Freeview HD: the complete guide

Millions of homes in the UK currently have HD ready television sets and still only watch television in standard definition, but this could all be set to change with the arrival of Freeview HD.

Freeview is the most popular digital television service in the UK, bringing access to tens of digital television and radio channels to more than 18 million sets, and from the end of the year, parts of Great Britain will be able to get high definition (HD) channels as well.

Freeview HD is a service that will provide not only the same standard definition channels that Freeview hosts, but also high definition offerings from the likes of the BBC, Channel 4, ITV and, eventually, Five.

These high definition channels will be free and there will be no subscription necessary – although anyone wanting the new service will have to buy a new set top box (STB) or, when they are available, a television with a new DVB-T2 tuner that can deal with the high definition transmissions.

Old Freeview tuners – in both televisions and set-top boxes – will not be able to decode the HD signals from Freeview HD and will only be able to receive the old standard definition (SD) channels.

When will Freeview HD arrive?

The new Freeview HD service is being rolled out over a three year period, with some regions potentially having to wait until the very end of 2012 before they can get the service.

First to get Freeview HD will be the Granada television region – whose transmitters will begin broadcasting on 2 December 2009, with the Crystal Palace transmitter in London to follow soon after.

Black Hill for Glasgow and Edinburgh, Pontop Pike for Tyneside and Sunderland, and Emley Moor for Leeds, Bradford, and mid Yorkshire are also scheduled to come online in the first half of 2010, with the Freeview MD Ilse Howling suggesting 16 million UK homes would have the service by the end of 2010.

More recent news reveals more transmitters that will get Freeview HD by June 2010:

West and Central Wales (Blaenplwyf transmitter), Swansea (Kilvey Hall), Cardiff and Newport (Wenvoe) and around the Winter Hill relays will all be up and running by March 2010.

In April 2010, Carmarthenshire (Carmel), Exeter and parts of Devon (Stockland Hill), Bristol, Somerset, Dorset Wiltshire and Gloucestershire (Mendip).

May sees Shetland (Bressay) and Orkney (Keelylang Hill) join the Freeview HD party and June 2010 brings North Wales (Long Mountain, Moel-y-parc, Presely), Caithness and North Sutherland (Rumster Forest).

This would mean that millions could potentially watch the World Cup in 2010 in high definition. For others the wait will be longer – although most major cities should be covered by the end of 2011.

What channels will be in HD?

As the first service in Granada is rolled out, three channels will be available: BBC HD, ITV1 HD from ITV and C4HD from Channel 4 (and S4C in Wales).

From later in 2010 Five will bring its high definition channel to the market, with a slot already reserved for the broadcaster by communications watchdog Ofcom.

There is also likely to be a fifth HD channel available at some point in the future, after early testing discovered that there would almost certainly be space once the roll-out was complete.