Freeview looking for greater uptake with built-in tuners

The economic downturn has started to put the dampeners on the uptake of Freeview, but general manager Steve Browning hopes the free-to-air digital service will be given fresh legs by the arrival in New Zealand of a new generation of televisions that have built-in Freeview digital tuners.

Sony Bravia lcd televisions will go on sale next month, priced from $1900, removing the need for customers to buy a separate set-top box – costing upwards of $400 – to view Freeview's high-definition digital terrestrial television service, Freeview HD. This can be reached by the 75 per cent of people who live in New Zealand's largest cities.

Freeview is due to release updated figures on uptake in about two weeks.

At the beginning of March about 100,000 households had the equipment needed to view either Freeview HD or its standard- definition satellite service, which is available nationwide.

"The economic downturn is effecting luxury goods across every category. We are doing 'all right', but you have got to accept this year is going to be a bit tougher – I think it will be for anyone trying to sell anything that is considered a luxury," Mr Browning says.

"I am hoping the Olympics is going to give us a bit of a spurt, and that is why Sony have got this product to market."

TVNZ will be broadcasting the Games round the clock in high- definition on a dedicated channel on Freeview HD.

Mr Browning expects two more manufacturers will begin selling TVs with integrated digital tuners later this year and says they will soon be a standard feature. The development is "massively important" for Freeview, he says.

"In all the markets in the world that have had digital terrestrial television for a few years, the take- up has swung to being more driven by integrated digital TVs than stand-alone receivers."

No one in Australia will buy a new television if it doesn't have a digital tuner built in, he says. "Last time I was in Harvey Norman in Sydney, I couldn't find one."

The televisions could take some of the heat out of the "battle of the boxes" between Freeview and Sky Television, because they would allow viewers to subscribe to Sky and view all Freeview's channels without having to juggle two set- top boxes or make a choice between them.

"You can also, with the touch of one button, flick from digital to analogue, so people buying these new integrated televisions don't need to think, 'I can't get Prime' if they are in analogue coverage."

Mr Browning says there is little danger that integrated tuners will need replacing before the TVs they are built into, because Freeview opted to use the latest Mpeg4 standard for digital broadcasts. The software used by Sony's new televisions and others that will be accredited by Freeview can be updated over the air, using signals that can be embedded in television broadcasts.