For the greater good...
Despite being fortunate enough to have 150Mb cable broadband, I'm yet to experience a streaming/on demand service which delivers an "HD" picture that's even nearly as good as Broadcast HD, let alone Blu-ray HD, hence the reason I continue to shun them in favour of viewing via my TiVo or using Blu-ray discs.
Digital satellite may well be a more bandwidth-efficient solution, but it has access barriers for some members of society which just aren’t there with terrestrial digital broadcast TV (Freeview), including:
1. Less integrated – most existing/new TVs have Freeview built-in, whereas built-in Freesat is less common
2. More expensive – You’ll likely need a receiver, plus dish and installation, whereas most properties already have a working Freeview aerial
3. More obtrusive – Big ugly grey dish on the wall instead of a svelte aerial hidden away on the chimney stack or even in the loft
4. Less resilient – Heavy rain or snow? No satellite signal received. Terrestrial DTV usually plods on fine
5. Less reliable – LNB failure, dish slightly out of line etc
In an ideal solution, every home in the UK would have access to cable for their TV and broadband, with only a small nominal fee (no more than the cost of an aerial) to have the house initially hooked up, and an option for subscription-free TV viewing thereafter. As that is highly unlikely to ever happen, Terrestrial DTV (Freeview) is by far the best ‘catch all’ solution for everyone in society to have an access route to TV viewing that’s reliable and affordable.
The day that Terrestrial DTV/Freeview is switched off will be a very sad day indeed.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
