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94-423: Film4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, devoted to broadcasting films. While its standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat platforms, its high-definition variant is offered only as a pay television service. The channel offered an online video on demand service, Film4oD until it

188-506: A high-definition simulcast – Film4 HD launched exclusively on Virgin Media 's cable television platform on channel 429, only available on certain packages. On 1 November 2010, Film4 partnered with FilmFlex to launch Film4oD . On 27 August 2013, Film4 +1 returned to Freeview. Film4 HD launched on Sky on 2 September 2013 as a subscription network, requiring Sky's HD package. Film4 HD is not available on Freeview. On 2 September 2014, Film4 debuted

282-608: A Freeview tuner may offer standard Freeview or Freeview HD. Freeview Play is a more recent addition which adds direct access to catch-up services via the Internet . The technical specification for Freeview is published and maintained by the Digital TV Group , the industry association for digital TV in the UK which also provide the test and conformance regime for Freeview, Freeview + and Freeview HD products. DMOL (DTT Multiplex Operators Ltd.),

376-402: A black urban audience. In 1985, a new service called TV4 was introduced, carrying sports and entertainment programming, using the channel shared by TV2 and TV3, which ended transmissions at 9:30 pm. In 1992, TV2, TV3 and TV4 were combined into a new service called CCV (Contemporary Community Values). A third channel was introduced known as TSS, or Topsport Surplus, Topsport being the brand name for

470-439: A combination of the two. In Croatia eleven national channels are free-to-air: HRT 1 , HRT 2 , HRT 3 , HRT 4 ( HRT being national broadcaster), Nova TV , Doma TV , RTL , RTL2 , RTL Kockica , CMC and SPTV . There are around 21 local or regional channels. Before June 2020, they used to be transmitted via three OiV (state-owned public broadcasting company) DVB-T and one DVB-T2 ( HEVC/H.265 ) MUXes . As of June 2020,

564-461: A company owned by the operators of the six DTT multiplexes (BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Arqiva) is responsible for technical platform management and policy, including the electronic programme guide and channel numbering. Freeview officially launched on 30 October 2002 at 5 am, when the BBC and Crown Castle (now Arqiva ) officially took over the digital terrestrial television (DTT) licences to broadcast on

658-516: A consequence of FilmFour's unsuccessful attempts to compete with Hollywood . David Thompson, head of BBC Films described it as: A very sad day for the British film industry. The British film industry needs confidence right now and this doesn't inspire confidence. Also in the same year, Tessa Ross became the head of both FilmFour and Channel 4 drama. On 31 March 2003, Channel 4 announced that FilmFour Extreme and FilmFour World would be replaced with

752-430: A free channel meant it also lost the ability to adhere to looser broadcasting regulations regarding content on subscription channels - it thus now routinely edits films to make them suitable for pre-watershed screenings before 9pm and removes particularly explicit content from the more extreme material it shows after that time. Most post-9pm films are unedited though. Prior to the arrivals of Movie Mix and Movies4Men on

846-484: A free-to-air set-top box. In Korea, KBS , MBC (the two main public broadcasters), SBS (privately owned, but available for free to viewers), and EBS (including both TV and radio ) are the free-to-air broadcasting stations. They dominate more than 80% of advertisement profits, according to the recent survey from the agency. Due to the recent government's decision, digital television service for all free-to-air networks would be scheduled before 2012, followed by

940-760: A full power service) and Crystal Palace (as a reduced power temporary service). It operates on multiplex BBC B (aka Multiplex B or PSB3). The service was broadcast to all regions by the end of 2012. Channel 4 HD commenced test broadcasts on 25 March 2010 with an animated caption, ahead of its full launch on 30 March 2010, coinciding with the commercial launch of Freeview HD. S4C Clirlun launched on 30 April 2010, in Wales, where Channel 4 HD did not broadcast. STV HD launched in Scotland, where ITV HD does not broadcast, on 6 June 2010. S4C Clirlun closed on 1 December 2012, allowing Channel 4 HD to begin broadcasting in Wales. Five HD

1034-598: A further roll-out during 2014. The temporary multiplexes are Arqiva-owned multiplexes called COM7 and COM8, DVB-T2 multiplexes for Freeview HD capable devices carrying some channels including HD channels. COM7 is made up of mostly +1s and HDs such as More4+1 and BBC News HD. COM8 consisted of +1s, HDs and other channels such as NOW 80s , PBS America+1 and BBC Four HD . Over the decade these multiplexes are being shut off with COM8 closing on 6 June 2020, with many +1 and HD channels like 5Star+1 and 4seven HD closing and others (like Now 80s) moving to COM7. On 10 August 2021,

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1128-409: A high-gain external aerial mounted high above the ground with an electronic amplifier at its top may be needed. Aerial requirements for analogue (the old standard) and digital reception in the UK are identical; there is no such thing as a special "digital aerial", although installers and suppliers often falsely say one is necessary. As the signal degrades, the analogue picture degrades gradually, but

