HDTV in Europe?

[Johnny_Deep_Down_Below]

Anything?

:(

[SeeMoreDigital]

Have a gander at this link.........


http://www.ses-astra.com/press-info/news/press-releases/03/20030605.shtml

[Latexxx]

HDTV isn't considered to be necessary in Europe. The DVB image quality is good enough for all cases and changing all of the tv's to new versions is considered to be too big problem. Also using DVB you can broadcast from 1(very great quality) to 6(very crap quality) channels on the place of one analog channel, while HDTV needs so much bitrate, it requires one channel(analog) to broadcast one channel. There were some digital hdtv test in the early 90's, but generally pal hdtv has been forgotten by everybody.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Latexxx, what you say is sadly very true.

Over here in europe we may have pioneered digital satellite and terestrial TV and in general the images we recieve are pretty good.

However, as more channels arrive on any given transponder the quality and bandwidth reduces for all the existing and new channels. Which is happening right now via Skydigital.

I was watching something on Channel 4 the other day and the image was painfully poor.

I think it's a great shame that HD TV is'nt comming to europe anytime soon, if at all. But at least the PAL apparatus capable of recieving it is being manufactured. Although you'll have to go as far as Australia to buy it!

..............

Bye the way, for all those who have not tried yet. All BBC channels (via 28.8E) are now totally free to view, i.e. no viewing card is required!

[cofferscuffs]

tbh in the uk, hdtv won't be here for a long time, due to the fact on digital satellite they've got way too many channels (most of them rubbish) packing them in all using 3mbit/s. if the most *watched* channels were changed to hdtv, there wouldn't be enough room for the majority of other channels (assuming hdtv is at 10mbit/s due to sky being scabby with bitrates :p).

[SeeMoreDigital]

Personally, I don't think HDTV will ever come to the UK via a UK provider.

If and when terrestrial analogue finishes broadcasting (2006 - 2010), it would be nice to think that these frequencies/bandwidth could be used for HDTV but I doubt it!

And as for the equipment required, it will either arrive too late or will be painfully expensive!

Nice to dream though!

[Latexxx]

Bye the way, for all those who have not tried yet. All BBC channels (via 28.8E) are now totally free to view, i.e. no viewing card is required!

No problems ;-) Finland isn't even on the map ( http://www.ses-astra.com/satellites/footprints.php?sat=15 ). I've still been told that it would be possible to watch those using my 1,8m antenna, but there are some trees between my antenna and the satellite and those trees are too estetical to be terminated (sorry, speak to the hand).

[dar1us]

I'd Like to blame all of the people using Broadband via the astra services, they are stealing the bandwidth. I am guessing here but the Astra-ses site seems to suggest that T-DSL subscribers point towards the Astra set, this must be a major drain as they have masses of users.

Saying that, I just read that T-DSL was on 19.2e but there must be some servics on 28.2e (Sky Digital has to be a major drain).

Agreed, especially on SKY, quality is getting worse and worse. When will they be running more sats up, Astra 3A wasn't there last time, but it is hardly like SKY are going to drive round re-positioning all of their dishes.


harrison

[SeeMoreDigital]

I noticed a massive drop in picture quality when Sky News decided it would be a good idea for viewers to be able to see the interactive news screens (the active 8, as Sky likes to call them) at full screen.

It also has not helped that the good ol' BBC broadcasts all it's regional output too '24 hours a day 7 days a week'. Why they could'nt have made the 'regional' option the same as Sky News's original 'active 8', and incorporated regional 'text' information, I don't know. It's not like there's any more than an hours worth of regional programmes anyway. So I'm sure viewers would not have minded, watching their regional news in a smaller picture frame size.

Or, they could have broadcast the regional area programmes in much the same way they broadcast the interactive golf, football or tennis - what a massive waste of bandwidth!

Sky Digital has got so poor, I now watch all the major terrestrial channels via my old OnDigital box!

Wow, this one's got me going alright!

Cheers

[dar1us]

apart from the lack of widescreen, my quality via aerial (analogue) is far superior to that of Sky digital. I have no boosters and live miles away from an aerial

I just have a huge aerial taking up most of the attic in the other house (it is big and in two parts with a event horizon central coridor running them together, signal isn't degraded after 100 yards of cable (I havn't measured the length)... Again, no boosters.

also, SKYs software stability is rubbish compared to that of a proper branded Sat box from europe.

hmm.

agreed, stupid that BBC 1 is the same bar about 1 hour a day on 15 channels, they cant have paid for the bandwidth to broadcast normal bbc 1 england 15 or so times, it must just be a repeat except when they have regional news. also, regional channel islands channel, crazy, there are like 20,000 max people living there.


harrison

[communist]

I just saw a documentary on Discovery and I'm not sure what you're all talking about it looks just as good/bad as always iMO :confused:

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by communist
I just saw a documentary on Discovery and I'm not sure what you're all talking about it looks just as good/bad as always iMO :confused: Like everything Digital, it all comes down to compression.

