Part 5: The Freeview sticker on set top boxes reveals more about their limitations than their features.
The Freeview consortium would have you believe that you need to look for a PVR or set top box with a Freeview sticker to ensure it's compatible with digital TV. That's certainly not the case. In fact, opting for a Freeview-endorsed product actually means giving up a few features.
First the positives - the Freeview logo ensures your device has at least one high-def tuner and is MPEG-4-compatible (features you'll also find on many non-Freeview devices).
Even if you don't have a high-def television, high-def tuners are useful because they let you watch the high-def channels (albeit downscaled to stand-def on a standard television). The networks went through a phase of broadcasting different shows on their HD channels, but they seem to have abandoned the practice with the introduction of second standard-def channels.
Flicking through this week's guide, the only different content on the HD channels was Harry's Practice and The Great Outdoors on 7 HD. Remember, Ten's One HD is simulcast in SD so you're not missing anything there.
Australian digital television is broadcast in the MPEG-2 format but may eventually switch to the more efficient MPEG-4 standard - which would free up spectrum for more channels and other services.
When the switchover happens, devices with MPEG-2 tuners will be rendered useless. The MPEG-4 issue has been used as scare campaign to encourage people to opt for Freeview gear, but the fact is that the government and the broadcasters haven't announced an MPEG-4 switchover date.
Analogue TV won't be phased out until the end of 2013 and it would be political suicide for the government to render MPEG-2 equipment obsolete soon after, so it's a fair bet that MPEG-2 equipment has at least five years left in it.
Then there's the downside to the Freeview sticker. Ad-skipping must be disabled in Freeview-endorsed devices, they're only allowed to jump forwards or backwards a minimum of 10 minutes. Fast-forwarding and rewinding is limited to 30x. PVR manufacturers such as Beyonwiz and Topfield have removed ad-skipping from some models in order to get the Freeview logo.
Freeview-endorsed recorders must also be locked down to prevent you from copying recordings off the device - another requirement Beyonwiz and Topfield met with their dumbed-down Freeview-endorced models.
Somehow TiVo managed to side-step this Freeview restriction, as you can pay extra for the TiVo Home Networking package which lets you copy recordings to a computer.
There's a lot to consider when buying digital television equipment, but don't place too much importance on the Freeview logo.
Also in this series, Picking the Perfect Home Entertainment Box:
Part 4: What's the best way to record your favourite shows?
Part 3: networking your TV, PVR, console, set top box
Part 2: creating a P2P season pass
Part 1: Internet video on the PS3
Buying a TV? Also see our series How to Pick a Great Flat Screen TV, And Not Get Sucked In By Marketing Hype