BT Broadband HDTV Service?

[chris72]

Just seen this news story (http://www.computeractive.co.uk/computeractive/news/2144799/bt-offer-iptv) about Philips being chosen as BT's set-top box manufacturer - the fourth paragraph talks about the box being capable of High Definition content. Could this be an (imminent) alternative to Sky HD?

Anyone know anything more concrete?

Chris

[Nick_UK]

I don't think Sky will be losing any sleep, since HDTV requires a minimum of about 12mbps bandwidth, which is outside the capabilities of about 70% of subscriber lines in the country.

[eternaldark]

seeing as BT have difficulty in even providing a 512k service (to me at least) I wouldn't be getting too excited about that for a looooong time

[Chris Muriel]

I agree with the last poster. "Capable of" has very little practical meaning ; it's just spin / PR / marketing speak.
There's a helluva lot of PR and spin around right now concerning IPTV and lots of trials etc.
UK company Amino have certainly had reasonable success with their IPTV STBs - wow double acronym :-) Their VP of marketing is a clever guy too (I was involved in a meeting with him at NAB this year).
I think that the STB manufacturers and the service providers will have a hard job convincing Joe Public that he needs (or desires) such a service anyway.
However the hype is now irretrievably embedded in the food chain and I can't escape from it (I work for a USA integrated circuit manufacturer but, as an engineer/techie I hate our marketeers).

Rant mode off !

Chris Muriel, Manchester

[dino2021]

I don't think Sky will be losing any sleep, since HDTV requires a minimum of about 12mbps bandwidth, which is outside the capabilities of about 70% of subscriber lines in the country.

Its a pvr so coud you not select your program and download it rather than stream it??

[cerebros]

Its a pvr so coud you not select your program and download it rather than stream it??

That's what I was thinking...

[paolo999]

I agree with the last poster. "Capable of" has very little practical meaning ; it's just spin / PR / marketing speak.
There's a helluva lot of PR and spin around right now concerning IPTV and lots of trials etc.
UK company Amino have certainly had reasonable success with their IPTV STBs - wow double acronym :-) Their VP of marketing is a clever guy too (I was involved in a meeting with him at NAB this year).
I think that the STB manufacturers and the service providers will have a hard job convincing Joe Public that he needs (or desires) such a service anyway.
However the hype is now irretrievably embedded in the food chain and I can't escape from it (I work for a USA integrated circuit manufacturer but, as an engineer/techie I hate our marketeers).

Rant mode off !

Chris Muriel, Manchester

Yep.

IPTV falls under "TV 2.0"... the revolution really is coming, but for anyone to lay claim - never mind actually make promises around a product - is way off.

[Nick_UK]

Its a pvr so coud you not select your program and download it rather than stream it??

Yes, of course you can do that, but that's not exactly "video on demand", is it ?

Spending hours downloading a movie before I can watch it is not my idea of fun, especially if it's going to wipe out my broadband capabilities :rolleyes:

The downloading bit is what Sky is working towards, with its USB-capable PVR3 with split hard-drive, and Sky's recent acquisition of a major broadband ISP.

[zAndy1]

Isn't BT rolling out 8Mbps across all exchanges next year which would make streaming broadband content a distinct possibility. The consumer would have to pay for the 8Mbps service of course which could be a problem in terms of subscriber base (unless the cost is subsidised of course).

[theo cupier]

It's also worth noting that ADSL2+ (which can deliver up to 24Mbps) is not too far away (although whether individuals are too far away - from their exchange - for it is another matter). Then we have VDSL, then ...

Whether BT end up distributing (can't really call it broadcasting any more) their own content, or providing infrastructure for someone else is another matter, but I did note that BT are being mooted as a potential bidder for one of the new packages of Premiership football match rights.

[Stephen Neal]

Yep - 8Mbs is available to fewer subscribers than 512k, and the limit for 512k has been reduced, so more people with marginal lines are now being allowed to subscribe.

The rule of thumb for ADSL2 is, apparently, that if you can get more than 2Mbs ADSL then you'll see an improvement with ADSL2, but to get 24Mbs you're likely to be receiving a rock solid 8Mbs ADSL service?

In France they've been experimenting with realtime HD delivery via ADSL2 - though I guess this would only be feasible to those who get >12Mbs with current codecs, unless material were encoded off-line (possible for VOD but not Live channel provision)

[Nick_UK]

Yes, it's true that the line length limits have been relaxed by BT, but it's still not feasable to put broadband at speeds much higher than 2Mbps through cables which are much longer than 5km. The limits for 8Mbps are much tighter, and if you can't see the phone exchange from your house, then you probably won't get it. 24Mbps is just pie in the sky for most people in the UK - to get that would require re-cabling, and that's when it gets expensive, when the road diggers come out.

[chaplic]

By This time next year, 8MBit will seem like slow ADSL


18Mbit and greater should be available, at which point HDTV over the telephone will become a reality.

I should say sky ARE loosing sleep!

[chris72]

So it's another "wait and see" just like everything else with HD - I'm begining to think I'm not the earlier adopter I thought I was.

[Starburst]

18Mbit and greater should be available, at which point HDTV over the telephone will become a reality.

I should say sky ARE loosing sleep!




Which is perhaps why as already mentioned SKY have bought Easynet, a major company dealing with Local Loop Unbundling and the supply of ADSL2+ connections for domestic use which peaks at 24Mbps.

The recent £1 Billion bond SKY secured is targetted at providing a more diverse product line up to counter future competition from cable and telecoms. If SKY are losing sleep it's only because they have been busy doing other things:)

[Nick_UK]

By This time next year, 8MBit will seem like slow ADSL


18Mbit and greater should be available, at which point HDTV over the telephone will become a reality.



Maybe so, but it will take a major leap in technology to make anything above 2Mbps available for the majority of consumers on ADSL. Unless you live in a cabled area, of course.

[StooMonster]

Aye, I have read that NTL are planning on upgrading 3Mb/s cable modem connections to 10Mb/s in the next few months.

StooMonster

[Starburst]

Aye, I have read that NTL are planning on upgrading 3Mb/s cable modem connections to 10Mb/s in the next few months.

StooMonster



With caps based on how much you pay!

No word yet on the speed of their uncapped broadband service although currently 512k uncapped is being forced on people who "abuse" their service.

Considering how the broadband TV market seems to be expanding quite quickly it is perhaps the best example of bad timing in the history of NTL who have made a habit of making statments then backtracking:)

[Starburst]

Maybe so, but it will take a major leap in technology to make anything above 2Mbps available for the majority of consumers on ADSL. Unless you live in a cabled area, of course.




I'll have access to ADSL2+ by the end of they year but as you say even that technology is distance dependent so getting the full 24Mbps is highly unlikely for the vast majority of users.

[fortean]

BT will have to start putting SDLAM's in the green road side boxes to get high speed ADSL to enough people.