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Sky to broadcast Super Bowl XLI in HD
We know, this weekend (and next) is all about seeing which professional teams squeeze their way into the playoffs, and moreover, seeing which college teams score bowl victories in their respective contests, but for the Brits over in England seeing less pigskin and more round ball, we've got some news for you. Reportedly, Sky is set to broadcast America's most-watched sporting event to its customers in crisp high definition, which would make it the first major US-centric sporting event to be shown in such clarity by the company. This past September, Sky Sports purportedly nailed down a deal to show live NFL games and "supporting programs," and we see no better way to take advantage of the newfound partnership than giving the blokes across the pond an HD taste of the sport so well loved here in the States. So for you Sky customers with absolutely nothing else to do on February 4th, be sure to take a gander at Super Bowl XLI, if for no other reason than seeing our football in a whole new dimension.[Via DigitalSpy]
Sky HDTV coming to New Zealand in 2008
Sky revealed to investors recently it plans to roll out an unnamed -- here's a name, Sky HD -- HDTV service in early 2008 featuring broadcasts as well as video-on-demand via satellite or internet connection. Sounds a lot like the Sky HD service already rolling out in the U.K., hopefully by the time it launches down under all the bugs will be worked out. The broadcaster already launched a new satellite earlier this month to provide a stronger signal, and expects free-to-air digital broadcasting coming to the region in 2007 will actually help improve its market penetration. Makes sense, as people upgrade to new TVs they'll want more and more HD programming, if Sky can fill that gap then it should work out great for everyone except the Kiwi's waiting until 2008 to see their own country on Discovery Channel HD every other week.
Sky HD and Pioneer not playing nicely together
Sky just keeps on having issue with their fledgling high-def service. It seems like every time we hear something about the service, it's negative. Remember a while ago when they were have a 30% failure thanks to some problem with with the HDMI and HDCP? Well, it hasn't gone away but this time around they seem to be having compatibility problems, specifically with Pioneer plasmas. It seems that some 4th, 5th, and 6th generation units don't like copy-written material when it's traveling over HDMI;. *cough* HDCP *cough* Sky doesn't have a fix for it but Pioneer does and are encouraging people to call 01753 789 500 (remember, Sky is in the UK) for the fix. Any of our UK readers having this issue with their Pioneer set?Pioneer's press release
Sky adding another high-def sports station
Sky HD subscribers - got good news for ya. Sky Sports HD 2 (creative name) is going to launch on July 31st. The channel can be found on station 409 and be filled with tons of sports that most of us Yanks just don't understand like: domestic/international cricket, Guinness Premiership rugby, and Premiership and Coca-Cola league football. It's not that we don't want to understand cricket, it's just that most of us didn't play it in high school. That's all. Nothing against the sport it's just that most of us would rather watch something different. But don't get us wrong, we always love hearing about new high-def stations!
30% failure rate for BSkyB set-top HDTV boxes?
We've got some experience with glitchy HDTV/DVR set top boxes, but it looks like things are even worse over on the other side of the pond. With almost all their HD customers only recently buying sets for the world cup, many are using the digital connections and experiencing a lot of problems like picture and sound dropouts. Specifically cited is the implementation of HDCP, as many have been able to get around the problems by switching to analog connectors.Of course this doesn't do much for customers expecting a sharper picture out of their digital hookup or maybe have spent a lot of money on a digital cable they can't use, but SkyHD and even some TV manufacturers may have to update their software for this to be fixed.Glitch ridden high-def rollouts are becoming all too common, particularly for the "lucky" few who were able to get their service installed prior to the World Cup, but this may explain why some service providers are so unwilling to even enable the HDMI or DVI outputs on their boxes. If it doesn't work, there is a resulting shifting of blame between the provider and TV manufacturer while the customer's problem continues. Same problem with rolling out CableCard, neither side wants to take responsibility for making it work if there's a problem.
Sky HD Launch delayed for many
The BBC is reporting that many in the UK are facing delays in getting high definition set-top boxes installed due to shortages. While thousands of customers have been installed already, many are getting shuffled back as much as three weeks. As our friends at HDTV UK mention, anyone who didn't preorder their install from Sky already can look forward to an install date of August, after the World Cup broadcast that people there are so looking forward to.HDTV UK however was one of the lucky few to get their high definition boxes installed already, and have a few impressions of it up. Now they finally join us in discussing such mysteries as why does every Discovery HD program feature something getting eaten? Honestly we don't know, but you get used to it after a while.
First look at Sky HD
SkyHD is ready to launch on May 22nd but HDTV UK has their first impressions up about the system with a full review set to come soon. What did they think? They liked it. The box looks great and works like the non-HD ones. The DVR has a 160 gig hard drive in it that can record in 576, 720p and 1080i. They also like the programming offerings specifically Cricket in HD. This is apparently like what football is to us; their killer HD programming. We are sure there is going to be a whole lot more info and reviews once the service officially launches in a week.
SkyHD is (almost) open for business
For our UK readers, you can finally pre-order high definition service from Sky. A quick rundown: Launch in May £299 to buy the box £10 per month subscription fee Check the official website for more details or our previous post. Thanks to Ashley and choare for the tip!
SkyHD details
Sky HD is launching soon and there has not been that many specific details so far but PVRWire sent us a great article. It is lengthy but is full of details. Here is a summery for ya. They will carry both 720p and 1080i - depends on the station There will be no 576p option - suprising Everything will be 50Hz Sky One HD will be simucasted with Sky One The stations will carry true HD and up-converted SD Sky Sports HD will combine HD programs from all 4 Sky Sports Stations The Sky HD boxes will only be sold with installation - might change later The box will have HDMI and SCART ports - HDMI cable included Coolest feature: Browsing the EPG via SMS. Simply text a specific number with the day and program and it will respond with when it is on. [Thanks for the tip Martin!]
SkyHD plans SMS remote recording control
We stumbled upon a great report of SkyHD's next and future plans for the high-definition service prepping to launch this year, and one interesting tidbit grabbed our peepers. Not out of the gate, but sometime after launch, SkyHD consumers can text or SMS a command to their set-top box to set a recording. The example given was an SMS of “24.Sky1.Sunday” indicating to record the show "24" on the Sky1 channel this Sunday. No deets on the service charge, but we'd expect it to be nominal. We use the MSN Remote Record service over the web as part of Windows Media Center on our box and while that works well, not everyone has an Internet connection every time they suddenly remember to record a show. Folks typically do have a mobile phone however, so we would spread some HDBeat luvin' if someone could find or develop an SMS recording service for WMCE!
SKY HD preps HD launch with glitzy website
SKY HD might not have high-def just yet but they got a fancy new website about it. This site is going to give current and prospective SKY customers info about the new service they will be able to get later this year. The website is part of their "feel everything" campaign. If you visit the site, there is no way you can miss it.Sky is shooting for the moon with an expectation of 2 million sets sold in 2006. Could be tricky if they haven't launched yet and only have a flashy website.
SkyHD clips available including National Geographic HD
Yes, we have Discovery-HD, but we're green with envy since Sky will be offering National Geographic HD to it's UK subscribers when it launches in the next month or two. If you're at all interested in what Sky will be offering, they have four high-def videos available for download; two are rugby-related and two are content from the new National Geographic HD channel. You'll need Windows Media Player 10 as well as a PC running Windows XP with a 3.0 GHz CPU, 512 MB of RAM, and a graphics card with 128 MB as well. Oh, a solid display would come in handy too.To download and view the clips, visit Sky's site, click the "Explore Sky" Link followed by the "More to Explore" link.[via HDTV UK]
