Freeview (Australia)
File:Freeview (Australia).svg | |
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Digital television |
Founded | 2008 |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Australia |
Key people | Robin Parkes - CEO |
Number of employees | Unknown |
Website | www.freeview.com.au |
Freeview is the brand given to the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia. It is intended to bring all of the free-to-air (FTA) broadcasters on to a consistent marketing platform to compete against PayTV, in particular Foxtel, and coincides with the expansion to 3 digital channels for each FTA network. Freeview will emphasise its members' 15 free over-the-air channels, will produce an enhanced electronic program guide (EPG) - and will also certify televisions, set-top boxes and personal video recorders (PVR) which meet their requirements.
The Freeview brand was launched in November 2008 with teaser commercials promising 15 channels in 2009. The first new "Freeview" channel started on 26 March 2009 with Network Ten's One sports channel. Further advertising began on 26 April 2009, with the first Freeview certified devices appearing in retailers from May 2009.
Freeview has been criticised as being ambiguous and light on details, with criticism that certification is more about restricting devices than enabling them.[1] Network Ten's simulcast of One in both high- and standard-definition is criticised by some as a single channel, without content unique to each. Its introduction also meant Network Ten's non-sports programming is no longer broadcast in high-definition.[2] Freeview certification will include at least two phases, with the phase 1 Freeview devices not required to feature the MHEG-5 technology Freeview intends to use to support its electronic program guide.[3]
Launch
The brand was launched on 24 November 2008 at 6:29 p.m. through the use of a 60-second advertisement shown on all networks, in a roadblock.[4]
The proper service was launched in 2009 along with a number of Freeview badged set-top boxes and integrated digital televisions.[5] At least four manufacturers intend to release Phase 1 Freeview devices which do not support MHEG-5.[6]
Ownership
The non-profit Freeview organisation comprises the free-to-air licencees; Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Special Broadcasting Service, Seven Network, Nine Network, Network Ten, WIN Corporation, Prime Media Group and Southern Cross Broadcasting.[7]
An ABC release stated these groups are shareholders of Freeview,[8] though a company search revealed all shares are owned by the Nine Network.[9]
Freeview certification requirements
Part of the Freeview initiative is to certify set-top boxes as capable of receiving free-to-air digital television broadcasts (both standard and high definition). Although certification requirements have not been formally released, Phase 1 Freeview devices will be high-definition, and capable of more advanced video encoding (MPEG-4). Recorders will not be able to skip over ads, and must enforce digital rights management.
Phase 2 requires Freeview devices to feature the MHEG-5 technology, which Freeview intends to use to support its electronic program guide and its future enhancements.
The Freeview advertising for their 15-channel platform and certified products, combined with the Australian government's commercials warning of the closure of analog TV transmissions, is intended to help consumers buy appropriate devices.
Freeview has threatened PVR manufacturers such as DViCO with legal action if they include the Freeview (UK) logo (which looks very similar to the Freeview Australia logo) on their Australian packaging.[10]
Sony Computer Entertainment Australia added Freeview compatibilty to the PlayStation 3's PlayTV digital television tuner in October 2009 with the 1.21 firmware update. The update disabled ad-skipping, reduced fast forward and rewind speed to 30x and removed the ability to copy recordings to other devices. Unlike other Freeview-endorsed devices, these restrictions can be easily bypassed on the PlayStation 3.[11]
High-definition
To obtain Freeview certification, devices must include at least one high-definition digital tuner.
Note: In April 2009, it was not known whether displays needed to meet high-definition standards.
Video Decoding
Freeview devices must be capable of receiving and decoding H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, a far less data hungry standard than current MPEG-2.[12] The standard allows higher quality transmissions or more television channels in future, and Freeview has said that the television networks will not broadcast with this codec until the majority of the population has a device that can receive it.
The federal government has not approved any change in television broadcasting standards,[13] and Australian broadcasters have not announced a timetable for switching to MPEG-4 broadcasting.
Digital video recorder restrictions
Freeview devices can not skip an ad block - they can skip 10 minute blocks, and fast forward and rewind at 30x speeds
Hard drive-based recorders must offer a minimum of 160 GB internal storage, with Digital Rights Management applied to recordings copied off the device. Restrictions must also be in place to ensure recordings can not be accessed if the hard drive is removed from the recorder.
Enhanced EPG (MHEG-5) - phase 2
Freeview Phase 2 certified devices will use a new electronic programming guide (EPG).
Phase 1 Freeview devices are not required to feature the MHEG-5 technology that Freeview intends to use to support its EPG. From April 2009, Freeview was still negotiating an MHEG-5 licensing deal.[3] and it was not signed until July 2009 [14].
