HD - A Discussion

Maxwell

As more and more people are buying HD ready TV's, I just wanted to guage opinin on here on what they are viewing on these new TV's.

For the record, I have a HD ready Plasma and Projector, but I am still holding off on buying HD content/equipment for it. I am holding off buying a HD-DVD player or a Blu Ray player because Im hoping the war might be won sooner rather than later and 1 will prevail (my choice would be HD-DVD, but thats another discussion) and then there is SKY HD which is probably the main reason Ive started this thread:

I was in a shopping centre at the weekend and there was a SKY HD stand - so I headed over to check the quality and the associated costs. I was told the following:

€180 installation cost
€450 for the SKY HD Box
Then approximately an extra €30-€50 extra a month onto my existing basic SKY package.

Now, I have been monitoring HD for a while and have downloaded trailers, samples of HD to my PC and have watched HD live in the US when travelling - so I asked to see the programs broadcasting in HD (i.e. skyone/bbc hd etc etc) and the guy showed me some of the channels......basically I cannot see (as yet) the huge cost of having these few channels is really worth it. Yes some of the channels (mainly the BBC HD one) look really good - but are they worth the set up and on-going costs??? I for one don't

Now Im something who wants good quality and its the reason i bought a projector and a plasma, and I am really itching to get HD content to feed my big purchases, but SKY HD really isn't what I was expecting - the cost is crazy really.

My choice has come back to getting a HD DVD/Blu Ray player instead in order to make use of my projector and plasma.

But just back to the ordinary folk out there. Most think that if you buy a HD ready TV, that you suddently "get" HD, when I informed people that you need the content/source to feed the HD, they were amazed. This is a huge extra cost for people to contend with and I can't see many shelling out for it.

What's other peoples thoughts and does anyone know the take up on SKY HD in Ireland?

quazzy

Well...

Currently, I have a Samsung LCD TV.
I have ntl digital; which I find to be pretty decent on the TV.
There are a few stations that are a bit dodgy ( some of the music ones ) but on the whole I think its fine. I have contacted ntl and they say they will be providing a HD service towards Christmas or the new year but as yet there is not confirmation of pricing, roll-out etc. I'm not planning on getting SKY any time soon.

I also have a DVD player with HDMI output and I find the picture quailty to be noticeably better than scart. So that will do me until the Blu-ray HD-DVD battle is won.

I have viewed some HD content with the TV and it does look great. I suppose the initial cost was always going to be expensive but hopefully within 1-2 years it'll be more affordable and wide-spread.

slave1

check out the satellite forum for more on Sky HD.

SkyHD costs €15 a month, dunno where you got your figures from, I presume they include other SD channel packages

Sky One HD, not great, upscaled stuff, Eureka is good quality as was Mission Impossible last night also, some broadcasts in Dolby Digital (DD)
Artsworld HD, a waste for me
National Geographic and Discovery HD, some brilliant programs with fantastic quality, some in DD, well worth it but starting to repeat on me
Sky Sports HD, sh1te, hardly better than SD sports channels, the US golf is rotten picture quality
BBC HD, great quality, but you cannot tape it via Sky box

Other than that I use my HDTV with upscaler DVD/DIVX player a lot

Oh, your ordinary Sky SD channels improved somewhat with the HDMI connection

Blaster99

It's more if you want the HD movies and/or sport, which most people would get I'd guess or it's not much point in going HD. Does anyone have the HD movie channels, and care to comment on them?

I'm incidently toying around with getting a HD TV set and Sky HD, but I'm not sure if it's worth the money. I wouldn't really bother with a large flat-screen unless there was content to back it up.

All NTL does it talk about things. I'd say most of their network can't handle HD in any event, particularly seeing as their SD service is overcompressed.

Maxwell

Thanks for the comments to my original post.

As for the prices I have mentioned, Im only posting what I was quoted by a retailer?
Yes, there is probably a difference in the prices depending on your present package and the package you want.

I didn't see you mention the cost of the box and installation. Both together will cost you: €450 + €180 = €630

You can buy a Toshiba HD DVD player and 7+ movies for that - so which would you do?

I would love to enjoy the full benefits of my equipment, but on the present offerings, it doesn't seem worth the money.

