Wonder if SkyByBroadband will support SkyHD?

[StooMonster]

Wonders if like BBC's iMP, SkyByBroadband will support HD?

Seeing as at SD it's encoded at a variable bit rate of 860 Kbps (0.84 Mbps) with pixel resolution of 540x432 I think maybe not (yet).

Perhaps they'll offer more once the EasyNet merger is complete?

http://www.sky.com/skybybroadband/home

StooMonster

[bayards]

Yes it will be interesting to try it - I signed up last night as my local ISP manages to squeeze 3 megs down to me.....

Howard

[Nick_UK]

I think that until much faster broadband becomes a reality (which for much of the population won't be for quite some time) HDTV in real-time will be a pipe-dream. However, HD could be downloaded overnight by broadband, and stored to watch at a later date. I wouldn't be surprised if Sky's HD box had a split hard-drive, to do exactly that, either off-air or by broadband.

[StooMonster]

As per BBC iMP, this isn't realtime streaming service it's a download one.

As discussed in other threads, and at BSkyB's demonstration earlier in the week, SkyHD's hard-disc will be split to support 'push video on demand'. This service will be active with SkyHD at launch, and for regular Sky+ customers (with supporting hardware) at the sametime I recon.

StooMonster

[Evil Engineer]

They will have to scrap download limits, then.

You wouldn't get much HD content at 3 GB a month!

[StooMonster]

Well if Sky was your broadband provider through Easynet (that they recently bought), they could have limitless downloads from them but cap downloads from other sites.

StooMonster

[Starburst]

They will have to scrap download limits, then.

You wouldn't get much HD content at 3 GB a month!



Indeed.
A master stroke of poor timing by NTL who look to set hard caps on their upcoming 10meg service:)

Very interested to see what Easynet offer via ADSL2+ now they are SKY owned.

[RecordablDVDfan]

Indeed.
A master stroke of poor timing by NTL who look to set hard caps on their upcoming 10meg service:)

Very interested to see what Easynet offer via ADSL2+ now they are SKY owned.

How can an ISP realistically put a cap on ADSL+2 ? When you can download about 1GB in about 10 mins it makes having the super fast speed of 24Mbits pointless

[SimonO]

SkyByBroadband unsurprisingly has DRM and I don't want to be told where I can watch TV!!!

[Starburst]

How can an ISP realistically put a cap on ADSL+2 ? When you can download about 1GB in about 10 mins it makes having the super fast speed of 24Mbits pointless



No idea:)

The whole cap idea is to control the cost of bandwidth to the ISP and in the early days it was basically the smaller and fly by night operations that did it along with port blocking etc.
Alas some of the bigger companies realised what a money spinner it is and now one of the biggest ISP's (NTL who have always be keen on the idea) seem to be goign hell for leather and making their 10meg connection rather pointless.

I reckon the basic technology behind ADSL2+ brings cost benefits but the bottom line is that for a major ISP who have their own backbone capacity the cost of external bandwidth makes unmetered a workable model.
For smaller ISP's or those without their own LLU avenue then unmetered is perhaps an uneconomical way to run themselves.

As we are seeing the BBC, SKY and ITV are all going to offer content over plain broadband connections anyone with a capped service well they might as well not even bother with this new distribution method.

[richard plumb]

SkyByBroadband unsurprisingly has DRM and I don't want to be told where I can watch TV!!!

I agree. Its crazy Sky putting these restrictions on me, when I can just take my sky+ box with me abroad in my suitcase and watch whenev.....hang on..

This is nothing more than an extension of what you already have subscribed for. Amazingly they aren't charging you for it. Be grateful for small mercies.

:P

[Starburst]

Lets not forget that SKY would have had to kiss serious US studio ass to get permission to distribute any content let alone not charge for it.
Content protection would have been a deal breaker even if in reality there seems to be plenty of holes in the system.