From an archival standpoint, this five-year window is unique because it represents:
Three major events drove the boom:
For example, a DVB capture of Good Morning Britain from 2019 includes the local news split at 6:55 AM—a feature no streaming service preserves.
The earliest part of this era—2016 to 2018—is considered the "Wild West" of DVB recording.
In early 2016, ITV’s main PSB1 multiplex (managed by Digital 3&4 Ltd) still relied on legacy DVB‑ER parameters inherited from the 2010 DSO (Digital Switchover). SD services — including the main ITV1 channel in many regions — used 64‑QAM modulation with a 5/6 FEC (Forward Error Correction) code rate.
This combination maximised payload (≈24 Mbps per mux) but left little margin for error. Engineers privately called it “the edge of the cliff.”