1222-612: A joint venture between the BBC , ITV , Channel 4 , Channel 5 and Sky . It was launched on 30 October 2002, taking over the licence from ITV Digital which collapsed that year. The service provides consumer access via an aerial to the seven DTT multiplexes covering the United Kingdom. As of July 2020, it has 85 TV channels, 26 digital radio channels, 10 HD channels, six text services, 11 streamed channels, and one interactive channel. Delivery of standard-definition television and radio

1316-406: A large number of digital television channels to be received on a compatible television receiver, set-top box, or personal video recorder. An electronic programme guide was available. Freeview channels are not encrypted and can be received by anyone in the UK. There is no additional charge to receive Freeview but it is a legal obligation to hold a current television licence to watch or record TV as it

1410-471: A local low-power repeater. In 1986, the SABC's monopoly was challenged by the launch of a subscription-based service known as M-Net, backed by a consortium of newspaper publishers on 1 October. However, as part of its licensing restrictions, it could not broadcast news programmes, which were still the preserve of the SABC, although M-Net started broadcasting a current affairs programme called Carte Blanche in 1988. As

1504-460: A multitude of programming channels in many languages, spanning many new channels, so they can get National support, which ultimately leads to carriage by cable systems, to additionally support the high costs of broadcasting signals in this way. Nevertheless, free-to-air satellite TV is a viable addition to home video systems, not only for the reception of specialized content but also for use in locations where terrestrial ATSC over-the-air reception

1598-522: A new digital television channel of the same name on both Sky and ONdigital platforms, becoming Channel 4 's second network. At its launch, it was a subscription -only service costing £6 a month, eventually rising to £7. The launch night (which also broadcasts on Channel 4) was hosted by Johnny Vaughan and the first film to be shown was What's Eating Gilbert Grape , as well as the launch evening also featured its British network television premiere of The Usual Suspects . On 31 March 2000 at 6.00am,

1692-622: A new on-air look, designed by Man vs. Machine. There are 15 new idents in the series which run alongside a new on-screen presentation . On 26 November 2014, Film4 +1 became available via Freeview HD services only. On 10 January 2019, Film4 +1 was moved from the Freeview HD PSB3 (DVB-T2) multiplex to the Freeview PSB2 (DVB-T) multiplex, making the service available once again to viewers with non-HD Freeview systems and television sets that are incapable of decoding DVB-T2 signals. The capacity on PSB2

1786-492: A number of broadcasters. The full range of channels broadcast via digital terrestrial television includes some pay television services such as BoxNation and Racing UK . These channels, although available only to subscribers with appropriate equipment, are listed in the on-screen electronic programme guides displayed by many Freeview receivers but cannot be viewed. The link above gives a full up-to-date list of channels, but, as of January 2020, excluding channels such as S4C or

1880-612: A number of hours with E4+1 and 4Music still off air on Monday 27 September (though 4Music's channel 30 slot was relaying the output of The Box , with its back-to-back music video format, on that date). The Freeview service broadcasts free-to-air television channels , radio stations and interactive services from the existing public service broadcasters. Channels on the service include the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 terrestrial channels, as well as their digital services. In addition, channels from other commercial operators, such as Sky and UKTV , are available, as well as radio services from

1974-430: A number of local channels were available but since have closed, such as Cue TV were also available. Local stations such as CTV and Face TV (previously Triangle TV) were free-to-air analogue PAL transmissions prior to CTV migrating to the free-to-air digital DVB-T service and Face TV's terrestrial free-to-air service shutoff from December 2013. A digital terrestrial version of Freeview was launched in 2008, which, unlike

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2068-443: A premium subscription is not present (providing the necessary equipment is still available), especially where FTA channels are expected to be used for emergency broadcasts, similar to the 1-1-2 (112) emergency service provided by mobile phone operators and manufacturers. On the other side, free-to-view (FTV) is generally available without subscription , but it is digitally encoded and may be restricted geographically. Free-to-air

2162-410: A public service broadcast multiplex and a commercial multiplex, both DVB-T2. The informal term "council telly" is sometimes used for free-to-air television in the UK, evoking a basic service accessible to all. There are a number of competing systems in use. Early adopters used C-band dishes several feet in diameter to receive analog microwave broadcasts, and later digital microwave broadcasts using

2256-540: A singular network - FilmFour Weekly , on 5 May. FilmFour Weekly was formatted as a "catch-up" network, broadcasting three movies across the week at the same time each day. Films that previously broadcast on Extreme and World would move to the regular FilmFour. On 3 July 2006, Channel 4 announced that FilmFour would relaunch as a free-to-air network on 23 July, as it would see its addition to Freeview , and begin to air advertisements during films. The channel would also be renamed as Film4 , alongside its timeshift service and

