Homechoice was one of the first IPTV providers in the UK (along with Kingston/KCOM) where the entire TV service is delivers via the ADSL enabled phone line.
The main on demand guide, C1 and C2 were presented as linear TV channels but were shortcuts to Homechoice’s on demand content
TV channel genres, similar to the category view on Sky digital, but with video on demand mixed in
The main linear TV channels, up to 6 channels are displayed at a time and can be scrolled through using the CH + and – buttons. Future TV listings can be displayed. Like cable, a Mini TV window is displayed showing the channel that the user is currently tuned to
Main channel navigation banner, you can see what is being shown now and what’s coming up later
Synopsis information, displaying more information about the program
All shows than are going to be broadcast latest for a specific channel
C1 was a dedicated n demand channel that would show trailers for shows that Homechoice was offering. Virgin would adopt the same method with Virgin Central, as a way to entice customers to use the service.
Detailed list of all shows, here the newest shows are listed
This update marks the start of the unification of the Langley and Bromley platforms, as the colour scheme as been changed to match the one used by Bromley CR3. Internally many amendments were made in how the DVB-SI was handled in order for it to behave like the Bromely imersion.vplentation
The channels banner keeps its layout but adopts the new color scheme
Information banner that displays details on the program being broadcast
Setting a reminder for a future event, auto tune can be enabled for when you are settings a recording for a VCR, the box will then automatically change over to the channel
Main guide screen, different genres can be accessed here
This guide still has the classic layout, whilst the Bromley guide uses the grid like layout that is well known today
Pressing text on a channel that does not have an interactive link
Using the subject search feature to find a program
The settings area, which remained unchanged since the previous version
The channel banner that shows now and next information. Also supports transparency, a feature of the C-Cube GPU that was in the early Pace boxes
Future events can be found by navigating through the banner
Reminds can be set for future events, this predates the Sky personal planner which wouldn’t debut until 200. Don’t know why the symbol is upside down?
Viewing information about the show itself
The main home screen that appears when you press TV Guide, looks very similar to the Telewest version
The early EPG that was used on these cable guides was known as at-a-glance, and used a grid style layout to show channel listings
Sorting channels by genre
Pressing the i button gives detailed information about the upcoming show
Reminder notification, not sure if the STB will switch over automatically to the show being broadcast
TV on Demand
This is basically a near VOD service similar to Sky Box Office of the time, as true VOD would not launch until the ntl era, 2005
Main on demand screen with a list off currently showing events
Sample error/information box, on this one a warning is shown when the user is watching a copy protected movie
If the event is already showing a warning messages informing you will appear
Selecting the preferred start time
Updating VOD listings
Preferences
Settings area where favorite channels and preferences can be amended
Display aspect ratio can be changed, along with the scart output (Composite and RGB Scart)
Pin control to restrict TV events and channels
Interactive
A few captures of interactive sites that were available at the time, interactive launched in mid 2000 and was built on the Liberate navigator platform. Initial reception to the service was problematic, with issues bring the service being slow to load and some pages refusing to load likely due to the demands being placed on the server and lack of capacity. Supposedly this was due to the DOCSIS upstream being used to upload data as it was meant to, but the downstream being sent over the broadcast/DVB-C as opposed to DOCSIS, likely a carousel based system like Sky and ONdigital did.
Cable & Wireless planned to have up to 100 websites, with a lot being based on a cut down version to be displayed on a standard definition TV. Many sites can be loaded and accessed using a special URL which loads the homepage that the cable services uses.
Enhanced interactive services were due to be made avaliable later, these used technology developed by TwoWayTV and would have used the full capabilities of the digital services to deliver interactive games and multimedia.
Comparisions
The first generation software was designed and built by Pace, with the operator customizing the end interface of the guide. All follow a very similar design language, which would be replaced by a Liberate HTML based EPG in later revisions for both ntl and Telewest
Telewest Active Digital Guide 1999
ntl CR2 Bromley
Fate
Cable&Wireless home division was acquired by ntl who started merging the network operations with their own digital service. Cable&Wireless customers saw their EPG being rebranded using the ntl design scheme, and would be replaced entirely with ntl CR2. Initially both platforms were ran separately as they differed in return path and SI technology, which made integration difficult. After some time the two platforms would be unified with the Langley CR3 software. After ntl and Telewest merged, the Virgin media guide would be pushed to customers in 2007
BT (and Youview) treated their TV service to a redesign in early 2021, with the main screen being redesigned
The home screen is displayed when the box is switched on from standby, or when the Home button is pressed. On older remotes this will be the Youview button. A search box is displayed at the top
Meanwhiles there a look at the old interface which has now been phased out
Back to the new interface, Pressing down allows you to scroll down the menu. Different sections will be displayed with content being promoted depending on its genre.
