Your HD picture might be perfect with Freeview High Definition but the sound might not be all what it seems. You probably would not hear any difference if you are just using your TV’s speakers but if you are pushing the sound from your new Freeview HD set top box or shiny new TV with Freeview HD built in through a 5.1 capable Dolby Digital amplifier or surround system the sound you are hearing is possibly in surround mode but not in true Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.
It transpires that not all the Freeview set-top boxes and TV’s with Freeview HD built in are currently on sale are capable of transcoding the multichannel audio signal being broadcast by the BBC on its HD programmes. The BBC has to provide an audio description service on BBC HD, and to do this it has to use the AAC audio codec present in Freeview HD receivers, rather than Dolby Digital, this is because the main audio is coded as AAC-LC and the audio description as HE-AAC, because the main audio soundtrack and the audio description must use the same encoding family and not all current Freeview HD TVs and set-top boxes can transcode from the AAC format to Dolby Digital so that the AV equipment will be able to understand it. Transcoding will only become mandatory in all Freeview HD products after April 2011.
If your Freeview HD set top box or TV with Freeview HD built in does not support Dolby Digital 5.1 at the moment most are capable of a software upgrade over the air or via USB/Internet in the future.
how do i get freeview HD in granada region i have a HD tv i have tryed to retune but still can’t get the freeview HD
Hi Robert,
Does your TV have a Freeview HD tuner built in? or have you got a seperate Freeview HD Set Top Box? Have you checked with the Freeview HD post Code checker to make sure it is available in your area? A HD ready TV is just that, you will not Freeview HD without a Freeviw HD tuner. If you post the model number of your TV we can soon tell
All 2010 Sony Bravia TV’s transcode this signal to Dolby Digital 5.1 for BBC HD.