Im just concerned that most people who are buying new HD Ready TV's think that they are automatically getting HD.

As for NTL, I tend to agree with blaster99, the current offering isn't the best quality so I wouldn't be too confident in their ability to provide HD.

pH

Personally I love new tech, but for blu-ray/HDDVD I know exactly when I'll buy a player.

When xtra-vision/chartbuster have all the current releases in these new formats sitting alongside the DVDs on their shelves.

Buying a player before this point, I'd be paying way too much for something I'd get very little use from.

Also, I find the Sky Sports HD1 Premiereship coverage a much better picture than Sky sports 1.

Maxwell

pH wrote:

Personally I love new tech, but for blu-ray/HDDVD I know exactly when I'll buy a player.

When xtra-vision/chartbuster have all the current releases in these new formats sitting alongside the DVDs on their shelves.

Buying a player before this point, I'd be paying way too much for something I'd get very little use from.

Also, I find the Sky Sports HD1 Premiereship coverage a much better picture than Sky sports 1.

And how much has it cost you to get Sky Sports HD into your house - was it worth it for the outlay costs?

pH

Maxwell wrote:

And how much has it cost you to get Sky Sports HD into your house - was it worth it for the outlay costs?

No

I bought it mainly for the world cup, about €450 for the box and install and €15 pm thereafter. I watch the footie on a Projector, so I get the full benefit HD coverage, but if you asked me in the cold light of day was it 'worth it' or 'value for money' then the answer has to be no.

Still, the HD setup in my home-cinema can make people's jaws drop, how much is three mates, mouths open barely able to speak watching football worth?

Mountjoy Mugger

quazzy wrote:

Well...

I have contacted ntl and they say they will be providing a HD service towards Christmas or the new year but as yet there is not confirmation of pricing, roll-out etc..

That's what NTL told me when I asked them about their possible interactive service launch four years ago. Don't hold your breath, IMO.

Hoping I'm wrong..

byte

Maxwell wrote:

As for the prices I have mentioned, Im only posting what I was quoted by a retailer?
Yes, there is probably a difference in the prices depending on your present package and the package you want.

I didn't see you mention the cost of the box and installation. Both together will cost you: €450 + €180 = €630

If you order through Sky direct, installation is €75

The HD sub is €15 per month, on top of your regular subscription, as mentioned by another poster. Of course, if you do not subscribe to Sky Sports or Sky Movies, then you'll not be able to respectively view Sky Sports HD or Sky Movies HD.

As for whether it's worth it or not, I'd currently say no. Not enough channels for the price. I'd hold out until there are more HD channels on offer, or for the hardware costs to drop.

Maxwell

Cheers, thanks for that.

Think my best option is to get the Toshiba HD DVD player instead

Moorsie

Same as pH.

Missus bought the Sky HD for my birthday. Now I just have to kick her out for the weekend while I watch the golf. Thanks love.

I have Sky HD through a projector and the picture is superb, especially on wildlife programs which I very rarely watch. The range of programs is still very limited and I think most would be better off waiting until there is more programming.

Regarding the new HD/Blu Ray disks, I read that tests were done to see if people could tell the difference between DVD and HD disks. People got the answer right only 75% of the time. Methinks these machines are going to cost big money this Christmas and that they'll be cheap as chips the following chrimbo.

My advice to anyone buying a HD TV is to hang on until they are prepared to get the HD signal in.

slave1

The Ryder Cup in HD was absolutely superb, crystal clear, really was significant improvement on SD, when I changed over to watch the highlights on RTE and BBC it really hit home just the amount of difference

mossym

slave1 wrote:

The Ryder Cup in HD was absolutely superb, crystal clear, really was significant improvement on SD, when I changed over to watch the highlights on RTE and BBC it really hit home just the amount of difference

there's no doubt the hd coverage is a significant improvement, i think what is on most peoples mind is whether or not the significant outlay is worth the amount of material available. Golf by nature of it being slow moving and outside is excellent source for HD, but there isn't a ryder cup every weekend fo sky to broadcast in HD (unfortunately)

Moorsie

..... jaw dropping in HD. Had on an 86 inch screen. Was as close as you'll get to being there. Almost felt like putting an umbrella up.