The new channel, which replaces ABC HD, is the first free-to-air 24 hour news channel. However, because of government regulations, the channel will be broadcasting in HD in order to meet with HD quota requirements. This, however, will be reviewed once the digital switchover finishes in 2013.

ABC News 24 will provide a mixture of debate and current affairs shows from existing ABC1 programming and its own with live news. It will also utilise BBC World News at the middle of the night and will be broadcast live in all timezones – similar to sports channel One (owned by Channel Ten).

It will be on channel 20 on your digital television, and channel 202 on Foxtel Digital – meaning that you will need an iQ2 (no word on an SD version exclusively for cable viewers). Austar viewers will be able to see it on Channel 24 as well. Optus TV viewers will not be able to see the channel as Optus does not support HD broadcasts from Foxtel.

While not everyone has digital television, or even HD, ABC News 24 will be broadcast live on mobile devices and online – via ABC iView, which will suit those who have their iView watching experiences unmetered, and on its website via ABC News Online. While the live stream is up, as of writing, the iView live version has not appeared yet.

We seem to have never asked ourselves what will happen in the future of television. Will it become non-existent because of the Internet, or will it still play a potential role for news? Will we be able to get more channels, or will be there no difference from today?

Digital Television in Australia is now under the brand “Freeview” – taking the same approach as the UK and New Zealand giving it a name. However, it really doesn’t do anything, except just promote the brand – unlike the UK and New Zealand variants, where it almost acts like Pay TV – but that’s because our Freeview is not owned by the Government, but is a consortium of the five free to air networks (Nine, Ten, Seven, ABC and SBS).

Freeview has said (before) that fifteen channels will be able to be accessed on their platform – which is technically a lie, because any digital receiver, even before Freeview’s establishment, can access the services – which comprises of all the five stations having their main channel, a secondary channel and a HD channel. However, again, it will most likely expand – solely on the ABC’s efforts as no commercial broadcaster is allowed to expand into more SD and HD channels, and SBS has put off their attempts (except for SBS Two) to expand into the digital realm as they got a lower increase on funding.

But we are also forgetting the little community players. Why does it matter? They don’t have a large enough rating to be listed. Well, my friends who say this all the time, you are wrong. Community television is the stepping stone to the main players, and it does allow a true community voice – unlike the commercial broadcasters, and broadcast a lot of programming based on the community and their nationality. Look at C31 Melbourne’s schedule – it broadcast more LOTE programs than SBS – all in the morning, afternoon and sometimes in Primetime.

That achievement has to be notable – as they have less money than SBS, and yet they can also provide a lot of their programming on demand online, which is said to be a potential Achilles heel on broadcasters as more and more are looking online to get their programs than wait for the broadcasters to show the episodes.

C31 has also been the leader of expressing community television onto digital television. According to its press release, C31 provides an “incomparable service to large and diverse sections of the community” citing these as its reasons:

• C31 provides a communication platform to marginalised and under-represented sections of the community largely ignored by the mainstream media – often new and emerging communities.

• C31 airs over 95 locally produced shows each week making it by far the largest broadcaster of local content in Australia.

• C31 serves as a training ground for the entire television sector, and has produced some of the most well known faces on Australian TV including Rove and Hamish and Andy, in addition to hundreds of people working behind the scenes.

• C31 provides a marketing platform which enables local business to use the power of television to target a local audience

Also, according to them, Melbourne has three channels remaining on the digital spectrum that remain unused – and are also asking for $1.5 million to upgrade their facilities.

But what also gives the UK Freeview the edge over our Freeview is that they allowed more channels into the loop – including channels that could only be found on Pay TV. UK Freeview has also established several channels that share a channel, where one channel broadcasts on the morning and afternoon, while the other broadcasts at night and during the early mornings.

But the big point, as I mentioned, is the participation of Pay TV offering their channels. If Foxtel, or the channel’s owners (looking at you, the BBC) to provide their channels on the Freeview platform, it would allow the increase of digital television boxes. The most likely choice would bring in Sky News, Sky News Business and A-PAC – as both Seven and Nine do own a stake in the channel, and this would most likely bring in more competition when ABC eventually announces its “ABC4” channel.

But can we afford to bring in new channels? Maybe in 2013, when the spectrum is freed up – or the potential of building more spectrum for digital television. But does this plan make it too competitive that it is very hard to find an audience, because of our small population?

Let’s hear your thoughts on Digital Television’s Future. Comment below.

EXCLUSIVE : Ten will no longer be providing a HD simulcast, with breakaway programming, when its new ONE channel, a 24-hour sports channel for Freeview, comes into launch; as seen in the images above taken by TECHGEEK.com.au.

In the lead up to it, Ten has moved TEN HD from Channel 12, where it has been since it was launched in 2007, to Channel 11, while a new Channel – called TEN SD2 – will take ONE’s SD channel during the lead-up to the new channel.

This move, which will see Ten being the only channel not to have an HD version of its content broadcast on the main channel; would make shows like NCIS, Lie to Me and other shows, which have been broadcast in HD in the channels in the US and around the world, no longer able to be watched with 5.1 surround sound and a higher picture quality.

However, even though it has been permitted, it doesn’t mean that the commercial channels have to take up on the government’s offer – well until they launch their second channel, which both Seven and Nine have refused to provide details about it.

