What the hell is sky Sports HD?

[jshaw]

what the hell is it, channnel 405... seems the same as SS1 if you ask me

[BARNETFAN1]

i assume it's for high-definition tvs.

[Alan Shearer]

You what?

[jshaw]

ok, thanks

[FY1]

The new technology that is HDTV.

There are also a load of Sky Movies HD now apparently.

http://www.cnet.com/4520-7874_1-5108580-3.html?tag=main.understand

Have a butchers at that, it's gives a brief description of what it is.

[Well Hung Doug]

Any ideas how you can tell if your tv had HD on it, ours is a fairly new 49 inch i think widescreen :)

[Alan Shearer]

Any ideas how you can tell if your tv had HD on it, ours is a fairly new 49 inch i think widescreen :)
Yeah you will of paid a **** load of money and you would just know when you bought one. :EyeRoll:

[Smiffyboy]

Any ideas how you can tell if your tv had HD on it, ours is a fairly new 49 inch i think widescreen :)
It'll say HD or HD-Capable on it. HD-Capable means it can receive HD broadcasts but alters the display to be lower quality (bit pointless really). A proper HD TV will display it fine. You'd look at the display specs. You'd be looking at a minimum of 720p (i.e. 720 lines on the screen). Mine has 1080i :cool2:

A lot of channels over here and in the US transmit in HD - I don't think too many do in Europe. You don't notice it much except for sports (superb picture). I notice it on Discovery HD as well (nothing like seeing a gazelle taken down in 1920x1080 pixels :D)

[Smiffyboy]

Yeah you will of paid a **** load of money and you would just know when you bought one. :EyeRoll:
Basically, exactly correct. The letters "HD" will be pasted all over it and you'll have paid twice as much as normal! When it catches on more in Europe you'll get better prices.

[great white]

Any ideas how you can tell if your tv had HD on it, ours is a fairly new 49 inch i think widescreen :)Look in the instruction manual it will tell you if it's HD ready.....Depending on the make and model of course....Currently there aren't too many manufacturers producing HD TV's on the mass market and many suppliers to the masses have as yet to take them on as a norm....They are being made but availability is limited....Just tap in the make and model into google then check the tech specs on any site......With the recent fad for plasma and LCD screens manufacturers have a stockpile waiting to be sold so won't be pushing out HD sets on a mass production just yet....

Just having a look around seems 2008 will see freeview within the UK...We have had a similar thing here for about 6 months giving extra channels for free using a terrestrial aerial and a decoder.....I'm on cable which is free...(well I've not paid for it since I've been living in the appart) and have 25 channels more than enough to keep me amused.....I could get a cable decoder and have more but I can't really be arsed......

One thing to note and something that I discovered on reading the instruction manual of the last TV I bought the manufacturer states an estimated life of 60 months with an average daily usage....taking a look at the instruction manuals first priced model to a top notch plasma from the same manufacturer the same wording was used......So just be wary if spending some decent dosh on a top notch brand as it will probably last as long as if you bought a currys/dixons own brand....To add their is only one current manufacturer of the actual plasma screens based in Korea......the rest relies on the fabrication and standard of the PCB's in the other factories with regards to quality and technical specifications....

[Loose Cannon]

You also have to wait for Sky to launch their HD set top box to view HD quality pictures.

[Smiffyboy]

You also have to wait for Sky to launch their HD set top box to view HD quality pictures.
Yep - Forgot to mention that. You need a HD-STB to decode the picture. Otherwise, the TV is only using its full capability when you watch DVDs.

[Infidel]

that's really intetresting

[Gumpy Joe]

Yep - Forgot to mention that. You need a HD-STB to decode the picture. Otherwise, the TV is only using its full capability when you watch DVDs.

Not even DVDs use the full capability, they still only run in 480 (Horizontal lines used to make the picture). To get a dvd to run in HD (e.g. 720p, 1080i) you would need to buy a HD-DVD player that upscales the dvd to 720p or 1080i. You would obviously need to have a HD tv to do this though, and would also need a HDMI connection to do this too.

[StretfordEnd]

Just having a look around seems 2008 will see freeview within the UK...We have had a similar thing here for about 6 months giving extra channels for free using a terrestrial aerial and a decoder.....I'm on cable which is free...(well I've not paid for it since I've been living in the appart) and have 25 channels more than enough to keep me amused.....I could get a cable decoder and have more but I can't really be arsed......

We've had Freeview digital channels for 2 years? :confused

[great white]

We've had Freeview digital channels for 2 years? :confusedWell don't look at me blame sony.co.uk for having an out of date site after a google search.....Couldn't give a norvern monkeys meself quite happy with what I got.....:thumb

[BA]

I have HDTV thru DirecTV Satellite...it is an awesome watch for some shows - i.e Discovery Channel, HBO, the SuperBowl was in Hi Def , Hockey is feckin sensational in Hi Def ...however the Dish , as of now offers limited HD programming - whearas Cable TV offers far more....However people in the "know" tell me that Satellite HD is superior to Cable and I'm better off in the long run when the Dish catches up...
So as of now - I would say HD is a tad overrated and an HDTV is WAY WAY overpriced.

[Dr Trundle]

Is HDTV colour or black and white?

[Smiffyboy]

However people in the "know" tell me that Satellite HD is superior to Cable and I'm better off in the long run when the Dish catches up...
Interesting view. The channel providers broadcast the same signal to both cable and satellite operators. So, unless the cable/satellite companies broadcast change it to a lower quality (and I can tell you for a fact the cable companies don't) I'd have thought it would be the same for both. The only variable I see is the set-top box used.

[the_hawk]

You also have to bear in mind that Sky have been gradually reducing the quality of their "normal" channels for more than a year now.... :no:

I guess this is to make HD look even better !!!! :(

[YTFCFAN#1]

High Defintion is aload of bollox it's another way of selling tv's,i should know as i'm a tv engineer.

[Digital Twisted]

Yep - Forgot to mention that. You need a HD-STB to decode the picture. Otherwise, the TV is only using its full capability when you watch DVDs.

Not 100% accurate, i had the sky tech out the other day, and he says two current boxes in circulation are HD ready, sky just hope to make more money, by launching it as a new service, unfortunately i got one of the "Pace" ones, its still new and white and small but it isnt HD ready

[Digital Twisted]

High Defintion is aload of bollox it's another way of selling tv's,i should know as i'm a tv engineer.

Well i dont know about TV viewing in general but HD is a huge leap forward in gaming graphics capabilities and helps make games of the new generation look bloody fantastic, Fight Night 3 on an HD flatscreen, looks better than real boxing! :thumb