Freeview set to go high-definition

Steve Browning, general manager of Freeview. Photo / Richard Robinson

Digital television will go high definition next month with the launch of Freeview HD, but a dearth of programmes delivered in the high-quality format will likely limit early uptake.

Almost a year after launching satellite broadcasts of free-to-air digital TV, Freeview is using the nationwide network of transmission towers run by state-owned broadcasting infrastructure operator Kordia to deliver a second service that can be accessed by homes equipped with UHF aerials.

Freeview is already broadcasting a test channel in high-definition, but viewers will have to purchase an HD-enabled set-top box to access it and other HD content that will be broadcast.

The service will simply be branded Freeview HD.

Just what TV content will be delivered in the format, which offers better picture quality for people with high-definition flat screen television sets, is unclear.

An estimated 300,000 flat-screen TVs capable of displaying high-definition content are believed to be in the market, over 100,000 of which were bought in the second half of last year.

TV3 is expected to unveil its high-definition programme line-up next week, while TVNZ has backed away from aggressive plans to show HD in primetime TV slots as it concentrates on upgrading its systems and launching its new digital channel - TVNZ7, which is exclusive to Freeview.

The first high-definition programming from TVNZ is likely to be coverage of the Beijing Olympic Games, which will be broadcast in HD during August and September.

"That's set in concrete as is the use of TVNZ's Sport Extra channel to run a second channel for the Olympics," said Freeview general manager Steve Browning.

TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis said last year that up to 80 per cent of primetime content on TV2 would be available in high-definition while as much as 50 per cent of TV1 footage would be broadcast in the format.

"We've had second thoughts about that. We will do it properly which means we may travel more slowly," said TVNZ spokeswoman Megan Richards.

"The rest of the company has to have buy-in. It's going to be a longer proposition than originally we thought."

"It's an infrastructure issue, it's not about getting hold of material," added Browning.

TVNZ is undertaking a major technology upgrade budgeted at up to $40 million to prepare for the high-definition era, though Richards said employees were still "trundling around with tapes" ahead of a new digital storage system being introduced.