Online TV puts Freeview to shame
The Australian public have been told the Freeview service represents a major leap forward in free to air digital television in Australia, but do the specifications of Freeview compliance limit the functionality of co-branded products, essentially making them unusable? If the PVR support forums are anything to go by, the answer is an emphatic yes. The Topfield TRF-7150 forum, for example, was taken down a few weeks after its release- possibly due to some “constructive criticism”. With consumers moving towards online television solutions such as Boxee, Youtube, IPTV and Hulu to name a few, can Freeview really afford to be so picky?
The major drawbacks of the service include:
- No user-defined “Time skip” function
- Maximum 6X fast-forward
- No support for commercial skip
To be honest, not all of these functions are terribly important to the success of the units. It seems to be the way the Australian PVR manufacturers rushed the units to market that have put consumers off. From my own experience as a PVR owner, the existing firmware was used from previous models with all non compliant features removed. This is further highlighted in the user manual- the functions are still listed (global pre/post recording buffer settings, user defined skip times etc.,) but the entire menu on the system is missing. I can’t say this gives a sense of added value to the overall design.
Drawbacks aside, there are some positives. The free EPG, although not perfect, is a suitable alternative to paid services (IceTV) but still lacks the ability to series link, (Automatically record a tv series each time it airs). Freeview appear to have also relaxed some of their original specifications: With firmware upgrades, compatible units can now export recorded television to a portable USB drive. This seems to have come as a response to consumer feedback and shows that the service is still evolving.
With better internet service on the horizon for continental Australia we can only expect improved Internet TV services to come with it. Looking at figures coming out of North America, the PVR technology may be already on its way out, “70% of 18 to 34 year olds have watched TV on the web. Only 33% have viewed a show on DVR/TiVo”-http://socialnomics.net/. As we look to the future, it seems internet TV will continue to claim market share from the more restricted traditional model. Will the Freeview service change and adapt to the needs of consumers that can easily fulfil their entertainment needs online? I would like to think so, but I wont be holding my breath.
