Technical Details
Freesat broadcasts from the same fleet of satellites (Astra 28.2°E and Eutelsat 28A) as Sky. Channels are broadcast using DVB-S. The Freesat electronic programme guide is broadcast from the Eutelsat 28A satellite situated at 28.5° east. Freesat's role is not broadcasting or availability of channels (although the BBC and ITV are substantial broadcasters in their own right) but instead providing a platform for receiving the channels and the EPG.
All of the standard definition channels broadcasting to date are broadcast using DVB-S, ITV1 HD and NHK World HD also use DVB-S. BBC One HD and BBC HD used DVB-S until 6 June 2011 when the satellite transponder carrying them was upgraded to DVB-S2. Channel 4 HD had launched using DVB-S2 but the transponder was downgraded to DVB-S on 28 March 2012. Standard definition channels are broadcast using MPEG-2, while high definition channels are broadcast using MPEG-4. Since the channels are broadcast in-the-clear, they can also be received by non-Freesat receivers and, most commonly, Sky Digiboxes.
Interactive television is done using MHEG-5 rather than the proprietary OpenTV platform used by Sky.
The specification for Freesat boxes includes having an Ethernet port on the back. This is to allow on demand programming from services such as BBC iPlayer or ITV Player to be viewed directly on the customer's television.
Freesat's second generation Free Time receivers are built on open standards and technologies from a range of initiatives, including from the Open IPTV Forum (OIPF) and also the Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) project, along with HTML5 browser technology, on which with the majority of the Free Time user interface was built.
The Free Time spec also includes features such as: DiSEqC 1.2 support; MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) support including single cable routing; HTML, JavaScript and CSS internet technologies for broadband-delivered interactive services; DRM for online content; and payment mechanisms for broadband services like LoveFilm. James Strickland, Freesat's director of product and technology development, explained that Free Time is a hybrid between HbbTV and MHEG-5.
Read more about this topic: Freesat
Famous quotes containing the words technical and/or details:
“A technical objection is the first refuge of a scoundrel.”
—Heywood Broun (1888–1939)
“Working women today are trying to achieve in the work world what men have achieved all along—but men have always had the help of a woman at home who took care of all the other details of living! Today the working woman is also that woman at home, and without support services in the workplace and a respect for the work women do within and outside the home, the attempt to do both is taking its toll—on women, on men, and on our children.”
—Jeanne Elium (20th century)