The main TV guide interface, not much has changed here
BT’s subscription channels, the program description is displayed on the highlighted show, which can be expanded by pressing the information button
On demand apps menu, not much has changed here
Recoded shows list
Watch list is programs that have been bookmarked for both on demand and live TV channels
Programs that are due to be recorded
Shows promoted and popular shows that are due to start later that day
BT has a limit on how many boxes that can be connected to a single broadband line, depending on the bandwidth and how many boxes are authorized on the account
The subscriptions channels require HDCP to be enabled, due to Hollywood copy protection
The settings area, again not much has been changed here
Pressing the information button brings up the program description
Software information
Errors
When you start the box without an active broadband connection, Freeview will continue to work and will pull TV listings from the DVB data, but you wont see any enhanced thumbnails
Looks like Virgin are planning to pull the plug on the original TV service. Not sure what this will entail since they had already converted most of their SD channels to MPEG4 a couple of years ago, with the exception of BBC One and Channel 4 which remained in MPEG2, possibly for PSB reasons?
Here what’s shows up on a Virgin Media SD cable box (Pace DiTV1000 on UK2 software)
A look at Channel 4 on this box, one of the few channels that display video
Lets check the ntl software
I pulled out the Pace Di4000N running the ntl CR3 Bromley guide which dates from 2003
Horizon (HZN) is Virgins next generation TV platform
Same EPG data
I guess when a channel is off air it gives a link to the interactive services
Sadly no video, I never got round to amending the net id for this box, since it requires an SCART RS232 cable which seem of have disappeared off the face of the earth.
ntl Langely?
Last resort lets check the Pace Di4001N running ntl Langely CR3 software, which had a build date from 2004
Well this is a miracle, seems this box was able to locate and set my local netID
What the home screen looks like with actual video feed
Channel 4 still broadcasts in MPEG2 SD!
As does Birmingham TV (Our local TV station, that play Judge Judy all day)
A list of channels which includes the Tivo software update streams
ITV still remains an radio channel, this is because the video is AVC MPEG4, whilst the audio is MPEG2. No idea why they done this
Conclusion
So what will happen? likely the last few MPEG2 channels will disappear completely, leaving the boxes with nothing to receive. Possibly removing the SD versions entirely since all of their equipment would be HD capable, the exception is BBC1 which still has regional news in SD only. A shame since instead of investing in their playout and transmission network, they would rather invest in diversity (No, Not diversity of thought). Meanwhile if you want local news, your stuck with the SD versions for the future.
Radio channels may stick with MPEG2 Musicam, but could easily go MPEG4
But why bother with music channels now that you have Youtube or Vevo?
Adverts: Music channels do run adverts typically every 15 mins, however these are regulated by Ofcom and typically run at the same volume, a common issue I find with Youtube adverts is the volume isn’t standardized across videos or with other adverts, so when you do get an advert, its generally played out at a higher volume level, which I find infuriating.
I am aware that I could just install an adblock, however use of these is against the terms of service. Also the same can be said for music channels, i.e I could pre-record the program blocks on a PVR and then just skip forward through the adverts
Algorithm – It’s a mess when it comes to music and will often recommend or autoplay another song that has little to do with the previous song, Generally I prefer to listen to music in the same genre at the same time
On that note, why do TikTok compilations keep cropping up when I have never watched a TikTok video?
New music – YouTube rarely recommends me new music, instead it just autoplay’s me previous tracks that I’ve listened to, sometime offering new songs by an artist that I’ve listened to recently, but never a new artist or one that I have never listened to
Google – I want to reduce my reliance on BigTech companies
Copyright – another issue that crops up that people like to ignore, whilst lots of videos are provided by VEVO are generally safe from this, unofficial music video uploads by other users can be pulled anytime, and some may pull the video without offering replacement upload.
Comments – I know I can just ignore them but occasionally you can find the odd good component. However most of the time it’s just some dead meme
Don’t get me wrong, our music channels aren’t perfect, especially in regards to how they handle 4:3 content in a 16:9 broadcast (They zoom in) and the bitrate and resolution they use could be higher, but they still offer benefits compared to online streaming services.
