FreeviewHD content control – don’t panic

Some of the most significant complaints about the content control system on FreeviewHD have been from the open source movement, who feel that they’ll be unnecessarily locked out of making equipment.

I must say that I think some of the quotes have been rather over-eggging the pudding, suggesting that there’s an army out there of people who are modifiying existing equipment to provide things like extra services for the deaf, for instance. And I don’t think it’s really terribly helpful to try and conjure up scenarios that many people will instantly think are far-fetched.

As some will know, I run a website for Topfield PVRs. That’s one of the most user-modifiable digital TV recorders on the market at the moment, and looking at the various statistics from the website, I’d hazard a guess that the majority of people don’t even bother tweaking that unit. Of those that do, only a tiny minority ever delve into the programming side of things – which is true of many systems. Much is made of the open source nature of Linux, but it’s a tiny fraction of the community that ever gives anything back.

Now, that’s not an argument for saying that standards shouldn’t be open, or that the open source community should be locked out of things like Freeview HD, but I do think that it’s necessary to keep a reasonable perspective on these things – some of the reports about content control gave the impression that if only it weren’t for this, an army of people would be attacking set top boxes with soldering irons and modifying them. I know that’s not an accurate representation, and you probably do too, but in talking up the consequences too much, I think goodwill can be lost.

Don’t panic

And, in any case, I don’t think that – for the next few years at least – this is a major issue, certainly not on Freeview HD. Firstly, the control mechanism is the same as for Freesat, and open source projects like Myth have successfully managed to work out how to decode the Freesat EPG.

Even if that were impossible on Freeview HD, for technical or commercial reasons – a company might not want to be seen to have reverse engineered the Huffman tables that are being used, for example – it’s not the end of the world.

That’s because of the nature of what’s actually on Freeview HD, and the fact that the EPG data for the standard definition broadcast isn’t changing at all. Right now, Freeview HD offers BBC HD, ITV1HD and Channel 4HD. Later this year, BBC One HD will be joining, and in 2012, there may be a fifth channel. That could be Five HD, or it could be something else, but it’s likely to be something from one of the PSBs, and I suspect it may well be an HD version of an existing channel.

Where does that leave us? Well, in the short to medium term, since I don’t think anyone else will launch HD channels until sometime after 2012, of the four channels on Freeview HD, three will be simulcasts of their SD equivalents. And the EPG data for those will be broadcast in the usual way, complete with series link information, and accurate recording triggers. And since it’s a simultaneous broadcast, wouldn’t it be pretty simple for software to just take the EPG data from the standard def channel, and use it for the HD one? About the only thing you’ll miss out on is the extra information that indicates if a channel is broadcast using surround sound or not.

That leaves the BBC HD channel, and it’s fairly easy to get an EPG feed for that from the internet, especially for an open source project. Of course, you won’t necessarily have the series link information, or accurate recording triggers, which is a pity. Some of that, perhaps, may be possible to recreate where a programme on BBC HD is simulcast with one of the other SD channels. Accurate recording triggers are handy, but with the advent of BBC One HD, I suspect there will be fewer instances where programming on the HD channel is likely to ‘slip’ due to overrunning events like tennis matches.

3View

Incidentally, this EPG issue is also one that’s been vexing people regarding the 3View box, with people worrying about availability of HD channel EPG information, should they not be able to use the official broadcast one. 3View reports that they do have agreement to use it – while boxes with the FreeviewHD logo have to have the Huffman tables in it, the reverse doesn’t apply; you just have to agree to play by the rules to get access to the tables necessary to unpack the EPG. And, even if that weren’t the case, for the reasons I’ve outlined above, I really don’t think this need be a major issue, at least in the next few years.

That may change, of course, if lots of other HD-only channels launch after switchover is complete, and a bit more openness never goes amiss, but right now, I don’t think there’s any  great cause to panic, or to believe that there will be no way that open source projects can display an EPG for Freeview’s HD channels.

What’s so great about a PVR?

