Let’s talk about BBC

[slowmotion]

While we do pay it, the thuggish behaviour of the collection agents Capita makes me want not to. They have no shame and harass estates of dead relatives ("no, no one at that address is watching TV because they died, same as we told you a few weeks ago. The for-sale board is still up. How about you butt out until it's sold? Oh, it's cheaper not to check and to keep demanding the executors fill out your forms?" Scum.)

I was in my office for thirty years. I got an average of four or five letters a year from the TV licensing people. They started as quite polite but became more and more threatening. I didn't have a TV there and I would have been quite prepared to tell them that if they had the common decency to enclose a pre-paid envelope. They didn't, so I never communicated with them for three decades. For all I know, they are still sending nasty letters to my old mailbox.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I was in my office for thirty years. I got an average of four or five letters a year from the TV licensing people. They started as quite polite but became more and more threatening. I didn't have a TV there and I would have been quite prepared to tell them that if they had the common decency to enclose a pre-paid envelope. They didn't, so I never communicated with them for three decades. For all I know, they are still sending nasty letters to my old mailbox.

You rebel....

 

[Salty seadog]

One thing that really annoys me recently is radio 4's ability to hold a decent 'phone line' when speaking to outside contributors. They presumably use Internet based communications and so many of them have to be stopped because of the quality of the line.

Are they not embarrassed by this seeing as communication and broadcasting is what they do.

 

[newfhouse]

outside contributors

This is a clue, I think. The broadcasters have little or no control over the quality or stability of external internet connections. Interviews conducted over landline or even circuit switched calls on mobiles have a somewhat retro sound quality these days.

 

[Fab Foodie]

One thing that really annoys me recently is radio 4's ability to hold a decent 'phone line' when speaking to outside contributors. They presumably use Internet based communications and so many of them have to be stopped because of the quality of the line.

Are they not embarrassed by this seeing as communication and broadcasting is what they do.

It's called progress....

 

[Salty seadog]

This is a clue, I think. The broadcasters have little or no control over the quality or stability of external internet connections. Interviews conducted over landline or even circuit switched calls on mobiles have a somewhat retro sound quality these days.

This is a recent problem in the last few years. I'd rather listen to a retro sounding stable line that to have half of the attempts stopped because of a shonky line.

 

[newfhouse]

This is a recent problem in the last few years. I'd rather listen to a retro sounding stable line that to have half of the attempts stopped because of a shonky line.

I understand this. I think the problem is that the days of giving studio engineers sufficient time to test and assess feed quality are long gone. If the app indicates usable bandwidth they’re put on air.

 

[Salty seadog]

I understand this. I think the problem is that the days of giving studio engineers sufficient time to test and assess feed quality are long gone. If the app indicates usable bandwidth they’re put on air.

Maybe they could learn from that then as it just frustrates listeners and presenters alike.

The failure rate of the line is astonishing.
I don't know if you listed but every day I listen to the today program, world at one and PM.

 

[newfhouse]

Maybe they could learn from that then as it just frustrates listeners and presenters alike.

The failure rate of the line is astonishing.
I don't know if you listed but every day I listen to the today program, world at one and PM.

I think we agree, mostly, but even in the olden days mobile phone quality could be iffy. And who has a landline, at least with a working phone plugged in, in 2022?

Maybe the studio should set up a phone call at the same time to allow a relatively seamless fall back if the internet call is disrupted. I’ll write to Barry Took to suggest it.

 

[Beebo]

One thing that really annoys me recently is radio 4's ability to hold a decent 'phone line' when speaking to outside contributors. They presumably use Internet based communications and so many of them have to be stopped because of the quality of the line.

Are they not embarrassed by this seeing as communication and broadcasting is what they do.

LBC have the same problem.
Everyone is on a mobile phone or internet call. The quality is just not there.

 

[mjr]

I understand this. I think the problem is that the days of giving studio engineers sufficient time to test and assess feed quality are long gone. If the app indicates usable bandwidth they’re put on air.

The last generation of hardware deployed by the BBC seems a bit brittle, too, from my view as an occasional radio troll transport cycling interviewee. I'm less likely to be cut off doing the interview from home on the landline than with even their Outside Broadcast mic from the cycleway within sight of their uplink studio. They nearly always pre-record any items from the Old Town now because the current OB kit doesn't reliably reach their edge-of-town studio.

I doubt any of the technical shortcomings are going to improve with more cost-cutting. I half expect to be doing stuff by "voice notes" on some app soon.

 

[matticus]

Maybe they could learn from that then as it just frustrates listeners and presenters alike.

The failure rate of the line is astonishing.
I don't know if you listed but every day I listen to the today program, world at one and PM.

I agree; they should realise the tech is flakey and work round it.

And who has a landline, at least with a working phone plugged in, in 2022?

I work in a not-modern, but not-archaic building. We have internet - AND landlines. It's amazing!
The landline are some sort of VOIP. So yes, if our main internet feed dies we lose comms - booooo. But this has happened about once in 6(?) years, for a couple of hours. And phone calls are rock-solid; whereas Teams calls (voice or video) to colleagues elsewhere are highly unpredictable.

Go into most high street businesses: there will be a landline still up-and-running somewhere. Probably being used daily.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I agree; they should realise the tech is flakey and work round it.



I work in a not-modern, but not-archaic building. We have internet - AND landlines. It's amazing!
The landline are some sort of VOIP. So yes, if our main internet feed dies we lose comms - booooo. But this has happened about once in 6(?) years, for a couple of hours. And phone calls are rock-solid; whereas Teams calls (voice or video) to colleagues elsewhere are highly unpredictable.

Go into most high street businesses: there will be a landline still up-and-running somewhere. Probably being used daily.

Those reliable land-lines you speak of...they'll never catch-on....

 

[newfhouse]

The landline are some sort of VOIP.

So not really a landline then in the normal PSTN sense of the word, just another desktop device that works over an IP network.

 

[matticus]

So not really a landline then in the normal PSTN sense of the word, just another desktop device that works over an IP network.

Yes of course: but much more reliable than mobiles; which is the point being discussed, I think?
(and presumably most users - including interviewees - avoid them for the same reason i.e. they can't use them while driving, or the pub, or read snapchat ... )