New Zealand's Freeview hasn't had the easiest road thus far, but it can't deny the awesomeness that was the 2008 Beijing Olympics. According to new figures, 37,980 receivers were sold between July and September, 19,983 of which were Freeview HD tuners. It's a pretty safe bet that a good portion of those were purchased with the intent of catching the spectacle in high-definition on TVNZ, and the aforesaid sales brings the total number of Freeview set-top boxes sold to 160,496, including 27,319 HD boxes. Unfortunately, the bandwidth crisis is still very real, and things are looking pretty bleak in regard to additional HD channels. Still, we can only hope these additional sales may sway the Ministry of Economic Development into helping out.

[Image courtesy of PCWorld]

Barely a month after hearing that New Zealand's Freeview HD was facing somewhat of a bandwidth crisis, now we're seeing that at least one additional high-def station can fit. ChineseTV8 will be added on slot 28 this October, and it'll bring along "news and current affairs from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, popular drama series, variety shows of diverse formats, documentaries with an Asian emphasis and a wide range of Asian focused infotainment." For those unaware, there are quite a few (150,000 at last count) ethnic Chinese living in New Zealand, so we'd say the interest level should be pretty high.

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.

Oh noes! Merely months after Freeview execs were celebrating the surprising uptick in Freeview HD users, in flies word that bandwidth is already becoming an issue. You see, Freeview was initially launched as a "satellite only service using MPEG-2 video compression software," while the HD terrestrial component uses MPEG-4. Transponder space on the Optus D1 satellite is "rapidly being used up, and any further expansion of data bandwidth would require Freeview broadcasters to purchase more space from Optus." If the old MPEG-2 system was suddenly canned and replaced with MPEG-4, every last satellite Freeview user would be forced to buy a new set-top-box. We shouldn't have to explain the glaringly obvious problem with that scenario. Thus, the only stop-gap solution is to simulcast the signals, which obviously requires oodles of bandwidth. Unfortunately, broadcasters are gun-shy about dropping even more cash to expand the available space without assurance of a good return on their original investment, so as of now, expansion plans wait while bigwigs figure out where to get more funding.

A few UK residents felt the pain Raid-style after the latest Freeview signal upgrade knocked certain receivers out of service last week. The upgrade has been rolling out in waves for the last month, unfortunately owners of some Daewoo, Labgear, Triax and Portland digital boxes have no choice but to buy a new box to keep getting television service. Hopefully our own digital transition doesn't end up with people trashing their box after a couple of years -- while Freeview says only a "minority" were affected by the enhancement, we're pretty sure it doesn't seem that way if your TV is one of the ones knocked out.

Freeview HD only went live in New Zealand three months ago, but already upwards of 7,500 installations have been logged. Even more impressive is the overall quantity of Freeview receivers sold (123,903), with 25,000 of those being moved this quarter. Freeview bigwig Steve Browning proclaimed that he "didn't think it would be quite this fast," but plans are already in place to produce a Freeview PVR for the adoring public. As expected, Browning and company are fully expecting adoption to increase further when the Olympics kick off, though he wasn't so bold as make a prediction about exact numbers. Here's to hoping that an astronomical amount of Kiwis take the high-def dive.

Folks traveling to DVB-T / Freeview land (that would be across the pond for you Yankees) should certainly give thought to how they're going to receive their much needed dose of OTA programming while there. If you're still living without a USB tuner, have a gander at Elgato's latest. The EyeTV DTT Deluxe snaps right into any spare USB port (on a Mac, that is) and picks up DVB-T / Freeview signals within range. Bundled in, you'll find the recently released EyeTV 3 software, two types of aerial antennas and an EyeTV remote. Folks in Europe can snatch the unit right now for €79.95 ($126), and while we're hoping for an ATSC version to surface shortly, there's nothing to signify that our dreams are close to coming true.

[Via 123MacMini]

Although Freeview has been destined for HD for quite some time, it has been far too long since we've heard about any progress. Thankfully, the Beeb is attempting to change all that, and it's moving forward with DVB-T2 tests. Reportedly, said standard is an advanced version of DVB-T -- the protocol currently used in the UK for digital terrestrial transmissions -- that provides an increase in efficiency and more bandwidth for more content. If all goes to plan, at least three high-def channels (one of which will be BBC) will be carried via DVB-T2 by the close of 2009, but it seems that ITV, Channel 4 and Five will have to cast lots for the remaining two openings.

