Seven and Ten to offer new HD digital channels

Adam Turner
Saturday, 15 September 2007 15:06

Your IT - Entertainment

Australians are set to enjoy two new free-to-air television channels, with networks Seven and Ten both launching high definition multi-channeling in December.

Currently Ten and Seven's high definition channels, 12 and 70 respectively, are always in sync with the main standard definition channels. If the program screening on the main channel isn't available in high definition, such as an old movie, the high definition channel still broadcasts the standard definition program.

As of December, Seven and Ten's high definition channels plan to break synchronisation with the main channel for several hours each day - most likely when the program screening on the main channel isn't available in high definition. 

The new channels are unlikely to show first run programs. The result will be similar to the ABC's ABC2 - rebroadcasting the week's key programs, such as the previous night's current affairs, or showing repeats such as Red Dwarf. Under the federal government's digital television rules, the commercial networks are banned from multi-channeling in standard definition until 2009.

As of December, Ten plans to offer 50 hours of programming per week on its HD channel that viewers won't see on the main Ten channel - including sport, entertainment, films, documentaries and sci-fi. It will also screen 11 hours of time-shifted programming per week, including Ten's 5pm News. Ten also plans to broadcast all of it's AFL matches in HD in 2008, after only broadcasting the Saturday night games in HD this year. Ten has been simulcasting its standard definition signal on channels 1 and 10 but, as of December, channel 1 will be a mirror of Ten's high definition signal on channel 12.

Seven also plans to launch HD multi-channeling in December, reports The Australian, but the network has been less forthcoming with details. Currently Seven's high definition broadcasts are only in 576p, whereas Ten broadcasts in "True HD" 1080i. Seven has begun 1080i broadcast trials ahead of next year's Beijing Olympics.

Seven's annoucement comes as it plans to launch a high definition TiVO personal video recorder in Australia next year, albeit with the ad-skipping disabled.

Industry figures from Digital Broadcasting Australia show that by March 2007, 28 per cent of Australia's almost 8 million homes had free-to-air digital television. HD-capable televisions comprising the fastest-growing segment of a market and the Australian Digital Suppliers Industry Forum (ADSIF) predicts that almost 10 million flat panel HD TVs will be purchased in Australia by 2012.