It may be time to consider turfing out that old TV. SA’s first high-definition (HD) channel goes live next Friday.<\/p>\n
The channel, being launched by MultiChoice on its DStv Premium bouquet, will broadcast the Olympic Games in HD between August 8 and 24, and then become a general-purpose entertainment channel called M-Net HD.<\/p>\n
M-Net HD promises a crisper image for people using HD-ready TVs — typically the large, flat-panel LCD or plasma displays that are replacing the old cathode-ray tube (CRT) technology. It is estimated that about 10 000 HD-ready TVs are being bought a month in SA, so MultiChoice is likely to find a ready audience for the new product.<\/p>\n
Subscribers interested in the new service will have to upgrade to an HD personal video recorder (PVR), which costs R2 499, the same price as the first-generation PVR. It has a bigger hard drive, and can store 150 hours of standard-definition (SD) material and 50 hours of HD.<\/p>\n
MultiChoice CEO Nolo Letele expects a quick uptake. “I think 20% of our base will rush to get the HD PVRs,” he says. Nearly 270 000 households have SD PVRs.<\/p>\n
Those who have viewed MultiChoice’s SD channels on an HD TV will attest that the compression used on some channels makes the picture look “blocky”.<\/p>\n
M-Net HD is not an enhanced replica of M-Net. It will contain a variety of programming from different M-Net-branded channels, such as M-Net, Go, Series, Action and Movies. Though some shows on M-Net HD will be broadcast at the same time as other M-Net channels, it will also have exclusive material and HD versions of shows broadcast in standard definition on other channels.<\/p>\n
Sports fans can look forward to watching Premier League Soccer games on the weekends as well as at least one local SuperSport game a week on HD. MultiChoice won’t say if it plans to broadcast the 2008 Currie Cup final in HD, but it seems likely.<\/p>\n
M-Net HD will broadcast at a resolution of 720p — 720 lines of vertical resolution using progressive, or non interlaced scanning — delivering twice the picture quality of standard-definition channels. It will be available in the widescreen, 16:9 picture format suited to flat-panel HD displays — standard-definition channels are broadcast in the 4:3 format used by CRT TVs.<\/p>\n
MultiChoice chief technology officer Gerdus van Eeden (pictured above with the HD decoder) says the company has bought two HD outside broadcast vans, which will be used mainly to broadcast sports events in greater clarity.<\/p>\n
HD subscribers will need a TV with an HDMI port — to connect a cable that carries HD signals from the decoder. The HD PVR also uses a content protection scheme to prevent people from copying broadcast content and uploading it to online file-sharing networks.<\/p>\n
There is no additional subscription fee for the HD service, and all MultiChoice decoders, including entry-level ones, will eventually support HD. “One shouldn’t be looking at the size of the market for HD because the future is HD, end of story,” says Letele.<\/p>\n