BBC TRUST FREESAT CONCLUSION.

AS REPORTED BY THE BBC TRUST IN APRIL 2007.

"Should the "Freesat" proposal be future proof? 91% said "Yes" and 9% said "No".Sample of comments from those people who believe the proposition should be
future-proof
“Yes most definitely, High Definition should be a top priority.”
“High def is preferable since most TVs are now being built to accommodate this. Mine
already does although I do not use it due to the extra Sky HD costs”
“…it is in the best interests of the consumer that all free to air programming is provided
with the latest available technological enhancements (HDTV is the new “colour” TV and all
consumers should have equal access to it.”
“I think the set-top boxes should be capable of receiving both standards so that a new box is
not necessary when high definition broadcast become the standard.”
“The future is now, high definition is already available and the sales of HD TV sets show how
much people want it.”
“Yes - make software downloadable”
“Yes, it should offer a choice as it is wrong to assume that everybody will have the means or
the need to buy a HD TV to go with the set top box if it is only available in HD”
“Without a doubt, otherwise in 10 years time they will be obsolete and we will have to go
through the same process again”
“It would be best to make all Freesat boxes HD. This reduces consumer confusion, advances
the prospects for HD, avoids premature redundancy of newly purchased equipment, and
does not excessively increase the cost. Importantly it also allows SD channels to use MPEG4,
allowing more room for future expansion of services.”