UK Satellite provider unveils its HDTV channel line-up for 2006
Posted on 29/08/05 00:00 by Seán Byrne                             
UK Satellite provider unveils its HDTV channel line-up for 2006

While some cable and satellite TV services already offer HD channels in the US, Japan, Canada, Australia and South Korea, so far there are no HDTV services of any sort in the UK, despite cable and satellite TV services going digital many years back.  The UK's main satellite provider, Sky Digital has now unveiled several HDTV channels that will begin broadcasting in 2006.  These include HD versions of Sky One, Sky Sports, two movie channels and several pay-per-view box office movies.

These channels will be encoded with MPEG4 video compression, either as 720p or 1080i, with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.  In an aim for Sky to reach a target audience of 10 million by 2010, their HDTV receiver will function as a PVR as standard and will work with HDTV-ready sets as well as all existing TV sets.  Sky predicts that two million HDTV sets will be sold by the end of 2006.

So far no announcement has been made about what the initial subscription costs will be for these HDTV channels; however Sky is already accepting pre-registrations for its upcoming HDTV service.

Sky has unveiled the services which will be made available on its High Definition (HD) TV service from 2006.
Sky One, a Sky Sports Channel and two film screens will be among the programmes to mark the launch.

Among the first Box office hits to be offered in HD will include Spiderman 2 and House of Flying Daggers.

High Definition television offers clear, lifelike pictures and sound, while films retain their original cinema-style width.

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Sky's HD services will be offered as simulcasts alongside existing services, including the Artsworld channel which will offer opera, dance and classical music in the improved format.

The broadcaster has said that viewers in the UK will be able to pre-register for HDTV from 26 August - making them the first in the country to receive the service.

Some more detail can be found on this Inquirer article.

So far, while the range of HD ready TVs is on the rise between Ireland and the UK, it is a pity to see the lack of any local HD broadcasts.  Even DVDs featuring a WMV HD DVD are not available in the UK.  In fact, the only HDTV channels one can pickup is a few free-to-air HDTV demo channels that broadcast over satellite. 

As there was no planned enforcement of any sort of broadcast flag system in Europe as what happened in the US until this was blocked, the majority of HDTV sets here do not support any form of copy protection.  However, it will be interesting to see what happens once Blu-ray and HD DVD hit Europe, as the movie industry may not be happy to see their disc's supposedly very secure copy-protection system ruined by a non-secure link between the box and the TV! :p

Feel free to discuss about Satellite TV and HDTV on our Satellite, HD-TV, Blu-ray and HD-DVD Forum.

Source: BBC News - Entertainment

Reactions
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By _chef_, Mon 29 Aug 2005 09:13
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_chef_Finally it's good to see that the big players in europe now start with mpeg4 for HDTV...
By hajj_3, Mon 29 Aug 2005 15:24
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we dont want sky hd, we wants free to air channels that are on freeview in hdtv, sky is too expensive.
By x43, Mon 29 Aug 2005 21:48
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would not waste my money on HDTV we have done with the good old normal TV picture and sound for years and just a clearer picture and better sound is not going to make me start paying monthly subscription fees. some people don't even have a TV at all so I say be grateful with what you got already.
By _chef_, Mon 29 Aug 2005 23:15
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_chef_HDTV as FTA/Freeview. That's wishful thinking, honestly.
By TheRabbi, Tue 30 Aug 2005 10:34
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Hmm.. Only SkyOne, SkySports and Movie Channels... So to get full HDTV functions from day one you have to pay the £42 a month for the full package?? I dont have Sky and have lived fine without it, and hearing that skyone will get HDTV doesnt bother me yet. I'm not going to rush out just yet
By CORRSA, Tue 30 Aug 2005 10:41
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if only everyone had the same spirit regarding the price concerning ripppp offff sky i left sky when the monthly subscription went to £17.50 per month and told them way back then they were robbing b*****ds if only we all stood together but the way the government as split this country in to 3 classes of people scum middle class and them at the top well icant see anything happening tooooooo soooooooooooooooooooooon britain is now FUBAR Frown
[edited by CORRSA on 30.08.2005 10:42]
By Nobby, Tue 30 Aug 2005 10:44
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If they'd bump up their bitrates, there would probably be no need for HD TV!?
By zeroprobe, Tue 30 Aug 2005 12:32
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^^^^^^ obviously you have not seen hdtv its not the bitrate its the resolution.
By WiseJoeyD, Tue 30 Aug 2005 13:38
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Obvously you haven'nt seen PAL (!) But really, unless you have a massive LCD TV then it won't be a terrific leap from 576 to 720 (and then some..) And all so we have to buy not one piece of equipment like the oh-so-brilliant DVD..no, it'll mean trips to Dixons, which are harrowing enough, to try and find out which one of "~HD Ready". Can you imagine the assistants grappling with that?! Seriously though, if it means we have even less reason to use Blu-Ray players then I'm fine with that! People don't even have whizz-bang sound setups (which can add immesaurably to the experience) so to expect penetration of HD just because it's better is a litle hopefull
By GristyMcFisty, Tue 30 Aug 2005 14:06
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GristyMcFistyHDTV as FTA/Freeview maybe wishful thinking, but it be the only way it'll ever take off properly, I'd never pay for HDTV, why pay more to see the same crap in High Definition, who in their right mind is gonna buy all the kit to watch rubbish in HD? Personally I reckon here in the UK, unless the price is VERY low (i.e. £1 extra a month) to have HDTV broadcasts it'll not take off. Most folks simply ain't into the technology enough to lash out the thousands required to upgrade hardware and then pay a monthly subscription for the privilege! As for 10 million by 2010 Sky...dream on!
By zag2me, Tue 30 Aug 2005 14:10
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You guys dont seem to know what you are talking about. HDTV is amazing, once you watch it you will have no idea how you put up with sdtv so long. Especially on newer LCD, DLP and plasma TV's which really show up the poor quality of current broadcasts. Well done to sky for launching HD so early, especially with the MPEG4 compression and PVR functionality. Personally I cant wait. The reason HDTV is not on freeview is the spectrum is still being used for analogue until the they finally switch it off in 2010.
By Kenshin, Wed 31 Aug 2005 18:10
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Isn't HD also available in Mexico? I saw at least one South Korean company (perhaps it was dvico) including Mexico for their products.

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