2350-673: A variety of compatible TV and set-top boxes via the user's standard broadband Internet connection. Its main purpose is to provide easy access to catch-up services by scrolling backwards on the traditional electronic programming guide (EPG); YouView is a similar but competing combination of live Freeview and catch-up using the EPG. The technology is an open standard , but with prominent Freeview Play branding. The service launched in October 2015 on compliant equipment, initially 2015 Panasonic TV receivers and Humax set-top boxes, including existing models with

2444-644: Is being broadcast. A subscription -based DTT service, Top Up TV , launched in March 2004. The Top Up TV service was not connected with the Freeview service, but ran alongside it on the DTT platform and was included in the Freeview EPG; programmes could be received on some Freeview set-top boxes and televisions equipped with a card slot or CI slot. The service also worked with existing ex- ONdigital / ITV Digital boxes that received

2538-572: Is free-to-air, but the more conventional broadcast systems in use mean that SiriusXM style in-car reception is not possible. Cable and satellite distribution allow many more channels to carry sports, movies and specialist channels which are not broadcast as FTA. The viewing figures for these channels are generally much lower than the FTA channels. Various European countries broadcast a large number of channels via free-to-air terrestrial , generally as an analog PAL / SECAM transmission, digital DVB-T / T2 or

2632-690: Is incomplete and additional channels are desired. Australia has five major free-to-air networks: the two public broadcasting networks - ABC and SBS , and three commercial networks - Seven Network , Nine Network , and Network 10 . Traditionally each network had only a single channel in a geographic area, but with the advent of digital television each network started broadcasting several SD multichannels, such as 7two , 9Gem , 10 Bold , and SBS Food , as well as at least one HD channel. There are also free-to-air community television channels in some major cities. Viewers in remote parts of Australia are able to access many Australian free-to-air channels using

2726-503: Is labelled Freeview , while delivery of HDTV is called Freeview HD . Reception of Freeview requires a DVB-T / DVB-T2 tuner , either in a separate set-top box or built into the TV set. Since 2008 all new TV sets sold in the United Kingdom have a built-in Freeview tuner. Freeview HD requires an HDTV-capable tuner. Digital video recorders (DVRs) with a built-in Freeview tuner are labelled Freeview+ . Depending on model, DVRs and HDTV sets with

2820-555: Is no concept of paying for a TV license. The acronym used for DVB-T in Spain is TDT ( Digital terrestrial television in Spain  [ es ] ). In the UK, the five main free-to-air television networks are BBC One , BBC Two , ITV , Channel 4 and Channel 5 . Around 108 free-to-air television channels and 30 free-to-air radio channels are available terrestrially via the Freeview DVB-T service. Seven HD channels are also broadcast via

2914-418: Is not mandatory); later equipment must be capable of surround sound compatible with most suitable audio equipment. In early February 2011, it was announced that one million Freeview HD set-top boxes had been sold. In August 2009 the BBC wrote to Ofcom after third-party content owners asked the BBC to undertake measures to ensure that all Freeview HD boxes would include copy protection systems as required by

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3008-412: Is occupied by pay-TV operators Shaw Direct and Bell Satellite TV , although larger C-band dishes can pick up some content. FTA signals may be scattered across multiple satellites, requiring a motor or multiple LNBs to receive everything. This differs from Europe, where FTA signals are commonly concentrated on a few specific satellites. Another difference between North American FTA and FTA in most of

3102-846: Is often used for international broadcasting , making it something of a video equivalent to shortwave radio . Most FTA retailers list free-to-air channel guides and content available in North America for free-to-air use. Although commonly described as free, the cost of free-to-air services is met through various means: Up until 2012, Israel had several free-to-air channels. The major ones rating-wise were Channel 2 , Channel 10 , and Channel 1 . The other ones were Educational , Channel 33 , and Knesset 99 . Since 2018, Israel has several new free-to-air channels that replace their older counterparts. The major ones rating-wise: are Channel 12 , Channel 13 , Kan 11 , and Channel 20 . The others are Kan Educational , Makan 33 , and Knesset Channel . In 1971,

3196-517: Is transmitted at 384  kb/s for 5.1 surround sound, with stereo audio at 128–192 kbit/s; audio description takes up 64 kbit/s, subtitles 200 kbit/s and the data stream, for interactive applications 50 kbit/s. Recording sizes for Freeview HD television transmissions average around 3 GB per hour. Between 22 and 23 March 2011, an encoder software change allowed the Freeview version of BBC HD to automatically detect progressive material and change encoding mode appropriately, meaning

3290-573: The DVB-T2 standard. This standard is incompatible with DVB-T, and can only be received using compatible reception equipment. Some television receivers sold before the HD launch claimed to be "HD-ready", but this usually implies that the screen can display HD, rather than that DVB-T2 signals can be received – a suitable tuner (typically built into a STB or PVR) is additionally required. Freeview HD set-top boxes and televisions are available. To qualify for

