We're not quite sure what this means for the immediate future of OTA programming in the UK, but we suppose a "huzzah!" is in order either way. Reportedly, those
complicated DVB-T2 Freeview HD trials that were underway have been successful, with Auntie Beeb achieving the "world's first reception of HD pictures over DTT using DVB-T2." If you couldn't guess, DVB-T2 is a successor to the existing DVB-T broadcasting protocol which provides additional bandwidth and more swagger to TV signals. In theory, the switch to DVB-T2 (in conjunction with the move to MPEG-4 from MPEG-2) will enable more high-def content to be available in the UK. Of course, when we say "more," we basically mean "any" -- estimates assert that just three HD stations will be available OTA in the UK by 2009, one of which will be owned by the BBC and the other two by ITV, Channel 4 or Five.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Salacious @ Sep 6th 2008 7:51PM
Hopefully they'll use the spectrum left spare after the analog transmitters are turned off for some HD channels. Although if there is money to be made selling it off you can see the UK government flogging it to the highest bidder