Guidelines

ADSL based services

ADSL services, such as Homechoice/Tiscali TV, where a wide range of digital TV programmes are sent both as a ‘bouquet’ of services and ‘on demand’ via an ADSL equipped broadband telephone line, have so far only achieved very limited market penetration – when all the programmes to all the viewers are coming from a computer hard-drive ‘server’ it costs the company more money to provide the service to each additional customer.

Telecoms operator BT has introduced a ‘hybrid’ new digital TV service ‘BT Vision’ that overcomes the server capacity problem by offering a digital TV box which makes use of the freeview channels available off-air via an aerial to provide the mass of regular programmes, whilst also offering extra TV and video content that is accessed on-demand over a BT Broadband connection. The box also provides digital TV recorder and ‘pause’ facilities using a hard disk, and links to BT’s ‘Home Hub’ which provides a Wi-Fi router, broadband access point and both internet and DECT mobile phone calls.

Contents