3384-512: The INSAT-4B and GSAT-15 satellite covering India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and parts of Afghanistan, and Myanmar. In India, the channels are marketed as DD Direct Plus / DD Free Dish by Doordarshan , India's national broadcaster and other Indian private broadcaster ABS Free Dish from the ABS2 satellite. One can receive free-to-air regional TV channels using a small DTH antenna and

3478-442: The digital picture holds up well then suddenly becomes unwatchable ; an aerial which gave poor analogue viewing may give unwatchable, rather than poor, digital viewing, and need replacing, at a cost of typically £80 to £180, most of which is fitting cost. An aerial intended for external use may be fitted indoors if there is space and the signal is strong enough. The Digital TV Group, the industry association for digital television in

3572-449: The "best of the rest" of the BBC in HD. However, BBC HD was replaced by BBC Two HD on 26 March 2013. Until 17 October 2011, the commercial public service broadcasters had the opportunity to apply to Ofcom to provide an additional HD service from between 28 November 2011 and 1 April 2012. Channel 5 HD was the sole applicant, with the aim of launching in spring or early summer 2012. On 15 December 2011, Channel 5 dropped its bid to take

3666-670: The 3.7-4.2  GHz band. Today, although large C-band dishes can still receive some content, the 11.7-12.2 GHz K u band is also used. Ku-band signals can be received using smaller dishes, often as small as under a meter (3 feet, 3 inches) in diameter, allowing FTA satellite to be picked up from smaller spaces such as apartment balconies (note, however, that these dishes are not quite as small as those commonly used for commercial services such as Dish Network , DirecTV , Bell ExpressVu , Shaw Direct , etc. Dishes intended for those services may not deliver an adequate signal on Ku-band). The European-developed DVB-S and DVB-S2 standards are

3760-471: The 315-metre (1033') Bilsdale transmitter caught fire leaving up to a million homes in the North East of England without a TV or radio signal. Work is ongoing to restore services, but delays to the granting of planning permission for an 80-metre (300') temporary mast sited at Bilsdale, and the lack of safe access to the site, have left up to half a million homes without a service as of 8 September 2021. On

3854-463: The 600Mhz band for additional DVB-T2 multiplexes, reaching up to 70% of the UK population. At the same time, the BBC announced that they would provide five new HD channels due to the newly available capacity: BBC Three HD, BBC Four HD, CBBC HD, CBeebies HD and BBC News HD. BBC Three HD and CBBC HD launched to all viewers on 10 December 2013 using the capacity released by the Red Button HD service, and

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3948-574: The DVB-S2 Optus VAST service. New Zealand has a number of FTA broadcasters such as Television New Zealand 's TVNZ 1 and TVNZ 2 , as well as Discovery New Zealand 's Three and Bravo , Sky Network Television 's Sky Open and the government subsidised the Whakaata Māori and Te Reo channels. Four channels, TVNZ 1, TVNZ 2, Three, Bravo are also broadcast timeshifted by +1 hour on Freeview and Sky platforms. A broadcast of parliament and

4042-598: The DVB-T MUXes were switched off and all eleven national channels are now distributed via two OiV DVB-T2 (HEVC/H.265) MUXes. In Denmark, six channels are as of 2020 free-to-air, distributed via 18 main transmitter sites and 30 smaller, auxiliary transmitters. The six channels ( DR1 , DR2 , DR Ramasjang , Folketinget , TV2 Regionerne, and sign language/local programme) come in one DVB-T2 multiplex . In France, there are 26 national television channels (MPEG-4 HD video) and 41 local television channels broadcast free-to-air via

4136-528: The Digital TV Group's D-Book, which sets technical standards for digital terrestrial television in the UK. The BBC proposed to ensure compliance with copy-protection standards on the upgraded Freeview HD multiplex by compressing the service information (SI) data, which receivers need to understand the TV services in the data stream. To encourage boxes to adopt copy protection, the BBC made its own look-up tables and decompression algorithm, necessary for decoding

4230-433: The EPG data on high-definition channels, available without charge only to manufacturers who implement the copy-protection technology. This technology would control the way HD films and TV shows are copied onto, for example Blu-ray discs, and shared with others over the internet. No restrictions will be placed on standard-definition services. In a formal written response, Ofcom principal advisor Greg Bensberg said that wording of

4324-456: The Freeview HD logo, receivers will need to be IPTV -capable and display Freeview branding, including the logo, on the electronic programme guide screen. The Freeview HD trademark requirements state that any manufacturer applying for the Freeview HD logo should submit their product to the Digital TV Group 's test centre (DTG Testing) for conformance testing. On 2 February 2010, Vestel became