Much of the reason why some channels look better than others is down to bandwidth allocation on a satellites transponder.

Put simply many of the Discovery channels, broadcast from a transponder with at a frequency of 11.874GHz/H. The last time I looked around 12No channels are able to share this transponder at any one time.

The BBC on the other hand broadcast from a number of transponders but they also have a great many more channels (including radio & interactive) that share each transponder, for people to view. And as such, each channel has less bandwidth.

Less bandwidth requires more compression, more compression creates more artifacts!

The above is a very simple explaination. There's far more ofcourse to transmitting digital signals than this!

Cheers

[Herske]

HDTV is coming soon....12th September is the big [pre launch] day.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Originally posted by Herske
HDTV is coming soon....12th September is the big [pre launch] day. Where about's in Europe is this earth shattering event taking place?

Will you be taking part in the fun?

Do you have the necessary equipment?

Cheers

[Herske]

1. Astra 1H, 12168V, 27500, 3/4

Check out http://www.euro1080.tv; they're going to broadcast a test transmission during IBC, the channel will start in january 2004. I hope it will not be encrypted!

I have a DVB card which should work, at least I should be able to get the full transport stream without preview.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Hey, thanks for that buddy,

I've programmed the info into my reciever, so come next saturday I'll be able to steer the dish over to 19.2 deg E

Cheers

[dar1us]

reciever... elaborate, where abouts in our fine country do you reside?


harrison

[SeeMoreDigital]

Hi dar1us,

I'm a little further north in Nottinghamshire - where it starts to get grim!

Current and most used receiver is Samsung DSR9500VACI 'MultiCam version'

It's not too bad. Little slow!

Cheers

[U977]

See:

http://www.euro1080.tv/

And it's based where I live :-)

[SatStorm]

There are also two American HD Net on PAS at 43°W (12536 H, 28080, 3/ 4). The video resolution of these HDTV channels is 1920x1088 and the bitrate is 24 MBit/s. This satellite is receivable in whole Europe with small dishes (1.00cm)

You can't watch those channels easy. Only some digital recievers can show them correct. I know that Nokia 9600 (or dbox 1 in Germany) with dvb2000 ver2 beta 8 on the models with the DF1 Tuner can show them correct, while the older ones with the Estonian tuner show only mosaics!

The Astra (with the name HDTV mpeg 2) shows music and opera. On the US ones, you can also watch current series on HDTV format, but I believe there are pure tests! (No schedgules...)

[Herske]

I'm watching EURO1080 right now, it's ACDC live and the image quality is breathtaking: 1920x1088@24 Mbps (vbr), AR 16:9.

Absolutely superb!

[SeeMoreDigital]

Yes, tuned in earlier myself.

At last some decent looking digital satellite images!

I may have to splash out on a new high-def plasma monitor.

Cheers

[Zhnujm]

Anybody getting this station with a skystar 1 type card (the one with hardware decoder) ? I know the hardware decoder cannot decode a hdtv signal but is it possible in software mode ?
I can only record the station to hd, and its seems its not the complete stream.

[AlexeyS]

Where I can find the full list of HDTV channels available in Europe? If there is no such list, let's make it.

I know:
HD1
Euro1080

PS: I've heard something about Discovery channel in UK and some HDTV channel in Germany.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Apart from the HD1 and HD2 (formally Euro 1080) there are no other officially launched HDTV channels yet.

You should find some running HD test transmissions though ;)


Cheers

[AlexeyS]

Apart from the HD1 and HD2 (formally Euro 1080) there are no other officially launched HDTV channels yet.

You should find some running HD test transmissions though ;)


Cheers
What about making list (as sticky or normal topic)? I don't want to miss something interesting. :)

[AlexeyS]

Also, found:
SAT 1 HD (transmitting a normal 4:3 SAT1 program but in 1080i)
Astra HD Promo (test channel?)
HD Forum (it's the same as HD1?)

[SeeMoreDigital]

Well when I last looked around (about two months ago) I found the following: -

19.2 East
11.436V - 22000 - 5/6 = Pro7 HD
12.168V - 27500 - 3/4 = HD1
12.441V - 27500 - 3/4 = Astra HD
Premier are also testing MPEG-4 AVC

13.0 East
11.242V - 27500 - 3/4 = HD Forum


Cheers