The Night Mail

[AndyID]

1 hour ago, Winslow Boy said:

 

It's not the 'hills' that worry me, but the 'valleys'. Some of them can be quite treacherous you know.

 

Ah yes,

"Rudy Vallée shall be exalted........"

[SM42]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

If you buy a Samsung like ours it will have a USB port but you won’t need it. Ours had the Amazon Prime Video app (and many others) already installed.  I assume you aren’t buying a small portable device which may not have app capability. Our Samsung is a couple of years old and new streaming channels have appeared, and can be downloaded. I am sure LG will be similar.   The TV does have wireless capability to connect to our router but I have it connected by an Ethernet cable and we get no buffering at all even when streaming UHD programmes. 
Tony

 

I miss the days when you just plugged the coax in the back and maybe the video / DVD with the scart cable.

 

Andy

[woodenhead]

Having spent many years admiring my lovely large crown on my head, I accepted that one day said crown would grow to inhabit most of my it , but I realised this evening, my eyebrows are also receding.

 

As a youngster I had a monobrow that required regular attention, now it looks like the English Channel with one brow France and the other Dover (thankfully not the white cliffs ...yet).

 

Oh woe is me, for I am the aged and I need help.

[SM42]

I gave up on a full head of hair at 17. 

 

Andy

[zarniwhoop]

2 hours ago, coastalview said:

The Samsung which at the time bought had a number of apps including iPlayer hasn't had any smart functionality working for ages as from memory they only updated the software on the TV for 5ish years. Its very similar to the model for updates to a mobile phone.

An article on Monday on the short timescales for updates [https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/16/smart_device_software_support/?td=rt-3a]

[J. S. Bach]

Night Owl from the Piedmont.

[polybear]

8 hours ago, Tony_S said:

If you buy a Samsung like ours it will have a USB port but you won’t need it. Ours had the Amazon Prime Video app (and many others) already installed.  I assume you aren’t buying a small portable device which may not have app capability. Our Samsung is a couple of years old and new streaming channels have appeared, and can be downloaded. I am sure LG will be similar.   The TV does have wireless capability to connect to our router but I have it connected by an Ethernet cable and we get no buffering at all even when streaming UHD programmes. 
Tony

 

LG has Amazon Prime in-built - and a certain Bear had already purchased a Fire Stick several months earlier (it was on offer) in readiness for the new Telly.  Turdycurses,

I'm currently running the telly over wifi for Amazon Prime (the Router is only 12ft away, in direct line of sight) and have noticed no buffering problems; the TV in the Conservatory was affected at times though - that's a lot further away from the Router with a brick wall in between as well.  Not sure if the new faster B/band will fix that issue - but now the Lounge is finished I'm very rarely in the Conservatory for TV anyway.

 

10 hours ago, br2975 said:

.

The train ride starts just after 9:00am - and includes complimentary rum punch.

.

Sadly, the passenger shown over indulged and by 10:30am her speech was incomprehensible, save for the four-letter exclamation as she descended the stairs to the facilities.

.

Her male companion was far too busy helping her along to notice me capturing his limp 'rag doll' for posterity.

.

 

 

Either she "has a problem" or is heading that way if she's that p1ssed by 10-30am

 

6 hours ago, zarniwhoop said:

An article on Monday on the short timescales for updates [https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/16/smart_device_software_support/?td=rt-3a]

 

It's time the Gov legislated for 10 years minimum updates.

[jamie92208]

Andy, @SM42, some friends of ours have theirs mounted at ground level on thevpation without any problem.  It's just having line of sight at the right angle that needs checking.  As always it's the angle of tge dangle that's important.

 

Jamie

 

 

[SM42]

8 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

Andy, @SM42, some friends of ours have theirs mounted at ground level on thevpation without any problem.  It's just having line of sight at the right angle that needs checking.  As always it's the angle of tge dangle that's important.

 

Jamie

 

 

 

We don't have any garden to put it in, otherwise that would be ideal with a very good view of the southern sky 

 

The small balcony is an option but it would get in the way and other factors may come into play. 

 

Getting a bracket to do the job is also an issue as I can't work out in my head how to go about it. 

 

Next I need to drill through the wall for the cable and the wall is around 50cm deep. 

 

It needs a bit more thought. 

 

Andy

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, SM42 said:

It needs a bit more thought. 

