The BBC certainly were never planning such a move, they lease transponders from Astra/SES as Sky do. The BBC HD demo channel has been running for 18 months now, and is due to be replaced by a 'real' channel any time soon.

Do the beeb have cash to buy up enough space for 3 - 4 channels on astra/SES? There were rumours of hd set top boxes and satellite dishes similar to sky's offering but that seems to have died a death now (freesat, I think it was called).

I can't see the beeb putting lots of cash it doesn't have into hd if its already struggling to fund sd freeview. Unless analogue switch off frees enough space to push out some hd, most people will be stuck with sd. So people might as well buy their sd boxes now as nothing is going to change for some time.

As people are loathed to part with £30 for sd freeview I can't see many paying £250-300 for hd (satellite dish and decoder) can you?

Not died a death yet, it's not due until next year, it was only approved by the BBC Trust a few months back.

In any case, it's not really a new service, just a new EPG for some of the existing channels on Astra 28.2E. The beeb already lease considerable space at 28.2E, it's a far cheaper option than terrestrial transmitters.

The OP can get good analogue already,he doesn't want the extra channels on Freeview, so wait and get the box at DSO when he will virtually certainly get digital without the possible hassle of a new aerial/cable that he may need before DSO.

Whats freesat got to do with this aspect of the discussion?

Because at some point someone said not to upgrade as HD would be coming along next and he'd have to change again. As with all technology if you keep waiting you'll never get anything.

Plus I wanted to know what was happening with Freesat as I hadn't seen it posted for a while

As a set top box is only £15-30 he may as well get one now and just delete the 'crud' channels. There are some good programs on the extra channels and the picture is miles better (assuming good signal which he has).

No-one was interested in our house until we got it and that was when the arguments started.

Tvonics even has a non scart option now (for old tv's) which is the size of a matchbox. There are lots of options out there for any tv so the OP might as well get on board now and avoid the rush (and dodgy salesmen) come switch over.

well its just that when analogue is finally shut down i cant see every house in the uk getting perfect signal coverage for freeview even with the increased signal power

http://www.ukfree.tv/fullstory.php?storyid=1107051316

heres more info on DVB-T2 for HD freeview

I don't think the BBC are planning 3-4 HD channels - just one channel to carry a selection of HD programming from all their channels.

I thought plan was to switch all programs to HD eventually?

Is it worth buying a DVB box?

I guess you've got to ask yourself why you'd want one.

We're told it gives us loads of choice. Well, have a wade through a week's listings. Is there anything on the "extra choice" that you'd actually put down the paper, get up off the armchair and turn on the TV, in order to watch it?

We're told it gives a better picture. Well, unless you're in a really strong signal area, or your definition of "better picture" doesn't include occasional dropouts, blocks and on-screen logos on many of the extra channels, you won't get a uniformly better picture. In fact the "viewing experience" may overall be worse.

About the only reason I got mine was that I could get a PVR and have the convenience of watching those few programmes that passed the "armchair test" (see above) at a time convenient to me; although I do note that when not using the recordings, we're usually switching back to analogue.

Such is progress.

Freeview is handy for the extended live sport coverage on 301 and 302, and for the Tour De France on ITV4 in July. Otherwise there's next to nothing on digital that appeals to us. But obviously it does to some people.

John

The UK Free TV story is, essentially, speculation dressed up as fact, with a healthy dollop of tripe on top.

There is no present plan to move everything to HD, let alone a timetable set for 2017. The 'Ofcom plan' that they link to isn't even an Ofcom document.

Any box you buy now will continue to work for the foreseeable future; in the event of HD transmissions starting on Freeview (unlikely until 2010) there will still be a huge number of SD channels that a box you buy now will be capable of receiving.

There is a small chance of the BBC launching an overnight HD service next year; it's a small chance, and it still won't make your current box obsolete, though you will obviously require an HD box (with the "HDTV" logo) to receive it.

You can currently get them from ASDA for less than 16 quid.

With a 12 month guarantee, you are paying a maximum of 30p per week.