Freeview to announce September launch date for HbbTV
Free-to-air TV industry body Freeview has confirmed September 2 as its date for the formal launch of Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) the new online platform designed to bring catch-up programming to consumers’ television sets, Mumbrella can reveal.
Source have told Mumbrella Freeview will formally announce the September 2 launch date tomorrow for what is being called Freeview Plus, a new offering which will deliver a new electronic program guide which will allow viewers to watch shows which have already been on up to seven days ago if they have an internet connected FreeviewPlus box.
The HbbTV offering, which will also have a TV ad campaign to support it, had originally been expected to launch the service in May however the launch was then delayed to the second half of the year, and then Network Seven’s regional affiliate Prime Media pulled out of the deal saying there was not a big enough potential market in its service area to make it worthwhile.
Would like to be enthusiastic but given the digital guide is often crap, I can only see mote frustration.
The guide is out of sync with broadcast times, so any recordings miss start or finish. Or most frustrating of all, only records a few minutes. 10’s channels are the worst & is perhaps why their ratings are so poor.
What about the people who doesn’t have broadband ? In my area there are adsl and cable issues.. so I will miss out on this service.
This “catch-up” TV spin is a bit of a con. You can’t watch it until 24 hours after airing on FTA, there is no limit on the number of advert insertions (subject to well tested trials to seed how much you can bear before you quit), the show is only kept for about two weeks and the resolution is poor depending on your ADSL connection, less than SD. Oh and watch your ADSL plan doesn’t blow out.
Get a decent PVR, ideally with a smart recording service like IceTV so your shows are automatically recorded, then you won’t miss a show, you can watch the show as soon as you like after it starts, it stays on the PVR until you delete it so you watch whenever you like and, importantly, you can skip then ads wit the skip button. Catch-up should be renamed “Catch-you”.
Why would you release an ad with a web address which is not yet active?
“… if they have an internet connected FreeviewPlus box…”
Gah, can’t you just do that with some software? Barrier to entry is huge.
…and this is why 200,000 Australians are now quietly using Netflix…
Although it is exciting to know that you will be able to catch up on all those Reality TV programs – there are so many I can barely keep up!
#3 Colin. I’m sure you missed pointing out in your comments that you are the Co-Founder & Exec Chairman of IceTV.
#7 I Wonder. That is quite correct.
I have fibre optic broadband installed in my computer room (study) which is nowhere near my TV. Will I need to install a shielded TV cable or ethernet cable to my TV or FreeviewPlus box to benefit?
Also, is “your” “FreeviewPlus box” like a router to more than one TV?
Does the FreeviewPlus box connect to my computer and act like a router?
Can I download more than one “Catch up” TV program at one time?
Is this truly a no-cost service and only requires a FreeviewPlus box?