A Freeview satellite update (January 2025)

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129 posts

Master Geek

#3344442 19-Feb-2025 08:14

Analogue TV uses huge bandwidth Typically only 2 analog channels per transponder !!! Digital is way more efficient use of transponder space . Plus who wants to watch black sparkles from weak transmissions !!

kiwirock

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Ultimate Geek

#3344485 19-Feb-2025 13:04

...and power hungry for the same coverage area.

yitz

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#3344653 19-Feb-2025 22:21

Genuinely would be curious though to see what an analogue signal would look like given the current state of the satellite/s.

Sun outage on analogue surely beats digital.

richms

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#3344663 19-Feb-2025 22:42

kiwisteve:

Analogue TV uses huge bandwidth Typically only 2 analog channels per transponder !!! Digital is way more efficient use of transponder space . Plus who wants to watch black sparkles from weak transmissions !!

With how bad the freeview stuff looked last time I had to see it at someones house, I would take analog any day with black sparkles even.

Richard rich.ms

freitasm

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#3345301 21-Feb-2025 14:43

Press release

Freeview’s satellite TV service is set to transition to a replacement satellite in early April, ensuring New Zealanders can continue to have free satellite access to local TV channels and content that reflect our diverse range of New Zealand identities.

This move is essential to service continuity as the current satellite nears the end of its commercial life ahead of a new Optus satellite solution becoming operational in 2027.

2.7 million New Zealanders currently receive Freeview at home. The majority don’t require satellite access as they currently watch Live TV through Freeview’s terrestrial service (DTT) via a UHF aerial or the Freeview Streaming TV app. However, delivering a strong and resilient satellite TV service is of paramount importance to Freeview and its partners, as it provides equity of access for households across New Zealand—especially those in rural or remote areas without reliable internet connectivity or outside DTT coverage.

The replacement satellite Koreasat 6 is in the same position as the current satellite. It’s owned and operated by KTSAT and has been contracted by Optus for use by Kordia to transmit Freeview’s satellite TV service.

Leon Mead, General Manager, Freeview New Zealand, says free-to-air TV plays an important role in keeping Kiwis informed, entertained and connected to local stories. And many Kiwis have pulled together to carefully plan and prepare for April’s satellite transition to deliver the most optimal solution possible.

“Collaboration across the industry is key. We’re working behind the scenes with our partners to ensure a smooth transition and reinforce our collective commitment to free-to-air TV as we look to futureproof our service,” he said.

As part of this crucial transition, Freeview’s satellite TV network will be updated to DVB-S2 for better transmission performance and greater flexibility, as well as the capability to support HD broadcasts.

Dual tuner TVs will manage this update seamlessly, as will most satellite boxes. However, older satellite boxes are incompatible and will need to be upgraded to continue accessing Freeview. These remaining legacy boxes account for a small percentage of devices and are easily identifiable by the viewer. Freeview is proactively encouraging satellite viewers to check their set top box and providing guidance on the range of upgrades available.

With final rounds of satellite testing underway, Freeview will continue to monitor the situation closely with its partners and keep viewers updated through its website freeviewnz.tv

RunningMan

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#3345303 21-Feb-2025 14:48

freitasm: Freeview’s satellite TV network will be updated to DVB-S2 for better transmission performance and greater flexibility, as well as the capability to support HD broadcasts.

Nice to see that announced officially.

tweake

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#3345349 21-Feb-2025 17:09

yitz:

Genuinely would be curious though to see what an analogue signal would look like given the current state of the satellite/s.

Sun outage on analogue surely beats digital.

when sky sat first started it was analogue. i don't remember a lot of it, but it was ok. signal was good but we did commercial and used much bigger dishes then residential.

i found digital a lot better. a lot more channels and picture doesn't get worse as signal degrades until you get really low. people can (and often do) have poor signal and have perfectly fine tv.

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kiwirock

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Ultimate Geek

#3345427 21-Feb-2025 20:29

tweake:

i found digital a lot better. a lot more channels and picture doesn't get worse as signal degrades until you get really low. people can (and often do) have poor signal and have perfectly fine tv.

Back in 2001(ish), I lived in a small town with a UHF repeater for analogue free to air TV; it wasn't flash. We weren't in to the whole Sky thing but we did use it when it was UHF with the old line cut and rotate encryption.

For work we had a 90cm dish for a Trackside analogue sub-carrier carrying audio on one Sky's channels.

Anyway, back to home, I think I paid about $550 at the time (before Freeview) to get TVNZ 1 and 2 in digital from Optus D1 at the time after finally getting a widescreen CRT. That was the cheapest receiver I could find and it had to come from Australia to get it that cheap.

It was a game changer! The move to digital and using S-Video or RGB Scart was like getting A/C in cars! Would never go back to a composite analogue channel.

HOWEVER, the bitrates with more channels crammed in over the years (some of which are the same thing with just different advertising) has put it back closer to analogue TV quality again.

Those first TVNZ digital satellite feeds were awesome for S-Video/RGB setups. Something tells me the HD upgrades, will only make it look like a decent SD feed again at least.

edit: If they go HD and not just cram more in again. HD is already possible, it just takes a lot more bandwidth (is far less efficient in MPEG-2).

Gavin.

tweake

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#3345485 21-Feb-2025 21:17

kiwirock:

HOWEVER, the bitrates with more channels crammed in over the years (some of which are the same thing with just different advertising) has put it back closer to analogue TV quality again.

i did hear that was happening. i had moved on by then.

thats one of the problems, you can turn perfectly good HD into crap if you want. "but its HD" the sales people say.

rb99

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#3363539 13-Apr-2025 11:28

Any news about this 'the capability to support HD broadcasts' ? Its possible, but will it happen ? will we still be waiting in 10 years time ?

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

rb99

Behodar

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#3363548 13-Apr-2025 11:43

That's reminded me that I was going to try out my dish this weekend and see whether it (well, the LNB really) still works!

rb99

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#3363551 13-Apr-2025 11:57

Behodar:

That's reminded me that I was going to try out my dish this weekend and see whether it (well, the LNB really) still works!

Might as well. Its not like you don't get adverts on Netflix, Amazon, etc etc (or if we don't, we soon will)...

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

rb99

Behodar

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#3363557 13-Apr-2025 12:15

Well, it's failed at the first hurdle by the F cable not being in The Box.

rb99

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#3363562 13-Apr-2025 12:27

Quickly googles F cable...oh, yes, one of those, yes that would help.

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

rb99

Rikkitic

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#3363569 13-Apr-2025 12:57

In the name of redundancy, I have satellite, streaming and DTV-T. Unfortunately the aerial got twisted by the wind and cannot be safely accessed so now I just have have satellite and streaming. Because nearly everything I watch is overseas, that means I just have streaming.

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