It is a crying shame that so many motorists have the technology, but nobody has an obligation to provide the service as intended. I've just spent good money updating maps, figuring that the Traffic aspect would make it worth paying good money for, only to learn that it doesn't.

In theory (a half-baked idea), it sounds like there could be a market for a product not far altered from my BT/FM Transmitter, which I find so useful for hands-free. The device would need to be fed a traffic stream (from a phone app) via BT, and then FM Transfer to the Head. It would however, tie you to having the Head tuned to an FM channel that might be less satisfying than regular FM broadcasts, unless you could organise bursts of data transfer, perhaps when alerted to there being queued data.

4 minutes ago, HUD Engineer said:

It is a crying shame that so many motorists have the technology, but nobody has an obligation to provide the service as intended. I've just spent good money updating maps, figuring that the Traffic aspect would make it worth paying good money for, only to learn that it doesn't.

In theory (a half-baked idea), it sounds like there could be a market for a product not far altered from my BT/FM Transmitter, which I find so useful for hands-free. The device would need to be fed a traffic stream (from a phone app) via BT, and then FM Transfer to the Head. It would however, tie you to having the Head tuned to an FM channel that might be less satisfying than regular FM broadcasts, unless you could organise bursts of data transfer, perhaps when alerted to there being queued data.

The industry found a way to make us have to pay subscriptions?

No such thing as a free lunch?

I drove in Germany two years ago while on holiday and must admit their TMC is probably the best in whole Europe. While using factory fitted sat nav with latest maps in Mondeo 2015 at this time it route divertion from traffic on autobhan better than google, where google pushed into the middle of traffic ,factory sat nav with TMC provided much better route and allows to bypass whole traffic (no connection to online services). I never had that accurate situation in UK while TMC was still on, but was better to have something than nothing. Looks like Waze time and android auto.

Or last out to connected services in your next car. You get the firmware updates without paying for connected services. They come free. Radio logos can get updated after a firmware update so Im told. But to save waiting you can use MartiniBs links. Satnav updates come over the air if you pay or use the links. Just leaves traffic reports which is subscription via connected services to the head. I'd probably cough up and do incremental updates on the rest where I found they were not being done.

Android Automotive has that market place to add a new dimension of subscription services for where you need to subscribe. Listening to streamed services on the move I reckon is problematic but some do.

I suppose that one advantage of the closure of TMC is you don't get "your route is changing" as you turn into Lidl. Always Lidl.😂

I got Kodiaq 2017 and trully happy that is not connected to manufacturer server 24/7, not going to cry for lack of TMC, there is always solution 😅. But was funny when I drove last weekend and see huge traffic on the way to Cornwall, was wondering why is that, now I know 😂

You need a co-driver.... well Cornwall you'd get sent down some silly roads where you co-driver navigator comes with devices on the lap switching between them. Google has farm tracks on their maps which is ridiculous and you can't get them to remove them either. If their car passes a potholed route that's good enough for them, even if its shown as not a through road and the tarmac finishes. Their concept of off road. UK we dont show off road... we hope.

I see fantasy Waze maps on production live maps. User input you get fantasy maps. A proper mapping company validates user input. In Googles case their own staff enter rubbish.

Edited 12 hours ago12 hr by Tell

On a related note, I - among others I suspect - urged the BBC not to stop the Red Button (old CEEFAX teletext ) service, when they announced they were planning to axe it. I find it a good way to browse a well honed precis of the news, while some less absorbing news story is airing. I pointed out that pretty much every TV in the land has the hardware to receive it, only the BBC still uses it, and while I know it doesn't appeal to them as a news service, because they can't actually monitor usage easily, and it doesn't get likes, I pointed out that part of their name and modus operandi is Broadcast.

In the case of RDS Traffic, nobody seems to have a duty to supply the service, but there are still a lot of would-be users, thwarted for want of a service that was due to run for another 4 years.

That said, as purchasers and users of cars with TMS provided, does someone - car manufacturers, government, have a duty to supply a service that was there when we bought our cars, and which was scheduled to be available unto 2030?

Edited 4 hours ago4 hr by HUD Engineer
Afterthought

As far I'm aware none of the car manufacturers advertising TMC as part of navigation system when you add it to your car while placing order, instead they offer free trial of online services which are paid after free trial period.

2 hours ago, HUD Engineer said:

On a related note, I - among others I suspect - urged the BBC not to stop the Red Button (old CEEFAX teletext ) service, when they announced they were planning to axe it. I find it a good way to browse a well honed precis of the news, while some less absorbing news story is airing. I pointed out that pretty much every TV in the land has the hardware to receive it, only the BBC still uses it, and while I know it doesn't appeal to them as a news service, because they can't actually monitor usage easily, and it doesn't get likes, I pointed out that part of their name and modus operandi is Broadcast.

In the case of RDS Traffic, nobody seems to have a duty to supply the service, but there are still a lot of would-be users, thwarted for want of a service that was due to run for another 4 years.

That said, as purchasers and users of cars with TMS provided, does someone - car manufacturers, government, have a duty to supply a service that was there when we bought our cars, and which was scheduled to be available unto 2030?

I did build a teletext decoder in the middle 1970s. It was an electronic magazine project. Had a turning wheel to produce 100, 101 etc. TTL or something integrated circuits to get your N gates or whatever they were called. A lot of soldering.

I did get a trip to the Ceefax HQ in Whitecity. The person who use to sit opposite me was the wife of an esteemed in BBC circles an editor, lead guy. The job was to take the long form text of BBC News and convert it into those pages. Think because I'd built that decoder I was privileged enough to go up one Saturday morning, pass security, suspect not so much in those days to be picked up at the door and be taken upstairs to Ceefax HQ. Old Television Centre, Whitecity. I still got it, in the garage racking. The chap you see on searches as the cherished lead of Ceefax at the time. Not so sure of the wife. She was a statistician.

Prior job was as a research officer at a university evaluationing BTs telecoms long range forecasting department in Cambridge. That was their hub of planning investment in new telecoms. I gave the chatter to the BT inspection people when they came here after we got full fibre in. In those days they had an experimental fibre link to Martlesham. Prestel was BTs dial up answer to Ceefax but two way. Digital exchanges were coming in. System X.

The long range people had put out assorted evaluations of face to face verses teleconferencing....

Now everybody is at it. Ah the good old days.

The research department also had their two pennies worth on investment in the British integrated chip industry. Processors were a glint on people's eyes. Pass on what was recommended. Academia had government's ear in those days, so interested parties in business talked the the academics, they talked to government and things were lubricated.

Anyhow to answer your question Vag operates with a 5 year planning horizon so after they stop making that model / unit things start to drop off support. Web pages are deleted pretty fast. POI import for mib2 via Vag pages went exactly at 5 years give or take. We dont say this too loudly incase they do the numbers. So best not to highlight this stuff.