What about travellers

[Blackbiro]

Does anyone know if bonefide caravaners and nomads will be able to subscribe to Vast services as they tour around.

Heaps more popular channels than Aurora.

[Strada916]

Have a look at Tells you some more about V.A.S.T. (Veiwer Access Satellite Television)

[gordon_s1942]

blackbiro, not only has VAST more channels but from all indications for the future, Aurora will be no more at a yet to be determined date, maybe 2015 but ???
SO, if they dont allow Itinerant Tourists access along with other Wanderers, I would guess the 'Gossip 'Round the Camp Fire' will become the only entertainment available.

[LeroyPatrol]

SO, if they dont allow Itinerant Tourists access along with other Wanderers, I would guess the 'Gossip 'Round the Camp Fire' will become the only entertainment available.

Isn't that what getting away from it all, camping and travelling is about?

Leroy

[viewer]

Look, they can't even get things right for people at a fixed address, let alone a travelling address....don't hold your breath....

[mtv]

It's an interesting argument though.... as Sen Conroy repeatedly states FTA television will be available to ALL Australian, no matter where they are.

I doubt travellers will have access to VAST until all analogue terrestrial transmissions have ceased and quite possibly not until Aurora is close to being turned off as well.

[gordon_s1942]

Both MTV and Viewer have shown that at this time, Travelers are the least of the Govt's concern as getting it to FIXED address's is still a huge can of worms.
Of course if your in a VAST area to start with you can just take your STB and go like many do now with their PAYTV STB.

[satdancer]

Isn't that what getting away from it all, camping and travelling is about?

That's only for real adventurers. The vast bulk of grey nomads take an enormous portable house around with them and expect all the modern conveniences of a normal house like FTA reception with all the usual channels.

[gordon_s1942]

That's only for real adventurers. The vast bulk of grey nomads take an enormous portable house around with them and expect all the modern conveniences of a normal house like FTA reception with all the usual channels.

Basically, WHY NOT??
When you old, grey and decrepite, you've done all the ants,flies and burnt food routine so now its time to enjoy the Great Outdoors in reasonable comfort that we (the Older generation) created for just that reason !!!

[satdancer]

Basically, WHY NOT??

You don't see much of Australia when you stick to the asphalt in a huge mobile house that consumes enormous amounts of non-renewable oil. The impact of the fat lazy motor home generation will be felt by the rest of the human race for long into the future.

[gordon_s1942]

As they say, Tough Titty !!!
I heard a report that all these blown out of proportion Solar panels have reduced the carbon footprint by some almost infetestimal amount like .0001%.
REAL big deal !!!
One of Natures little catyclisms in ONE hour can produce more crap than every Motor Home ever built has produced.
So according to you we should all 'Hump our Bluey along the Rough and Dusty', but dont breathe out as the Carbon Dioxide produced will upset some delicately balanced little microclimate.
I am patienty waiting for some Green Nut to show that OGG and Blogg when they discovered fire was the cause of the demise of the Dinosaur.
We wont worry that the Human Race hadnt yet crawled out of the Primeval ooze when that happened, will we ??
And that 'Fat Lazy Motor Home Generation' is keeping you in a job providing those same services your critisising and remember the reason 'WE' are doing it now is we were too busy having and raising YOUR generation and INVENTING what your using today to be able to do it before.
Maybe we should have 'Tied a Knot in it' and gone and done our own thing when we had the chance !!!
That would have solved the Population problem before it began.

[satdancer]

One of Natures little catyclisms in ONE hour can produce more crap than every Motor Home ever built has produced.
So according to you we should all 'Hump our Bluey along the Rough and Dusty', but dont breathe out as the Carbon Dioxide produced will upset some delicately balanced little microclimate.

The issue isn't carbon dioxide production, it's the depletion of oil. Cataclysms don't burn up our limited resources of oil, but baby boomers with money to burn are unnecessarily wasting oil for silly reasons.
Simple things like cheap plastics and cheap transport won't exist in a hundred years because silly grey nomads decided to burn millions of barrels of oil just to move their houses around Australia.
The old farts also travel well below the speed limit as a mobile road block and refuse to pull over and let others pass.

[AJM]

The old farts also travel well below the speed limit as a mobile road block and refuse to pull over and let others pass.

Maybe you just don't like being held up... would rather get your speed up so you can burn more of your share of oil!

I don't like being behind caravans either but reckon the current shortages in energy relate to people sitting at home in the cities and expecting to have air conditioning.

In 2008-09 our property used 18,000L of diesel providing 10hrs/day of electricity. Then the price of diesel went to almost $2/L. We converted to solar with help from you the tax payer and in 2009-10 we used only 471L of diesel to supplement the solar power and now we have 24hrs/day power (limited to 12kW inverter rather than 40kVA genset).

So we are part of the 0.0001% mentioned above and the Missus is very happy and has agreed to stay home a little longer and to not get the fifth wheeler!

Gratefully,

Old Fart

[viewer]

I bet you got some different answers from us than you expected blackbiro?...we all do go on a bit don't we...lol...were not that bad really.

