The momentum behind high definition TV (HDTV) just keeps on building. Freeview plans to have 50% of UK households capable of receiving free to air high definition TV (HDTV) by mid 2010 via a terrestrial aerial. With this in mind, DVB-T2 HDTV transmissions begin from the Winter Hill transmitter group in early December this year.
So transmission plans seem to be proceeding well, but another key piece of the jigsaw is the availability of Freeview set top boxes capable of receiving an HDTV signal. This is why this week’s announcement from Pace is so significant. They have confirmed that their new set top box capable of receiving the DVB-T2 signal will launch in the first half of 2010 in the UK market.
Mathias Hautefort from Pace said: “The launch of DVB-T2 represents an important transition for DTT broadcasting in the UK and a hugely exciting step forward for digital consumers.
“Through our partnership with Freeview we are bringing a next-generation set top box to market that will be a key component in unlocking the power of Freeview HD in the home.”
“With HD Ready TV penetration at around 12 million homes already in UK and with growing consumer expectations from TV generally, we fully expect that DVB-T2 will help drive widespread HD adoption.”
Freeview managing director Ilse Howling added: “As the UK’s biggest and fastest growing TV platform, we are on a mission to upgrade Britain to HD and beyond. We’re delighted that Pace will be on board to deliver one of the first Freeview HD products to market next year.”
The arrival of HDTV on Freeview will bring HDTV to a potentially very large audience, though Freeveiw customers will have to invest in a new set top box and the breadth of HD content will be limited at first (and clearly will not include premium sports and movies HD content). So expect the HDTV revolution to gather pace in 2010 as awareness increases via Freeview and Sky; the TV manufacturers; and retailers also keep pushing hard.
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