VIEWERS in Manchester will be the first in Britain to receive Freeview High-Definition TV broadcasts - but the set-box boxes that receive the signal will not be widely available until months later.

The first HD broadcasts will be beamed via the Winter Hill transmitter on December 2, less than a month after the digital switchover for the Granada area on November 4.

But HD channels cannot be received on standard set-top boxes, so people who have already bought a box ready for the switchover will have to shell out again if they want HD.

To receive HD on Freeview viewers will have to buy new set-top boxes which are still in development and won't be widely available until 2010, as well as HD TVs.

The HD boxes are expected to be made available early next year.

'Inexcusable'

Media industry analyst Chris Goodall said: "It's daft and pretty inexcusable that they could fall into this kind of technological trap. But these kinds of things happen when you've got developing technology.

"A lot of the population already have set-top boxes which are not HD compatible.

"Those who don't already have them will have to buy a `first generation' box before being able to buy more advanced equipment. It's irritating, but not the end of the world."

Freeview spokeswoman Sara Jones said: "The HD compatible boxes are still in development and we expect a wide range to be on the market by early next year, clearly marked with the Freeview HD logo."

Freeview stressed there would be a limited supply of HD boxes in time for the switch-on in December.

ITV is the latest broadcaster to announce an HD channel on Freeview, along with the BBC and Channel 5.

The new ITV1 HD service will be launched alongside the digital switchover and will be available in Manchester in December - and to half of all homes in time for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.