Will the HD ticket improve on other sky channels

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Klipspringer

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# 36627 29-Jun-2009 13:46

Hi, We have not subscribed to the HD Ticket on MySky but have sky connected to our TV via an HDMI cable.

We are not subscribed to the Movie channels and/or sport which is a requirement for the HD ticket. If we took out the sport option and HD ticket will the quality of the other sky channels like Discovery/Disney/National Geographic etc improve? Currently the quality we are getting with those channels is poor and far worse than TV1/2/3. I don’t mind paying the extra for the movies and or sport for the HD ticket, but then I would like to know that the quality on the other channels is going to be better.

How do other MySky HDI find the other channels? I find TV1/2/3 quality is exceptionally good but my TV is displaying it at 1080i and not 1080p (True HD). Is this maybe a setting on the decoder?

DjShadow

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# 229195 29-Jun-2009 14:02

The HDMI connection will offer a little improvment (nothing dramatic) but HD ticket is only useful for Sky Movies 1 and Greats and Sky Sport 1 and 2. Don't need HD ticket for TV1, 2 and 3

openmedia

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# 229202 29-Jun-2009 14:26

Also remember that Sky doesn't broadcast any channels in 1080p.

TV3 is in 1080i and TV One / 2 are in 720p

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat New Zealand as a Solution Architect for all things Linux, Virtual and of course Cloud. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

Klipspringer

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# 229237 29-Jun-2009 16:33

OK so it seems pointless in upgrading to get the HD ticket, considering that most of the programs we watch anyway are on TV1/2/3 and Discover/Disney/National Geographic etc..

We not that big on sport and with the MySky we are always recording good movies so I think the Movie channels will really be a waist.

Thanks anyway for the input.

PS: Our TV has built in freeview which we not using, is freeview at least in 1080p?

allstarnz

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# 229254 29-Jun-2009 17:17

as they say, garbage in, garbage out. Particularly the case with broadcast quality on Sky.

openmedia

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# 229268 29-Jun-2009 17:38

BraaiGuy: OK so it seems pointless in upgrading to get the HD ticket, considering that most of the programs we watch anyway are on TV1/2/3 and Discover/Disney/National Geographic etc..

We not that big on sport and with the MySky we are always recording good movies so I think the Movie channels will really be a waist.

Thanks anyway for the input.

PS: Our TV has built in freeview which we not using, is freeview at least in 1080p?

No one broadcasts in 1080p as it requires too much bandwidth. There have been occasional tests by some broadcasters, but the best you will normally get is 1080i or 720p

matt1553

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# 229270 29-Jun-2009 17:45

All the SKY installers are now putting up quad LNBs for new My SKY HDi installs (have one on my roof) for when Optus D3 goes up later this year. As I understand it now, they are out of capacity on the transponders they lease on D1 (why they use MPEG-2 over H.264 for the HD channels is beyond me: half the bit rate, same quality, and the decoder supports it). There are alot of people out there who would like channels 70-75 in HD, myself included. I'm reasonably confident they may be offered in HD via D3 by the end of this year. The HD ticket could well hold more appeal in the coming months.

Marmion

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# 229277 29-Jun-2009 17:58

TV 1 and 2 are 720p MySky HDi or Freeview|HD. TV 3 is 1080i on MySky HDi or Freeview|HD.
Doesn't matter whether you use Sky or the built in Freeview tuner for 1, 2 or 3, the broadcast is the same. I don't know how close you are to your TV but in all reality you probably wouldn't notice any difference between 720p or 1080p on TV channels.
As already noted, 1080p just takes too much bandwith for the broadcasters to justify.

Spyware

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# 229338 29-Jun-2009 20:16

BraaiGuy:

PS: Our TV has built in freeview which we not using, is freeview at least in 1080p?

Things to consider, the 8 MHz wide UHF channels, using DVB-T 64 QAM etc, give around 26 Mbps net per mux. TVNZ 720p channels are around 8 Mbps each (using H.264), TV3's 1080i around 10 Mbps. You can see that it is possible to get TV1/2/TVNZ6/7/Sport extra all in one mux if the SD channels are using around 3 Mbps.

1080p channels would require say 20 Mbps H.264 meaning they will most likely NEVER EVER be seen on terrestrial systems as would require an entire mux for each channel. And if Sky run the satellite HD then you'll never see it as John Fellet couldn't crasp the concept of trading bandwidth for quality.

Ross

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openmedia

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# 229341 29-Jun-2009 20:32

matt1553: All the SKY installers are now putting up quad LNBs for new My SKY HDi installs (have one on my roof) for when Optus D3 goes up later this year. As I understand it now, they are out of capacity on the transponders they lease on D1 (why they use MPEG-2 over H.264 for the HD channels is beyond me: half the bit rate, same quality, and the decoder supports it). There are alot of people out there who would like channels 70-75 in HD, myself included. I'm reasonably confident they may be offered in HD via D3 by the end of this year. The HD ticket could well hold more appeal in the coming months.

All of Sky's HD channels are in H.264.

arnies

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# 229342 29-Jun-2009 20:35

Do you ever think Sky will offer 'cable tv'. Isn't this better than satelite as we'd get better bandwidth and possibly more channels in HD. I guess everyone needs to ahve Fibre frist?

DS9

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# 229352 29-Jun-2009 21:01

Going back to the original point, the HD ticket gains you nothing for SD but the HDi box does improve SD by upscaling to either 576p,720p or 1080i

matt1553

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# 229473 30-Jun-2009 10:21

openmedia: All of Sky's HD channels are in H.264.

I stand corrected. Good to know they can get that right

I take it that the older sky decoders don't support H.264, or they would have shifted the SD ones to the same format?

70mm

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# 229524 30-Jun-2009 12:42

If Sky wasnt so big on trying to supply dozens and dozens of crap channels (to look like they are offering so much entertainment) there might be more bandwith left for lesser channels with better images!