Folks - FYI,
There may be a bit of an issue evolving with regard to Freeview broadcasts and certain reception appuratus. For the past few days, in at least a few parts of the country, Freeview broadcasts in Multiplex D (that includes Film4) have been displaying wrongly on some appuratus but not others.
The problem manifests itself in widescreen programs being shown 'pillar-boxed' on widescreen TVs. People elsewhere on the net have commented, see for example
http://www.avforums.com/forums/dvd-recorders-recording-media/918844-sony-hxd970-aspect-problem-some-channels.html.
In my case, a Sony HDD recorder exhibits the problem, but a Sony TV is OK. Both are less than a year old and under warranty so I've asked Sony to investigate. Judging from the first exchange of emails, they don't seem keen to get involved and just want to blame the broadcaster, but I've asked them to think again. Even if the broadcaster's at fault, its hard to see how Sony can defend the fact that two items from their own stable behave differently.
I did also try to contact "the broadcaster", which was a laugh. The Mux D distribution and transmission is handled by a company named Arqiva but, just like BTw, you can't talk to Arqiva as you're not their customer - you have to talk to the 'Broadcaster' which is daft as there are many broadcasters who share Mux D. I elected to call channel 4 (re Film 4) who, unsurprisingly, didn't seem to understand what I was talking about. While waiting to be connected, their phone menu invited me to apply to appear on 'deal or no deal', but I resisted the urge.
It'll be interesting to see how it all unfolds. Meanwhile, if you're interested in this, it might be worth checking if your TVs and recorders are working properly on Mux D (just check Film 4's OK). If not, it may be worth having a gripe at somebody though I don't really know who.
- SLM
