UK broadcasters to test HDTV over aerials

LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) Britain's main TV broadcasters, including the BBC, will soon begin testing whether high-definition service can be sent to aerials in the hope that the next-generation technology can be seen on Freeview.

The BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five, owned by RTL Group, said in a joint statement yesterday that a test group of 450 viewers are collecting their HD set-top boxes this week for a technical trial expected to run for six months.

''It will help to discover whether there could be HD broadcasts on Freeview in the future,'' the broadcasters said.

The transition to much sharper HDTV has been called a landmark move for the industry similar to the shift from black-and-white television to colour.

The UK broadcasters want to use the spectrum that will be available when the analogue signal is turned off in 2012. There isn't currently enough space to carry HDTV on Freeview.

''We calculate that there could be room for up to six high-definition channels in the freed-up spectrum,'' a BBC spokeswoman said.

UK media regulator Ofcom is conducting a review this year to decide how to apportion the analogue spectrum.

Freeview, a digital, multi-channel service with no obligatory monthly subscription fees, has been immensely popular in Britain, reaching 7.1 million homes in less than four years, and is on the verge of surpassing satellite TV operator BSkyB's 7.7 million subscribers.

BSkyB has been rolling out its HDTV service in recent months to showcase it during the World Cup to tempt consumers to upgrade, but it has hit some snags because of delays receiving the necessary set-top boxes.

The broadcasters' HDTV trial is being conducted using an Ofcom licence that strictly limits the number of receivers and forbids the stream to the wider public.

They will be distributing the same programming -- including World Cup soccer, TV series ''Desperate Housewives'' and ''Lost'' and films such as ''Cocktail'' and ''The Big Sleep'' -- as is being HDTV-tested on satellite and cable systems.

REUTERS CH RK0959