HD Broadcast on Freeview 2009

Grimley said:
Any HD Freeview receivers out there yet, or do you still have to obtain a Sky HD box :confused:
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You'll need a SKy box. HD requires MPEG4 (or a load of bandwidth for MPEG2, as Virgin use). There isnt enought bandwidth in the terrestrial spectrum for MPEG2 based HD broadcasts.
 
Visage said:
You'll need a SKy box. HD requires MPEG4 (or a load of bandwidth for MPEG2, as Virgin use). There isnt enought bandwidth in the terrestrial spectrum for MPEG2 based HD broadcasts.
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Sky boxes are not capable of receiving a digital terrestrial signal. You will need a dedicated HD Freeview box.
 
Viewers will have to wait until analogue TV is switched off in their area before they can see the HD channels. The last regions to change to all-digital signals, in 2012, will be London, the north-east of England and Northern Ireland.
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Bugger. Not for a while for me then, think I'm served by the Crystal Palace aerial :(
 
Visage said:
No chance. You really think that the UK's net infrastructure will be able to provide IPTV by 2012?
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Sky will be the only real viable HD option for quite some time. VM have the capability but not the content, Freeview will also struggle to provide many channels with current technology due to limitations in bandwidth even with the analogue switch off. You are entirely correct about the limitations of the infrastructure of the UK net.
 
GregI said:
Technology is rapidly changing every day. I say yes.
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I say no. How many houses are linked to your average exchange? Now imagine each of those houses with an IPTV link operating at 1MBps.

Im sure you can imagine the amount of bandwidth that would consume. Even using a content delivery network like Akamai to move content to the edge of the network still requires a huge investment - one that BT wont make becaus they'll get very little return - unless consumers are willing to pay £££.

The problem is that people look at IPTV and say 'Well, SD broadcasts only require a few Mbps, and we've already got that, so where is the problem' - the issue is that unlike web browsing, where the bandwidth use is occasional, inbetween periods of inactivity, IPTV requires a constant flow of data. And unless everyone imn a street is watching the same thing (in which case a multicast network like DTT is far more efficient) you're talking about huge numbers of individual, always on, network streams. You'd see molten exchanges up and down the country.
 
Visage said:
I say no. How many houses are linked to your average exchange? Now imagine each of those houses with an IPTV link operating at 1MBps.

Im sure you can imagine the amount of bandwidth that would consume. Even using a content delivery network like Akamai to move content to the edge of the network still requires a huge investment - one that BT wont make becaus they'll get very little return - unless consumers are willing to pay £££.

The problem is that people look at IPTV and say 'Well, SD broadcasts only require a few Mbps, and we've already got that, so where is the problem' - the issue is that unlike web browsing, where the bandwidth use is occasional, inbetween periods of inactivity, IPTV requires a constant flow of data. And unless everyone imn a street is watching the same thing (in which case a multicast network like DTT is far more efficient) you're talking about huge numbers of individual, always on, network streams. You'd see molten exchanges up and down the country.
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Fieber optics is the way forward and VM is investing heavily in it. Later this year a new housing estate will be the first to have 100mb connection, and a widespreed increase to 40mb for most of VM customers. Let alone in 4 years time.

But agree BT are going to struggle and it won't be until the government wake up and give BT a huge grant to modernise the lines that we will see true high speed broadband for the majority. Upgrading exchanges is working but ultimately it's the cables that are the slow point.

It's also unlikely to be everyone. Most people will watch it on freeview. But eventually HD will be added to Iplayer etc.
 
AcidHell2 said:
Fieber optics is the way forward and VM is investing heavily in it. Later this year a new housing estate will be the first to have 100mb connection, and a widespreed increase to 40mb for most of VM customers. Let alone in 4 years time.
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But what are the contention ratios? Peak bandwidth is all well and good, but sooner or later it has to be connected to some content.

You could have a street full of gigabit connections, but everyone's trying to watch on demand programming then somewhere along the line you need the cpacity to handle that number of streams.
 
Visage said:
But what are the contention ratios? Peak bandwidth is all well and good, but sooner or later it has to be connected to some content.

You could have a street full of gigabit connections, but everyone's trying to watch on demand programming then somewhere along the line you need the cpacity to handle that number of streams.
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Which is where upgraded exchanges and huge pipelines come in.
Look back 4 years and most people could only get 1mb.
 
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