4418-452: The Freeview package; subscribers with those boxes had to insert their TopUp TV card into the slot which was originally used for inserting ONdigital / ITV Digital smartcards. Top Up TV was replaced in 2006, by a service that did not run on Freeview equipment. In October 2013, the TopUp TV service was closed down. The Freeview logo certification for standard definition (SD) receivers and recorders

4512-413: The Freeview platform, Film4 was the only free film channel available on digital terrestrial television . On 20 August 2007, Film4 +1 was removed from Freeview to make way for Channel 4 +1. From 23 May 2009, the broadcasting hours were amended to 11.00am to 4.00am, with the downtime hours broadcasting either teleshopping or an animated caption screen stating when the channel will return. On 20 July 2010,

4606-526: The PAL system for colour television, being only the second terrestrial television service in sub-Saharan Africa to launch with a colour-only service, Zanzibar in Tanzania having introduced the first such service in 1973. (Tanzania itself did not establish a television service until the early 1990s, similarly concerned about the expense and perceived threat to cultural norms.) The Government, advised by SABC technicians, took

4700-498: The PSB3 multiplex which the BBC operates. However, BBC News HD would stop being broadcast on Freeview. The Digital TV Group publishes and maintains the UK technical specification for high-definition services on digital terrestrial television (Freeview) based on the new DVB-T2 standard. The specification is known as the D-book . Freeview HD is the first operational TV service in the world using

4794-832: The SABC was finally allowed to introduce a television service. Initially, the proposal was for two television channels, one in English and Afrikaans, aimed at white audiences, and another, known as TV Bantu, aimed at black viewers. However, when television was finally introduced, there was only one channel with airtime divided evenly between English and Afrikaans, alternating between the two languages. Test transmissions in Johannesburg began on 5 May 1975, followed in July by ones in Cape Town and Durban. Nationwide services finally commenced on 5 January 1976. In common with most of Western Europe, South Africa used

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4888-544: The SABC's sport coverage, but this was replaced by NNTV (National Network TV), an educational, non-commercial channel, in 1994. The main channel, now called TV1, was divided evenly between English and Afrikaans, as before. It also became available in Walvis Bay , an enclave of South Africa in Namibia, which was itself then under South African administration, with a live feed of the channel broadcast via Intelsat being retransmitted on

4982-507: The TNT DVB-T2 service. In Germany there are various free-to-air DVB-T services available, the number of which varies by region. Das Erste , ZDF , ZDFneo , ZDFinfo , 3sat , Arte , KiKA and Phoenix are available throughout the country, in addition to at least one region-dependent channel which is provided by the regional ARD member. Additionally, ARD's EinsFestival , EinsPlus and tagesschau24 are variously available in some parts of

5076-409: The UK, is responsible for co-ordination between Freeview and other digital services. The original Freeview was later expanded with additional facilities (Freeview+), high-definition channels (Freeview HD), and Internet connectivity (Freeview Play). All services remain available; the original Freeview equipment will work (unenhanced) in the same way it always did. The original Freeview service allowed

5170-742: The analogue and free-to-air satellite options, supports high-definition broadcasts for TVNZ 1, TVNZ 2, Three and Bravo. While, airing the timeshifted channels also. In Brazil the main FTA satellite is the Star One D2, it holds approximately C-band analog channels (1985-2024), including all major networks like TV Globo (feed nacional digital HDTV ), SBT (feed nacional digital HDTV ), Record (feed nacional digital HDTV ), RedeTV! , Band (feed nacional digital HDTV ), Cultura , Futura (feed nacional digital HDTV ), TV Verdes Mares (feed nacional digital HDTV ), Canal Gov, Canal Libras and others, 36 C-band and KU-band digital HDTV channels. In Chile

5264-427: The analogue version of FilmFour shut down and later switched to digital. On 7 April 2001, FilmFour expanded with the launch of three additional digital networks. FilmFour World carried the best of international cinema and broadcast from 4:00pm to 10:00pm, while FilmFour Extreme carried "controversial and cutting-edge" movies, and broadcast from 10:00pm-4:00am, both of which operated on a timeshare. The other addition

5358-495: The call centre was inundated as a result of the problems. The change involved an update to the NIT (Network Information Table), which some receivers could not accommodate. Many thousands of people could not receive some channels. This included 460,000 fed from relay stations who lost access to ITV3 and ITV4 . Updates were broadcast to enable firmware changes, but in some cases the receiver must be left on and receiving broadcasts to accept

5452-454: The channel can switch to 1080p25. This was extended to all of the other Freeview HD channels in October 2011. To ensure provision of audio description, broadcasters typically use the AAC codec. Hardware restrictions allow only a single type of audio decoder to operate at any one time, so the main audio and the audio description must use the same encoding family for them to be successfully combined at

5546-464: The collaboration produced John Polson 's Siam Sunset and Mark Lamprell's My Mother Frank in Australia. Dear left FilmFour in July 2000, to became commissioning editor of drama at SBS independent (the production arm of public broadcaster SBS ), after which FilmFour closed its Australian office. On 1 November 1998, the production company was re-branded as FilmFour to coincide with the launch of

