The History of HD Freeview

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Initially with only two channels (BBC HD and ITV1 HD), HD Freeview was technically launch on 2nd December 2009. The signal was first transmitted from Crystal Palace and Winter Hill in Lancashire and works on multiplex BBC B (aka Multiplex B or PSB3). As of 2nd December 2009 this is the case in regions that switched-over on or after this date, with the HD Freeview service coming to all regions in the UK by the end of 2012.

It was expected that Channel 4 HD would be available at the launch date but due to several problems this has been delayed. The fourth HD Freeview channel is "S4C HD" which is expected to begin transmitting in March 2010 throughout Wales, in areas where Channel 4 HD will not launch. And finally, "Five HD" will launch at some point during 2010, while a fifth HD channel (or technically 6 if you cound Channel 4 HD and S4C HD seperately) may be able to launch at some point during 2013.

Freeview HD is unique as it is the first operational TV service in the world using the DVB-T2 standard. As discussed in the FAQ section of this site, this will require the purchase of a new compatible HD Freeview Box or other equipment. It it hoped that HD Freeview set-top boxes and HD Freeview TV's will be available at the consumer launch of the service which will take place in early 2010. For a HD Freeview Box (or other receiver) to qualify for the official "Freeview HD logo", all receivers will need to be IPTV-capable and display Freeview branding which will include the logo on the programme guide screen.

Back on the 10th February 2009, it was announced that the HD signal will be encoded with MPEG-4 AVC High Profile Level 4, which supports up to 1080i30/1080p30, which unfortunately means that 1080p50 cannot be used.

One big plus point is that the HD Freeview system has been designed to allow regional variations in the broadcast schedule (as with normal TV channles). The HD Freeview services will be statistically multiplexed – which means thatthe bandwidth is dynamically distributed across channels, depending on how complex the image is – with the aim being to maintain a consistent quality, rather than a having to use a fixed bit rate. The video for each channel can range from 3Mb/s up to around 17Mb/s. In terms of the sound, Dolby Digital audio will be digitally transmitted at 320Kb/s for 5.1 surround, with stereo audio at around 128Kb/s. The audio description will takes up around 64Kb/s and if subtitles are required these will use 200Kb/s and the data stream.

Finally any interactive applications such as menu's, games etc will atke up just 50Kb/s.