Freeview have announced the addition of 6 new HD channels in December 2013 bringing the total up to 10.
This is a fantastic achievement for Freeview and shows their growing commitment to bringing the best possible picture and sound quality to digital terrestrial viewers.
Anyone with an HDTV and Freeview HD tuner will benefit from this since of course this is a Free upgrade.
Although coverage may not have made it to your area yet so it's always worth checking the coverage in your area.
Freeview HD Channels
The 4 existing HD channels on Freeview are
- BBC One HD
- BBC Two HD
- ITV HD
- Channel 4 HD
The 6 new HD channels are
- BBC Three HD
- BBC Four HD
- BBC News HD
- CBBC HD
- Cbeebies HD
- Al Jazeera HD
This means that all of the BBC's channels are now available in High Definition with the Qatar based news channel Al Jazeera also making the list.
Ilse Howling, Managing Director at Freeview said:
We are really pleased to be more than doubling the number of HD channels available to Freeview viewers. Freeview HD is already enjoyed in 3.4 million UK homes and these additional channels will allow them to watch even more of their favourite programmes for free, in stunning HD.
Channel 5 HD on Freeview
Unfortunately Channel 5 declined to take up one of the HD slots so Channel 5 HD is noticeably absent.
Originally launched on satellite, Channel 5 HD is no longer a free-to-view channel and forms part of Sky's Entertainment Extra package which also sadly means no Channel 5 HD on Freeview just yet. However Channel 5 have stated
we remain committed to launching Channel 5 HD on the DTT platform within the next few years.
Don't forget to retune
If your TV or set-top box doesn't have an auto-retune option, don't forget you'll need to manually retune to get the new channels.
Find out more about Freeview, Freeview HD and Freeview+ in our detailed What is Freeview? guide.