PVRs – Personal Video Recorders – are one of the technologies that can dramatically change the way that you watch TV. Also known as ‘Digital TV Recorders’ or DTRs, they’re essentially a dedicated computer with a couple of TV tuners and a hard drive. You can select what you want to watch from the electronic programme guide, press a button and a recording is scheduled, much more easily than with a video recorder. Whole series can be recorded at the touch of a button, and you can watch them whenever you want.

A lot of people, at least to start with, don’t quite get what the fuss is about. They use them a little like a video recorder, as something that you turn on when you want to watch a recording, and turn off again afterwards. Personally, I think that if that’s how you use one, then you’re missing out on some of the really good stuff.

A change of habit

The Topfield TF5800 - in my opinion the best standard def Freeview recorder there is

I use a Topfield TF5800 PVR; I think it’s one of the best standard-definition boxes available in the UK, not least because of the ability to customise it. But even without some of the more exotic features, it really is worth thinking about how a PVR can change the way you see television.

First, I hardly ever use the tuners built into my TV set; I use the Topfield all the time. One reason for doing that is that it means there’s just one remote to worry about, no more fiddling with different ones depending on whether you’re watching live, or watching a recording.

With two tuners (some cheap models only have one, but it’s rare these days), even if you’re recording one channel, you can still watch another on the PVR, so there’s no need for that artificial divide between a device for watching live and one for viewing recordings.

You can also pause live TV – great when someone comes to the door, for example. You might think “so what,” but take the next step, and realise that you can then fast forward to catch up to real time.

Perhaps that’s not so useful on the BBC (though you could fast forward through certain World Cup matches, perhaps), but on commercial channels, you can start watching, press pause when the adverts come on, go make a cup of tea, or empty the washing machine, and then fast forward through the ads, to get back to the programme.

Beyond pause

And once you’ve tried that a few times, you’ll probably think, actually, why bother pausing in the first place? Why not just record everything, and watch it when you want. Many people are doing just that – as much of a third of the drama watched on Sky is apparently time-shifted like this.

So, instead of flicking around and seeing what’s on, and settling for the least annoying thing, a PVR can change things dramatically. Set up a few series recordings; flick through the Electronic Programme Guide once or twice a week, and find things that look interesting, setting them to record too.

Before long, you’ll find that instead of having a poor choice of whatever’s on when you turn on the TV, you have a collection of things you wanted to watch, ready to view whenever you want – and if you fancy, you can skip through the adverts too.

There’s no more rushing home to catch Dr Who, when the weather’s so glorious that you fancy another beer in the sun. And modern PVRs will automatically work out when a programme starts late, just in case the tennis unexpectedly goes on for a few days longer than you expected.

Jump to it

There’s more to some PVRs than others, of course. With the extra software you can load on a Topfield, it can do clever things like automatically search the programme guide, and set recordings itself – if anyone every starts showing ‘Oz’ again on Freeview, I’ll get it recorded, for example.

Some PVRs have ‘jump’ buttons; on mine, I can skip forwards 90 seconds, or back 30. So when the ads come on, press three or four times on the skip button, and I’m back to the action.

It’s not just for adverts, either – the backwards skip is a great tool for when someone in the room insists on talking at you, making you miss important dialogue (the “mother button”, perhaps). You’d be surprised how useful things like this become – after five years of using my PVR, I instinctively find myself reaching for the ‘skip back’ button on the remote, even when I’m watching a DVD.

For me, a PVR is now such an important part of the way I watch TV that I wouldn’t be without one. If you’re about to go digital, and wondering if you should just buy a basic set top box, I’d strongly recommend that you consider spending the extra for a PVR – though with the caveat that Freeview HD models are pretty rare at the moment, if you want HD, it might be best to wait a while and see how the different models stack up against each other.

Do I watch more TV, or less? It’s hard to say, overall. But I think I can say that I do watch more of the TV that I want, and I seldom sit down and watch something ‘just because it’s on.’

As risk of hyperbole, a PVR isn’t just a digital version of a video recorder. It’s a whole different beast. Use it as a VCR, and you’re missing the point. Use it to its full potential, and it really will change the way you watch TV, forever.