Is Sky HD as popular as Sky say

[SatUK]

Many of our customers in Europe have been cancelling the extra £10 for the HD subscription. They are complaining that there is a very limited number of channels in HD and secondly after the novelty has worn off there is not a massive difference between the HD picture and a good quality normal digital picture. I would be interested in what others have to say before we buy in more stock of HD boxes.
Graham

[lincsat]

I don't think there's much difference in the Movie picture Quality. The live sports picture is definitely better than SD and the Natural History type programs are really good.

I suppose one of the big advantages is proper Surround sound on BBCHD (should be the same on 4HD too), don't need the extra tenner for them.

[SatUK]

Originally Posted by lincsat

I don't think there's much difference in the Movie picture Quality. The live sports picture is definitely better than SD and the Natural History type programs are really good.

I suppose one of the big advantages is proper Surround sound on BBCHD (should be the same on 4HD too), don't need the extra tenner for them.

In the last couple of months we have had about half a dozen people cancel the HD. I must admit I think that programs like National Geo and the like are fantastic in HD but like you I think the movies do not show massive improvement. Having said that I watched one the other night with special effects and it was very good. The biggest complaint seems to be basically the lack in numbers of HD channels at present and the extra tenner. We have sold a lot of HD boxes and they seem to be very reliable but because I normally buy in bulk I was a bit worried about getting stuck with them if people have lost their enthousiasm for HD.

[diapason]

I would have thought that HD when viewing movies would be limited by the grain of the original film, whereas HD television would have been clearer - just surmising, but I am happy enough with standard definition from satellite and I'll stick to that in the meantime.

[madrat]

I think its way to early in the life of HD to tell,

[Likvid]

Normals broadcasts in SD is transmitted in 576i.

The reason for not being a huge difference between SD and HD on movie channels from Sky is because Sky is upscaling most of their sources from 576i up to 720p.

Upscaled 576->720p is not the same as "true" 1280x720p.

From Canal Digital in Sweden where i live they broadcast "true" 720p on the HD movie channel giving a noticeable difference on HD sets, most often 1080i downscaled on the HD sports channel where they import HD broadcasts from the US.

[SatUK]

Thank you for your reply

[southernsatellite]

I am not happy with the HD service that Sky provide, I don't see any difference and its not worth £10 a month, and will be cancelling it. BBC HD is excellent and pleased that this is free.

[lincsat]

Originally Posted by Likvid

Normals broadcasts in SD is transmitted in 576i.

The reason for not being a huge difference between SD and HD on movie channels from Sky is because Sky is upscaling most of their sources from 576i up to 720p.

Upscaled 576->720p is not the same as "true" 1280x720p.

From Canal Digital in Sweden where i live they broadcast "true" 720p on the HD movie channel giving a noticeable difference on HD sets, most often 1080i downscaled on the HD sports channel where they import HD broadcasts from the US.

I'm told that Sky (and BBCHD) use 1080i (1920x1080) not 720p. There is definitely a noticeable difference in the Movies, so I doubt they are upscaling 576i, just not enough difference to make it worthwhile - maybe due to grain on the original film, the Frame rate or maybe there is too much compression.

Material shot on HD Video is definitely better than film converted to HDTV.

[remlap]

I honestly like material originally on film than stuff shot on Digital Camera's, due to the fact its actually like in the pictures.

Don't get me wrong Digital Camera filmed shows are nice, but they have to a glossy feel to me at times.

If people do not see the difference on any native HD material on any satellite broadcast at 28.2/5e they really need their eye set test, telly adjusted or taken back due to being crap.