although HD Freeview was being launched, there wasnt actually any commercial Freeview HD receivers available for purchase for the general public.
I did some research on that myself a few weeks ago when buying a new TV, and seem to recall the facts seemed to be as follows:
1) The broadcasting standards were only due to be nailed down within the last few weeks.
2) Owing to (1), there will be a lag before set makers get things to market, perhaps Q1 2010.
3) A few sets have been sold in recent years claiming the will receive HD Freeview, when it comes. In fact, these sets have simply added support for MPEG4 video decoding. It doesn't mean they'll comply with the HD broadcasting standards.
4) HD Freeview will exist alongside SD freeview for many years. Your existing TVs will continue to work, but you'll need another STB if you want HD.
Feel free to chck my facts and speak out if you disagree. I can't remember my sources, probably avforums as that's one use a lot, but I'm actually at work right now and don't won't to get distracted into endless googling.
- 7LM