[mythtv-users] OT: Do we have HD in the UK?

[Simon Hobson]

Paul Gardiner wrote:

>"HD isn't on Freeview yet"? Is its eventual arrival pretty certain then?

As certain as anything is in life - apart from death and taxes !

I believe the plan is to shuffle the multiplexes (yet again) after 
analogue switch off and free up a mux. They'll then transmit HD using 
a different coding which is more efficient (allows 4 HD channels in a 
mux) but if completely incompatible with most current equipment 
(hence my comment about all those HD ready sets with integrated 
Freeview needing a new receiver box).

<rant>As Richard Morton points out, rather than add an extra mux or 
two, Ofcon made a decision to sell off all the spectrum released by 
turning off analogue. The consultation was a sham - adding extra 
muxes and selling slightly less spectrum was not an option, the 
consultation was merely on how best to sell it off.

So what we have now is more or less what were going to have in the 
future. Switching the SD channels to the new standard won't be an 
option as it would obsolete millions of receivers and tellies we've 
been forced to buy. Now if they'd agreed the T2 standard in a timely 
manner and mandated it's suport in new kit then it might be feasible 
to start switching in maybe 5 years - but they didn't and they 
haven't.</rant>

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Simon Hobson

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