[Via Digital Spy]

Good luck convincing Grandma to pack a DVR-250 next to the same telly that's been avoiding TV detectors for years, but how about a "match box-sized" addition that gives all the benefits of the digital switchover and without taking up a lot of space? TVonics MFR-300 improves on previous versions with support for Audio Description allowing people with sight problems to hear subtle on screen changes described, plus interactive TV features, EPG and parental controls. The 70mm x 27mm x 54mm box is available for £59.99 and can actually mount behind the TV, so all that's left is teaching your family how to use it -- good luck with that.

For those in the UK looking for a travel-friendly way to pick up free-to-air satellite TV (including Freesat), Hauppauge has just the thing. The not-exactly-cute WinTV Nova-S USB2 gives users the ability to watch full-screen programming on their laptop or PC, and better still, it can be "linked to a card reader [the optional WinTV-CI, we assume] to give access to subscription channels." Per usual, users will be able to pause, rewind and record live TV for watching back later, and considering that a remote and WinTV software are already bundled in, you should be all set right out of the £79.99 ($158) box.

[Via PC Advisor]

Right on cue, Television New Zealand (TVNZ) -- the nation's largest free-to-air broadcaster -- has gone live with the country's first ever HD digital service. By utilizing DiviCom Electra 7000 high-definition encoders, the new Freeview digital terrestrial television (DTT) service was launched this week and is currently available to "approximately 75 percent of homes nationwide." Of course, what we want to know is: how does the quality rate? Drop us a note below and make us all envious of where you call home.

It's official: HD aficionados in the UK will soon be able to get their fix via Freeview. If you'll recall, the Freeview HD trial that took place in 2006 went over quite well, and according to Ofcom, up to four free HD channels will be broadcast. Unfortunately, users looking forward to such niceties will be forced to wait until analog is switched off in their neck of the woods, and of course they'll also need an HD-ready TV and a new set-top-box. We've already heard that BBC will be one of the four channels, and ITV, Channel 4, Five and Welsh network S4C have all been "invited to bid for [the other] three slots in which they can broadcast high-definition TV or other new services." On the upside, the whole of the country should be digital by 2012, just in time for the London Olympics -- and for those lucky souls in and around Whitehaven, you'll get the spoils first.

[Thanks, Kieran and Andy]

You can't do much better than William Shatner to launch a nation into its HD future, and that's exactly who New Zealand will get. TV3 is making its HD debut with Boston Legal, and has ten other shows lined up to round out the roster. We're a little confused on the timing of things, since the press release says the curtain falls on April 1, but the underlying Freeview HDTV platform isn't slated for takeoff until April 2. Opening night mixups or cruel April Fool's joke aside, click on through for the full TV3 lineup -- things look pretty good with HD faves in the mix like CSI, My Name is Earl and NCIS.

[Via Mike's View]

Kiwis, clear your calendars, OTA HDTV hits April 2. Freeview HD won't need very much of the April window earlier given for its launch, with TVOne, TV2 and TV3 all broadcasting in HD covering an estimated 75-percent of New Zealand homes, with set-top boxes expected on sale the same day. The big media event doesn't take place until the 14th, but why wait?

Considering that the rest of the globe seems to be chiming in with its own tidbits of HD news, we're not surprised to see New Zealand getting in on the fun, too. Apparently, a pair of new Topfield HD devices are on sale now for folks residing in the aforementioned nation, the first of which is the TF7710HSCI HDMI Digital Satellite Receiver. Aside from the HDMI / component outputs along with digital audio support, the $388 unit sports dual CI slots to pull in Freeview transmissions and encrypted / pay TV channels. As for the $714.79 TF6000PVR ES HDMI Digital Satellite Receiver / PVR, you'll find many of the same features along with 320GB of recording space, a USB 2.0 port and an Ethernet jack for transferring shows to one's PC. Hit up the read links below for much more information on the pair.

Read - TF7710HSCI
Read - TF6000PVR ES