BBC Radio 2 top of the hour beeps

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scottishtv
Posts: 764
Joined: Thu 01 Apr, 2004 15.36
Location: Edinburgh

Yup, and this ISN'T the one. It's the Real Radio attempt at putting the 'pips' on their news jungle but not putting enough beeps in. Y'know how really small things can get on your nerves? Well, this is one of them. I wish they'd do it properly! Grrr.

BBC Radio 4 also lets you download the pips as a ringtone for Red Nose Day at this page. There's also an MP3 there too, for your enjoyment.

(Sorry about the poor quality in parts on the first clip).
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Chris
Posts: 845
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 19.03
Location: Surrey

Dr Lobster* wrote:
Jamez wrote:I didn't think R2 used the pips anymore. You're more likely to hear them on BBC Radio 4.
they're not used very consistently, but i definately heard them in the car during the steve wright afternoon show last week, but searching for pips and radio 4 has turned up a few leads - thanks for that!
Steve Wright often uses these pips at the top of the hour after the "all material is copyright" jingle for the 5pm news and subsequent handover to Johnny Walker (or whoever happens to be doing the drivetime slot then).

I don't know whether the pips are recorded - I read somewhere a while back that a presenter is not allowed to use canned pips and has to use the 'live' pips. Is there any truth to this?

The reason I suspect why it is never consistent (at least during the Steve Wright show anyway; I've never heard any other BBC R2 show use the pips) is that in the other hours that Steve is on air, he never seems to go to the top of the hour bang on the dot - always at least a minute or so after (so the 3pm news isn't actually at 3pm; it's more like 3:01:50 or something like that) because of the yakking he usually does plugging stuff for the next hour over that lovely bed that I'm after. :P ;)

On another point, I think they should seriously change the jingle for the non stop oldies.

It always says they are from 2:45 to 3:20 but in all my time of listening to Steve Wright for the past few years, the oldies have NEVER started at 2:45 or even a few minutes after - it is usually at 2:50, or if he's having a really bad day, 2:57, with half the song faded down whilst he yaks over it and plays the associated bed when the song starts to finish. And they're never non stop, as in the sense of non-stop and back to back - probably more stop, read a factoid/play a trail/tell the weather in barcelona etc and start another oldie. And read the letter and some spiel about the person requesting them, several times over.

For a show that (allegedly) has most of its material pre recorded in advance, surely it should be fairly easy to hand over to the news on time? :?

Anyway, I'll get my coat (or should that be anorak?!) ... :lol:
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TVDragon
Posts: 93
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 18.05
Location: local

Chris wrote:I don't know whether the pips are recorded - I read somewhere a while back that a presenter is not allowed to use canned pips and has to use the 'live' pips. Is there any truth to this?

The reason I suspect why it is never consistent (at least during the Steve Wright show anyway; I've never heard any other BBC R2 show use the pips) is that in the other hours that Steve is on air, he never seems to go to the top of the hour bang on the dot - always at least a minute or so after (so the 3pm news isn't actually at 3pm; it's more like 3:01:50 or something like that) because of the yakking he usually does plugging stuff for the next hour over that lovely bed that I'm after. :P ;)
Mo Dutta uses the pips into the 8am news [not sure about 7am] -- and these are always at exactly 8am.

Sarah Kennedy usually crashes into the pips at 7am, which perhaps suggests they're live -- mind you I wouldn't take as accurate anything that results from her.
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marksi
Posts: 1892
Joined: Wed 07 Jan, 2004 05.38
Location: Donaghadee

Technically named, the pips are GTS - Greenwich Time Signal. Though they don't come from Greenwich anymore, they are the BBC's responsibility and are available on most BBC Radio transmission mixers. In fact I can also select it on the BBC TV mixers. How about the pips up to the News at Six some evening?!

If you go to the Science Museum in London (which is well worth a visit for anyone who hasn't been before) you'll see a huge blue cabinet, like something off the Swap Shop set, which generated the GTS in the 60s.

There is tons of anorakky stuff online, so have a search on Google for "Greenwich Time Signal".

http://www.miketodd.net/other/gts.htm is rather informative though, it even tells you about "leap pips".
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Dr Lobster*
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Joined: Sat 30 Aug, 2003 20.14

Is the Steve Wright show really prerecorded?
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marksi
Posts: 1892
Joined: Wed 07 Jan, 2004 05.38
Location: Donaghadee

No it's live, but a large number of the bits and pieces within it are pre-recorded.
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Pete
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Location: Dundee

marksi wrote:Technically named, the pips are GTS - Greenwich Time Signal. Though they don't come from Greenwich anymore, they are the BBC's responsibility and are available on most BBC Radio transmission mixers. In fact I can also select it on the BBC TV mixers. How about the pips up to the News at Six some evening?!
I'd prefer them to be lined up with the titles for the six so the monkey on a typewriter that runs Reporting Scotland can actually hit them properly for once.
"He has to be larger than bacon"
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Jamez
Banned
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Location: Bristol

marksi wrote: How about the pips up to the News at Six some evening?!
How about using the balloon clock again? Fuck all that crap about clocks being "out of time" because of digital compressing, satellites etc., the clock was there as a general guide that the news was starting, and because it was about 10 seconds of silence with just the announcer. Far far far more effective and professional than a dozen pre-recorded motion idents across the regions and nations all starting at different times and very often missing the 18:00/00 cue!

Bring back the clock, Mark. I know you can... ;)
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marksi
Posts: 1892
Joined: Wed 07 Jan, 2004 05.38
Location: Donaghadee

I certainly have the technical ability to bring it back to the screens (indeed the balloon era clock is still sitting in a rack, ticking away as I write this, it's just that it's been removed from the mixers) however the power to override marketing on such decisions is not mine.

The pips are a good example of marketing talking bollocks though - they've not removed the pips from Radio 4 despite DAB and satellite delays, and I'm quite sure that shortwave broadcasts of the World Service have various amounts of delay too. So their argument for clocks not being accurate is not a particularly valid one.
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Bail
Posts: 1142
Joined: Fri 15 Aug, 2003 21.41
Location: UK

Something that I've always wondered, the clock and indeed countdown on News 24, surely must be slightly out due to things but that continues. That almost made me feel sad for the old balloon clock, ticking away with no-one watching, poor thing.
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David
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Location: Newbury, Berkshire
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Everytime I click that link it doesn't work, it says ''Lazy Orange, Page Not Found.'' If anyone can upload it I will be grateful!

I have the real pips http://www.rp-networkservices.com/tvfor ... _beeps.mp3

I think Steve Wright is great, very funny!
Alwight?
David
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