Joining the New Zealand Freeview masses

This evening I completed my setup of Freeview at home. I now have complete terrestrial digital freeview reception.

When I bought my slimline HP media computer recently I took note of the TV Tuner capabilities. I picked a PC that was capable of picking up terrestrial digital. However, despite the fact that Windows Media Center has support for terrestrial digital, Microsoft does not have an update a present to support the the variant used in New Zealand.

The Internet is full of rumours stating that Microsoft will release an update to support terrestrial digital in New Zealand. I believe the Microsoft will eventually release an update in the future.

In the mean time, how did I receive terrestrial digital television on my PC? Mix the following and bake for 1 hour to get sorted:

- Mediaportal
- MediaPortal TV Server
- MediaPortal SVN
- H.246 Codec
- LATM AAC Audio Codec

Mediaportal is simply an open source alternative to Windows Media Center. I used the 'bleeding edge' nightly builds of the Mediaportal SVN to achieve Freeview playback.

To decode the Freeview video I installed the CoreAVC h.264 codec. An alternative is to use the h.264 codec which Cyberlink bundles with its PowerDVD software to enable Blu-Ray playback.

Audio New Zealand also has a funky audio format which can be decoded with the LATM AACCodec. The good thing is that a codec (a.k.a Monogram ACC Decoder) is included with the Mediaportal SVN builds which can decode audio.

If I get a chance I will do my own write-up on the setup of Freeview for New Zealand conditions. There are however a number of guides explaining the process on the web.

With my present setup, I find the Video and audio quality excellent and the changing of channels to be swift. My next project is to associate channel Icons with each channel and to implement and EPG. By leveraging my existing media PC setup I have avoided having to fork out $NZ400+ for a set top decoder box.

I have also written a quick guide for computer savvy people on how to setup MediaPortal to work with Freeview in New Zealand. It is available at:

Configuring MediaPortal for Freeview NZ [Quick Guide]
http://tech.nztechie.com/2008/04/configuring-mediaportal-for-freeview-nz.html

MediaPortal
http://www.team-mediaportal.com/

CoreAVC
http://www.coreavc.com/

Additional Information: Freeview|HD is broadcast on a digital terrestrial network and received via a UHF aerial. It will be available in the Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Napier, Hastings, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. That’s 75% of New Zealand homes.

A strole to the Mall

Last night, Anisha said that she wanted to go for a walk to the mall today if the weather was good. It was a cracker of a warm day today. After breakfast, we put on our walking shoes and went to the Botany Downs shopping centre.

Anisha had various family members that she wanted to buy presents for, so we spend a lot of time doing that. Anisha bought herself a new handbag from Farmers. Anisha told me that she had bought me some clothing for the India Diwali. I picked up something from Pagani for her, which I will give to her on the appropriate day.

I bought Anisha and myself an Ice cream from the New Zealand Natural stand in the mall. Anisha spotted some plastic bag holders at the centre. She didn't have any cash on her. I gave her NZ$10 to buy one.

I went to Harvey Norman and noticed that they had a Freeview FTA Decoder (Zinwell) on special for NZ$199. As my birthday is coming up, I'm considering buying it for myself as a birthday present.

After Harvey Norman, we went to Kmart. I am in need of some jeans, so I picked up a couple pairs of cheap jeans. They were NZ$20 each. When I buy jeans, they always end up being too long and I need to get them adjusted. That cheap NZ$20 each for jeans turned into almost $NZ80 after taking into account the NZ$36 I had to pay to get the lengths adjusted. I had 8cm taken off from the jeans.

We bumped into Alan Murray while at the shopping Centre.

After we had walked home, I went through my old jeans (ones which I have not worn for about 7 years, when I was a lot smaller) and found about 10 pairs which no longer fit me. I found one old Billabong pair in good condition. Just for fun, I asked Anisha to try them on. They fitted perfectly. Now Anisha has another pair of jeans!

Later that night, Anisha and I let off the fireworks that we brought from The Warehouse on Friday. We had bought The Big New Box, the Backyard Blast, and the Roman Candle Box. We were impressed by most of the fireworks, with the exception of the smaller Roman Candle fireworks.


Video: Setting off the Fireworks at home

Useless Information: A 13-year-old boy in India produced winged beetles in his urine after hatching the eggs in his body.