Ten is the only commercial channel that has announced what it would use its standard definition channel for – to broadcast (and complement) sport that it has the broadcasting rights to. The channel will launch in April; but it also has plans to launch a HD channel, causing people to say that the main HD simulcast of the main network would disappear from the screens.

However, Foxtel has told The Australian that the commercial networks are “not serious” about digital television, because of the lack in its lineup.

”Seven, Nine and Ten have had more than two years to plan and launch one new digital channel each on January 1, 2009 — which they are now allowed to provide under government rules," Adam Suckling, Foxtel’s director of policy and corporate affairs, said.

"But they have chosen not to do so … If the free-to-air networks were serious about driving digital take-up, they would have launched their new channels from the day they’re allowed to."

Foxtel has already been broadcasting in digital since 2005; but it does not mean all of its channels are broadcasting in widescreen. Since then, it has constantly added more channels to its own lineup, including the launch of 5 new HD channels for its own HD service.

"Foxtel launched nine channels in 2008 — including Sky News Business and five new HD channels — and will launch another 20 digital channels in 2009," Suckling told The Australian. Out of the new 20 channels that will be launched in 2009, Sky News Australia will broadcast a new current affairs channel that will be similar to C-SPAN in the US.

The new channels that the commercial networks have been given are part of a new effort by the free-to-air networks to boost up digital television sales. Called Freeview, it follows a similar plan made in the UK and New Zealand. However, this is mainly a advertising effort, not a service to compete with Foxtel.

Along with the commercial free-to-air networks’ 3 channels, it will join ABC1, ABC2, ABC HD, SBS, SBS World News and SBS HD to bring 15 channels at launch. This is expected to grow when the ABC and SBS (and soon, the commercial networks) launch several new channels in the coming years.

FreeView is expected to launch with 15 channels, and a new electronic program guide is to be revealed tonight – prompting Foxtel to reveal that it had extended its EPG to 14 days. The new channels include the current 5 (ABC, SBS, Seven, Nine and Ten), their HD channels (ABC HD, Nine HD, SBS HD and Seven HD). As well, the commercial channels would join their public broadcasting counterparts in offering a second SD multichannel, with Ten revealing its one being a sports channel.

But you would also noticed that there is no Ten HD listed. Well, it will be replaced with an HD version of its sports channel, dubbed ONE – unless that’s been axed.

The ‘Freeview’ initiative was started in the UK to help drive the take-up of free-to-air digital television in Australia, with the ABC’s Director of Television, Kim Dalton, will chair the organization in Australia. In New Zealand, almost of all of their stations are apart of their version of ‘Freeview’; and it has exceeded expectations with installed receivers in over 100,000 homes.

In Australia, Freeview will contain all the free-to-air stations and their respective HD channels. As well, it will air ABC2, SBS World News Channel and the commercial stations’ new SD channels – bringing to to 15 channels.

Ofcom has said that new technologies and the digital switchover will enable more channels, including HD services. However, viewers who want to watch the new services will need a HD-ready TV and a brand new set-top box. The new services are expected to start at the north-west of England.

Up to four free HD channels will be broadcast, including the already-launched BBC HD service. The other three spots will be taken by ITV, Channel 4, Five or the Welsh language network S4C (which replaces Channel 4 in analogue television). They will also be invited to bid on the new services as well.

Viewers have to wait until the analogue television signals are switched off before receiving them, meaning that London will need to wait until 2012, even though trials were done in the area. Other areas who will wait until 2012 are Northern Ireland and the north-east of England.

Ofcm will also change the way digital terrestrial television are arranged to make way for the new services. Digital televisions are arranged in six “multiplexes”, owned by different operators including the BBC, which owns two.

The BBC will have to move some of its channels to create space for the HD channels or other new services. HD channels take up four or five times the space than the SD signal.

But if you want the HD channels now, you can get them from satellite or cable, paying a subscription fee. BBC and ITV are also launching a new satellite service, dubbed Freesat, and will include HD services.

Channel Ten and the Seven Network both announced that they will launch their High Definition (HD) multi channels. This comes after the Government lifted multi channelling restrictions. Current laws now state that channels are allowed to broadcast a separately channelled HD broadcast. In 2009, channels can do the same thing in Standard Definition (SD).

TEN HD will be like BBC HD, but broadcasts 24 hours a day; simulcasting mostly from the SD channel and also extended broadcasting and also time-shifted programming. TEN HD is expected to extend Ten’s reality programming like The Biggest Loser, Australian Idol and Big Brother.

The Seven Network has announced it, but haven’t given any details. We expect that it will be used for the Beijing Olympics, with sports being covered on both Seven, Seven HD and also on SBS’s two channels. Compared that with the USA’s NBC Universal’s channels… that’s a bit small, but it’s a start. When 2012, we will see that Channel Seven will launch a SD broadcast to complement the Olympics.

However, Channel Nine hasn’t announced anything yet. Most likely they never will, because of budget cuts.

One good thing of a separate HD channel is the fact that you are not stuck with local coverage of certain events. ABC has used HD as a national platform, allowing people to watch the national feed and not miss any shows. ABC2 provides a platform for the coverage. An example is the State Elections.

I may sound bias, but HD is actually better than SD; though your TV sets (the one that are like a CRT monitor, the old tube) may not work with it. This is usually due to a lack of pixels supporting it.

TEN HD and Seven HD are expected to launch in December. Stay tuned…