OK this is from Canada but I see no reason to believe that local TV in the USA is significantly different. In any case this is an example of what local TV could be like in the UK.

The London Mozart Players will be in Exeter cathedral on 14th June. This blog will link to any video suggested. If they do some busking before the 7.30 start, maybe it could be loaded up from a camera phone.

in today's print version of the Western Morning News I cannot find any letters in response to the editorial on allegedly trashy local TV in the USA. On another visit to Life Bytes on Sidwell Street opposite the Odeon I discover that Jo Gedrych did send a letter for publication by email. He has allowed me to quote this in full for the blog. So if the spiders find the YouTube video as well there may be further comment.

I saw your piece in the opinions page yesterday following the report of the Tories belated endorsement of 'ultra-local' TV.
This policy statement is a somewhat half hearted and very late endorsement of the very real fact that in the UK the established broadcast media only half heartedly, if at all, reflect local events. Here in the South West if you disregard the news broadcasts, effectively 45 minutes a day, there is only one hour of local programming per week across 80 channels. Digital television and broadband offer an affordable opportunity to establish local tv and radio at a very local level. There are already many local tv channels in the UK - some on satellite, some on the old analog network and some on digital freeview and cable. To assume that all this is televised trash is to denigrate the efforts of local broadcasters to serve the needs of their area. Surely, given the amount of US made television we already consume, it is time to dump this outmoded idea that volume equals low quality? Your editorial demonstrates an unjustified sense of British superiority and a total lack of knowledge about what is going on in local broadcasting across the globe. I would ask you your question - have you watched any of it?

Time to wise up and look around.

Jo Gedrych
director, the Exeter Television Company.

The Western Morning News has a report about Conservative plans for local TV.

The editorial claims that local TV in the USA is "trashy" so such an option would not be welcome in the UK. I discussed this with Jo Gedrych of Exeter TV, based at Life Bytes on Sidwell Street. He has lived in the USA and studied local TV there. He wonders about the basis for the editorial view and points out that there are already several examples of local TV in the UK, an aspect not mentioned in the editorial.

I have put a very short video on YouTube as a hook for more comment and maybe some examples of local content.

I have done a new video of the route from the cathedral to Princesshay. Just before reaching the Apple store. So no unapproved use of the logo. But linking to other sources through YouTube seems ok to me. The loop now works even though the quality is variable. Second Life seems much the most polished, and there is a soundtrack.



Through the wonder of World TV, each bit can be replaced. The basis is a route round from Princesshay to the Castle, to the Phoenix, to the Cathedral then back to the Apple store. Two sites as content, two as technology. More or less. The question for dsiscussion is what changes are possible through technology and is there a business model? Interviews can be added in later. Put something on YouTube if you like, it could be added in.

There is now a sequence of video from central Exeter as part of a loop for Rougemont Global Broadcasting. This covers a route from Princesshay to the Castle, to the Phoenix, to the cathedral and back to the Apple shop in Princesshay. Eventually the sequence could include interviews about the use of technology in media. Unfortunately it wss not possible to get permission to video either in the Apple shop or the ice rink . However others have posted on YouTube so there can be links. I did a very short one of some Second Life at the Phoenix. There is also Second Life of another Apple shop. The future could include quite alot from SL or mash-ups with real backgrounds for SL characters. It really is very unlikely to get permission for video if requested. But it seems to be that something turns up later anyway.

Jeff Jarvis has conjured up a vision of coffee culture in the future, writing about how companies use blogs to get ideas, for example Starbucks-

"Use the power of media and wireless new media in particular to foster a sense of conversation about the arts, current events, etc," one customer proposed. An enthused commenter responded: "Great conversation will also renew the image of Starbucks as being not only a coffee community but also a global community where humanist ideas and great artists, writers, comedians etc could also attract a lot of people and turn Starbucks into a cultural, humanist hub!"

Well, there are a couple of Starbucks in Exeter but lots of other coffee sites as well. As shopping moves online the high street may turn out to be mostly about eating and drinking and meeting in real space. wifiExeter is less about Exeter also as there is quite a lot in the blog about other places.

Maybe future posts will try to cross over actual Exeter and online links to wherever. Second Life is one route to this but as the City Council do not support Flash yet the bandwidth concerns are real.

