Yesterday the BBC announced the timetable for Freeview HD. Next month my local region Manchester will go live and by the end of March 2010 London, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds, Bradford and Birmingham receive HD signals

I have yet to see a Media Center compatible tuner on sale yet but I am keeping my eyes open

New DVB-T2 technology will deliver an increase in capacity of 67% to the BBC’s Multiplex B, efficiently creating the space needed for UK public service broadcasters’ HD transmissions. The UK will be the first country in the world to launch this new standard, and its successful implementation is the result of pioneering work by the BBC in collaboration with partners including Ofcom, Arqiva, Siemens and receiver manufacturers. To view Freeview HD, audiences will need equipment containing this new technology. Freeview HD receivers (set-top boxes, digital television recorders and integrated televisions) will be available from early 2010.

More details from the BBC

0 thoughts on “BBC announces timetable for Freeview HD signal availability”
  1. I’ve been waiting for such an announcement for some time, now.

    Ian, does the HDHomeRun not support 1080i? Or are they just using the regular DBT standard?

    I keep meaning to try contact Silicon Dust to confirm compatibility, one way or another. I even wondered, if the current spec doesn’t support DVB-T2, whether it could be upgraded to via a firmware change??

  2. Also, excuse my ignorance, but will Vista MCE actually play 1080i?

    So the question is, to be able to receive HD content, will I need to buy new hardware and upgrade to Windows 7?

    ANswers on a post card 🙂

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