This morning Freeview announced that Freeview Plus is launching on 2 September, or in fewer than four weeks. At last!
The main thing it will offer is an enhanced electronic program guide with a search facility but
, more importantly, which will also act as a portal to catchup TV. Rather than going to ABC iView, SBS On Demand, or any of the commercial TV apps, which may or may not be on your smart TV or PVR, you will simply dial up last week’s programs from the EPG and your device will stream them over the Internet. This is an implementation of what’s called HbbTV, for Hybrid broadcast broadband TV.
I’ve got a couple of PVRs here which are awaiting final firmware.
Meanwhile, here’s Freeview’s forthcoming TV advertisement. This is of the kind that provides no useful information whatsoever, except that celebrities apparently like their previews of the system: