We’ve been playing around with TV tuners and the newly named Freeview HD digital terrestrial television service lately. Even though Freeview HD isn’t due to be launched officially until April, the actual network is up and running right now and anyone with the right combination of hardware and software (more on those later) can tune in.
In fact, all the Freeview broadcasters have been running tests over the network for the past few months. There’s been all manner of things broadcast from test loops of old CSI episodes through to actual live TV, now, as the launch date draws ever nearer, all the channels are broadcasting their actual live feeds. TV 1 and TV2 are both running in 720P high def (everything is upscaled to 1280x720 resolution and, even though little or no content is in native HD, the upscaled stuff looks fantastic in comparison to existing digital or analogue broadcasts). TV3 is running 1080i and looks superb, although, like TVNZ, there's no native HD programming being shown just yet. Thankfully, TV3 will begin screening a couple of hours of HD content each night very soon, a nice change from TVNZ's "late next year" approach. Meanwhile, C4, TVNZ6, TVNZ7, TVNZ Sports Extra, Maori TV and Parliament TV are all running in standard definition720x576 (widescreen when applicable). For now, the real show-stopper is the true 720P HD demo material Freeview are running on the "Freeview HD" test channel. Take a peek at this and imagine how good your favourite shows and sporting events will look in HD. It's a tantalizing prospect.
Keen to know what you need to do to get some early Freeview HD action? It’s not exactly simple and nor is it free. Read on.
- First off, you’ll need a PC (no compatible set top box receivers are available yet) with enough grunt to decode high def TV pictures. Our test system included an AMD FX62 CPU, 1GB RAM and Windows Vista Ultimate (Vista is not a requirement).
- Second, you’ll need an appropriate TV tuner, and one that doesn’t have hardware MPEG decoding at that. We used the $145 Hauppauge HVR900 USB tuner.
- Third, you’ll need some software to tune in, we recommend DVBViewer as one of only a couple of applications able to decode Freeview HD. It’s not free though and costs 15 Euros over the internet.
- Fourth, you’ll need to install Cyberlink Power DVD 7 Ultra in order to get a compatible H.264 MPEG codec onto your PC. Again, not free at about US$100 over the internet.
- Fifth, you may find you need to download a specific .DLL (libfaad2.dll) file in order to get the audio side of things working.
- Finally, you will of course need a UHF aerial on your roof. Not sure if you have one? If you can tune into Prime or Maori TV, then you’ll be all set.
Why all the trickiness? Freeview HD (the new digital terrestrial TV platform that broadcasts from land-based towers instead satellites like the current Freeview service) is based on the latest MPEG4 video compression. This means that the vast majority of existing DVB-T tuners, set top boxes, TV’s and software simply isn’t capable of tuning in. From a technological point of view we’re very lucky that New Zealand’s system is based on the very latest technology, however, the downside is that there’s very little hardware on the market right now and we’re incompatible with most other countries DVB-T networks. We’re not alone though, Norway uses the same DVB-T system and powerhouse France has legislated that all new TV’s sold there from 2008 onwards must include a digital tuner (that uses the same spec as NZ Freeview HD). The hardware will come, we just need to be patient. The launch price of the first accredited Freeview HD decoder is a bit steep at over $500, but this is always the way with new gadgets. Give it a few months and prices will drop.
Similarly, the audio side of things is a little tricky too. While the Freeview HD spec allows broadcasters to use either AC3 (Dolby Digital) or AAC audio compression, all channels so far have opted for the more efficient yet less widely used AAC audio format, which means more tinkering for us. TV1 and TV2 have both AAC and AC3 audio being broadcast at the moment and as such cover all bases, but to hear audio for the rest, you may need to install an appropriate AAC audio decoder (the .DLL file we mentioned earlier). If you're lucky you may find it (or something compatible) already present on your system. My test PC lacked AAC decoding abilities and as such I had no sound. It was this last step that gazzumped me for a while. In the end, it was simply a matter of locating the missing .DLL file via Google and copying it to the appropriate folder on my PC. Still, it was a trick for new players.
Here’s our guide to stealing a run on the rest of the country when it comes to tuning in to Freeview HD.
1. Install your tuner. For the HVR900 USB tuner we used it was as simple as plugging it in. Vista installed the drivers automatically from the web. Don’t forget to plug it into your UHF aerial.
2. Buy (if needed) Cyberlink PowerDVD 7 Ultra and install it. Once installed the required H.264 MPEG4 codec will also be installed on your system.
3. Buy, download and install DVBViewer. Select ”Standard installation" when prompted and, later, deselect ”Run Wizard".
4. Run DVBViewer. Next we want to scan for channels and see what we can pick up, so select ”Channel Scan" from the ”Channel" menu. Set reception type to ”Terrestric". We picked ”Terrestrial (EUR)" from the transponder list then hit the ”Scan Range" button. Here in Auckland this picked up all available 14 channels. If yours picks up nothing chances are you’re either out of a coverage area or your cabling/aerial needs replacing. However, before you go buying new cables, check the ”Current Device" box at the bottom of the channel scan page and make sure your tuner is listed there. If it isn’t head to ”Settings" - ”Options" - ”Hardware" and make sure you set your tuner as the preferred device. Once DVBViewer is reporting that it has tuned in 14 programs, the hard part is done.
5. Now, choose ”Settings" - ”Options". Under the ”DirectX" section we need to tell DVBViewer which programs we want to decode the various types of video the program will handle. For ”MPEG2 Video Decoder" we simply picked the one we thought gave us the best results. It’s the ”H.264 Video Decoder" we need to be specific about. Choose ”Cyberlink H.264/AVC Decoder (PDVD 7.x)". For AC3, again we picked whichever one tickled our fancy, but it was the AAC one that gave us grief.
6. If you’ve tried all the available AAC decoders listed in the AAC drop down menu within DVBViewer but still have no sound, you’ll need to install a new, compatible AAC decoder. This is much simpler than it sounds. We found one that worked called libfaad2.dll (tucked away inside the KMPlayer zip file…we Googled KMPlayer.zip, downloaded it then copied the libfaad2.dll file onto our system). It was simply a matter of copying this downloaded .DLL to the right folder (C:/Program Files/DVBViewer/Filters), restarting DVBViewer and selecting libfaad2 in the AAC audio selector. That’s it, we were up and running in glorious high definition with AAC audio.
Thanks to Fossie’s DVB-T guide over at Geekzone for getting me started. Please let me know if there are any errors or omissions you feel should be added to this guide. Likewise, if something I've said isn't entirely clear, just ask me for a clarification. Once you have that stunning HD picture up and running in your own home, you'll be pleased you made the effort.
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