Sky Widescreen Channels

Forums › Sky, Neon, Lightbox › Sky Widescreen Channels

1 | 2

tstone

382 posts

Ultimate Geek

#187274 4-Jan-2009 07:00

There is a note in the latest Skywatch magazine that BBC World is going widescreen on January 19th.

old3eyes

9120 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#187276 4-Jan-2009 08:26

tstone: There is a note in the latest Skywatch magazine that BBC World is going widescreen on January 19th.

I would rather see Discovery, History and Documentry go 16x9 first. Nothing is worse than seeing this content in 4x3 letterbox as it is now..

Regards,

Old3eyes

allstarnz

1719 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#187398 4-Jan-2009 22:20

Satch:
The reason I am asking is because I'm not actually using the Sky STB to decode my signal. I'm decoding it directly in my HTPC (legally, before you jump on that too), and am not trusting of VMC's settings when it comes to aspect ratios.

All channels are using the correct signalling (as long as your device can handle this). Some channels (such as Trackside) are broacasting in resolutions like 544x576, but the widescreen flag is sent, meaning it displays as 16:9.

Only a few channels are broascasting in 720x576

floydbloke

3523 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

#187955 7-Jan-2009 09:53

old3eyes:
tstone: There is a note in the latest Skywatch magazine that BBC World is going widescreen on January 19th.
I would rather see Discovery, History and Documentry go 16x9 first. Nothing is worse than seeing this content in 4x3 letterbox as it is now..

I'd really like to see Discovery, History and Documentary go HD

Satch

1985 posts

Uber Geek

#187986 7-Jan-2009 12:16

Why aren't Sky broadcasting those channels which are clearly 16:9 in true 16:9? Is there a cost associated with this or something?

tstone

382 posts

Ultimate Geek

#188001 7-Jan-2009 13:26

Satch: Why aren't Sky broadcasting those channels which are clearly 16:9 in true 16:9? Is there a cost associated with this or something?

Forgive me for assuming, but are you asking why Sky can't just rebroadcast those channels that are not currently shown in widescreen, in widescreen? If that is the case, then I have often wondered the same thing. What is involved with changing a channel to widescreen, from a technical and cost perspective. For example, I had always assumed that to change Discovery (or any other non-widescreen channel) to widescreen format was simply changing some 'configurations' at Sky as they are simply rebroadcasting an existing widescreen feed. I recently learnt that the content owners often have conditions on quality and format as part of their licensing deals and sometimes we just have to wait until the contract is renewed/renegotiated to get any change in aspect ratio. Is this part of the equation for going to widescreen?

Anyway, does anyone know about what's involved for a company like Sky to change a channel to widescreen?

Spyware

3764 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#188005 7-Jan-2009 13:43

Sky actually receive 4:3 feeds of these channels being discussed. These same feeds are also shown on Foxtel.

Spark Max Fibre using Mikrotik CCR1009-8G-1S-1S+, CRS125-24G-1S, Unifi UAP, U6-Pro, UAP-AC-M-Pro, Apple TV 4K (2022), Apple TV 4K (2017), iPad Air 1st gen, iPad Air 4th gen, iPhone 13, SkyNZ3151 (the white box). If it doesn't move then it's data cabled.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#188019 7-Jan-2009 14:13

Does anybody know where the Asia Pacific feed of Discovery originates from?

It certainly is very annoying now watching so many shows that were 16:9 than are then letterboxed for a 4:3 feed and then rebroadcast by Sky (and TCL) in 16:9 so you end up with a small picture in the middle of the screen.

Satch

1985 posts

Uber Geek

#188051 7-Jan-2009 17:40

sbiddle: Does anybody know where the Asia Pacific feed of Discovery originates from?

It certainly is very annoying now watching so many shows that were 16:9 than are then letterboxed for a 4:3 feed and then rebroadcast by Sky (and TCL) in 16:9 so you end up with a small picture in the middle of the screen.

Hear hear! Well said.

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#188817 11-Jan-2009 17:04

The source feed seems to have now gone 16:9 - TelstraClear at least are now broadcasting a 4:3 letterboxed feed.

Wonder if the 19th date stays the same or somebody will flick the switch early and passthru the 16:9 rather than having to letterbox it?

1 | 2