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Freeview HD: everything you need to know
- Thread starter Andy Clough
- Start date
Excellent! Just in time!
clarification: so, out of the 4 FW HD channels, which ones do transmit 5.1 sound?
BBD HD - yes, but not all boxes decode it (as it is in AAC)
ITV HD - no, stereo only
Ch 4 HD - ?
S4C - ?
clarification: so, out of the 4 FW HD channels, which ones do transmit 5.1 sound?
BBD HD - yes, but not all boxes decode it (as it is in AAC)
ITV HD - no, stereo only
Ch 4 HD - ?
S4C - ?
Can't test S4C here, but according to the C4 HD website only a limited number of HD programmes (such as Ugly Betty) are transmitted in 5.1. "As more programmes are commissioned in HD, that number will increase," says C4.
Wondering if anyone can clarify the dates for each region changing over. Specifically Cumbria (Carlisle). I was told that it would be October and many sites confirm this, however the Freeview HD postcode checker says June 18th. Has the date been moved perhaps?
I suspect the dates are constantly subject to change, and I know there was a big push on to get as much coverage as possible for the World Cup. It's possible Carlisle has been brought forward. Certainly says June 18 when I put in a friend's Carlisle postcode.
I will do. Seems to be for most of Cumbria and south west Scotland when i've tested it with friends' postcodes also. Seems a little odd they havn't made more fuss about the dates coming forward though.
chebby
Well-known member
I will get the Panasonic DMR-BW780 (or whatever it has been replaced by) and a matching 32" Freeview HD Panasonic TV in 2012 when our transmitter cuts over to Freeview HD.
At least the prices will have dropped a bit by then.
Not in any hurry. The biggest thing I am missing by not having the new generation kit is the ability to use BBC iPlayer on the TV, but a £149 Nintendo Wii will do that if I want the facility badly enough. (I gather it has the ability to play electronic games on it as an added feature
)
At least the prices will have dropped a bit by then.
Not in any hurry. The biggest thing I am missing by not having the new generation kit is the ability to use BBC iPlayer on the TV, but a £149 Nintendo Wii will do that if I want the facility badly enough. (I gather it has the ability to play electronic games on it as an added feature
XMB
Well-known member
One thing you need to know is that there are currently very few programs broadcast on Freeview HD that actually have 5.1 surround sound! But the big issue I have is the BBC HD channel (and 4HD) flag everything as 5.1 even if it is just stereo!
This means you end up with your surround system just outputting most material from the right and left speaker, with nothing coming from the centre. Since it is incorrectly flagged you can't switch your surround amp to a suitable Pro Logic mode (pseudo surround) to get the correct output from the centre speaker.
This just adds to the already big mess that is Freeview HD due to the adoption of AAC for the sound over the standard Dolby Digital (and the new Dolby Digital Plus that would have given the required audio descriptor service required by those with sight problems).
I bet most who have Freeview HD decoders don't even realise they never have 5.1 surround sound! (A quick tip, look for the light on your amplifier that indicates digital surround sound, mine is blue.)
It is time for magazines such as yours to start a campaign to get the Freeview consortium to sort this mess out. Even if it means switching to Dolby Digital at this late stage.
While your at it get the BBC & 4HD to either switch to stereo on the HD channels when the material is only stereo or encode the stereo with Dolby Pro Logic so I get the correct surround sound from my speakers!
Currently they keep transmitting 5.1 no matter what the source material, so you end up with sound only from the right and left speakers most of the time! My amp (Sony STRD2400ES), like many others, can't use a pseudo surround mode when it detects 5.1 over the HDMI connection. (Why should it as the signal indicating 5.1?)
This means you end up with your surround system just outputting most material from the right and left speaker, with nothing coming from the centre. Since it is incorrectly flagged you can't switch your surround amp to a suitable Pro Logic mode (pseudo surround) to get the correct output from the centre speaker.
This just adds to the already big mess that is Freeview HD due to the adoption of AAC for the sound over the standard Dolby Digital (and the new Dolby Digital Plus that would have given the required audio descriptor service required by those with sight problems).
I bet most who have Freeview HD decoders don't even realise they never have 5.1 surround sound! (A quick tip, look for the light on your amplifier that indicates digital surround sound, mine is blue.)
It is time for magazines such as yours to start a campaign to get the Freeview consortium to sort this mess out. Even if it means switching to Dolby Digital at this late stage.
While your at it get the BBC & 4HD to either switch to stereo on the HD channels when the material is only stereo or encode the stereo with Dolby Pro Logic so I get the correct surround sound from my speakers!
Currently they keep transmitting 5.1 no matter what the source material, so you end up with sound only from the right and left speakers most of the time! My amp (Sony STRD2400ES), like many others, can't use a pseudo surround mode when it detects 5.1 over the HDMI connection. (Why should it as the signal indicating 5.1?)
To anyone who lives in the cumbria area, we now have freeview HD. Didnt make England look any better unfortunately!
matengawhat
Well-known member
i've been enjoying my freeview HD for a little while now on a sony 37ex403 for a couple of months now - def an improvement
XMB
Well-known member
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