What is freeview and why should I care?

Freeview is just a new name for the free-to-air digital television we've had for almost a decade. Don't make the mistake of thinking your gear must sport the Freeview logo.

Any device with a high-def digital tuner will let you enjoy every digital channel, even the new commercial channels such as Network Ten's One HD.

Freeview is primarily a Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt campaign, run by the free-to-air broadcasters to fight off pay television and thwart new technologies.

Manufacturers are forced to disable features such as ad-skipping if they want the Freeview sticker, although some manufacturers such as Beyonwiz will sell PVRs with and without the Freeview logo.

Freeview devices are future-proofed for MPEG-4 digital TV (which would solve some capacity issues for broadcasters) although the networks have not announced plans to switch from current MPEG-2 broadcasts (a move which would render most of Australia's existing digital television tuners useless).

Unfortunately around half of the Freeview-branded digital television equipment to go on sale this year won't be compatible with MHEG-5, the technology Freeview plans to use for a new Electronic Program Guide and other features.

This won't mean you're missing out on anything at first, but in the future it might mean your box isn't compatible with new Freeview features.

In a nutshell, boxes with the Freeview sticker give you some future-proofing for future Freeview features (if they're MHEG-5 compatible) and possible future Digital TV technologies (MPEG4). What you miss out on is ad skipping, and the ability to transfer recorded shows to a computer or USB hard drive.

Also see our article 5 tips for buying a digital TV set top box

This is an extract of an article that appeared in the June 2009 issue of PC Authority.