UK to start adding HD Freeview programming next year

The majority of the news about digital television (DTV) here at Afterdawn seems to revolve around the upcoming transition in the US. While that's understandable given our large American audience, we could learn a thing or two from how the UK is handling a similar, if infinitely more organized, shift from analog to digital signals. Just this week regulators at Ofcom confirmed that high definition channels will become available over Freeview in some areas starting next year. By the time the transition is complete (in 2012) the HD channels should be available across the entire UK.

In order to take advantage of the new content viewers will need a HD capable set-top box, and of course they'll need a HDTV as well. If you're in the UK and considering the purchase of a new HDTV you may even be able to find one with an integrated HD tuner to avoid the additional cost of a separate receiver.

For those who don't want to wait for free terrestrial HD there's a new satellite service called Freesat that launched earlier this week. It already includes BBC HD, and will be adding ITV HD when it launches. Standard definition Freesat receivers are priced from �49 (plus any installation fees), whie prices for HD receivers currently start at at �150. Eventually a �120 HD receiver is expected.

Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 8 May 2008 9:57

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9 comments

DXR88

Quote:While that's understandable given our large American audienceOh pick on the americans huh, your just mad thats all.
if you dont like it GTFO

hehe...

8.5.2008 10:44 #1

simpsim1

I love americans but I couldn't eat a whole one at one sitting lmao!

8.5.2008 16:57 #2

nobrainer

offcom has announced that there will only ever be 4 full HD channels aired by freeview because thats all the bandwidth can support! This is "bound" to get ppl to convert, oh and btw you need new equipment YET AGAIN that supports the MPAA's Orwellian, anti-consumer locks, HDMI HDCP DRM. And then when the broadcast flag is pushed on us in the UK we get to purchase our equipment all over again because NO current equipment supports this MPAA DRM.

Ofcom confirms Freeview will get HD next year

Originally posted by link: The service will allow UK users to receive up to four HD channels through a regular television aerial. One slot has been reserved for the BBC, and Ofcom is currently judging applications from other broadcasters, including ITV and Channel 4.

In addition to buying an HD TV, Freeview HD viewers will have to buy a new set-top box in order to receive the service when it comes to their region.

The BPI Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.
The IFPI Are: The same anti consumer lot as listed above!
The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX.

8.5.2008 17:13 #3

plazma247

I think this is really going to depend on the content of the channels, for one if i was to just get a HD feed of BBC1 im not going to be that interested, one of them really should be a film channel possibly a flavour of E4, im guessing as freeview is ran and controlled now by the BBC since the fall of ITV Digitial many years back that they have awarded themself at least TWO of the availble FOUR .. but we will have 2 see.

OK joe average who has a SD Telly and SD Decoder and he/she isnt going to be bothered about upgrading till the old one breaks..

MR HD who probably has a upscaling DVD player and/or PS3/XBOX and a HD TV already to game with, is only going to need a HD Compatible freeview box, a few already are and they are not the earth.

And finally mr im using media center and a DVB Card for decode are proably not going to have to change a thing as most decoder cards being sold are the same ones across the world and due to this are mostly going 2 support HD already.

When it comes to the restrictions of HDMI etc, well if you are just watching the picture who cares that HDMI is restricting you from copying it.. your right it should be there in the first place, but since a DVB card and a PC means you can just rip the MPEG directly who gives a flying F�$K, there has and always be a way to beat the broadcast flags... its a pointless waste of human resources, time and money tying to lock it down as history has always shown.. and to quote a few words, nessesity is the mother of all invention... personally after the lengthy fiasco with the Iplayer platform being locked down to microsoft and then unclocked to all platforms using flash.. HOW MUCH MONEY was wasted creating a platform that pretty pointless from day one and then a second system was made to compliment its failings at further cost... i realise we all have to learn from our mistakes but if there is anyone out there that is listening, dont bother dont waste everyones money on it when it going to be about as much use as chocolate tea pots...