Channels closed in the digital era
VH1 (1994 – 2018)
A long running music channel that launched on Sky analogue in 1993, played contemporary music for adults, with occasionally American programs from the US version
PlayUK (1998 – 2002)
Part of the UKTV network, played both music videos and comedy shows.
MTV2 (1998 – 2010)
Launched as M2 initially, focused on alternative non mainstream pop/rock, Ended up being quite different to tis US counterpart, eventually rebranded to MTV2
MTV Extra (1999 – 2001)
A sibling channel to MTV, which played music whilst regular programming was shown on MTV, replaced by MTV Hits in 2001
VH1 Classic (1999-
Similar to VH1 but played classic music from the 70s – 80s, replaced by MTV Classic (not sure what the difference VH1 to MTV makes?)
Q (2000 – 2012)
An indie focused music channel based in a similar style to its magazine counterpart. Initially used an SMS voting system
Smash Hits (2001-
General pop music channel that also played various genres, also used an SMS voting system during the early years.
MTV Dance (2001 – 2020)
Dance music channel by MTV, rebranded to clubMTV before being closed down for good
Chart Show TV (2002 – 2019)
Pop and chart music channel launched in 2002, initially known for it’s low budget song title graphics, the channel was treated to a rebrand in 2008, one of the well known FTA music channels back when the Bauer/EMAP and MTV channels were encrypted
The Hits (2002 – 2008)
Launched around the same year of Freeview, played the same music as Smash Hits & The Box with the SMS voting system. Replaced by 4Music in 2008
TMF (2002 – 2009)
The free to view version of MTV and MTV Hits, launched on Freeview in 2002 and later on Sky and cable. Shows on MTV would later be broadcast on TMF, alongside music videos, was replaced by VIVA in 2009
ClassicFM TV (2002 -2007)
A unique channel, played the same music as its radio counterpart, mainly remembered for its large and detailed song titles, that listed the composer, record label and artist album
P-Rock (2002 -2003)
A decent rock channel focused on upcoming rock artists, played a lot of Japanese rock projects like the mad capsule markets
Urban and grime focused channel that also played underground HipHop with the occasional US track. Introduced me to the grime genre that was thriving at the time, mostly remember for its low budget videos and its occasional technical faults. Also home of the Boo Crew
A memorable music channel that played through all genres, originally launched in 2003 as a pop/dance channel, in 2006 it changed its identity to cater to an LGB audience, would later revert to a dance channel. Would occasionally play urban themed music videos until the launch of Flava. Relaunched as Dance Nation TV
Played indie and alternative music, replaced by MTV Flux in 2006, apparently due to mobile advertising
The Vault (2003 – 2019)
Sister channel to chart show tv, played older music videos, similar to VH1 classic
Musicians Channel (2004 – 2006)
B4 (2004 – 2008)
Originally a channel that played newly released music, sometimes before its release date, also played alternative and independently released music, replaced by Flava in 2006
Fizz (2005 – 2009)
The pop version of Channel U, worked on a voting system where the viewer could vote for their song, mostly remember for the horrendous sidebar that displayed chat messages alongside the music video. Rebranded to Startz in 2009.
This was supposed to be a music that focused on well known tracks from British artists, however it eventually turned into one of these physic channels before being rebranded and moved to another EPG slot, basically a filler channel for an EPG slot
Flava (2008 – 2017)
Replaced B4, played Hiphop, urban and RnB music.
Bedroom TV (2008)
A unique music channel where viewers would upload their own music videos mimed to actual music, video quality was mostly the same as MySpace video
One of the first IPTV deployments in the UK, and possibly in Europe. here we have a look through the TV service and the Interactive services offered.
The set top box used was a Pace DSL4000, which was powered by Risc OS, with the ANT browser being used to render the KIT interface, and the interactive services.
The channel bar, that bares a resemblance to the ONdigital channel bar, however this one displays the date, and the program title and time remaining
It kinds looks like the Ondigital channel banner
The main TV guide listings, showing current program information
Looking at events in advance
Another look at the channel list, subscription channels are available through the service
Watching a PIN protected program via ON demand, conveniently it also shows how much has been spent this month on content.
Using the On demand interface to fast forward.
Interactive
Interactive was one of the main draws to the service, and Kingston invested heavily into them. The ANT Fresco browser was used to provide the service, which ran under a custom version of RISC OS
Main Portal
The Home screen
The main menu, this screen looks to take you to the main TV guide listings and the VOD listings
Top Picks – seems to be a showcase sort of service here certain programs are highlighted.