Freeview has agreed that manufacturers can sell Phase 1 devices without MHEG-5 for another three years, and are not required to label such devices as Phase 1.[3]
Freeview has not released details of when this EPG will be launched or what enhancements it will feature compared to the EPG data already embedded in the broadcast signal, which is available to all digital television devices. After some confusion as to whether non-Freeview devices would still have access to the EPG, Freeview chief executive Robin Parkes confirmed the broadcast EPG would remain and the Freeview EPG would be based on the same data, only using MHEG-5 to present a common interface across devices.[15]
Australian EPG provider IceTV's high court victory over the Nine Network, securing its right to supply a third-party EPG service, may influence Freeview's long term plans for the broadcast and MHEG-5 EPG services.[16] Freeview has finalised its license to use MHEG-5[3] but initially lacked a license to use the traditional information grid pattern EPG which is covered under patents under owned by Macrovision.[17] Freeview announced details of an agreement with Macrovision in July 2009.[18]
Non-compliant devices
Existing digital television devices should continue to operate without Freeview certification, with the following caveats:
- Only HD devices can view the HD channels
- If the TV networks start transmission in MPEG-4 in the future, non-MPEG-4 capable boxes will not be able to receive those channels
- Non Compliant devices (and Phase 1 Freeview devices) will not have the enhanced EPG, which may be encoded to prevent non certified boxes reading it. Initially the enhanced EPG will contain the same data as the broadcast EPG,[15] although eventually it may feature higher quality and more accurate information to use for scheduling recordings.
Government labelling scheme
In April 2009, the government released a new labelling scheme for digital television devices, to help people buy the correct equipment in the transition from analog to digital television. This is unrelated to the Freeview labelling endorsed by the major commercial and public broadcasters.
Televisions will have the following labels:[1]
- Digital TV Capable - for analogue TVs which require a set top box
- Digital TV Ready (Standard Definition) - for TVs able to receive SD broadcasts
- Digital TV Ready (High Definition) - for TVs able to receive HD broadcasts
Freeview devices meet the High Definition Digital TV Ready standard, in addition to the other Freeview standards.
Channels
Each free-to-air broadcaster, from 2009, is permitted to transmit 2 channels in Standard Definition (SD) and 1 in High Definition (HD). Freeview has announced that the service will launch with 15 channels, three from each of the current broadcasters[19] - 10 SD and 5 HD services.[5]
Current Freeview Channels include: Network Ten, One, One HD, Nine Network, Nine HD, GO!, Seven Network, Seven HD, 7TWO, ABC1, ABC2, ABC 3, ABC HD, SBS ONE, SBS TWO and SBS HD. Radio Channels include: ABC DiG Music, ABC Jazz, SBS Radio 1 and SBS Radio 2.
Channel numbers
The digital television standard allows for multiple channel numbers to point to the same television stream. All the broadcasters use this - it can appear that there are several separate channels when they each point to the same transmission.
The broadcasters are permitted to broadcast 3 separate channels. When the HD and SD channels show the same program, they use different streams - one in standard-definition, the other in high-definition.
The Freeview advertising says they will have 15 channels.
Metropolitan channels
Not all channels are available in all areas, duplicate channels omitted.[20]
LCN | Channel | Genre/Type | Resolution | Current use |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | One HD | Sport | 1080i HD | Currently simulcasts One |
2 | ABC1 | General entertainment | 576i SD | Active channel |
3 | SBS One | General entertainment | 576i SD | Active channel |
7 | Seven Digital | General entertainment | 576i SD | Active channel |
9 | Nine Digital | General entertainment | 576i SD | Active channel |
10 | Ten Digital | General entertainment | 576i SD | Active channel |
12 | One | Sport | 576i SD | Active channel, Announced possible 3rd digital channel for Ten[21] |
20 | ABC HD | General entertainment | 720p HD | Currently simulcasts ABC1 NSW |
22 | ABC2 | General entertainment | 576i SD | Active channel |
23 | ABC3 | Children's programming | 576i SD | Active channel |
30 | SBS HD | General entertainment | 720p HD | Currently simulcasts SBS One |
32 | SBS Two | General entertainment | 576i SD | Active channel |
xx | Channel 31 | Community Channel | 576i SD | Launching 2010[22][23] |
70 | Seven HD | General entertainment | 1080i HD | Currently simulcasts Seven Digital |
72 | 7TWO | General entertainment | 576i SD | Active channel |
90 | Nine HD | General entertainment | 1080i HD | Currently simulcasts Nine Digital |
99 | GO! | General entertainment | 576i SD | Active channel |
Regional channels
Some regional areas receive a different combination of metropolitan and regional channels. Below lists the general regional networks, see metropolitan channels where necessary. Some channels not available in all areas. Duplicates omitted.