10.5.2008 13:25 #4

DXR88

Originally posted by plazma247: I think this is really going to depend on the content of the channels, for one if i was to just get a HD feed of BBC1 im not going to be that interested, one of them really should be a film channel possibly a flavour of E4, im guessing as freeview is ran and controlled now by the BBC since the fall of ITV Digitial many years back that they have awarded themself at least TWO of the availble FOUR .. but we will have 2 see.

OK joe average who has a SD Telly and SD Decoder and he/she isnt going to be bothered about upgrading till the old one breaks..

MR HD who probably has a upscaling DVD player and/or PS3/XBOX and a HD TV already to game with, is only going to need a HD Compatible freeview box, a few already are and they are not the earth.

And finally mr im using media center and a DVB Card for decode are proably not going to have to change a thing as most decoder cards being sold are the same ones across the world and due to this are mostly going 2 support HD already.

When it comes to the restrictions of HDMI etc, well if you are just watching the picture who cares that HDMI is restricting you from copying it.. your right it should be there in the first place, but since a DVB card and a PC means you can just rip the MPEG directly who gives a flying F�$K, there has and always be a way to beat the broadcast flags... its a pointless waste of human resources, time and money tying to lock it down as history has always shown.. and to quote a few words, nessesity is the mother of all invention... personally after the lengthy fiasco with the Iplayer platform being locked down to microsoft and then unclocked to all platforms using flash.. HOW MUCH MONEY was wasted creating a platform that pretty pointless from day one and then a second system was made to compliment its failings at further cost... i realise we all have to learn from our mistakes but if there is anyone out there that is listening, dont bother dont waste everyones money on it when it going to be about as much use as chocolate tea pots...
true but there so called chocolate tea pots, are what keeps me busy.
if they didn't make chocolate tea pots, that would crush one of the biggest culture's ever, the teh H4X02. that would in turn ruin progress. see we look for holes in software & hardware. if we didn't we would all still be using windos 3.1 or Windows 9x or there would be
no Linux and corperations would charge you for for nothing.

A world without Linux what a shame. don't think we cant destroy some measly encoding or a pathetic flag. after so long its become a game with cooperation to see who can out due who. in the end the haxor's will always win. the only deference is we cant throw the corperation in jail for bing so stupid.

instead they could be helping children like in the top right corner, with that money they have to burn.

10.5.2008 19:46 #5

nobrainer

@ DXR88

the uk freeview which is the national TV service, can only support a MAXIMUM of 4 HD channels, MAX, compared to the current 30+ that are recieved.

the digital switch over is being touted as something great but in reality, what has happened to DAB is about to happen to digital TV, where you get a couple of selected channels of good quality, then the rest suffer because of having to use lower quality than is currently in use to enable more stations, all because the government want to sell of the radio spectrum to the private sector that was created with public funds.

The digital switch over sucks, HD is going to suck in the UK, why purchase a HD screen when mostly all the content will be still broadcast in 640 or below resolution?

11.5.2008 04:09 #6

plazma247

hey its not all that bad nobrainer, it will only have 4 until the digitial switch over as currently there is only a tiny bit of frequency space avaible for the new HD channels.

However once analogue gets the turn off, some of the bandwidth will be reused to greatly expand the current digitial frequency space which takes up far far less space than analogue per channel, then the remaining frequency space from analogue will get sold off/reused by goverment etc...

To be honest i liked googles plan in america of making it a public domain frequency space and to be used to make a complete wireless mesh network... but that would just make far 2 much sense and not enough money for those who hold the strings...

11.5.2008 08:31 #7

creaky

Have a look into Freesat, that seems a much better alternative to Freeview, not least where HD is concerned

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11.5.2008 08:45 #8

plazma247

Creaky, isnt that just a sky HD box running with a free to air card ?

And i belive currently they ony have 2 free hd channels, which i assume will become 2 of the 4 freeview hd channels.

OK this will give you hd free to air now but in 12 months when freeview hd starts surley the cost of the:

Free to air card, Dish, HD Sat Decoder and dish installations going to out weigh the cost of using the existing freeview antenna and just gettig a freeview hd box.

11.5.2008 10:04 #9

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