Real Digital
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This article relies too much on references to primary sources. (May 2012) |
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| Headquarters | London, England, United Kingdom |
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Area served
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United Kingdom |
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Key people
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Dmitry Pasechnik (CEO) |
| Products | Direct broadcast satellite |
| Website | www |
Real Digital is the brand name for a digital satellite television and radio service in the United Kingdom which was transmitted from SES S.A.'s Astra satellites located at 28.2° east (Astra 2A/2B/2D/1N) and Eutelsat's 28A satellite at 28.5°E. Real Digital had planned to launch in Ireland.[1] The service ceased transmitting on 31 March 2012 to "undergo essential maintenance work", and promised to return in approximately seven days.[2] On 26 April 2013, David Henry informed The Guardian that the service intended to launch in the autumn.[3]As of January 2015[update], the service has still not launched.
Real Digital's main competitors were Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.[4][5]
Contents
Channels[edit]
Real Digital only offered free-to-air channels which have been available on other platforms for several years. They had intended to offer pay television packages by spring 2012 which would have included Sky Sports 1 and 2 and a high definition version of Blackbelt TV.[5][6] It was also planned that subscription packages were to be available on a month-by-month basis, without a contract or minimum subscription period. Additionally, it was proposed that pay-per-view services would be made available. Support for the BBC iPlayer and ITV Player video on demand services had also been announced.[5][7]
Technical information[edit]
The service made use of the same fleet of satellites as Freesat and Sky, Astra 28.2°E and Eutelsat 28A. This meant that any satellite dish which was positioned to receive these services was capable of receiving Real Digital, with the addition of a suitable receiver. Providing the LNB (low-noise block downconverter) has sufficient outputs, the one dish was able to receive multiple services. For their proposed pay TV offering, Real Digital intended to use a Conax conditional access system.[8]
Real Digital offered two kinds of set-top boxes, one with a single tuner and the other with a dual tuner PVR, which were manufactured by Fortec Star and Digital Stream.[9]
Criticisms[edit]
Launch[edit]
Before launch, the company had missed many promised launch dates.[4][10] The service eventually began broadcasting on 1 October 2011.[11]
Test boxes were received by reviewers and a small number of beta-testers in December 2011.[12] As of April 2014[update] production boxes still have not reached any high street retail stores, despite an agreement being announced with Maplin Electronics,[13] although they had been carried by select specialist online retailers.
Suspension of service[edit]
On 31 March 2012 at midnight, the lease of the transponder on Eutelsat's Eutelsat 28A satellite ran out.[citation needed] The transponder was subsequently cleared, removing the EPG broadcast stream. Real Digital claim to be undergoing essential maintenance work, with the signal going offline for approximately 7 days.[2] The move left the Real Digital beta-testers with nothing more than the DVB-S standard now and next programme information.
As of November 2012[update], the stream has not returned and on 11 April 2012 Real Digital claimed on Facebook that work had halted due to the Easter break.[14] Another Facebook post on 2 May 2012, denied that the service had closed but no further updates would be provided until there was definite news.[15] On 29 May 2012, Real Digital deleted their Facebook page and removed all links to it from their website.
As of April 2014[update], the company is still listed as active by Companies House.[16]
On 5 December 2012 Real Digital submitted a communication to the Competition Appeal Tribunal, in which Real Digital stated that it hoped to have a "soft launch" of a pay TV service in the first quarter of 2013,[17] however this failed to occur. On 26 April 2013, David Henry informed The Guardian that the service intends to launch in the autumn,[3] but this did not happen.
Management[edit]
The company was founded by former Rapture TV boss David Henry and Information TV boss Fred Perkins.[6] On 11 November 2011, David Henry was disqualified from acting as a company director after failing to ensure that one of his former companies paid the appropriate amount of tax.[18] David Henry had been acting as managing director of Real Digital until he was removed from the role on 21 February 2012.[19] As of 14 October 2013, Frederick J. Perkins has become an inactive company director for Real Digital, Wouter V. Ruth is now the only active acting company director and secretary.[20]
As of January 2015[update], the contact address for Real Digital TV given on the Real Digital TV website is the address for Glaisyers Solicitors LLP in St. James Square, Manchester [21]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "This is the real deal". Real Digital. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
- ^ a b "Maintenance". Real Digital. 31 March 2012.
- ^ a b "BT wins right to take Sky Sports price ruling to court of appeal". The Guardian. 26 April 2013.
- ^ a b "Real Digital: The new alternative to Freesat". Pocket-lint. 16 June 2011.
- ^ a b c "Freesat and Sky rival Real Digital set for UK launch". Cable.co.uk. 20 October 2011.
- ^ a b "Real Digital eyes Sky Sports launch offer". Digital Spy. 27 October 2011.
- ^ "Sneak Peak". Real Digital. 12 September 2011.
- ^ "Conax and Real Digital". Real Digital. 30 March 2011.
- ^ "First Production run finished!". Real Digital. 21 November 2011.
- ^ "Competition tribunal to judge on REAL DTH alternative to Sky Sports". Rapid TV News. 27 October 2010.
- ^ "Need to replace my...". Facebook. 24 January 2012.[dead link]
- ^ "Real Digital PVR- £300". What Satellite and Digital TV. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
- ^ "Pre-order now!". Real Digital. August 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ^ "Looks like it's...". Facebook. 11 April 2012.[dead link]
- ^ "The wiki says you...". Facebook. 2 May 2012.[dead link]
- ^ "REAL DIGITAL TV LIMITED 05982572". Companies House. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
- ^ "Ruling (Consequential matters)". Competition Appeal Tribunal. 27 February 2013.
- ^ "Former director of Broadcasting company disqualified over VAT refund". The Insolvency Service. 21 December 2011.
- ^ "Termination of appointment of director". OpenCorporates. 21 February 2012.
- ^ "REAL DIGITAL TV LIMITED". OpenCorporates. 14 October 2013.
- ^ "Companies in M2 6DN, St. James's Square, Manchester". endole. 14 January 2015.
