A large amount of the IP associated with myPVR has already been incorporated into the upstream MythTV project or in the MythBuntu distribution. We are looking at a way to make the remaining components available under a suitable Open Source license at some point in the future.

Steven is presenting as part of the Sys Admin Miniconf on Tuesday 19th January, plus they will be demoing a preview of myPVR v3 at the Open Day on Saturday the 23rd.

If you are in Wellington this year for LCA try and catch them for a coffee or a beer over the conference week.

Whilst it might be argued that a great many NZ consumers have had DTV for a number of years thanks to Sky Digital, the launch of the freeview service provides DTV with no ongoing costs, and with a number of new advertising-free channels. As of the DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television) launch there is expected to be over 12 TV and 2 Radio channels available via freeview. Most of these channels will be available on the existing DTH (satellite) based services as well as on the new DTT (terrestrial) service. For more details on the channels, some of which are shown below, take a look at the channel information page on freeview’s website.

Maori TV have now announced that their second digital only service will be called “Te Reo”, and will launch on ch 24 from the 28^th March, plus TV Central will be available via DTT in the Hamilton and Tauranga areas on ch 30.

The new DTT platform will offer a combination of HD (high definition) and SD (standard definition) TV services, whilst for the moment the DTH platform can only provide an SD service. As I mentioned in Anthony’s Herald article TV One, TV 2 and TV 3 are expected to be available in HD, with most of the other channels transmitting in SD. You might notice that for some programs your HD picture might look a little soft. This is because not all of their material can be HD sourced, so you are probably watching SD material upscaled to HD resolution. This is perfectly normal practice elsewhere in the world as it reduces the risk of confusing consumers by constantly switching channels between HD and SD.

So how do you get the new DTT service? Like the existing DTH satellite service you will initially need to purchase a new STB (set top box). Existing DTH STBs are only designed for the satellite services, and aren’t compatible with the HD encoding DTT will be using. New STBs for the DTT services are expected to hit the market shortly. These can be connected to your existing TV aerial providing you are within the coverage area for DTT. If you currently get good Prime or Maori reception it is likely you will get the new DTT service, but it might be worth upgrading older aerials.

Initially the DTT service will be available to 75% of the population. If you live outside the area, or have borderline reception, then you can still get freeview via the DTH satellite service.

About 3-9 months after launch you will start to see IDTVs to appear. These Integrated Digital TVs will have the features of a DTT STB built-in, removing the need for a stand alone STB. PVR units that can utilise freeview’s electronic program guide to record your favorite programs in digital quality should also start to appear. There is even expected to be an add-on for Playstation 3 called PlayTV that will allow you to record and watch the freeview DTT service.

As for OpenMedia’s own myPVR product; sadly we won’t be able to offer full support for the DTT service initially, but we do still offer full support for the satellite based DTH service. Should you be interested in a DTT compatible version of myPVR please contact OpenMedia sales.

Tomorrow sees the start of Stratos on freeview, with the official launch on the 3rd of October. It is excellent to see one of our best regional broadcasters appear on freeview.

Next up on the 9th of October is Parliament TV, making 3 new channels in under 2 weeks. We are very pleased to say that all of these are available to myPVR customers who have purchased the freeview support.

Also some big news came earlier this week when TVNZ announced that they would be showing the 2008 Olympics in HD on terrestrial freeview. Hopefully we will hear something from TV3 on their HD plans in the near future.

Existing and potential myPVR customers should take a look at our freeview information page and the myPVR FAQ for more details on these widescreen transmissions.

For some more details take a look at

• Follow the Junior All Whites on TVNZ
• TVNZ SPORT EXTRA BRINGS TOP INTERNATIONAL SOCCER TO FREEVIEW
• The channel information page at freeviewnz.tv.

Existing myPVR customers with freeview can already get this channel as shown below, with full schedule details in our EPG.

OpenMedia’s myPVR customers who have our freeview upgrade can find this coverage as follows

Three articles on freeview from this weekend’s Herald are available on their website

• ‘Future TV’ angers viewers
• The Freeview revolution
• Set-top box firms launch price war for Freeview dollar

It would appear that the switch to wide-screen by TV3 and C4 has provoked a negative reaction from a number of consumers. Time will tell if NZ is really ready for 16:9 TV.

We also expect the initial use of the DTH (satellite) service exceed the 30,000 predicted by the Herald. Even in the larger cities there are a lot of people who won’t be able to get the DTT (terrestrial) service. The recent advertising blitz by Sky TV to get people with old unused dishes to reconnect is also a good sign.

A lot of consumers will be holding out for the arrival of TVs with integrated digital tuners. Word of warning – make sure that that will support the NZ terrestrial service as existing units designed for the UK and Australia might not work here.

Also OpenMedia would like to clarify that we don’t provide EPG data. We have been working on supporting the EPG data streams that are part of the freeview platform. As well as supporting the official freeview MHEG-5 based EPG, we provide our own integrated EPG software that allows consumers to record from a Sky Box, directly off freeview in digital quality, and off their old VHF/UHF aerial. No need to worry about selecting the correct input as myPVR does it all automatically. Lastly unlike the new official freeview STBs, myPVR provides a digital video connection for newer screens.

We advise any customers with Sky TV who are interested in freeview to take a look at the “Dual installations of freeview and Sky from one dish” in their troubleshooting section. Until Sky TV complete their transition to horizontal polarity on the Optus D1Satellite there is a technical conflict if Sky and freeview tuners share a common satellite dish.

For all of the information on myPVR‘s support for freeview see our new new info page, or contact OpenMedia for more details on how myPVR provides a full feature freeview compatible PVR. Why get a basic freeview STB when you could have the power of a myPVR.