A couple of the industry's biggest TV receiver manufacturers were on hand at the IBC Expo in Amsterdam over the weekend to demonstrate products supporting the upcoming Freeview HD broadcast standard.
One of the first to be seen is a Humax set-top box, pictured below by wotsat.com. Although only at the prototype stage, Humax's yet-to-be-named Freeview HD receiver features a single tuner supporting both DVB-T2 and DVB-T.
Although we expect to see dual-channel PVRs sooner rather than later, Humax's single-tuner box throws in a couple of added features. According to reports, the Freeview HD receiver will offer support for DLNA-compliant media streaming and the ability to extend storage via USB. With a couple of these boxes in a single household, we presume, then, that content recorded on one TV could be streamed to another via the Humax receiver.
Also demonstrating Freeview HD at the IBC Expo was UK manufacturer Pace. The Saltaire-based company showed off its first DVB-T2 receiver and announced plans to follow up with a Freeview+ HD digital TV recorder at a later date.
What's interesting is that both Humax and Pace are expected to introduce their first Freeview HD receivers early in 2010. That'll be at least a month after Freeview HD first begins to broadcast, raising questions as to whether or not supporting receivers will be available in time for launch.
Freeview HD, launching in December 2009 for the Granada region and phasing out across the UK in coming years, will be available to users via a set-top box capable of decoding DVB-T2 transmissions.
