HD TV Listings
What Basic Channels do I get on Freeview?

Click the picture to see whats on the extra channels right now.

+HD Box Only £49

Q & A

Q. Why do some programmes appear in 4:3 aspect on my 16:10 monitor or 16:9 TV?
A. The secret of picture size boils down to a few key facts.
1) MPEG2, the encoding system used on Freeview, carries only two pieces of useful information:
i) picture size, up to 720x576 pixels
ii) aspect ratio, but only 4:3 or 16:9
2) DTG (Freeview) is extended to use "AFD"
The AFD is private digital data in the MPEG2 that extends the information to include 14:9 aspect ratio and protected viewing areas. AFD adds 8 "behaviours" to the system.
3) You are not supposed to see everything that is there!
4) The industry hasn't really sorted it out yet. Some leading industry players have never even heard of AFD. Some put you in control with the "wide" button, others restrict you to the opinion of their software.
An example:
a) BBC News24 has what many people think is a 16:9 picture.
b) Watch carefully, nothing important happens at the extreme left or right
c) But hang on, if you watch on a 4:3 TV the edges of a few important things get clipped off.
The reason is simple: the basic MPEG is 16:9 but the extra bit, the AFD, is saying "14:9 protected". 14:9 lies between 4:3 and 16:9.
If you translate the picture PROPERLY, it will have small letterbox bars at the top and bottom, being a bit wider/shorter than 4:3, but taller than 16:9.
Although there is picture lost at the edges on a 4:3 TV, but you aren't missing anything the director considers important!
Of course that doesn't stop real 4:3 and real 16:9, and the other five possibilities of AFD. The whole point is putting what you want to (or are supposed to) watch, on the screen.

Q. Why are there not more questions ?
A. I'm getting round to it, It's only Wednesday