| Freesat from the BBC & ITV |
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television platform developed by the BBC and ITV plc. The service launched on May 6th 2008 and offerers an alternative to Sky Digital , offering a selection of channels available without subscription.
The service will make use of the additional capacity available on satellite to offer High Definition (HD) channels.
Freesat was set up to ensure that all UK households have the opportunity to access digital TV and Radio, subscription-free.
The Public Service platform will include high definition programmes - without having to pay a monthly subscription.
Freesat was formed in May 2007 as a joint venture between the BBC and ITV, and includes many of the same people behind Freeview.
Freesat is funded 50/50 by ITV and the BBC, and is run on a not-for-profit basis.
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| Freesat EPG Listings This is the new provisional Freesat EPG |
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| Why Freesat? |
BBC and ITV, the two main public service broadcasters in the UK, have made their services available digitally through two platforms, digital terrestrial (Freeview) and digital satellite (Sky Digital).
On digital terrestrial, the channels have always been available free of charge with appropriate equipment.
However, Freeview is currently available to only 73% of the population. After digital switch-off, this will increase to 98.5% for the public service channels and 90% for the full Freeview service. In order to provide fuller coverage and a larger number of channels, a digital satellite alternative is necessary.
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| The digital satellite platform has largely been controlled by the commercial operator BSkyB. Initially, both the BBC's and ITV's channels were encrypted since the original satellites used for Sky Digital broadcast to most of Europe though the broadcasters' rights for premium content such as films and sports typically covered the UK only. |
| The use of encryption meant that any viewer wishing to view the channels had to purchase equipment from Sky and pay for a free-to-view viewing card in order to decrypt the channels. Similarly, in order to use the Videoguard encryption, the broadcasters needed to pay a fee to NDS. |
| Free-To-Air |
In May 2003, the BBC moved all of their channels onto the Astra 2D satellite which focuses more tightly on the UK. This allowed the BBC to stop encrypting their broadcasts while continuing to meet their licence and copyright obligations.
In September 2005, the BBC and ITV announced that they would collaborate on a free-to-air satellite service to complement Freeview. Two months later, ITV began broadcasting in the clear. |
The free-to-air channels could then be received using any standard digital satellite (DVB-S) receiver. However, the Freesat project aims to provide a more managed service with an Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), interactive features and approved receivers, similar to the Freeview service.
The initial plan was to release the service in early 2006. This was postponed to Autumn 2007 pending approval from the BBC Trust. This approval was received in April 2007. |
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| What equipment will you require to watch Freesat? |
There are two types of FreeSat receiver currently announced — Standard Definition (SD) -only receivers and High Definition (HD) receivers. These receivers will be sold through official retailers such as Argos, Comet, Currys and John Lewis.
You will also require a satellite dish positioned to receive the Astra 2/Eurobird1 group of satellites copositioned at 28° East.
For users who do not currently have a satellite dish, FreeSat offers an installation service which is made available through retailers and which is advertised in a leaflet included with Freesat receivers. If you currently have a Sky dish, this can also be used for Freesat, you could have both services from the same dish by using a Twin dual output LNB. |
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| Freesat HD Receivers |
Bush BFSAT01HD — £119.99
Goodmans GFSAT200HD — £149.99
Grundig GUFSATHD — £149.99
Humax Foxsat-HD — price unknown |
| Freesat SD Receivers |
Bush — £49.99
Goodmans GFSAT100SD — £69.99
Grundig GUFSAT01 — £49.99. |
Freesat PVR
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| There are no plans for a standard-definition PVR, though Humax expects to launch a HD PVR within 'a couple of months', retailing for around £150. Hard disc capacity will be at least 320GB. |
| Integrated HD TVs |
Panasonic will launch two plasma TVs (42in TH-42PZ81 and 46in TH-46PZ81) with integrated Freesat and Freeview tuners by the end of June, with a third (50in TH-50PZ81) in July. They will be joined by three LCDs (28in, 32in and 37in) in October, also with both Freesat HD and Freeview tuners.
The plasma range are all 1080p Full HD-capable, with an SD card reader offering MPEG-4 HD playback, optical digital audio out, and HDMI out with Enhanced Viera Link, so you can record HD to a suitable Panasonic recorder. They have a total of three HDMI connectors. |
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| Freesat HD |
| Freesat is likely to be the sole free platform for high definition content for the next few years. Currently, no high definition channels are available via digital terrestrial. Ofcom have announced that, after analogue switch-off, they plan to reorganise the Freeview channels ans multiplexes, in order to allow several high definition channels to be added without making available more capacity. However, these plans have drawn widespread criticism for not providing additional capacity, which may lead to unsatisfactory picture quality for both SD and HD channels. |
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HD receivers are available from Goodmans, Bush, Grundig and Humax now. Humax will launch a twin-tuner HD PVR 'in the next couple of months'.
