Mar 20, 2009 9:27 AM | 4 Comments

MPEG4-gate is Freeview's latest FUD campaign designed to scare Australians into not skipping ads. Adam Turner tries to set the record straight.

If you believe that bastion of journalism, Rupert Murdoch's Melbourne Herald Sun, every digital television, set top box and PVR sold in the last decade should be taken down to the rubbish dump on May 1 because the broadcasters are changing formats from MPEG2 to MPEG4.

Thankfully our good friends at Freeview have come to the rescue by ensuring Freeview-endorsed digital television equipment handles both MPEG2 and MPEG4. Thank God for Freeview, protecting us from those big, bad television broadcasters.

The Freeview campaign has one goal - to protect the interests of Australia's old-school media giants from the combined threats of ad-skipping, copying and pay television. I call Freeview a "campaign" because all it does is rebrand what we already called digital television, while implying that "15 new channels" are on the way.

Freeview is not really a new product - unless your definition of a new product is taking a bucket of slop and changing the label to say "new and improved", when all that's new and improved is the label.

Freeview is basically a cartel of the existing free-to-air broadcasts looking to protect their position in a rapidly changing world. The best summary I've heard of Freeview so far is a spoof of the Freeview television ad, which Freeview had pulled from YouTube but is now back up here. I'd call it essential viewing if you want to understand what Freeview has to offer.

Anyway, Freeview launched the next wave of its Fear Uncertainty and Doubt campaign this week with the help of this article in the Herald Sun; Clock ticks for plasmas, LCDs.

The intro sets the tone for the yarn; That expensive plasma or LCD will be obsolete from May 1 when Australia's TV population - about 16.5 million of them - and its digital TV system, becomes officially outdated.

The story went on to explain that the MPEG2 broadcasting standard was due to be replaced with MPEG4, which would eventually require Australians to upgrade their televisions, PVRs and set top boxes once again.

According to the story, to watch the new digital TV system consumers will have to buy a Freeview-approved high-definition set-top box or an LCD or plasma TV that conforms to Freeview specifications.

This is absolute rubbish. There are a handful of MPEG4-compatible players on the market and manufacturers tell me there are more to come - but they won't all get the Freeview tick of approval. To brandish the Freeview logo you need to meet Freeview's strict rules, which include no ad-skipping and no easy way to copy recordings off the device.

Similar confusion surrounded access to the free-to-air Electronic Program Guide - with Freeview and Pay TV Australia previously making ambiguous threats implying the only way you'd be able to access the EPG was with Freeview-endorsed gear. Again, not true.

The Freeview campaign has been deliberately heavy on rhetoric and light on information, leaving people confused. Freeview now intends to come to their rescue with a new "information campaign" - telling them all they need to look for when buying digital gear is the Freeview logo. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the broadcasters can't ban manufacturers from making PVRs which skip ads, but they can trick people into not buying them.

Freeview chief executive Robin Parkes was quoted in the Herald Sun story and she didn't seem to contradict its main assertions. After the uproar the next day she issued a press statement distancing Freeview from the story, but the damage was already done. The result - fear, uncertainty and doubt in the mind of shoppers everywhere.

After the industry roundly condemned the story, insisting there were no immediate plans to switch to MPEG4, the Herald Sun wrote a follow up which still included the phrase; Consumers would have to buy new Freeview-endorsed TVs or add approved set-top boxes to watch the new digital TV programs.

Freeview might desperately need you, but you don't need Freeview to enjoy the benefits of the digital television revolution.

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• NineHD lets the breakaway programming Jeannie out of the bottle

TDJoyce Mar 20, 2009 2:06 PM	I have three words for the TV networks and Freeview, "kiss my butt". I am sure the majority of viewers would have the same advice. Who do these jerks think they are? They have a monumentally overrated opinion of themselves and their importance in the scheme of things. Go ahead give me more reason to switch you off completely. Their incompetent running of programs has me watching much less TV than I used to. I look elsewhere for what I want to watch. So great, make it more difficult and stuff viewers around some more, at "YOUR" peril. The "Freeview" spoof is great and would be funnier if it was not so true. Ten at the moment have 1 SD channel showing programs and 3 "1,11,12" showing exactly the same crap. How dumb are these people. Where is the point of 4 channels. Idiots. Lets not forget the Government. Where are they. They certainly don't give a crap about viewers.
Aj619 Mar 20, 2009 5:00 PM	Rupert Murdoch's Melbourne Herald Sun, every digital television, set top box and PVR sold in the last decade should be taken down to the rubbish dump on May 1 because the broadcasters are changing formats from MPEG2 to MPEG4. Quick everyone to the rubbish dump lol but no one will because 2 tvs are better than one
stolennomenclature Mar 21, 2009 9:07 AM	The reason for switching to mpeg4 is of course the higher compression ratio, allowing more logical channels to fit into the same multiplex. It seems quite absurd for the Australian TV companies to be hankering after more channels, when 90%(+) of the current programs are total crap. There is not even enough watchable content from ALL the TV stations to fill a single channel. Rather than embarking on new technology to provide more bandwidth, perhaps it might be better to spend the money on creating new content, some of which might be targeted at people with an IQ in double figures - there are still a few of them around (just).
Jammitt Mar 22, 2009 10:50 PM	The Herald Scum? Freeview.... ??? Hmmmmmm Mr Handie goes into Mrs Fannies house and they start to play "Free To Air", with a guaranteed 5 minute movie break every in every half hour of LOUD "Add Shows"...... Sorry gotta go - the special feature strip shows for my mobile is coming on 10 X every 5 minutes, for the next 3 hours. Jolly jolly jolly...