22 nd May 2007 To whom it may concern: The Freeview team have had a busy period getting the satellite service on air. I hope the first few weeks have been productive for your business. The marketing and media exposure that Freeview is generating shows you the commitment that the free-to-air broadcasting industry (and Government) has for this initiative. Understandably with every new product or service you get you share of unforseen issues at the outset, these always settle down with time and increased knowledge. If you would like to share with us your experiences, findings, concerns, and don t forget successes, please do get in touch. One piece of feedback we have had is that regular updates from us on what we are doing, when, and how it might impact on installers is helpful. This letter is part of our commitment to continue to do just that. Availability of Installers We have maintained the philosophy that there is an established industry; it will only grow with the launch of Freeview; and with growth comes an increased level of industry maturity. One concern we have is that some areas of the country may have a shortage of available installers. So that we can understand if this is an issue we ask that you provide us with the information requested in the attached form. We greatly appreciate your help with this as we recognise that installation of receivers, dishes and aerials is a significant part of the success for Freeview. Installer Directory The pro-active step we took to help people find an installer was to include an installer directory on the Freeview website. A listing on the page was offered to a wide group. However what we have found is that this has resulted in companies being listed that are not primarily focused on installation of the Freeview service or Freeview certified products. As I m sure you can appreciate, Freeview and its broadcast and retail partners have and will continue to invest in the specification and promotion of digital receivers that meet Freeview technical requirements. It is not therefore in any of these stakeholders interests to promote alternative broadcast services or reception equipment. By including such companies details on our website we would be doing just that. As such we need to tighten our policy on who we will list as installers. The criteria are as follows: 1. The company (or individual) is predominantly in the business of television reception (and associated) installation services. 2. The company (or individual) is not actively marketing non-certified digital receivers or set-topboxes. 3. The company (or individual) is using equipment that meets the Freeview antenna specification (as provided on the Freeview website). Page 1
4. The company (or individual) is willing to sign and return the attachment declaration and by doing so: a. Warrant that they meet (and will continue to meet) the criteria (in 1-3 above), including informing Freeview should this situation change. b. Acknowledge that Freeview at its sole discretion may remove a listed company should it have cause to do so. They may include but is not limited to installation complaints received by Freeview. If you wish to continue to have a listing on the Freeview installer directory we ask that you sign and return a copy of the attached declaration to Mia Lloyd, Freeview Limited, at the below address by Friday 1 st June 2007. If we do not receive a competed form by this date the listing will be removed. Installation Findings With the number of satellite (dish) antenna installations undertaken since the launch of Freeview we have received a lot of feedback about various issues with existing and new antenna installations. We would like to share some of these and offer (we trust) some helpful advice. For anyone considering the installation of a satellite antenna for the purposes of receiving Freeview, the following information is offered to supplement normal installation practice and procedures. Local antenna tests have shown the following: 1. A dish which is pointed in the right direction but which has cross-polarisation misalignment may demonstrate errors or just not work, depending upon the degree of cross-polarisation error. 2. When the cross-polarisation misalignment is sufficiently large, the telecommunications carrier which sits behind the 12.483 GHz (TVNZ) carrier on the opposite (vertical) polarisation will cause the TVNZ carrier to be missed during the scanning process, such that only the 12.456 GHz (Kordia) carrier will be detected. 3. Teletext services disappear before video & radio services and their disappearance or nonoperation is a good indicator that the overall installation quality is marginal. 4. When operating the set-top-box (STB) remote control unit vigorously whilst in the presence of cross-polarisation interference it has been demonstrated that it is possible to lock the box. In this situation the STB should be disconnected from the power source and reconnected after 20+ seconds. 5. When the signal quality is less than 99% on both carriers, the cause is a signal level issue, and probably caused by the dish not directly pointing at the satellite, but could also be caused by trees in front of the dish, or a faulty LNB etc. An optimally aligned dish and LNB will additionally maximise the performance of all satellite receiver in the presence of rain and other signal attenuating influences. 6. The configuration of the Optus D1 satellite versus the B1 satellite has accentuated the need for an accurate installation. Correct antenna installation can only be achieved via use of a meter which has a spectrum display. This is because the cross-polarisation adjustment of the LNB is a fine mechanical adjustment that requires the installer to twist the LNB to a tolerance typically of less than one of the divisions or marks that are engraved into the external throat of most LNB products. Page 2
We hope the above is helpful to you and if you have any comments or would like to add any helpful hints please let us know. General Update We trust you have seen the addition of channel 20 to the Freeview EPG TVNZ V8 Supercars (live and uninterrupted widescreen coverage for the rest of the 2007 V8 Supercars series). This is an example of the sort of exclusive event based services that broadcasters will bring to the Freeview platform. We can also confirm that TVNZ will join TV3 and C4 in broadcasting TVONE and TV2 in widescreen on digital satellite from August, another reason for people to want Freeview. The planning for digital terrestrial continues on schedule for March 2008. I hope you find these updates useful, we will continue to share with you news and information about Freeview and free-to-air broadcasters plans as they continue to rollout new and exciting digital services. We look forward to receiving a completed copy of the attached form. Regards, Steve Browning General Manager Page 3
Installer Feedback form May 2007 There are two sections of this form. The first is in relation to Freeview understanding the availability of installers to do Freeview installations across the length and breadth of New Zealand, while the second is specific to inclusion in the Freeview website Installer Directory. Please complete both sections. Company Name Contact Person Postal Address Telephone numbers Fax E-mail 1. Availability of Installers Please provide the following information in relation to your company providing installation services for customers wanting Freeview installed: Town or regional area: # of installers in that town / area: Add more rows as necessary. Are you also a Sky installer? YES / NO Page 1
2. Installer Directory Declaration I, the below signed, are able to confirm on behalf of the named company that it is able to comply with Freeview Limited s criteria for inclusion as an installer on its website. The installer directory criteria being: 1. The company (or individual) is predominantly in the business of television reception (and associated) installation services. 2. The company (or individual) is not actively marketing non-certified digital receivers or set-topboxes. 3. The company (or individual) is using equipment that meets the Freeview antenna specification (as provided on the Freeview website). 4. The company (or individual) is willing to acknowledge that Freeview at its sole discretion may remove a listed company should it have cause to do so. Name: Company: Signature: Date: If you wish to have this information included in your directory listing please provide: Physical address Skype address Website address Areas covered Subsequent changes/updates to directory listings should be emailed to freeviewadmin@freeviewnz.tv. Thank You. Page 2