Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums
Guest
Welcome Guest.
You haven't logged in yet. If you don't have an account you can register now.


TomAckroyd

95 posts

Master Geek


#20243 17-Mar-2008 19:46
Send private message

Someone was trying to tell me that SKY will eventually carry Freeview HD channels. This can't be true. Can it? I mean, maybe TV3 might consider allowing it, but TVNZ?

View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic
 1 | 2
marmel
1924 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

  #117217 17-Mar-2008 19:55

I think it would be unlikely given the bandwidth required to beam down HD from a satellite. Sky will be concentrating on HD channels that subscribers will pay extra for, ie sport/movies. I can't imagine anyone wanting to pay extra to get HD freeview via Sky when it is free in the first place.



TomAckroyd

95 posts

Master Geek


  #117220 17-Mar-2008 20:05
Send private message

SKY might consider it if it meant not losing subscribers to Freeview. "Watch Lost AND the rugby in HD!".
And Freeview isn't "free" (at the moment) - you have to fork out for a fancy HTPC setup, or a decoder, or (later) a PVR, or (much later) a Freeview-capable TV. Only then is it free.

marmel
1924 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

  #117222 17-Mar-2008 20:12

You do have to buy a decoder for freeview true, but you would also have to buy another decoder for Sky to receive HD.

I just don't think that Sky would have the bandwidth available to beam down 3-4+ channels of freeview whilst keeping their own HD plans and all SD channels intact.

I'm pretty sure this is the reason that Freeview is going HD via UHF because of the bandwidth cost via satellite.



BarTender
3606 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #117227 17-Mar-2008 20:25
Send private message

TomAckroyd: SKY might consider it if it meant not losing subscribers to Freeview. "Watch Lost AND the rugby in HD!".

And Freeview isn't "free" (at the moment) - you have to fork out for a fancy HTPC setup, or a decoder, or (later) a PVR, or (much later) a Freeview-capable TV. Only then is it free.

Sky have quite a bit of spare capacity on D1 for their disposal, so they may choose to carry 1,2,3 HD as part of their "MySky HD" upsell project.
HD will only be available as part of an MySky HD subscription, and the cost of upgrade for existing MySky customers to HD is one thing, as will the setup price of MySky HD.
And back on the ole chesnut of "Freeview not being free" give me a break, To watch satellite TV you need a decoder, since the DVB-T is going for the latest technology (some for, some against, I am for dual casting myself) you also need a decoder as well.... Once you buy the box there is no on-going costs, much like buying a TV, or a Microwave, or a Walk-around-Telephone for home.... Thankfully Freeview have got with the program a bit and improved their advertising "Make monthly subscriptions a thing of the past"... which is exaclty what Freeview does.  Plus offer Digital quality TV.

And as for a Satellite PVR, I am doing a one time deal to bring them in for $300, can't say that isn't cheap (in comparison to the $$$$ many on this forum are spending for HTPC).  Well then you need to buy a $200 HDD as well, but I never said my box was free :P

spazz
266 posts

Ultimate Geek


  #117283 18-Mar-2008 09:32
Send private message

I want to watch Prison Break in HD pls Sky ^_^




TomAckroyd

95 posts

Master Geek


  #117287 18-Mar-2008 09:44
Send private message

It would appear my friend had his wires crossed. My contact at Sky says there are no such plans.
But - 5 years from now when everyone is HD, can you imagine Sky NOT carrying the major free-to-airs in HD?
It'll be interesting to see how things shake down. Sky are launching their HD box in July.

garvani
1873 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

  #117296 18-Mar-2008 10:50
Send private message

Spazz: download it then, i have the whole latest season in HD. It finished in the states about 3 weeks ago, season picks up intensity nicely :)

 
 
 

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.
sbiddle
30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod
Trusted
Biddle Corp
Lifetime subscriber

  #117297 18-Mar-2008 11:06
Send private message

Within the next year it will be reasonable to expect that most large screen TV's sold in NZ will all have DVB-T tuners built in. The need for the likes of Sky to duplicate the HD programming becomes worthless since 75% of the population which will more that likely increase to 87%) have access to a digital terrestrial signal.


hairy1
3332 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #117302 18-Mar-2008 11:29
Send private message

So wouldn't that effectively dilute Sky's market share? If they are unable to provide HD services on a par with freeview then would we see a market shift back towards freeview? Kind of like what has happened in the past 10 years with sky offering a superior picture quality (in most cases) with digital DVB-S compared with terrestial analog VHF/UHF? Surely Sky are going to have to try and match the market with freeview and HD.




My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.