Tom has left a comment so here it is as a quote in case you missed it.

I am actually writing this comment from the libary in Exeter. A free (3meg ish) hotspot, and if you need mains power it's a quid a day.

I just find it's easier to come here than to give my notebook a shroud of grease in Macdonalds... In fact, I've never seen anyone use their computer in there...!

I might try Starbucks soon, I'm a T-Mobile customer so I think that makes it free?

The big advantage at the libary is the mains power though...

Oh, and when I'm out of all hotspots I have the HSDPA modem in my phone - the complete wireless solution!

Anyway, try the libary - just a thought..

Fair comment, good to hear it. I am a bit conflicted as I am often based at Life Bytes on Sidwell Street. Web access is the only local industry where the council competes. Apart from DVD hire I suppose. Maybe the time for internet cafes is coming to an end. Still I do hear that librarians cannot offer much support for disaster recovery in various forms and it has been known for the difficult enquiries to be sent along Sidwell Street.

Meanwhile on Queen Street



Apparently BT have arranged for a free coffee voucher if you buy some time online. This makes very little sense. Would you get some free toast with the Western Morning News? I think free wifi is the future.



Meanwhile at the university library wifi is all over the place. The journals seem to have vanished to make way for some comfortable seating and casual locations for mobile devices. The journals are still available upstairs on the shelves but they have lost their place as a feature on the way in. News now comes through Google Scholar presumably.

This post is for both animX and WifiExeter. I am still getting used to the events of last week, the outstanding Second Life events and the video on YouTube from Prados Azules. i think this means that bandwidth is ok. There are enough people in Exeter and Bristol or at least somewhere online for this sort of thing to be viable. So other forms of files such as work with hard copy should be ok. A lttle slow maybe if TIFF-IT is still required but definitely possible.

Meanwhile Google have launched a service around Sites for collaboration. seems a little too controlled for public use but the elements of Docs and video can be widely available. I have an account for Internet Express so have started a page at InXpress/landofGoogle or something like it. Actual url is too long to remember so best to bookmark this page.

In the USA things move forward. Wifi is to be free in Starbucks for some of the time anyway. This follows the big Mac decision.

Why did it take so long. You don't pay for a free newspaper while you drink coffee. Charging for wifi is nonsense. Some hotels still don't understand this but a Starbucks is never far away.

Except that plans for UK wifi are not yet announced.

Meanwhile in Exeter LifeBytes on Sidwell Street still seems fairly busy. There is still a need for professional support and large screens. Mobile devices are not yet combining portability and function.

Bristol Wireless are hosting a day on Open Source in Feb. Open Source is part of the wireless debate as it is another aspect of easy access.

There is also a graphics meeting coming up in Poland. this includes some animation but covers requirements for print - page layout, illustration, photography. Poland is a way off but the web links can be followed.

Guy Kewney has a theory about wifi as a benefit in the struggle for coffee identity.

Maybe free wifi would switch people from Starbucks to MacDonalds. No sign of this yet in Exeter but worth following.

I have done a story for MyNews India ahead of BETT about the suggestion UK parents have to sort out the broadband gap to help the children get educated. Maybe there is a point to this but it is also the result of a failure of the government to do much about the UK situation as a whole.

There is also a Talk topic at the Guardian.

It is a business problem, not just educational. There is a competitiveness minister who has some interest in this amongst many other duties. Google finds not much, but there is something on YouTube.



My own impression is that claims about UK "leadership" in broadband have not much connection with reality. OECD numbers for broadband subscribers per 100 population show the UK just outside the top ten. More disturbing is that the number for fibre subscribers is zero, so there is a limit on future forms of content.

However, the recognition for the contribution of the Web for education is welcome. Presumably this includes direct access to the Web with none of the limitations sometimes found in schools.

As far as I can tell, comments on YouTube have been disabled for this video so further comment is welcome here.

Davos Question, the answer is "Act Local"

Jeff Jarvis has started to relate to the Davos blog again. This sort of thing could use up quite a lot of energy. The BBC World Service has started to invite more podcast contributions from the listeners as part of "the new world of open news". More likely could be some form of local conversation in real time, even on a small scale.

so the answer to the question "what to do next" is probably "Act Local". There will be enough thinking globally on other blogs to link to.