5640-617: The country, and various commercial channels are available in metropolitan areas. In the Republic of Ireland, there are nine television channels and 11 radio channels broadcast free-to-air via the DVB-T Saorview service. Analog PAL versions of some of the channels were also broadcast until October 24, 2012, when all analogue television broadcasting was shut down. All of Malta's national and political party channels are available free-to-air. The national channels TVM and TVM2 , Parliament TV and

5734-423: The decision to accept the BBC's request will deliver net benefits to licence-holders by ensuring they have access to the widest possible range of HD television content on DTT. Freeview HD Recorder (formerly Freeview+ , originally named Freeview Playback ) is the marketing name for Freeview-capable digital video recorders with some enhancements over the original Freeview. All recorders are required to include

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5828-419: The duration of the 2012 Summer Olympics , followed by a channel from Channel 4 for the 2012 Summer Paralympics . On 13 June 2013, the BBC temporarily launched a high-definition red button stream in the vacant space. On 16 July 2013, Ofcom announced that up to 10 new HD channels would be launched by early 2014, using new capacity made available by the digital switchover . This provided additional spectrum in

5922-996: The end of analog television broadcasting. European countries have a tradition of most television services being free-to-air. Germany, in particular, receives in excess of 100 digital satellite TV channels free-to-air. Approximately half of the television channels on SES Astra 's 19.2° east and 28.2° east satellite positions, and Eutelsat 's Hot Bird (13° east) are free-to-air. A number of European channels which one might expect to be broadcast free-to-air - including many countries' national terrestrial broadcasters - do not do so via satellite for copyright reasons. (Rights to purchase programs for free-to-air broadcast, especially via satellite, are often higher in price than for encrypted broadcast.) The lack of FTA among public broadcasters are prevalent in countries whose broadcasters tend to use subtitles for foreign language programmes; although Spain's two public domestic channels, La Una and La Dos, are also encrypted despite dubbed foreign programmes being

6016-447: The evening of 25 September 2021, transmissions of Freeview channels operated by the BBC, Channel 4 and ViacomCBS (Channel 5) were impacted by the activation of a fire suppressant system at the premises of Red Bee Media . While the BBC moved its playout from White City to Salford and Channel 5 went into 'recovery mode' (with viewers seeing an additional black & white symbol at the top of the screen), Channel 4's channels went off air for

6110-410: The fifth slot after being unable to resolve "issues of commercial importance". Subject to any future Ofcom decision to re-advertise the slot, the capacity will remain with the BBC and can be used by it for BBC services or services provided by a third party via a commercial arrangement. The BBC temporarily used the space to broadcast a high definition simulcast of their main Freeview red button feed for

6204-521: The first manufacturer to gain Freeview HD certification, for the Vestel T8300 set top box. Humax released the first Freeview HD reception equipment, the Humax HD-FOX T2, on 13 February 2010. It was announced on 10 February 2009, that the signal would be encoded with MPEG-4 AVC High Profile Level 4, which supports up to 1080i30/1080p30, so 1080p50 cannot be used. The system has been designed from

6298-431: The five analogue channels and digital channels such as ITV2 , ITN News Channel , S4C2 , TV Travel Shop and QVC . With the launch of Freeview other channels were broadcast free-to-air, such as: Sky Travel , UK History , Sky News , Sky Sports News , The Hits (now 4Music ) and TMF (renamed Viva , now defunct) were available from the start. BBC Four and the interactive BBC streams were moved to multiplex B. Under

6392-564: The following features in addition to standard Freeview: Pace plc introduced the first DTT DVR in the UK in September 2002, called the Pace Twin. However this was before the Freeview brand and its Playback and + marketing names were introduced. Freeview Play combines the existing live television service with catch-up TV ( BBC iPlayer , ITVX , STV Player , Channel 4 , S4C Clic , My5 , U , Pop Player , CBS Catchup Channels UK, Legend ) on

6486-554: The initial plans, the two multiplexes operated by Crown Castle would carry eight channels altogether. The seventh stream became shared by UK Bright Ideas and Ftn which launched in February 2003. The eighth stream was left unused until April 2004 when the shopping channel Ideal World launched on Freeview. There are now 14 streams carried by two multiplexes, with Multiplex C carrying 6 streams, and Multiplex D carrying 8. It has recently been announced that more streams are now available on

6580-614: The licence would probably need to be changed to reflect the fact that this new arrangement is permitted. The BBC had suggested that as an alternative to the SI compression scheme, the Freeview HD multiplex may have to adopt encryption. Bensberg said that it would appear "inappropriate to encrypt public service broadcast content on DTT". On 14 June 2010, Ofcom agreed to allow the BBC to limit the full availability of its own and other broadcasters' high definition (HD) Freeview services to receivers that control how HD content can be used. Ofcom concluded that