I have thought about it and if you want to be able to receive BBC or BBC regional stuff you may not be able to . The Astra 2 satellite that transmits such signals is a spot beam aimed at the UK and Ireland. It does cover quite a chunk of France , Belgium and the Netherlands though. Other Astra 2 satellites do cover Central Europe but have limited British origin signals. So before drilling holes you may want to look at some satellite footprint maps to see if the channels you want are on any satellites you can get signals from. The footprint maps often assume a  60cm dish. Is the one you intend to take that size or one of the smaller mini dishes often used for Sky  systems?

Edited January 17, 2023 by Tony_S

[Oldddudders]

Sherry had done the St Kitts trip a decade ago with her now-ex, and thought it one of the best bits of their Caribbean cruise - which she otherwise has no desire to repeat - and she did enjoy passing a school where smartly-uniformed kids all waved at the train. She confirms the cocktails flowed freely. And if she showed that much cleavage, you would see a narrow red line from throat to bra, but after 11 weeks it hath faded wonderfully and is as neat as can be.

 

Modern surgical techniques are astonishing. The orthopod who had resurfaced Sherry's right hip in 2005 had married a theatre nurse, who gave him tips on which methods to use to minimise scarring etc. A big, if rather understated man, he took her advice on board, changed technique and never looked back. Pillow talk can be all sorts of things! 

 

Sherry bought an LG tv a few months ago, is still grappling with the complicated remote, which has lots of tiny buttons, but is otherwise delighted. Although I no longer have any input signals chez moi, I do have a 2004 43" tv which would work if I asked it. It weighs about 40kg, cost well over £3k new, and smart it obviously isn't. One tenth of that will buy you something much more useful in a similar size these days - weighing a few pounds. Tech does evolve. 

[SM42]

2 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I have thought about it and if you want to be able to receive BBC or BBC regional stuff you may not be able to . The Astra 2 satellite that transmits such signals is a spot beam aimed at the UK and Ireland. It does cover quite a chunk of France , Belgium and the Netherlands though. Other Astra 2 satellites do cover Central Europe but have limited British origin signals. So before drilling holes you may want to look at some satellite footprint maps to see if the channels you want are on any satellites you can get signals from. The footprint maps often assume a  60cm dish. Is the one you intend to take that size or one of the smaller mini dishes often used for Sky  systems?

 

I had considered this, which I why waving the dish in the general direction before I do anything else is the first step. 

 

This method worked to get Polish TV here. 

 

As before, satellite finder has given me a clue, so I can set up temporarily towards the right part of the sky. 

 

It's all a bit of an experiment really with little cost other than time and effort. 

If it doesn't work then so be it.

 

The Polish channels are from the Hotbird constellation. 

 

One has to be very careful about searching for that on the web. 

 

Andy

Edited January 17, 2023 by SM42

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, SM42 said:

The Polish channels are from the Hotbird constellation. 

 

One has to be very careful about searching for that on the web. 

 

Andy

 

 

Are we back i to Big Boy territory there Andy.

 

Jamie

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, SM42 said:

all a bit of an experiment really with little cost other than time and effort. 

If it doesn't work then so be it.

 

The Polish channels are from the Hotbird constellation. 

You should be able to get BBC World news channel “free to air” from the Hotbird satellite in Poland. BBC1 HD is also broadcast via Hotbird but unless the online information is wrong it is encrypted.  
Tony

[Tony_S]

2 hours ago, SM42 said:

This method worked to get Polish TV here.

If you have access to Hotbird in the UK for the polish channels if you a channel scan here you should be able to if you can see BBC1 or BBC World News as channel choices. That is assuming the satellite receiver lets you do a full channel scan not just some dedicated Polish or UK set. 
Our TV has the channel data for loads of satellites.  It is just tuned into the Astra group that most of the UK TV programmes are broadcast on. I think it needs a position tweak as it is missing a few channels, all on one particular Astra satellite. If my brother visits he can bring his satellite finder. He enjoys fiddling with aerials. 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Tony_S

[polybear]

2 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

And if she showed that much cleavage, you would see a narrow red line from throat to bra, but after 11 weeks it hath faded wonderfully and is as neat as can be.

 

Modern surgical techniques are astonishing. The orthopod who had resurfaced Sherry's right hip in 2005 had married a theatre nurse, who gave him tips on which methods to use to minimise scarring etc. 

 

Bio Oil works wonders on scars and is often recommended by Medical Staff once initial healing has taken place.

 

 

[SM42]

We've given up the Polsh TV subscription  as we got so that we rarely used it and it was £3 ( yes 3)  per month we saved. 

