DSTV HD-TV on track
Multichoice announced last year that they were planning a high-definition (HD) television offering around the middle of 2008.
MultiChoice chief technology officer, Gerdus van Eeden, told the ZATechshow that Multichoice was planning to launch HD-TV this year, but that it is not a simple process. Van Eeden said that the “entire value chain needs to be prepared” for high definition TV.
For this offering DSTV is switching to MPEG-4 AVC compression and 5.1 audio which affects most aspects of delivering content to subscribers.
Channels
The company said that there “are globally more than 200 HD channels including National Geographic and BBC. We are currently researching these to find out which channels we would bring onto our platform”.
Van Eeden said that Multichoice will start with a modest number of channels but with guaranteed quality content. He said that the company will start with a locally packaged channel with the best HD content out there…and that they believe that sport is one of the killer apps on HD.
Trials and decoder
“The HD trial is going well, our engineers are hard at work with our decoder suppliers to finalise all of the outstanding issues,” Multichoice’s external communications manager Marilyn Watson said.
MNet has purchased a HD outside broadcast (OB) vehicle and Van Eeden said that Multichoice will trial the entire HD value chain in mid-May. Van Eeden pointed out that the standard cost of a HD OB van is around R80 million.
Watson said, however, that Multichoice could not commit to an actual date for the launch of HD television or the specific channels that would be launched. “We are also confirming the HD channels that will be available and will communicate this as soon as this becomes available,” she said.
Consumers who would like to enjoy DSTV’s HD-TV offering will need an HD decoder as well as an HD-ready television set. Multichoice will use the PACE TDS 850 decoder customised for DSTV using four tuners.
Van Eeden did not want to give exact pricing details for the decoder, but said that it will be in line with the current pricing of the company’s PVR decoders.
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