UK DTT platform Freeview has confirmed that the Freeview Trade Mark Licence will only be granted for HD products from the end of 2016 with the brand no longer appearing on new SD products. Sales of equipment with Freeview in-built have reached more than 100 million since the service launched in 2002.
Recent research by Freeview showed that picture quality via HD and access to the players on their television are the most important features for TV viewers, and this announcement is the next step in the company’s drive towards an increasingly hybrid, HD platform.
Earlier this month Freeview announced that the new Freeview Play service (Freeview Play Set for October Launch), which combines catch-up TV, on-demand services and live television without a subscription, will launch in October. All Freeview Play technology will be built to the HD standard, specified in the D-Book 8.