The loading screen
Like interactive cable, Kingston offered internet access and an email client built into the set top box.
Back then you could choose and download operator logo’s for your phone, which were downloaded via the GSM network, rather than through the set top box. here you are able to preview them.
Browsing the internet, The Kingston service included the ANT fresco browser
The main interactive portal, this was designed to be a competitor to the Sky active service offered by Sky, and the interactive services offered by cable, who’s interactive sites were written in HTML.
List of all retailer websites supported by the service
E-Commerce, the ability to purchase books and other releated goods
Another view of the interactive menu
Another interactive service, BlueSQ also had a service on Sky
Interactive home menu
Example of a sample advert series, that advertises local business
News service on BBCi, which features news headlines and local bulletins
GCSE Bitesize
BBC Bitesize, an edutainment service by the BBC
Raw Talent
The Trench
Interactive counterpart to the TV program
BBC Sport
Eastenders
EastEnders microsite, contains additional material in relation to the show
Hull Life
A local focused newsletter
Video Nation
A local based service, which provided clips of local residents.
Yes
Yes was the main on demand content provider
My Life in your hands
This was an experimental VOD program that have the user multiple choices on where to progress the story, similar to games like Heavy Rain or Detroit: Become Human, the choices would affect the plot and would result in a different ending.
2002
Interactive portal on a later or revised version, since many functions are now covered here.
ntl launched it’s digital TV service in 2000, shortly before acquiring the Cable & Wireless consumer division. Since the two networks had select differences between the implementation, it took some time before the networks were fully merged. The original network is referred to as ‘Langely’ as that was the location of the main headend and playout centre.
Now & Next
Now and next banner that appear when you change channels
You can bring up the information banner, which shows what’s on now and next, and allows you to browse through the channels on ntl digital
TV Guide Listings
Pressing Guide bring up this menu, this gives two options. The regular channel guide and the On Demand (NVOD) guide
The guide layout is quite different here compared to the grid view that other systems like Sky Digital use. Here you select a channel from a list which will then show a page full of listings.
Pressing info brings up a description of the program or episode
TV On Demand
Front row was the services used to provide PPV events for cable customers, similar to Sky Box Office
A list of movies and events to order
Purchasing a movie,
Help Information
Appears when the set top box is in the process of starting up
Updated Build
A revised update now adds a reminder diary feature, that allows reminders to be set for future program’s – similar to the Sky personal planner
Telewest launched it’s Active Digital TV service in 1999 and was built on the same foundation that Cable & Wireless used for their digital TV service.
These screenshots were originally hosted on Digitalspy and were captured by a forum member, but the links to them were broken in an update, and were no longer directly accessible. From the looks of it they were captured using the RF output, so they are not indicative of the quality available at the time.
Startup Screen
Now & Next bar, very similar in practice to Sky Digital
The main home screen
At-A-Glance
The main TV Guide, called ‘At-A-Glance’, this shows TV listings for the next three days
Pressing i calls up a description of the program
TV-On-Demand
This isn’t true video on demand, at this point only NVOD was supported. the customer selects a convenient time slot showing to view the movie or event
Different categories
Programs-By-Subject
This I imagine is similar to the A-Z listings on Sky, where you can view programmes by their genre. Useful for discovering new or similar programs.
Settings
Main settings area
You can set the reminder notification warning before the program starts. Its worth noting that cable had implemented this before Sky Digital,
Here you can change from RGB to Composite, and set the box to output widescreen or standard. Letterbox options are also available.
Interactive
The early implementation of interactive was done in a separate Liberate browser, that had to be loaded separately. this meant that red button functionality was not yet possible in this build, since the Liberate environment was not yet running full time.
The main interactive menu, very similar to the ntl interactive portal
List of all entertainment interactive services, which are customised websites that are designed for use on an embedded set-top-box.
Interactive is delivered using the internal broadband cable modem built into the set top box, a phoneline is not required and the service is always on
Nearly all of the content and service are built using HTML3, which makes it easy to develop and host service, although there are some differences and restrictions comparted to a desktop class website.
A navigation bar can be used to browse around the service, and to exit back to the tv channel you were watching
An email service was built into the service, and was tied into the blueyonder email service.
The DiTV 1000 was one of the first digital cable boxes released in the UK, and one of the first DVB-C box’s with a built in DOCSIS cable modem.
The DITV1000 was also used by Telewest, where it was branded as the Di1000T, however the internals should be the same, although there may be differences in the memory configuration
DiTV 1000 Front
Two card slots are present, with the smartcard slot visible behind the front cover flap. Front panel buttons can be used to change channel, move and navigate the on screen cursor and access various different menus.
