Freeview and freeview+ (as the DVB-T2 carried HD mux is to be called) will exist in parallel- the number of muxes will drop from 6 to 5, one will go to DVB-t2, the other 4 will up their capacity with a little tweak and reshuffled channels from the flipped mux will be shared around them. The New mux will be a part of the main digital switch over process from the Granada switch onwards, with advance broadcasts in enough areas to make HD a possible service for a decent majority of the population by the time of the World Cup.
Yes, by the middle of next year, a very large part of the UK TV audience will have the option to buy kit that will let them watch HD over terrestrial digital broadcast at home using their existing TV ariel. The bandwidth is moderate- improvements in carrier (256 QAM) and video compression (h.264) have given the broadcasters about 50% more capacity for a given bit of spectrum. Keeping audiences happy as DSO happens and Freeview+ rolls out is a critical task, and one that a phenomenal amount of effort is going onto- in fact the whole DVB-T2 story is one of incredibly good AND quick research, development and engineering, driven along by frighteningly tight regulatory deadlines. To be honest, slotting additional DRM requirements at this stage looks like adding a horrid additional complication to an already mind bending engineering challenge, and perhaps more importantly, could break the delicate public trust the roll-out depends upon. All of the above is based on my personnal opinion and understanding based on public domain discussions, especially from the IBC conference last week. It is not the BBC's official possition. a On Thu, Sep 17, 2009 at 4:48 PM, Frankie Roberto <[email protected]> wrote: > > 2009/9/17 Christopher Woods <[email protected]> > >> Moreover, you just *know* that within months of any broadcast flag >> implementation, the more creative technological tinkerers will have >> subverted the flag entirely using commonplace/free equipment and software. >> Like region coding, broadcast flags really are an exercise in stupidity and >> corporate backslapping. > > By the sounds of it, the main 'enforcement' mechanism of the metadata > compression/encryption isn't so much technological, as the fact that you > won't be able to use the "Freeview HD" logo, or be listed on the Freeview > website, without signing for a free licence (which requires you to implement > some as-yet-unspecified restrictions). Which won't really stop free software > from existing - but may stop it from being a commercial success. > > That said, I wonder how many people will really bother to upgrade from > Freeview to Freeview HD anyway - standard definition Freeview seems good > enough for most people (especially those with non-enormous tellies). So the > migration to Freeview HD will happen slowly, as people upgrade their > televisions as part of their natural lifecycle. (Assuming that the signal > doesn't get switched off). > > Frankie > > -- > Frankie Roberto > Experience Designer, Rattle > 0114 2706977 > http://www.rattlecentral.com > > -- Ant Miller tel: 07709 265961 email: [email protected] - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
