're receiving is called "SABC HD 1".
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Do we know, at this stage, if we can hookup a device for "catchup" recording or will the signal be recording protected.
 
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