MultiChoice has finally provided details of its plans to launch high-definition (HD) television in SA. The first channel is set to go live by mid-2008, around the same time that new rivals are expected to begin competing with the DStv operator.<\/p>\n
Anyone with a large, high-resolution flat-panel TV will know that the image quality served up by local broadcasters, including the SABC and MultiChoice, is poor. Watching a game of rugby on SuperSport \u2014 which, like all DStv channels, is broadcast in standard-definition and heavily compressed \u2014 one can\u2019t make out players\u2019 faces clearly. If the same channel were to be broadcast in HD, however, it would be possible to make out the faces of not only the players but also each fan in the stands.<\/p>\n
People often purchase a large-screen HD TV only to be disappointed when they get home and discover the poor quality of the broadcast signal. It\u2019s only with new optical disc formats, Sony\u2019s Blu-ray and Toshiba-backed HD-DVD, that the capabilities of new, high-end TVs become apparent.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve bust the budget on that new TV, don\u2019t despair. SA is likely to get its first HD channels within a year. MultiChoice has said it will launch a pilot HD channel by the middle of next year, with a special HD channel for the Olympic Games to follow in August. The company recently acquired an HD outdoor broadcast unit and hopes to begin offering key local sports events, such as the Absa Currie Cup final, in HD from next year. Eventually, MultiChoice wants to have one or even two dedicated HD sports channels.<\/p>\n
The HD channels will be broadcast at a resolution of 720p. That means the image will have 720 lines of vertical resolution using progressive (noninterlaced) scanning; standard-definition broadcasts are typically 576i, or 576 lines of vertical resolution using interlaced scanning. Most HD broadcasters provide channels in either 720p or 1 080i. Few, if any, broadcast in \u201ctrue HD\u201d, or 1 080p. The high price of 1 080p TVs puts them out of reach of most consumers \u2014 for now.<\/p>\n
MultiChoice\u2019s first HD channel will be what head of content Aletta Alberts calls a \u201chybrid channel\u201d which will showcase the capabilities of the technology. It will include HD content from a number of sources. Other channels will follow. The good news is there is no lack of channels that the company can choose from. There are already more than 200 HD channels in the US, including HBO, the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, MTV, National Geographic and Showtime.<\/p>\n
Sadly, consumers wanting to take advantage of the HD broadcasts will need to spend some money. First, they\u2019ll need to buy an HD TV if they don\u2019t already have one. Second, they\u2019ll need to buy a new decoder as MultiChoice\u2019s existing decoders, including the new-fangled personal video recorder (PVR) decoders, support standard-definition broadcasts only. The company signed a supply agreement for HD PVR decoders with Pace Micro Technology of the Netherlands earlier this month. Previously, most of the company\u2019s decoders were supplied by Altech subsidiary UEC Technologies. MultiChoice spokesman Marilyn Watson says the decision to sign the agreement with Pace, not with UEC, is in line with a strategy not to be dependent on a single supplier.<\/p>\n
Details of MultiChoice\u2019s HD broadcasting plans, released last week, came just two days after the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) licensed four new operators to compete with DStv, which has enjoyed a monopoly since it was started 12 years ago. The new rivals are cagey about their exact content plans but Telkom Media, seen as MultiChoice\u2019s most formidable competitor, has indicated that it could also offer HD channels when it switches on its network in June 2008.<\/p>\n
It may be time to start saving for that new TV.<\/p>\n