Sky HD

[AndybS3]

Now taking pre-orders, £30 deposit with the installs commencing in May. Pricing will be £299 for the box and £10 monthly sub

 

[fallmonk]

Heard today the BBC is going to show the world cup in HD! (was on radio 1) !

 

[AndybS3]

I think you'll still need the Sky box to view it in HD

 

[CJ A4]

[ QUOTE ]
Heard today the BBC is going to show the world cup in HD! (was on radio 1) !

[/ QUOTE ]

BBC have been transmitting in HD for the last couple of months Mick but ain't made it public knowledge. My mate who works in the HD industry told me ages ago.

 

[AndyMac]

Transmitting via what? Not exactly a lot of use if there are no HD boxes to recieve it yet.

 

[fallmonk]

Will they not just transmit it via there currant digital transmiters?
and IF so if you have a HD Tv will it not show it , with out a sky hd box? i dont imagine the BBC doing anything just to help SKY sell boxes!

 

[CJ A4]

[ QUOTE ]
Transmitting via what? Not exactly a lot of use if there are no HD boxes to recieve it yet.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey don't shoot the messenger....just passing on what i've been told!

 

[AndybS3]

[ QUOTE ]
Will they not just transmit it via there currant digital transmiters?
and IF so if you have a HD Tv will it not show it , with out a sky hd box? i dont imagine the BBC doing anything just to help SKY sell boxes!

[/ QUOTE ]

You're still going to need a receiver of which Sky is the only one on the market as far as I'm aware

 

[madvw]

The Humax HDCI2000 is available, and thats a freeview HDTV tuner - costs 300 quid from what i've seen.

BUY ME!!

 

[AndybS3]

A bit pricey just to watch BBC in HD.

IMO the Sky box aint that bad a deal when it also comes with the recording option

 

[oldlaw]

Been told today by a guy at comet that the problem with the sky boxes is that they cannot decide which box is the better looking. Therefore telewest has sold quite a few.

 

[bainsyboy]

saw my first HD broadcast today, yes the picture is sharper, brighter colours etc BUT it still had the little blocky pixels that the old digital has, i think ill sit this one out and hopefully they will not force eveyone to have to purchase it.

 

[Geordie Mike]

I get it on 18th May on a panasonic viera, will let you know what i think. Typical I get it the day AFTER the CL final...

 

[CJ A4]

My Telewest HD box gets installed on Tuesday. I know there aint much on it at the minute but thought id get it anyway as it's supposed to upgrade the existing SD broadcast by a factor of 4. Quite looking forward to seeing whats going to be available soon on VOD and Teleport.

 

[The Slug]

Which sky channels are being broadcast in Hi Def and at which res ?

 

[CJ A4]

I called Telewest about that question yesterday and asked if they are doing the same channels as Sky. They refused to comment saying nothing has been finalised yet. They also said that the channels that Sky have havent come on line for broadcasting yet so they to cant confirm which channels will be in HD even though they have a selction of channels with HD beside them at the moment. I was also interested to find out that Telewest/Ntl actually owns the channel Sky One which sky have pinned for HD but Telewest still say nothing is confirmed for that yet!

To concluded with your question i believe that most of the broadcasts in the beginning will be in 720p and then will be gradually upgraded to 1080i which means that all those people that have bought HD ready screens with crap resolution of a maximum of 720p will have to buy a new screen in a year or 2.

Sky Channels Linky

HD info Linky

 

[The Slug]

Upgrade to 1080i from 720p, i think id disagree (not being funny) but progressive is far better than interlaced, especially if yr watching sports or fast moving stuff. and the reality in difference between these two standards isnt vast anyway.

But like u say, they never want to comit themselves do they

 

[CJ A4]

I agree progressive is superior for fast moving images but isnt it easier for these boxes both from Sky and Telewest to digitally upgrade the signal to 1080p from 1080i (which is what they will be doing) than it is from 720p.

Which is the whole point why i'm waiting for the Sony Bravia X which will have the new motion engine and run at true HD 1920X1080p. At least i know the screen will be future proof.

I just feel sorry for all those people who have bought and continue to buy screens which will be obsolete in a year or so. I guess they should of researched more before spending their hard earned green!

 

[CJ A4]

TVDrive HD box just got installed!

