Freeview over broadband

[l0586]

Hi all,

Does anyone have any updates on Freeview channels coming over broadband?

Thanks.

[NigelB72]

Nope

[gomezz]

One bit of news that I would like to hear is that they come up with a different name for free to view channels over broadband as Freeview is by definition those FTV channels available over the DTT platform.

[Les-Gibson]

Call the Freeview Advice Line

03456 505050

[DaveSwan]

Don’t bother calling Freeview, whilst there might be carriage agreements in place between BT and Freeview broadcasters, it looks like BT are managing this themselves over their network. 

The multicast streams are all there now, encrypted, but they include HD versions of many Freeview SD channels and stacks of regional variations. 

According to a mod on a similar post, they had planned on launching it during April, but this was scrubbed very late - hence the reason call centre staff and terms and conditions online made reference to it. 

There’s not been any mention of when they now plan to launch.

Obviously anything can change but here are the services I found with a multicast scan;

CBS Drama SD

CBS Justice SD

CBS Reality SD

Horror SD

BBC Alba HD

BBC Four

BBC News HD

BBC One East HD

BBC One East-Cambridge HD

BBC One London HD

BBC One Midlands East HD

BBC One Midlands East HD

BBC One Midlands West HD

BBC One N East and Cumbria HD

BBC One N Ireland HD

BBC One North-Lincs and Humbs HD

BBC One North-West HD

BBC One North-Yorks HD

BBC One Scotland HD

BBC One South East HD

BBC One South HD

BBC One South-Oxford HD

BBC One South-West HD

BBC One Wales HD

BBC One West HD

BBC Parliament HD

BBC Scotland HD

BBC Three HD

BBC Two England HD

BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

BBC Two Wales HD

CBBC HD

CBeebies HD

4Music SD

4Seven SD

C4 London HD

C4 Midlands HD

C4 North HD

C4 Scotland HD

C4 South HD

C4 Ulster HD

E4 SD

Film4 SD

5Select HD

5Star HD

5USA HD

Channel 5 HD

Paramount Network HD

DMAX SD

Food Network SD

HGTV SD

Quest HD

Quest Red SD

Really SD

CITV HD

ITV1 Central West HD - Central East

ITV1 Central West HD West Country

ITV1 Central West HD - West

ITV1 Central West HD

ITV1 Granda HD - Border England

ITV1 Granada Border Scotland

ITV1 Granada HD

ITV1 London HD

ITV1 Meridian East HD - Anglia East

ITV1 Meridian East - Anglia West

ITV1 Meridian East - Meridian North

ITV1 Meridian East - Meridian South

ITV1 Meridian East HD

ITV1 UTV ND

ITV1 Wales HD

ITV1 Yorkshire West HD - Tynes Tees

ITV1 Yorkshire West HD - Yorkshire East

ITV1 Yorkshire West HD

ITV2 HD

ITV3 HD

ITV4 HD

ITVBe HD

S4C HD

Challenge SD

Pick SD

STV1 Aberdeen HD

STV1 Edinburgh HD

[l0586]

This is really becoming annoying as when i initially took BT TV i was promiced it was active, then got told it isn't out yet its been delayed in Jan and the update is expect within a couple of weeks this was in April, were now in May and nothing.
I bit the bullet and paid for a aerial install but that cannot be done due to birds nesting next door and constant attacks from the jackdaws.
So now I'm really praying this update comes out soon so i can watch live Freeview channels with ease but my thoughts, now is will be be put on hold further due to the jump of BT services over to EE.

[DaveSwan]

I agree, it definitely could of been handled better.

To get to the stage where you’ve circulated details to the call centre teams and they’re advising it’s launched, would suggest an eleventh hour problem. 

Also, worth keeping in mind that launching this service literally quadruples the number of services carried over multicast - that may bring it’s own complexities.

[Les-Gibson]

It's by no means the finished article yet but you can already access many of the Freeview channels and watch them live online and you don't need BT TV to do it.

If you have a smart TV or a set top box then download the various apps, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 & My5  all deliver live content as well as archived content, the only 'disadvantage' is the lag which means that those watching (say) an off-air football match will see the kick off and any goals etc around 60 - 70 seconds before those watching via the apps.

Edit: And not to forget that you can watch live TV online via a laptop etc and cast it to your TV

[DaveSwan]

I don't think the OP is referring to simply getting access to Freeview channels.

Yes, you could download each and every app, moving from app to app with different layouts and navigation, but it's clunky.

Bring all of that together, along with BTs subscription services, HD versions of SD channels on Freeview, and make it all available without an aerial, anywhere in the home with wifi, and you've got a half decent offering that might just give YouView a fighting chance past 2024. 

Aside from that, looking at the bitrates for the services currently testing - there's a considerable improvement on quality when compared to the space available on Freeview, or even Freesat - even the SD services are higher. 

The HD channels are running around 6-7Mb/s, and SDs 2.8-3Mb/s. In theory, the SD channels should look better than through Freeview - especially anything on SDN, which runs all channels at 544x576. The average for CBS Reality on SDN is 1.2Mb/s, so as well as doubling the bitrate, with move to a higher resolution should mean there’s an improvement.

[Les-Gibson]

@DaveSwan 

The OP made it quite clear in message 6 that an aerial is not a practical option.

As I stated in my post, using the apps in such a way is not ideal by any means but by the sound of it, it does allow him more choice than he currently has