iPlayer

The register reports that iPlayer could be used to watch Freesat programs within the next year. For those that don't know, iPlayer is the BBC's online service that basically lets you watch TV programs that have already aired over broadband. Television shows up to 7 days old are available on iPlayer. You have to pay your TV license to be able to watch shows for free and shows expire after 30 days.

So theoretically, within a year, we will be able to watch Freesat HD shows over our broadband connections. There are already ethernet ports in the back of all Freesat digital boxes (currently not in use, but there for future proofing). The biggest problem though is the huge amount of data and bandwidth an HD movie would consume. Internet Service Providers would struggle to offer cheap broadband solutions if everyone maxed out their downloads and pulled HD movies down everyday.