TomAckroyd

95 posts

Master Geek


  #117303 18-Mar-2008 11:50
Send private message

sbiddle:

Within the next year it will be reasonable to expect that most large screen TV's sold in NZ will all have DVB-T tuners built in. The need for the likes of Sky to duplicate the HD programming becomes worthless since 75% of the population which will more that likely increase to 87%) have access to a digital terrestrial signal.



Only if 75% of the population suddenly decides to go out and buy a new TV!

hairy1
3332 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted
Lifetime subscriber

  #117304 18-Mar-2008 11:53
Send private message

According to the Reserve Bank that is exactly what we have all been doing!

 Laughing




My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.


TomAckroyd

95 posts

Master Geek


  #117307 18-Mar-2008 12:04
Send private message

Think of it like this - in the long term, Freeview will be just the same as analogue free-to-air now: everyone will have a TV with a tuner and an aerial. Difference is they will be getting a DVB-T signal, not an analogue.

The reason people have Sky now, in addition to analogue FTA, is a combination of getting a better picture and having access to more channels, including exclusive subscription channels.

So people will still have a reason to subscribe to Sky as well as having Freeview for nothing. And Sky won't have an economic reason to carry FTAs. Unless of course advertisers who baulk and say "We need Sky to carry FTAs for the Sky viewers that don't want, or don't have, Freeview".

The fly in the ointment is the PVR element. As an ordinary TV viewer (not a HTPC user), I want to watch nice pictures, both off-air and off DVD/BluRay, and be able to record and keep off-air programmes. Ideally this will be possible with just three pieces of kit: a UHF aerial, a TV with a built-in DVB-T tuner, and a PVR/DVR/DVD-recorder/BluRay-player/whatever all-in-one box. (Like the PlayTV-enabled PS3 I guess.) Ideally the thing that records will also have a DVB-T tuner so I can watch one thing and record another, like the glory days of VHS.

Tom.

freitasm
BDFL - Memuneh
79254 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator
ID Verified
Trusted
Geekzone
Lifetime subscriber

#117308 18-Mar-2008 12:10
Send private message

The only reason the in-laws are getting Sky moved from their old place is for the rugby. If that was on Freeview I wouldn't bother working on that...




Please support Geekzone by subscribing, or using one of our referral links: Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies | Hatch | GoodSyncBackblaze backup


old3eyes
9119 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

  #117311 18-Mar-2008 12:43
Send private message

TomAckroyd:
The reason people have Sky now, in addition to analogue FTA, is a combination of getting a better picture and having access to more channels, including exclusive subscription channels.
Tom.


With the exception of some of the movie channels  a better picture is very debatable compared to the analog feed because of screwing down the bitrate  to about the same as SVCD which looks terrible on a large screen TV.. Macroblocks everywhere..

More content.  Yep..




Regards,

Old3eyes


CYaBro
4582 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified
Trusted

  #117332 18-Mar-2008 14:39
Send private message

Forget the 75% who will be able to get FreeviewHD.
What about the rest of us who live outside the "nine main centres"?
When will we get free-to-air HD TV?




Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.


 1 | 2
View this topic in a long page with up to 500 replies per page Create new topic





News and reviews »

Air New Zealand Starts AI adoption with OpenAI
Posted 24-Jul-2025 16:00


eero Pro 7 Review
Posted 23-Jul-2025 12:07


BeeStation Plus Review
Posted 21-Jul-2025 14:21


eero Unveils New Wi-Fi 7 Products in New Zealand
Posted 21-Jul-2025 00:01


WiZ Introduces HDMI Sync Box and other Light Devices
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:32


RedShield Enhances DDoS and Bot Attack Protection
Posted 20-Jul-2025 17:26


Seagate Ships 30TB Drives
Posted 17-Jul-2025 11:24


Oclean AirPump A10 Water Flosser Review
Posted 13-Jul-2025 11:05


Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7: Raising the Bar for Smartphones
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Brings New Edge-To-Edge FlexWindow
Posted 10-Jul-2025 02:01


Epson Launches New AM-C550Z WorkForce Enterprise printer
Posted 9-Jul-2025 18:22


Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9
Posted 9-Jul-2025 17:46


Nearly Half of Older Kiwis Still Write their Passwords on Paper
Posted 9-Jul-2025 08:42


D-Link 4G+ Cat6 Wi-Fi 6 DWR-933M Mobile Hotspot Review
Posted 1-Jul-2025 11:34


Oppo A5 Series Launches With New Levels of Durability
Posted 30-Jun-2025 10:15









Geekzone Live »

Try automatic live updates from Geekzone directly in your browser, without refreshing the page, with Geekzone Live now.



Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.