April 3 2008 – Freeview Vs Sky

Until recently there was only one choice, if you wanted digital television – SKY/Saturn. This has all changed with the introduction of Freeview, and receiving Freeview is about to get a lot easier.

Digital television promises many more channels, and much better picture quality, via the the use of high definition television (HDTV). SKY, along with its partner in Wellington, Telstraclear’s Saturn, have been offering digital television, either by satellite or in Saturn’s case, by cable, since 1998. Freeview came on the scene in May 2007. Both SKY and Freeview require the fitting of a satellite dish and a set-top box. However from April Freeview will also be available by using a UHF aerial, although a set-top box will still be required.

The UHF aerial is the same as the one used to watch Prime, Maori TV, Trackside, or Triangle. So if you currently get a good picture from one of these channels, it is more than likely you will have no problems receiving Freeview.

We all know what SKY has to offer, the many channels of sport, movies, entertainment, news, ethnic content, and audio, but what does Freeview have to offer? Currently available are 12 channels, TV1, TV2, TV3, C4, Maori TV, and some new channels: TVNZ 6, an advert-free entertainment channel for children, family and adults; TVNZ 7, again advert-free, showing documentaries, news and current affairs; TVNZ Sport Extra is sports coverage when available; Parliament TV, allowing you to watch the proceedings from the House live; Stratos, ethnic and educational programmes from around the world provided by Triangle TV; CUE, local news and sports; and Te Reo, a 100% Maori language TV service from Maori TV. Added to this is Radio New Zealand National and Concert. A programme guide, giving full details, is available on the Freeview website.

You will notice that Prime and Trackside are missing from the list. This should not be a problem, because if you are using your UHF aerial to receive Freeview, you can get Prime and Trackside, the same as usual. That is until analog TV is switched off. Did I forget to mention that sometime between 2012 and 2016 the current analog TV service (the way we currently watch television via an aerial), will be switched off, and we will need to have either SKY or Freeview. By this time it is hoped that the Government will have passed a “must carry” law, enforcing both SKY and Freeview to broadcast any free-to-air TV channel. This means that SKY must show TV1, TV2, TV3 etc and Freeview must show Prime.

So what do you need, to ensure you will be able to watch TV in the future? First off you have to decide if you want to have SKY/Saturn or Freeview. It is possible to have them both, if you wish. Secondly, for Freeview, you must purchase a set-top box, and if you do not have a UHF aerial decide if you want one installed, or use a satellite dish. Lastly, should you wish to benefit from the superior picture quality from HDTV, you would need to invest in a new HDTV-capable television and a capable set-top box. It is expected that, later this year, new televisions will have the required electronics included, so that a Freeview set-top box will be unnecessary.

• SKY
• Freeview
• Wikipedia – Freeview
• Wikipedia – Digital Television
• Scoop – Free-to-Air Digital TV – Questions and Answer
• Freeview Channels
• Freeview Programme Guide
• My Sky
• Openmedia PVR
• New Zealand Herald – Freeview set to go high-definition
• New Zealand Herald – Freeview goes HD – but where’s the hardware?