6674-546: The main FTA satellite is the Hispasat 74W-1, it holds approximately 10 KU-band digital HDTV channels including all major networks like La Red, Telecanal, TVN Regional, TVN2 Regional, Canal 24HRS, CHV, CHV2, CDTV, TV Senado, La Red Feed, Telecanal Feed and TVN Feed. Freeview (UK) Freeview is the United Kingdom 's sole digital terrestrial television platform. It is operated by Everyone TV and DTV Services Ltd ,

6768-520: The many Local TV services (1 service included in the count) they total 105 Freeview, 17 Freeview HD and 33 radio. To receive Freeview, either a television with an integrated digital tuner or an older analogue television with a suitable Freeview-branded set-top box is required. An aerial is required for viewing any broadcast television transmissions. For all transmissions indoor, loft-mounted, and external aerials are available. In regions of strong signal an indoor aerial may be adequate; in marginal areas

6862-402: The most commonly used broadcast methods, with analog transmissions almost completely discontinued as of mid-2014. The most common North American sources for free-to-air DVB satellite television are: Most of these signals are carried by US satellites. There is little or no free Canadian DVB-S content available to users of medium-size dishes, as much of the available Ku-band satellite bandwidth

6956-432: The multiplexes, and that bidding is under way. The Freeview service underwent a major upgrade on 30 September 2009, which required 18 million households to retune their Freeview receiving equipment. The changes, meant to ensure proper reception of Channel 5 , led to several thousand complaints from people who lost channels (notably ITV3 and ITV4 ) as a result of retuning their equipment. The Freeview website crashed and

7050-455: The national public broadcaster, ORF , offers a special free-to-air channel which airs selected programming without (i.e. those without copyright issues) via satellite all over Europe. As Germany and Austria speak the same language and use the same satellite, Austrian viewers are able to receive about 120 free German-speaking channels from both countries. In general, all satellite radio in Europe

7144-516: The norm in Spain. However, these channels usually provide a scheme to offer free, but encrypted, viewing with free-to-view broadcasts. Certain programming on Italy's RAI , and the majority of Dutch channels are covered by such schemes (although in the case of RAI some programming is transmitted without encryption where there are no copyright issues). In Austria , the main national networks broadcast free-to-view via satellite; however, all regional and some smaller channels are transmitted free-to-air, and

7238-501: The other BBC channels launched in some regions, expanding to 70% UK coverage by June 2014. Channel 5 HD launched on Freeview on 4 May 2016. In June 2022, it was announced that the COM7 multiplex would be closing due to the license expiring and the frequency used being released for 5G. The BBC announced that they have made provisions for a 6th slot for BBC Four HD and CBeebies HD to move into available capacity that has been newly identified on

7332-607: The political party channels NET and ONE, all are broadcast via the free-to-air DVB-T service. Even HD versions of these channels are available free-to-air. The only scrambled channel in Malta is ITV Teleshopping. In the Netherlands, three national public television channels ( NPO 1 , NPO 2 and NPO 3 ) and seven national public radio channels broadcast free-to-air via the DVB-T Digitenne service. The television and radio channels of

7426-601: The production company. The original subscription version of FilmFour and FilmFour +1 closed for the final time on 19 July, with FilmFour Weekly also ceasing broadcast to make way for the relaunch. The new free-to-air Film4 launched on 23 July at 9   pm, with the UK free-to-air premiere of Lost in Translation as its first film. Due to the change, the channel's availability increased from 300,000 (subscribers) to 18 million households. It also changed its broadcasting hours, broadcasting from 12.45pm to 8.45am. The switch to becoming

7520-404: The receiver. In the case of BBC HD, the main audio is coded as AAC-LC and only the audio description is encoded as HE-AAC . Neither AAC nor Dolby Digital Plus codecs are supported by most home AV equipment, which typically accept Dolby Digital or DTS , leaving owners with stereo, rather than surround sound , output. Transcoding from AAC to Dolby Digital or DTS and multi-channel output via HDMI

7614-560: The regional public broadcasters are also free-to-air via the DVB-T service. In Spain, there are around 25 national and 40 regional channels, as well as many local channels and radio stations. All television channels are in HD, with at least one UHD channel ( La 1 ). The state broadcaster, Televisión Española , is publicly-funded and does not show commercials. The two major competing networks, Atresmedia and Mediaset , are privately-owned and show commercials. All broadcasts are free-to-air, and there

7708-566: The rest of the world is that in North America , very few of the available signals are actually intended for home viewers or other end-users. Instead, they are generally intended for reception by local television stations, cable system headends, or other commercial users. While it is generally thought to be legal for home viewers to view such transmissions as long as they are not encrypted, this means that there are several unique challenges to viewing FTA signals, challenges not present in other areas of