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| BBC HD |
| BBC HD is already broadcasting a limited service, with a prime-time schedule that will expand over the next few years into the afternoon. The BBC's hi-def services are broadcast in 1080i with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround audio. |
| ITV HD |
ITV HD is scheduled to begin broadcasting on Freesat in the near future. It will be accessible via the red button rather than given an individual EPG slot and that it would initially be viewable exclusively on Freesat equipment.
Test transmissions for ITV HD are now being broadcast on Eurobird 1 at 11.428 GHz with horizontal polarisation, a symbol rate of 27500, and a service ID of 10510. However, the stream may not be viewed on Sky HD receivers, nor traditional free to air HD receivers, as the video stream is being broadcast as H.222 data rather than using the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC codec supported by such receivers and used by existing high definition services such as BBC HD. |
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| Channel 4 HD |
| Channel 4 HD has no plans to join Freesat at this stage, due to contractrual obligation with Sky. Expect this channel sometime in 2008 or 2009. |
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| Technical Information |
Freesat broadcasts from the same fleet of satellites as Sky Digital, Astra 2A, Astra 2B, Asytra 2C, Astra 2D and Eurobird 1. Channels are broadcast using DVB-S. The Freesat programme guide will be broadcast from the Eurobird 1 satellite situated at 28.5° east.
All the channels broadcasting to date are broadcasting using DVB-S. Standard definition channels are broadcast using MPEG-2 for compatibility with Sky Digital receivers.
BBC HD is broadcast using MPEG-4 since it does not need to be compatible with Sky's non-HD boxes. Currently, BBC HD uses DVB-S since the channel shares a transponder with several Standard Definition channels. It is unknown whether or not this will switch to the newer DVB-S2 used for Sky HD when more HD channels are made available. |
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| Freesat Inetractive |
| Freesat uses a version of the MHEG interactive software seen on Freeview, providing digital text, subtitles, audio description and extra video streams. There are special 'Freesat extensions' to MHEG, which allow richer services that can take advantage of the extra bandwidth on satellite, and the greater processing power of today's receivers. |
| Every Freesat box has an Ethernet port which can be connected to your home broadband connection, to allow a high capacity return path for interactive services. This is likely to include versions of the BBC iPlayer and the forthcoming Kangaroo service, so you can access on-demand TV from your Freesat receiver. |
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| Installation |
Standard installation costs £80 for a dish with a single-output LNB, though other options will be available at different retailers:
Argos will only offer the standard installation in-store.
Comet, Currys and John Lewis will offer a menu of options for PVR (or PVR-ready) systems, or multi-room installations. |
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| Phased Regional Service Launch |
As many are aware, not all the regional variants of BBC and ITV services were available at launch. This is due to technical constraints associated with co-existence on the satellite platform, so freesat has adopted a phased service launch.
Twenty BBC and ITV regional services were available at launch, and the remaining twenty eight regional services have been prioritised for launch between the end of May and the end of June 2008.
If you are in an area with a regional service that is not available yet, your temporary default is BBC London and ITV Central West. When your region becomes available, it will automatically become your default. |
| Services available from launch: |
BBC One London
BBC One Channel Islands
BBC One East (W)
BBC One Northern Ireland (957)
BBC One Scotland
BBC One Wales
BBC Two England
BBC Two Northern Ireland (969)
BBC Two Scotland
BBC Two Wales
Ulster
STV Scottish East
STV Scottish West
ITV1 Wales
ITV1 Border England
ITV1 Central West
ITV1 Granada
ITV1 Anglia East
Channel TV
STV Grampian North |
| Available by the end of June 2008: |
BBC One West
BBC One South East
BBC One South
BBC One South West
BBC One N.E & C
BBC One Oxford
BBC One West Midlands
BBC One North West
BBC one Yorks & Lincs
BBC One Yorks
BBC One East Midlands
BBC One East (E)
ITV1 West
ITV1 Central East
ITV1 Westcountry
ITV1 Central South
ITV1 Border Scotland
ITV1 Meridian South East
ITV1 Meridian North
ITV1 Meridian East
ITV1 Meridian South
ITV1 Yorkshire West
ITV1 Yorkshire East
ITV1 Central South West
ITV1 Anglia West
ITV1 Anglia South
ITV1 Tyne Tees South
ITV1 Tyne Tees North |
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| Contacting Freesat |
| Website: www.freesat.co.uk |
| Email: info@freesat.co.uk |
| Phone: 0845 313 0052 |
| Address: |
| Freesat |
| PO Box 6296 |
| London W1A 3FF |
