RTE HD in the north

kah22

Hi guys, I'm from Armagh City and am a bit confused about RTE's HD service.

I read in the Irish Times Thursday, May 26 'RTÉ will broadcast the first high-definition programmes by an Irish broadcaster this weekend as part of the official launch of the Saorview digital television service.'

It's the Saorview bit that confuses me. As my TV is already capable of receiving HD I'm confused as to whether Saorview is only available via a set top box or is it available to all HD ready TVs? Is it in effect the Republics equivalent to Freeview ie free to air?

I'm also unclear as to whether this is a full service or just testing.

I have a HD ready TV and believe my RTE signal comes from Clermont Carn, I can get RTE 1, 2, TG4 and TV3 perfect digitally.

Would really appreciate some clarity.

Kevin

Noelsagan

Saorview is indeed Ireland's equivalent to Freeview in the UK - 'saor' being the Irish word for free.

The main difference between the two is the video standard used with Saorview being broadcast in DVB-T/MPEG-4 rather than DVB-T/MPEG-2 used for standard UK freeview.

What this means is that you'll need a Freeview HD decoder to view it, either using a set-top box or on a TV with a built in Freeview HD decoder.

Note that a TV with a built in Freeview HD decoder is not the same as a TV that's either 'HD Ready' or 1080p or whatever. Most 'HD Ready' TVs only have an SD Freeview decoder built in although models with Freeview HD built in are becoming more common.

The wiki on Saorview gives some useful background to the format and channels - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saorview

Adh mor! (Good Luck):)