Freeview HD to debut in December
New set-top box for Xmas...
The first BBC HD broadcasts on Freeview will start in December, it has been confirmed.
Manchester and Liverpool will be the first cities to get Freeview HD, said Graham Plumb, Head of Distribution Technology at BBC Operations. This will happen on 2 December, when the free HD signal will be switched on at the Winter Hill transmitter.
Freeview HD will eventually be rolled out across the entire length and breadth of the UK, but the timescale for this remains hazy.
Plumb added that although London isn't scheduled to switch over from analogue to digital until 2012, plans to upgrade the Crystal Palace transmitter for Freeview HD have been inked for December this year.
Freeview HD will use the MPEG 4 codec - standard-definition Freeview uses MPEG 2 - to encode content, which will be transmitted using the DVB-T2 digital broadcasting system. To watch the BBC's Freeview HD programming, viewers will need new set-top boxes.
A further “four main transmitters” will also be upgraded during the first half of next year, Plumb said, but the BBC is keeping transmitter names and exact upgrade dates close to its chest until “plans are a bit firmer”. ®
COMMENTS
RE: Oh no....
Correct, very few, if any, current "HD" TV sets will be able to display HD. But don't expect any TV salepersons to know, or mention, this little problem.
Freeview HD TVs?
Any news of LCD TVs with integrated Freeview HD receivers in the pipeline? I hope there will be some available in time for December.
I look forward to the day when HD broadcasting is standard. But then how long did it take for widescreen to become the norm!
Oh no....
So does this mean that all those people out there today buying a shiny new HD TV with the brilliant benefit of built in Freeview, are effectively buying already obsolete hardware?
Despite have Freeview built in, you STILL need another box?
What was the point of the switchover
We were the told the reason for going through the hassle of the digital switchover was to free up bandwidth for additional services. We've had the pain of being one of the first to be switched over. I say switched over. We didn't have ANY digital services until the day they turned off the analogue. Nothing.
But hey, at least we'll be first to get all the new stuff, won't we. Oh no. We don't get half the new digital stations, they are turning off some of the ones we get now (we've only had them for 11 days) and now we find out Winterhill (which has not yet switched) will get the new stuff before we do.
So can someone please explain what the fuck the point was of of being forced to be first when they clearly weren't ready? Oh yeah, I live in a small rural area so no-one gives a shit. I forgot.
Re: HD DVB-T on my PC?
Thanks PhilR and Quirkafleeg - I hadn't appreciated the difference of DVB-T2. Must read more carefully (since I am always complaining that Reg journo's don't any more !)