[Blackbiro]

Didn't I get some responce from my original post. I only wanted to know if us senior citizens- grey nomads aka " old farts" can access Vast when we are mobile around Oz. Dont have enough money for one of them flash motorhomes I have a small caravan and 4x4 only.At the end of day my missus and I like to watch news and stuff ect over a glass of red.I use my UHF radio to talk to others behind me that are wanting to speed by, I pull over to let them go by if the road wide enough and have stopped almost for semi's. 90 to 100km is my highway speed, any higher than that towing a van you'll need to put the Bible on the dashboard.
Thanks to all who contributed, its good to see free speech.

[mysticalchemist]

I'm still interested in the original topic, as we're full time travelers/workers. Has anyone successfully got VAST connected on the road?

We're heading back to Alice in a couple of weeks and I would like to get VAST there, but don't want to buy the box and then find I can't get it activated.

[mtv]

I'm still interested in the original topic, as we're full time travelers/workers. Has anyone successfully got VAST connected on the road?

We're heading back to Alice in a couple of weeks and I would like to get VAST there, but don't want to buy the box and then find I can't get it activated.

As it stands at the moment, the only way you can get a VAST decoder/smartcard activated, is to register the decoder at a fixed installation address within the TV1 map area
Qualifying applicants will be given full access to VAST from 15 December 2010 where there is no terrestrial FTA signal coverage.

You can get access to all ABC & SBS VAST channels without activation, but that access is only temporary and will cease during Jan 2011, without activation, but you can also get all ABC and SBS channels off Optus D1, with any satellite decoder which receives FTA signals, without the need for any smartcard or activation.

I recommend an HD decoder to ensure you receive all the avaliable channels if you decode to go that way.

[gordon_s1942]

I dont know if others have looked at Impaja's Home page recently or what Impaja has there has been posted elsewhere, if so I aplogise but Impaja reads that come the end of 2013, so does their involvement with Aurora as they are 'forecasting' VAST will be up and running by then so BYE-BYE travellers!!!!
I checked SC or C7 but there was nothing on their site that I saw.
I must say this is the most positive statement I have read by a Broadcaster of their intentions regarding the Aurora service if VAST continues ahead as has been proposed.

[tristen]

I dont know if others have looked at Impaja's Home page recently or what Impaja has there has been posted elsewhere, if so I aplogise but Impaja reads that come the end of 2013, so does their involvement with Aurora as they are 'forecasting' VAST will be up and running by then so BYE-BYE travellers!!!!
I checked SC or C7 but there was nothing on their site that I saw.
I must say this is the most positive statement I have read by a Broadcaster of their intentions regarding the Aurora service if VAST continues ahead as has been proposed.

Further to the information cited above, from .

What will happen to the current RABS/Aurora satellite service?

The Aurora service will continue until switchover in 2013. The VAST service will operate side by side. It is expected that Aurora viewers will make the switch to digital by purchasing a VAST set top box (STB). In most instances, a new dish or cabling will not be required.

Can I still watch Imparja and Seven Central on the new satellite service?

Yes, both of these services will be available on the new satellite. Unlike the existing Aurora remote satellite service, the new Government-funded digital satellite service will carry the full suite of free-to-air television channels in all regions of Australia. The new digital television satellite service, known as the Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST) service, will be provided by Eastern Australia Satellite Broadcasters Pty Ltd, which includes Imparja and Southern Cross Media.

The VAST service will provide the same number of channels that are currently available in metropolitan areas: programs from the Seven, Nine and Ten networks and the national broadcasters’ main channels, ABC1 and SBS ONE, along with digital channels ABC2, ABC3, ABCHD, SBS TWO, 7TWO, GO! and ONE HD. A new ABC 24 hour news channel is expected to replace the current ABCHD service later this year.

The VAST service will also provide viewers with access to the local regional news services currently broadcast by the commercial broadcasters in their relevant terrestrial licence areas. These services will be provided through a dedicated news channel. In addition, the news services of the national broadcasters, the ABC and the SBS, will also be provided. ABC news will be provided on a state basis.

Access to the VAST service will be managed by the use of a smart card, which will come with the set-top box. Viewers will need to activate the smart card to receive commercial television services, but the smart card will be pre-activated to receive the national (ABC and SBS) services.

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From my reading, nothing regarding travellers has been spelled out, so it is a "wait and see" situation. I dare say that these people would be low priority in any case, if they have been considered at all at this stage.

I would surmise though, that all authorisations will be handled by the providor of the VAST service and not by individual broadcasters as in the past - and further, that authorisations will be on a case-by-case basis.

We wait ... and see.

[mtv]

VAST was always intended to replace Aurora.
ABC & SBS via VAST, with limited activation available now, to anyone, anywhere in Australia, can be activated beyond the Jan 2011 period by registering the decoder/smartcard.

More info here:

Obtaining activation for the commercial channels is the problem.

It's very early days for VAST and I'm sure in time, access will become available to travellers, but probably not until the analogue switchoff in Australia is complete and Aurora services are about to cease.

By then, there should also be a greater choice of VAST decoders too... sure hope so.