bloggarriv

New personal video service Freesat+ is to launch on Saturday (November 22). Boxes will be available to buy for £299 from selected John Lewis, Comet, Argos and Dixons stores and some selected independent retailers. No doubt there will be a couple of these coming south from stores in Northern Ireland.

The first Freesat+ model (Humax’s Foxsat-HDR) has a 320GB hard drive, allowing viewers to record up to 80 hours of HD programming or 200 hours of SD content. Freesat+ also includes many familiar PVR functions such as live pause and series link.

Customers with a satellite dish already installed should be able to ‘plug and play’ their new box, negating the need for a professional installer.

written by Dave \\ tags: freesat

Sky has announced extended high definition coverage of NFL games, following on from its Monday night coverage announced in August. Starting on 6th November with the Denver Broncos at the Cleveland Browns, six Thursday night matches will be shown in high definition, plus the three matches being played on Thanksgiving Day (27th November), the wildcard, divisional and conference playoffs, and the Super Bowl XLIII next February.

Here’s a full rundown:

* 6th November: Denver Broncos at the Cleveland Browns
* 13th November: New York Jets at New England Patriots
* 20th November: Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
* 27th November: Tennessee Titans at Detroit Lions,
* Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys,
* Arizona Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles
* 4th December: Oakland Raiders at the San Diego Chargers
* 11th December: New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears
* 18th December: Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars

Wildcard matches begin on the weekend of 3rd January 2009, with divisional matches following the next week, and the Conference Championships a week later.

* 1st February: Super Bowl XLIII - Tampa Bay

written by Dave \\ tags: nfl

It’s enough to make you cry. If physical disc formats really do have some shelf life, then Royal Digital Media’s new optical disc format may have some worth, but if it’s at the expense of Blu-ray, it’s going to play havoc with the consumer.

Technical part first: Royal Digital Media has developed a 100GB-capacity disc which can handle four hours’ worth of 1920p HD video — “the next generation of high definition” according to the company. The killer part of the equation is that the cost of the discs and players is expected to equal those of traditional DVDs, therefore undercutting Blu-ray.
Continue reading »

written by Dave

The big statistic is that US consumers have bought over 200 million TV shows from Apple’s iTunes store since it started offering them. The HD-relevant statistic is that one-million of those have been of high definition programmes, which started selling in the US last month.

It seems that the extra dollar, plus increased download bandwidth that could eventually incur the wrath of broadband providers, is a small price to pay for these HD-esque programmes. While (as usual) we’re not blessed with such a huge array of available programmes in the UK and Ireland, Apple’s continued dealmaking with TV studios will hopefully see more offerings, including HD versions, here.

written by Dave

Samsung Electronics Co. is equipping Blu-ray DVD players so they can retrieve movies and TV shows from Netflix Inc.’s Internet streaming service, accelerating Netflix’s push to develop more delivery methods beyond the mail.

The deal, to be announced Thursday, could set the stage for Netflix to embed software connecting to its streaming service directly into television sets made by Samsung. In a statement, Netflix and Samsung said they are planning to plant the streaming capability in a variety of home entertainment products. Reed Hastings, Netflix’s chief executive officer, declined to elaborate on the other possibilities in an interview.

This won’t be the first time that Netflix has piped its online content through Blu-ray DVD players—devices built to show movies in high-definition quality that outshines traditional DVD players. LG Electronics began selling a $350 Blu-ray player with Netflix streaming earlier this month. Read the full article

Of course, our broadband speeds here in Ireland would struggle to download a streaming movie, but thats another story….

written by Dave

Freesat has announced that it has hit 100,000 sales since its launch on 6th May this year. with high definition content over the summer playing a key role in moving HD set-top boxes.

Emma Scott, MD of Freesat commented, “There’s no denying how much people enjoy watching in high definition once they see it for themselves and the success of Freesat proves that. Unfortunately there are still a lot of people out there who think they’re already watching in HD because they have an HD ready TV - but they aren’t.”

“We want to help everyone understand that HD Ready is not the same thing as HD now. Without an HD digital receiver connected to an HD Ready TV or an integrated TV with Freesat HD built in you can’t watch an HD TV programme. It needn’t be complicated or costly. For those people that already have a satellite dish installed, they may simply be able to take their Freesat digital box or integrated TV home and plug it straight in.”

While Freesat remains a fairly niche player in the broadcasting space at present, behind the likes of Sky and standard Freeview, its initial sales are fairly encouraging, particularly given a minimal amount of marketing.

Going forward through autumn and into 2009, Freesat plans to launch its Freesat+ service, offering a DTR similar to Sky+ and Freeview+, in November, to increase the number of manufacturers and retailers supplying Freesat equipment, and to continue to launch new channels and services each month

written by Dave

Warner Home Video will release the three Matrix movies in a single Blu-ray box set on 17th November, including a collection of exclusive additional content and uncompressed cinema-quality audio.

Of course, the set contains the three films — The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions — plus the following special features after the jump:
Continue reading »

written by Dave \\ tags: the matrix

The BBC isn’t the only channel covering the Olympics in high definition, and Sky has reminded us that it is the best UK platform to watch exhaustive coverage of the Games, because it also carries Eurosport HD. The BBC will air coverage from 2am to 6pm each day on the BBC HD channel, while Eurosport HD will run from 2am to 5pm. Sky has also pointed out that the PVR functionality of its Sky HD box means viewers can enjoy the sporting action at a more convenient time if they can’t stay up through the night.

written by Dave

Statistics from The British Video Association suggest that sales of the Blu-ray disc format have increased 506% over the previous year, and now account for 1.2% of the total dic market - that’s around one million discs. Despite general economic pessimism, the home entertainment industry is experiencing growth, probably because it’s generally cheaper to watch movies at home than go out.

The BVA said:

The availability of DVD, Blu-ray and legal downloading means viewers now have more options when deciding how to consume their home entertainment. This increased supply of choice is one factor attributed to the growing demand

written by Dave

Sky will drop the price of its Sky HD box next month as part of a rebranding exercise designed to more closely tie its high definition PVR product to the long-standing Sky+ name.

Sky HD, for which boxes currently cost between £199 and £249 with a Sky HD subscription, will be known as Sky+ HD from July 1. At the same time, the cost of a new box will be dropped to £150, the same as that charged for a standard definition Sky+, when taken with the £10 per month “HD mix”, the new name for the Sky HD subscription package.

Sky+ HD boxes will continue to cost £399 each when purchased without subscribing to the HD mix. Pricing for a standard definition Sky+ box will also be altered, with a new box costing £150 for new and existing customers except where it is taken with multiroom or broadband services, where the price of a customer’s first Sky+ box will drop to £75.

Sky+ standard definition boxes purchased without a Sky subscription will continue to cost £199.  Sky has made a concerted effort to push the Sky+ brand in a major outdoor, television and online campaign featuring a variety of celebrities, including Sir Michael Parkinson, explaining how they use its personal video recorder functionality.

written by Dave