7802-429: The start to allow regional variations in the broadcast schedule. Services are statistically multiplexed – bandwidth is dynamically allocated between channels, depending on the complexity of the images – with the aim of maintaining a consistent quality, rather than a specific bit rate. Video for each channel can range between 3 Mbit/s and 17 Mbit/s. AAC or Dolby Digital Plus audio

7896-680: The state-controlled broadcaster, the SABC was accused of bias towards the apartheid regime, giving only limited coverage to opposition politicians. In Hong Kong, the largest and most dominant television channel, Television Broadcasts Limited , was the first free-to-air commercial television channel when it commenced broadcasting on 19 November 1967. It may also well be among the oldest and first stations to broadcast over-the-air in East and Southeast Asia. ViuTV and RTHK TV started broadcasting in 2016. Around 600 FTA television channels and 180 radio channels are broadcast from ku-band and c-band transponders on

7990-510: The three multiplexes from the defunct ITV Digital . The founding members of DTV Services, who trade as Freeview, were the BBC , Crown Castle UK and British Sky Broadcasting . On 11 October 2006, ITV plc and Channel 4 became equal shareholders. Since then, the Freeview model has been copied in Australia and New Zealand . Although all pay channels had been closed down on ITV Digital, many free-to-air channels continued broadcasting, including

8084-515: The updates; not everyone was aware of this. The Freeview service underwent a major upgrade on 3 September 2014 which required 18 million households to retune their Freeview receiving equipment. The changes included a reshuffle of the Children's, News, and Interactive genres. A number of new HD channels launched in 2014, from a new group of multiplexes awarded to Arqiva. The new HD channels were launched in selected areas on 10 December 2013 with

8178-516: The view that colour television would have to be available so as to avoid a costly migration from black-and-white broadcasting technology. Initially, the TV service was funded entirely through a licence fee as in the UK, charged at R36. However, advertising began on 1 January 1978. On 1 January 1982, two services were introduced, TV2 broadcasting in Zulu and Xhosa and TV3 broadcasting in Sotho and Tswana, aimed at

8272-452: The world. Among these are: The largest groups of end-users for Ku-band free-to-air signals were initially the ethnic-language communities, as often free ethnic-language programming would be sponsored by Multilingual American Communities and their broadcasters. Depending on language and origin of the individual signals, North American ethnic-language TV is a mix of pay-TV , free-to-air and DBS operations. Today, many American broadcasters send

8366-645: Was closed in July 2015. The network has its origins in Channel Four Films , a production company opened by Channel Four Television Corporation in 1982 which has been responsible for backing a large number of films made in the United Kingdom and around the world. The company's first production was Stephen Frears ' Walter , which was released in the same year. In the late 1990s, Film4 Productions partnered with Showtime Australia in its first foreign co-financing venture, with Miranda Dear appointed in 1996 as production and acquisition consultant. During this time

8460-485: Was due to launch during 2010 but was unable to reach 'key criteria' to keep its slot. Spare allocation on multiplex B was handed over to the BBC, two years from the date when it was anticipated that further capacity on multiplex B would revert to the control of the BBC Trust. On 3 November 2010, BBC One HD launched on Freeview HD. Initially it was available in addition to the existing BBC HD channel, which continued to show

8554-505: Was made available by the "Sewing Quarter" service moving to Freeview COM6 (DVB-T) multiplex operated by Arqiva . Free-to-air FTA also refers to channels and broadcasters providing content for which no subscription is expected, even though they may be delivered to the viewer/listener by another carrier for which a subscription is required, e.g., cable television , the Internet , or satellite . These carriers may be mandated (or OPT) in some geographies to deliver FTA channels even if

8648-521: Was not originally necessary for Freeview HD certification. As of June 2010 the DTG D-Book includes the requirement for mandatory transcoding when sending audio via S/PDIF , and for either transcoding or multi-channel PCM audio when sending it via HDMI in order for manufacturers to gain Freeview HD certification from April 2011. Thus equipment sold as Freeview HD before April 2011 may not deliver surround sound to audio equipment (some equipment may, but this

8742-463: Was the timeshift service FilmFour +1 , which carried all of the main channel's films an hour later. All three channels were initially exclusive to Sky Digital but were made available on NTL cable from November-December 2001. In July 2002, Channel 4 reduced FilmFour's budget from £30 to £10 million and cut 50 staff to curb mounting losses, reintegrating FilmFour as a division of its television operation to continue to invest in new films. The cuts were

8836-494: Was withdrawn in January 2017. Freeview HD comprises a number of high-definition versions of existing channels. It requires a different high-definition tuner, and does not supersede or replace standard Freeview. On 20 August 2020, Freeview announced that it would phase out their Freeview HD brand in 2022. With two channels ( BBC HD and ITV HD ) Freeview HD completed a "technical launch" on 2 December 2009 from Winter Hill (as

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