Regional
LCN | Channel | Genre/Type | Resolution | Current Use |
---|---|---|---|---|
2 | ABC1 | General Entertainment | 576i SD | Active channel. Localised for each area. |
3 | SBS One | General Entertainment. | 576i SD | Active channel. Localised for each area. |
5 | Southern Cross Ten/Ten Digital (Tas, Mildura, Darwin) | General Entertainment | 576i SD | Active channel (Regional Network Ten Affiliate). Localised for each area. |
6 | Prime/Southern Cross Tasmania/WIN SA/GWN(WA) | General Entertainment | 576i SD | Active channel (Regional Seven Network Affiliate). Localised for each area. |
8 | WIN/NBN | General Entertainment | 576i SD | Active channel (Regional Nine Network Affiliate). Localised for each area. |
20 | ABC HD | General Entertainment | 720p HD | Currently simulcasts ABC1 NSW. |
22 | ABC2 | General Entertainment | 576i SD | Active channel |
23 | ABC3 | Children's programming | 576i SD | Active channel |
30 | SBS HD | General Entertainment | 720p HD | Currently simulcasts SBS One |
32 | SBS Two | General Entertainment | 576i SD | Active channel |
50 | One HD* | Sport | 1080i HD | Active channel |
60 | Prime/Southern Cross HD | General Entertainment | 576i SD/1080i HD | Currently simulcasts Prime/Southern Cross Tasmania |
62 | 7TWO | General Entertainment | 576i SD | Tasmania, Darwin & regional Queensland only |
80 | WIN HD/NBN HD | General Entertainment | 1080i HD | Currently Rebuilding WINHD/NBNHD.Same as WIN/NBN.
Localised for each area. |
88 | GO! | General entertainment | 576i SD | Active channel |
* ONE SD is not being broadcast into regional areas.[24]
Online video portal
Through Freeview, the free-to-air broadcasters have signed a new initiative for an industry-wide video hub - details of what content will be carried is unknown. A consultant has been commissioned to advise on vendor partnerships, and ABC's iView technology is the frontrunner to deliver the service.[25]
Currently, the ABC, SBS, Seven Network, Nine Network and Ten Network each offer "catch up" internet television services in Australia, allowing viewers to watch locally produced content after it has been shown on their respective channels.
Criticisms
Freeview has been criticised as being ambiguous and light on details, with criticism that certification is more about restricting devices than enabling them.[1] TEN Network's simulcast of "One" in HD & SD is criticised by some as a single channel, as it is not unique content and the introduction of One HD means TEN Network's non-sports programming is no longer broadcast in HD.[2] Freeview certification will include at least two phases, with the Phase 1 Freeview devices not required to feature the MHEG-5 technology Freeview intends to use to support its Electronic Program Guide.[3]
In addition to the lack of detail, minimal information was given by Seven and Nine Network management regarding new channel launch dates. The original Freeview announcement stated planned May releases for the launch of new digital channels by both networks, while a later Seven release mentioned mid-2009 [26] and then October for its secondary channel launch.[27]
References
- ^ a b Picture not clear on Freeview
- ^ a b Nerds pay the price for One HD's 24 hour sport
- ^ a b c d e Freeview in a fog
- ^ "Freeview to launch 6.29pm Monday". MediaSpy (The Spy Report). 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
- ^ a b UNITES NETWORKS IN THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION 24 Nov 08.pdf "Freeview unites networks in the Digital Revolution" (PDF) (Press release). Freeview (Australia). 2008-11-24. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
{{cite press release}}
: Check|url=
value (help) - ^ Half of Australia's first Freeview devices won't be Freeview compatible
- ^ "Freeview About Us". Freeview. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
- ^ Freeview to Drive Digital Take-up in Australia
- ^ So who's really behind Freeview?
- ^ Freeview Australia's FUD campaign turns on Dvico
- ^ Freeview infects PlayStation 3's PlayTV
- ^ Clock Ticks for Plasmas, LCDs
- ^ Battle over Australia's TV future
- ^ IMPALA announces Freeview Australia's selection of MHEG-5 as its iTV middleware
- ^ IceTV cracks Nine - a win for viewers
- ^ Freeview To Cut EPG Deal After IceTV Win
- ^ New Freeview Coming In April 2010
- ^ "Freeview FAQs". Freeview. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
- ^ "Freeview Channels". Freeview. 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
- ^ url = http://www.tvauscast.com/2009/10/29/network-tens-2010-programming-line-up/
- ^ "Community TV wins digital breakthrough: TV Tonight". TV Tonight. Retrieved 04 November 2009.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "Temporary solution for community TV switch to digital". The Spy Report. Retrieved 04 November 2009.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2009/06/southern-cross-adds-one-hd-from-july-2.html ONE HD to be broadcast 2 July in regional areas - TV Tonight
- ^ Freeview beats off US rivals
- ^ Leckie Hits out at Network Ten
- ^ Foxtel ponders internet-only subscriptions