Specific point is what to make of Exeter TV. If not now, when? The UK bandwidth seems adequate for something fairly soon.

Found some video on the This is Exeter site for the icerink.

Reasonable mention for the Express and Echo as it happens.

Maybe Exeter tV will get some access to the castle at some point in the future

No word yet from the Express and Echo on videoing the icerink. Still, the cathedral has an interesting tree at the moment so here are a couple of pictures. Also a very short video with twinkling lights.

Of course Exeter TV would do a much better job with their proper camera. The word is that editing the Sidmouth tape from last summer is taking much longer than expected. Maybe something will turn up before next August. In which case this is a reasonable priority for the long winter evenings.



Slightly larger sizes of the photos are on Flickr
tree and tree with sign

No news yet on permission to video the Ice Rink. Not to worry. Maybe there will be something on the Express and Echo website that can be linked to.

Meanwhile some embedded YouTube-

River Skating at Gilman Park in Exeter, NH. Some folks were kind enough to clear off a nice spot. There is no purer ice in the world

marty5309



Perhaps the Exe will freeze this winter. Let us hope not. Online representation of life is good enough.

The Amazon Kindle could be a prop for some conversation. This is roughly the right size using enlarged screen shots. Comment indicated there is still support for actual books.

But something like a Kindle will be part of future scope.

The idea of doing some video interviews is postponed for a while. Spoke to a couple of people today but they did not want to be recorded.

Sample comment that I can remember.

There is too much chat show type programs on TV because it is so cheap to produce.

Yes, well all the more reason to work out an online equivalent.

TV is still needed as a delivery mechanism. Web ok for developing content.

To be expanded.

On the way home I passed by the BT phonebox in the bus and coach station. At one time this was part of wifi Exeter. Perhaps it still works but there never seems to be anyone prepared to pay BT prices to logon within range.




Oh dear. A phonebox advertising DVD for television, not a service from BT. There must still be a need for this sort of thing whatever is said about online.

I have done some rough videos of a route around central Exeter. Outline is vague but could clarify soon. Second Life experiments continue through the Phoenix so a model of Exeter would be possible. Design seems to favour long corridors and twisty staircases so I have tried for a similar look. An online chat show need not be in one place or time but a local loop offers some coherence. Maybe. Either it will all be edited at some point or else people will have to find the bits that are interesting from various sources.

Technology could be available at any point but roughly the castle and cathedral are seen as locations and the Phoenix and Apple Store are seen as production resources. I have caused slight offence at Life Bytes by describing the Odeon end of Sidwell Street as "the outer limits". Actually the production resources at the back of Life Bytes are more than enough for what is needed, even if Adobe for Windows is just a standard. The loop around the high street is for purposes of presentation. An iPhone or big screen DVD player are just more interesting at this time than web access anywhere.

What is the chat about? This will become clear later. To include what an Exeter TV would be like.

There is a current problem in getting permission to photograph. Apple have close control on their image. So permission to video inside or just outside the store will wait on some further definition in the script. Also the Express and Echo have full rights on the Ice Rink. Possibly there could be a link to something online. Current page has one photo.

So, starting from somewhere in Princesshay



From the Castle to the Phoenix having found your own way to the Gardens



From Gandy Street to the Cathedral (ask in the Phoenix how to get to Gandy Street)



Later there will be a video of how to get to the Apple Store. Meanwhile here is an approved photo from an Apple Store. The upstairs in Exeter looks similar but may not be the location for the photo.

The Apple Store has opened, roughly where the camera shop used to be. Strangely it has a webpage headed "Princesshay" - not "Exeter". As if Princesshay is now a different location. I find this rather worrying. The "clone high street" idea makes a lot of sense to describe what is going on. A standard for southern England has been loaded into the stamp tool. The idea that Exeter is a county town somewhere in Devon sounds very out of time. Still, I think the Apple Shop is a great benefit. Let us hope it lasts longer than Gateway did.

Upstairs there is a training and repair section with a display about wifi. Not sure if this works when you just turn up with something. The training is over a year with up to an hour a week of one to one. So the idea seems to be that most of the time the screen support is good enough.