View Full Version : Has Sky any plans to broadcast HD?
andynumpty
10-12-2003, 3:49 PM
Has any body got any thoughts on wether sky is looking to go down the HD road in the future.
Kramer
10-12-2003, 4:43 PM
Sky's motto has always been quantity over quality so no, can't see HD forthcoming from Sky.
The Ironduke
10-12-2003, 5:41 PM
HDTV would bring sky to its knee's, lol and would finish off NTL:)
Kramer
10-12-2003, 7:10 PM
Originally posted by The Ironduke
HDTV would bring sky to its knee's
Why? How many people have HD capable displays? How many would even notice a difference with their 28" TVs?
HDTV is still very much a niche market. Think of all the shopping channels we'd loose if Sky opted for HD broadcasts :eek:
twarde
10-12-2003, 7:52 PM
You never know with Sky. They have tended to introduce technology on a small scale. E.g. Widecreen/Dolby Surround on football matches, The odd PPV widescreen film channel, Sky+ and Dolby digital.
Fox in the USA, which is owned by News Corp has caved in and is going HDTV.
If there's money to be made Sky will be into it.
JohnAd
12-12-2003, 7:28 PM
If there's money to be made Sky will be into it.
Exactly, what they will have is a model that predicts revenue per Mbit of bandwidth, so at some point HDTV will be a viable technology according to thier market research. At the moment so few people know what HDTV looks like that they are hardly knocking down skys door or even sayingyes to stuff like "would you pay more for better quality pictures?" in market research. That won't change until more people see HDTV and the early adopters (i.e. us) start talking about it everybody.
However, it will cost lots of money on two fronts, new recievers and subcription in the home and new hardware/content at the stations. At the moment I would guess the crossover point at which there are enough potential users for this to make sense is about 5-10 years away. In the mean time we all need to be making noise and saying we want it and we will pay for it, and also spreading the word. That's the only way it will happen.
John
SamirP
17-12-2003, 8:52 PM
Originally posted by twarde
You never know with Sky. They have tended to introduce technology on a small scale. E.g. Widecreen/Dolby Surround on football matches, The odd PPV widescreen film channel, Sky+ and Dolby digital.
Fox in the USA, which is owned by News Corp has caved in and is going HDTV.
If there's money to be made Sky will be into it.
Well for the last four years Fox have been boardcasting in 480p in the US so maybe Sky would broadcast in 625p before they start thinking about HD.
:)
joys_R_us
18-12-2003, 11:07 AM
Originally posted by JohnAd
However, it will cost lots of money on two fronts, new recievers and subcription in the home and new hardware/content at the stations. At the moment I would guess the crossover point at which there are enough potential users for this to make sense is about 5-10 years away. In the mean time we all need to be making noise and saying we want it and we will pay for it, and also spreading the word. That's the only way it will happen.
John
On the brodcast side the cost is near to zero as most stations already work with HDTV content internally...
Additional cost will incur for the transponders / higher bandwidth broadcast...
On the consumer side additional receivers will be needed (100 pounds ?) and (not mandatory) new TV sets. People (like me) do already own plasmas and they are getting cheaper and cheaper.
You really can't expect the consumers to make the first step. Chicken or egg ???
So I am optimistic ! When they wake up they all will run fast !
joys_R_us
19-12-2003, 11:38 AM
London
Next year, on the 60th anniversary of British television's move from 405-line to 625-line analog TV, the UK government will begin to phase in digital HDTV broadcasts. A new channel, BBC-26, will initially carry only one hour of the HDTV broadcasts per week, but it is expected that the other 25 BBC channels will soon add the higher-resolution signals, followed by commercial broadcasters.
"The Americans have been saying that we missed the HDTV boat when we adopted standard-definition digital television in 1998, but now the joke's on them," said the government's Minister of Transatlantic Gloating. "As we did when we leapfrogged their 525-line system in 1964, we will now have more detailed pictures than any U.S. channel's."
The transition is expected to be completed rapidly. Current plans are to shut down SDTV broadcasts no later than 2050.
• • •
http://www.tvtechnology.com/features/Masked-Engineer/future_of_tv.shtml
bobbypunk
25-12-2003, 4:48 PM
really know nothing about this subject yet but would be interested in finding out compatible displays.
especially whether pio pdp434hde is properly compatible.
RecordablDVDfan
29-12-2003, 5:54 PM
Australia have had HDTV since 2001. All 5 major networks simulcast in HD certain progs and now I believe local afiliates are also in HD . Channels use HD ID's ie Channel Nine is called Nine digital etc
I know of dozens of people who will jump up and down just because they can get HD capable projector panels...... the fact that they have no HD material doesnt change this opinion in the slightest! My point being, there will always be market for 'the best', irrelevant of whether joe public can see the improvement. All sky would need to do to make HD widespread is start with spreading these sorts of rumours onto its subscribers..... bet there would be a huge number would happily upgrade...
ad