DiTV 1000 Rear
Power – Mains input
RF Output: Outputs a modulated RF signal to a TV
RF Input: In from antenna
Audio Output: Outputs audio to a HiFi system, useful for radio
Scart Ports: Supports compostie and RGB, and VCR passthrough
IR Remote In/Out: To connect external IR blaster devices, Not officially used but is power enabled
Ethernet Port: Originally used to provide broadband services to a computer using the internal DOCSIS modem, redundant as cable modems are now preferred.
Serial Port: Labelled as RS232, Not Officially used
Pararell Port: Labelled is IEEE1284, Not Officially used
Internals of the DITV 1000, note the various amount of processors in this box, no wonder it runs hot.
It kind of reminds me of the Sega Saturn, which itself had 8 processors for various different tasks. Remember this box has to function as a high end STB and a cable mode, and still has to remain the size of a typical VCR.
Note the lack of a fan, since these box’s run hot they would have benefitted greatly from an additional fan to extract the heat generated by the components. Whilst this would have increased the cost of the stb slightly, the increase in reliability would have paid for itself in time, remember ntl had to pay installers to come out and replace the box once it had failed, and then had to be sent back to Pace in order to be diagnosed and repaired. Also customers are generally poor at maintaining AV equipment, with many putting the boxes in Tv cabinets and stands with closed doors, often on top of a VCR or DVD player that already generates heat. It’s no secret that heat is the main reason electronic components die early, and this was before the days of thermal throttling.
View of the memory and flash chips, with the memory module. Interesting to note the two flash banks, one labelled C&W Flash and the other as Download, wonder if these store two separate images? One for main use and the other for backup?
View of the bottom right side, showing part of the PSU
The main set of processors, from top left working down
Hitachi SuperH/SH3 Processor – Central Processing Unit
Another view of the main processors
DiTV1000 Front Panel
Update Process
So looking into the update process for the Ditv1000 I came to a plausible theory, When pace had written the initial loader for the stb, they neglected to include a function to check for a firmware update on boot up, which the later boxes did support and do. Typically when you boot up a cable box, it checks the default frequency for a valid netID and if there are any updates available for that stb, and the loader application for the ditv1000 may not have done that.
Since the loader is present on some sort of ROM medium and its likely Pace had already manufactured the software on the ROM chips themselves, they did not want to write off these chips since it would be a considerable expense, instead they included a workaround in the software loaded in flash, where once the operator had released a new update, a signal flag would be sent out within the transport stream, of which the software would then corrupt itself in an extent that the loader would fail to boot (possibly by failing a checksum) and would then trigger the download process.
To force an update on the Ditv1000, Hold the power button upon powering on the box from the mains power, release the power button when OHAY appears on the screen. then press
Update Process, this is displayed after you enter the key sequence
Diag Screens
To access, hold the Up/Down front panel buttons together after powering the box from the mains, release once DIAG appears on the front panel.
Default Frequency settings
Hardware version information and the loaded software information
Software versions for various components
Date & Time Information
That’s a lot of credit
The bootloader status
Memory information for both RAM and Flash memory
Status and a list of logs and events
Signal information for the DVB tuner
Downstream signal information for the cable modem
Information for the DVB Signal Information that is currently being received
Cable modem upstream
Front LCD Display
There are three light’s to the right o the LCD display which indicate the following:
The top light indicates power is being received by the stb
The middle light indicated the return path status of the modem, this light should be steady which indicates it is connected, flashing means the modem is attempting to connect – also means interactive services are unavailable until the stb connects.
The bottom light is for the remote control, and light up when a command has been received
Message
Meaning
PACE
Appears when the stb is powered on
—-
Liberate middleware is initialising, normal part of boot up
LAIT
Wait, The stb is preparing to update
OHAY
Appears when you hold the power button down upon boot, stb waiting for a front panel command
ERAS
Erasing flash
FLAS
Flashing memory, part of the update process
GOOD
Checksum passed, last part of the update process
ERRX
Error code, where X means the error number
DigDebug
DigDebug can be used to test various aspects of the hardware and can be triggered by connecting an RS232 extender cable to the box, and booting whilst DigDebug is active. Whilst connected, PL:03 is displayed on the front LED display.
Additional tests can be completed for the various pools of DRAM used for the CPU/Decoder/Demodulator and a test pattern can be displayed.
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