Freeview HD

[milly143]

This might be a dumb question but here it is anyway... we've just bought a new HDTV with built in freeview. Would we need to buy a special freeview box to get the benefit of HD (we don't have sky, virgin, etc) or is there something I am missing and HD freeview channels are already available?

[Postdog]

Don't know for sure but many HDTV's with built in freeview were on sale before freeview HD was being transmitted. My guess is it's ordinary freeview. Your tv packaging would tell you, your tuner come to that, as I have ordinary FV and it doesn't regsiter as picking up the HD channels.

[Buenchico]

The vast majority of TVs sold over recent years have been 'HD ready', which means that they can accept signals from an EXTERNAL HD source (such as a Blu-ray disc). As those TV s were coming onto the market at the same time as the digital switchover was announced, they also featured an 'ORDINARY' Freeview tuner (because terrestrial HD transmissions were still in development). Such TVs have this logo on the box:
http://www.bitterwall.../01/freeview-logo.jpg
together with this one:
http://typophile.com/...HD%20Ready%20Logo.jpg

With the advent of terrestrial HD TV (i.e. Freeview HD), some TVs now have an HD tuner built into them. They're generally more expensive and they can be identified by this logo on the box:
http://www.cnet.co.uk.../freeview_hd_logo.jpg

With the former type of TV you'll need an external source (i.e. a Freeview HD set-top box) to view Freeview HD transmissions. With the latter type you won't.

Chris

[cemeterybird]

I was just about to ask the very same question milly!!! It's never been an issue before as we had old TV's with a Sky box in one room and a digibox in the other but now I have just bought an LCD which now literally just has the ordinary aerial plugged in the back and that's it!! Our TV says HD Ready and in my TV guide it says, for instance, that ITV HD is channel 51 but when I press that, it just comes up as channel 3. I don't think it's a dumb question - you need a degree in Technology nowadays to understand these things!!

[cemeterybird]

Once again Chris, you provided a simple, easy to understand explanation - thanks!!

[Buenchico]

Cemeterybird:
I suspect that our posts crossed!

I hope that my answer will explain things to you. If not, ask again!

Chris

[Buenchico]

And now they've definitely crossed!!!

Thanks for your reply, CB ;-)