Freeview unhappy over “misleading reports”
The plot deepens on the case for and against Freeview branded equipment...
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under News
Earlier this week when Freeview announced its upcoming EPG / catch-up service FreeviewPlus, I noted that it was necessary to invest in new hardware to enjoy the new features.
Unfortunately those who already purchased Freeview-branded devices such as panel TVs, set top boxes and recording devices will miss out.
Fairfax‘s Adam Turner wrote an interesting, subsequent piece which suggested that there may be ways around this:
This doesn’t match up with what the industry is telling me. Any device that is HbbTV 1.5 compatible should be able to tap into Australia’s HbbTV platform and FreeviewPlus, with or without Freeview’s blessing. Australia is using basically the same HbbTV standard as Europe and it may already be built into some new televisions on sale in Australia. Meanwhile, more than one Australian PVR maker already has plans to tap into Australia’s HbbTV platform and the new catch up TV features, although they have no plans to ask Freeview’s permission.
Paying for FreeviewPlus certification will get you the FreeviewPlus badge, but it will also mean playing by Freeview’s other rules – such as disabling ad-skipping and restricting the ability to copy recordings off the device. Some vendors aren’t going to play along with that, but there’s nothing stopping them taking advantage of the HbbTV system.
But yesterday, Freeview moved to thwart “misleading reports.”
“Reports that equipment that does not carry FreeviewPlus certification will reliably deliver FreeviewPlus content and services are seriously misleading to the consumer,” Liz Ross, General Manager of Freeview, said.
“If a consumer buys a non certified product, in other words equipment not featuring the FreeviewPlus logo, there is no guarantee of the performance of that equipment to deliver FreeviewPlus properly – or even at all,” she said.
But while Freeview endorsed its FreeviewPlus branded equipment, there was no outright denial that other ‘unbranded’ equipment would not work – only that Freeview could not guarantee potential technical issues such as “graphics display speeds so slow as to render the equipment virtually useless, and catch-up TV playback that is either unreliable, or not accessible.”
“The FreeviewPlus certification process has been put in place by the free-to-air networks for a very good reason – namely to ensure consumers receive all the benefits of the new FreeviewPlus service, delivered with absolute reliability.”
Geddit?
13 Responses
Thanks David for this as well as everyone else including Adam. The real joke is how can anything be reliable when the internet is involved in my area. Probably like most of the country. Although I appreciate the information anyway because there are other products.
Microsoft and Intel have been making statements like this about computers since the late 80s. “If it doesn’t have our sticker then we can’t guarantee…”. And Freeview is saying/doing nothing more than is obvious, that they can’t guarantee something. What is relevent is that the ‘something’ that Freeview can’t guarantee is not worth a poke in the eye with a sharp stck.
Still, the unwashed masses will lap it up and buy new equipment.
More BS from FreeView. Thanks to Adam and David for calling them out. I certainly won’t be purchasing any of their crippleware.
Why don’t FreeView stop confusing people and give them the three things that they reasonably want – stable reliable programming, accurate EPGs, and major sport and other programs in true HD?
Freeview were also telling us years ago that we should buy a Freeview branded set top box. My generic box worked absolutely fine. They are a marketing umbrella for free to air networks not a technology company. Nobody is going to make devices specifically for the Australian market. They’ll just buy them in and slap a logo on them. May as well buy the non branded ones. Adam is doing everyone a great service pointing this out.
Freeview is a branding of FTA by Free TV the industry lobby group. It’s a defensive marketing measure to slow the rate of decline in FTA adviews and keep network profits as high as possible. They advertise to convince people not to subscribe to Foxtel.
Their aim with the Hbbtv system is to offer just enough to lock viewers in and force them to watch ads and make it harder for ITV to enter the market.
The industries other main campaigns are to make Foxtel subscribers pay for Free To Air channels (rebroadcast fees are a significant source of revenue in the US), pressure the Government into giving them valuable spectrum for free to increase their profits.
They aren’t campaign for more deregulation only because Seven, Nine and Ten can’t agree on what they want, and when.
I wrote that SMH story and it’s Freeview which is trying to mislead people.
My headline reads; “FreeviewPlus works with non-Freeview gear”. This is what the local industry is telling me, because HbbTV is an international open standard. When I spoke to Liz Ross from Freeview Australia she confirmed that it is correct;
“For FreeviewPlus certification, manufacturers will need to go through an approved test house to assure that all the HbbTV 1.5 features work, then they’ll need to send the box to us to ensure it works with all of the apps from Australian networks,” Ross says.
“Yet someone else could still build HbbTV into their box. We just wouldn’t be able to guarantee that everything will work smoothly. Our testing is designed to ensure a great user experience.”
smh.com…
Thanks Adam. Agreed with your points. Freeview has a track record of confusing info, dreadful delays and burying information.
Despite having a good grasp on technology. Even after visiting the Freeview website, I still don’t understand what this service actually is or what its suppose to do. Why would anyone pay for something that is already free, still have commercials? and only work on a closed system.
It sounds like a “Hulu type service”, without the flexibility. Or am I totally off track?
Well that’s cleared that up.
From the Hbb website (www.hbbtv.org): “HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV) is a new industry standard providing an open and business neutral technology platform that seamlessly combines TV services delivered via broadcast with services delivered via broadband and also enables access to Internet only services for consumers using connected TVs and set-top boxes.”
So if it’s an industry standard and FreeviewPlus implements it as such then anyone should be able to build gear that works with it just fine. It’s Hbb compatibility that matters, and they can’t charge manufacturers to make their gear compatible with that. Unless Freeview hack or extend the Hbb standard in some proprietary way(s) that make FV+ not really Hbb of course…
“namely to ensure consumers receive all the benefits of the new FreeviewPlus service, delivered with absolute reliability.”……………… and so Freeview receive a Licencing Fee
Is there any word that older devices will be made compatible with firmware updates?
Wow. Here I was thinking that the Freeview label meant that the receiver had all sorts of artificial limitation such as no ad skipping forced but would still play up like all this junk does these days.
If _only_ I knew that it really meant the receiver would work with ‘absolute reliability’.