High Definition on Freeview by late 2009
Some UK viewers will be able to watch High Definition (HD) on Freeview by the end of next year, Ofcom has announced.
The regulator has reserved capacity for HD services on Freeview for ITV, UTV, stv, Channel TV, and Channel 4 and S4C.
These public service broadcasters join the BBC in being able to broadcast in HD on Freeview, with services becoming available on a region by region basis as the country switches over to digital TV.
According to Ofcom, viewers in the Granada region should be able to watch HD services from late 2009, followed by Wales, Scotland and the West Country in 2010. Viewers in Central, Yorkshire, Anglia and Meridian will be able to receive HD programmes on Freeview in 2011, while London, Tyne Tees and Ulster will get them by 2012.
To be able to view the new services viewers will need an HD Ready TV set and a new Freeview HD box.
Ofcom said it also believed a fourth HD service could be launched on Freeview by 2010 with an announcement on the process of awarding this fourth licence by the end of this year.
Ofcom Chief Executive Ed Richards said: 'This is a major step in the development of digital terrestrial television.
'It will enable viewers to watch some of the very best programmes free to air in high definition through their television aerials.'
Channel 4 made a joint proposal for HD services with Welsh-language broadcaster S4C which involves a simultaneous broadcast of the HD version of the Channel 4 service across the UK. In Wales, viewers will receive an HD version of the S4C Digidol service.
Channel 4 said that 4HD would broadcast over 150 hours of films in HD during the first twelve months, with the majority shown in peak-time as well as drama, comedy, science programmes while viewers of S4C HD will be able to watch Welsh-language programmes in HD.
ITV plans to simultaneously broadcast the current peak-time (18.00-23.00) ITV1 schedule in HD. The new ITV HD service will include:the FA Cup and the 2010 Football World Cup, in HD. ITV proposes to offer on demand services and sub-let services outside of peak-time hours to allow other broadcasters to offer HD or other services on DTT.
An upgrade of the DTT platform to new and more efficient technologies will allow the broadcasters to free-up capacity in order to offer new HD services. The upgrade includes using two new broadcasting standards, known as MPEG-4 and DVB-T2 which are not available on current DTT devices.
HD services are currently available by satellite and cable in the UK.
Links open in a new window. The DTG is not responsible for the content of other web sites.