Went straight to the HD channels on Teleport and put on "The Pride" pretty damn impressive i must say and that was on a LCD Samsung 26" ( Linky )

Cant wait to see what it it looks like with the Bravia X

 

[The Slug]

Fair cop gov' lol dunno about sky stuff much

Dont think there is gonna be a vast differnce in 1080 pixels to 768pixel screen, unless yr 2 foot away, lol, as long as it can handle a 720p or 1080i, everyone will be amazed.
our 43" plasma was running only 720p (think max is 1080p in manual) and it was mind blowing have to say but for the extra 1080pixels on an LCD, nargh i'll stick to what ive got, hehe..

What annoys me more than anything is "HD ready" stickers and ppl are buyin Crap old outta date stuff its just wrong imo.

 

[Geordie Mike]

If you want to buy informed try going to a Bang & Olaffsen shop and looking around a BEO 7. They will explain in great detail about undecided HD standards, and about how you can even change the screen out once a standard is set.

That said, the resolution on my Panasonic is fine, bought it as the last TV was on last legs and I don't have a room big enough to do any TV capable of 'true' HD justice. Go to the cinema.

 

[Geordie Mike]

OMG it's worth it!!! 1080 HD with surround sound on TV. Watford beating dirty Leeds never looked so good. Here's the interesting stuff -

The box has 300 Gb of memory - 160 Gb for Sky+, 140 Gb for "new stuff". Apparently in Q3 (August I was told) Sky are going to launch broadband via the dish that is 22 Mb. Great for those of us who are on dial up because of TPON ****** cables...

The 1st gen box has a component output on the back - so you can record HD onto any DVD recorder as that is the input, then play back HD via that (though with Sky+, why bother).

The optical cable seems to have no delay with synching up surround sound to lips, but you can alter it in 20 ms increments in the settings.

Great, well worth it. Watching TV all day now.

Mike

 

[CJ A4]

What are the other HD channels like? and what type of screen are you using?

 

[Geordie Mike]

National Geographic & Discovery both look good too. Watching scrubs on Sky one is less noticable, although there is an extra delay between digital and HD, so at least you can flick between the two and see the difference. BBC is currently just doing previews, and there is nothing on Sky movies yet. I must admit I'm not going to look at Artsworld. What really helps is having the 5:1 sound.

Using a Panasonic Viera plasma - didn't want the risk of dead pixels on an LCD (even though I wouldn't be able to see them etc - just irrational I guess).

It's stunning though. Roll on the world cup /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/woohoo.gif

 

[CJ A4]

Yeah im looking forward to the world cup also...... Telewest are the only ones that have signed with ITV who are showing the matches in HD so with BBC and ITV in HD i'm spoilt....shame about the lack of HD on the rest of the channels though /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/lol.gif

 

[fallmonk]

"UK satellite broadcaster BSkyB (BSY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) has hit a snag in the rollout of its high-definition TV service, delaying installation for 17,000 households after France's Thomson (TMS.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) failed to deliver enough set-top boxes."

http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=media&storyID=nL23582584

 

[amb276s3]

Beovision 7-40 HD, being installed on tues, will let you know what its like, the one in the shop was outstanding with a none HD feed, will upgrade to Sky HD later will then be able to give a true before and after comparison.

 

[TDI-line]

Got to wait 2 months for my sky hd. Ouch!

 

[CJ A4]

It'll be worth the wait mate! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif

 

[Geordie Mike]

What is annoying is that the things on Sky HD are sometimes just normal!

But yet, def worth it

 

[CJ A4]

Not normal they are probably upscaled SD which is actually still supposed to be up to 4 times better than standard SD

 

[Geordie Mike]

England still looked cr@p, even in HD....

Owen off, what was he thinking?

Still, 3 points is 3 points

Mike

 

[nwhiteley]

watched the game today on sky (bbc)HD, stunning pq, but the game was shocking

 

[jdp1962]

Does the Sky HD box have the same connectivity on the back as the Sky Plus box? In particular, does it have the 9V RF out that I currently use to distribute the signal to the rest of the house?

 

[nwhiteley]

Does the Sky HD box have the same connectivity on the back as the Sky Plus box? In particular, does it have the 9V RF out that I currently use to distribute the signal to the rest of the house?

i dont know about a 9v RF out, but it has RF out, also, HDMI out, component out, composite out, and the dreaded scarts. also, for sound, optical digital 5.1 and analog stereo