Freeview readies for main event

Freeview is on track to debut high-definition digital terrestrial television in April, after state-owned enterprise Kordia last week completed a $30 million transmission network that covers New Zealand's 10 biggest cities where three quarters of people live.

Freeview general manager Steve Browning says the free-to-air digital TV consortium expects to set a launch date next week.

"All of the transmitters are turned on now for testing."

Viewers will need a digital terrestrial television (DTT) set-top box and a UHF TV aerial to view the service, but not a satellite dish. About 80 per cent of TV viewers in urban areas already have UHF aerials, which are needed to pick up some channels such as Prime, Mr Browning says.

All DTT broadcasts of TV1, TV2 and TV3 will be in a high-definition format, but programmes will have to be filmed in high-definition and viewers will also need a high-definition television in order to see the difference in picture quality. Mr Browning says the amount of programming filmed in high-definition will be limited at first, but will increase over time.

Other Freeview channels will be broadcast in standard definition.

Freeview allowed only two set-top box manufacturers, Zinwell and Hills, to promote themselves as accredited suppliers when it launched its digital satellite television service last year. This was to ensure some manufacturers supplied the market.

But Mr Browning says Freeview won't offer any "exclusivity" to DTT set-top box makers, given the market for DTT is expected to be larger than for Freeview's satellite service.

A number of manufacturers have submitted set-top boxes to Freeview for testing, but none have been accredited yet.

Mr Browning says that in time there should be plenty of choice of set-top boxes. "Globally there is so much happening in this space that all the manufacturers are extremely busy."

DTT set-top boxes will cost more than the set-top boxes that are used to view Freeview's satellite service, he says.

These were priced at $299 when the satellite service was launched in May, but were retailing before Christmas at $199.

But Mr Browning forecasts DTT set-stop boxes will also drop in price quickly, once suppliers have capitalised on "early adopters".

SATELLITE SERVICE
* Launched May 2007
* Available nationwide
* Set-box costs about $200
* Requires satellite dish
* Standard-definition broadcasts only
* 10 channels, plus TV7 launching next month
* Viewed by 61,000 households

TERRESTRIAL SERVICE
* Launches April 2008
* Available in 10 cities, where 75 per cent of people live
* Requires UHF aerial
* More expensive set-top box
* Same choice of channels with high-definition broadcasts of TV1, TV2 and TV3
* Likely to carry additional channels not available on the satellite service over time
* Expected to be more popular than satellite in urban areas