 

I'm not sure my experiment will be a success, but all it has cost is a bit of luggage space in the car.

 

All the kit I have for free. 

At worst it can come back and be plumbed in as a back up system. 

 

To be honest we are lucky to get any satellite signal here being perched on the North side of a hill. 

 

We just get line of sight over the top of the hill without needing to go too far up the house. 

 

The Polish dish was aimed between the phone mast and a tree by the simple method of one person watching TV while the other move the dish around in roughly the right spot before final fixing. 

 

Oddly, the sky dish didn't work there and was eventually moved to the wall nearer the hill where it did. 

 

This did mean though that we didn't need to drill any holes for the Polish dish. Just bolt it on and adjust.

 

Andy

[Tony_S]

10 minutes ago, SM42 said:

All the kit I have for free. 

At worst it can come back and be plumbed in as a back up system. 

 

To be honest we are lucky to get any satellite signal here being perched on the North side of a hill. 

 

My brother has a loft full of communication stuff that could be used as backup systems. Unlike me, he will have it all neatly stacked  and described on a list.  When he was initially a radio amateur all his equipment was either homemade or military surplus. conversions. All of that has now been replaced by a tiny Japanese transceiver. He hasn’t thrown anything away I suspect though. 

[Tony_S]

30 minutes ago, SM42 said:

Polsh TV subscription

We still have a couple of the Polish films on ITunes Matthew bought to watch when he came home from university. We had to watch them without subtitles. I don’t know how much they helped him prepare for doing research with Polish people in Cork though. One film was about a nun who found out she was Jewish and the other was about the Warsaw uprising. 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Tony_S

[SM42]

I normally end up watching English language films with the same voice dubbing all the parts into Polish. 

 

You might just catch a bit of a sentence however, I have learnt some choice vocab this way. 

 

Luckily at the cinema, they tend to have Polish subtitles rather than dubbing

 

Andy

Edited January 17, 2023 by SM42

[Compound2632]

10 minutes ago, SM42 said:

Luckily at the cinema, they tend to have Polish subtitles rather than dubbing

 

We saw Roman Polanski's 1962 debut film Nóż w wodzie at a Polish film festival in Cambridge, without subtitles. This was shortly after we were married; when we were engaged my wife had been teaching English in a language teachers' training college in Poland, so she had some Polish while I had "traveller's Polish" - enough for restaurants, hotels, and station booking offices. The only Polish I remember from the film is the line daj mi krokodylem. 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Compound2632

[SM42]

11 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

The only Polish I remember from the film is the line daj mi krokodylem. 

 

I dread to think what on earth was going on, but obviously whoever uttered that line had decided to take up modelling Swiss railways and was writing their Christmas pressie list.

 

Andy

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, SM42 said:

normally end up watching English language films with the same voice dubbing all the parts into Polish. 

It must have been over 30 years ago as we had a satellite dish on our previous house. Aditi was doing an Institute of Linguists course and she needed to listen to German news broadcasts and some entertainment. In those days any US or British films/programmes were dubbed quite badly. It seemed like one male voice and one female voice were used for all the parts. I remember watching Der Blob starring Steve McQueen. Even I could cope with that German dialogue. Star Trek was fun too. There were very serious cultural programmes on the 3Sat. I wonder if they are still showing the same documentaries! Aditi didn’t continue with studying German after we moved here. If she speaks German in German speaking countries people assume she is French. 

[Compound2632]

4 hours ago, SM42 said:

I dread to think what on earth was going on, but obviously whoever uttered that line had decided to take up modelling Swiss railways and was writing their Christmas pressie list.

 

 

[Embedded links]

[Dave Hunt]

23 hours ago, coastalview said:

We have Samsung (12 years old) and Sony (seven years old) TVs.

 

Both of them use external sources for the "app" functionality. The Samsung used Google Chromecast and now a Sky Q mini box and the Sony a Sky Q box. One of the problems I have found with the embeded apps on the actual "smart" TV is that over the years they stop working due to the TV manufacturers not updating the software/firmware on the TV. This means that the app can no longer connect to the host service such as Prime. or Netflix.

 

The Samsung which at the time bought had a number of apps including iPlayer hasn't had any smart functionality working for ages as from memory they only updated the software on the TV for 5ish years. Its very similar to the model for updates to a mobile phone.

 

That's why I was intending to use a USB port to connect via the broadband hub, which I suppose would get around the need for apps to be updated all the time; or is there something I've missed? 

 

Dave