Digital-Lifestyles – Page 340 – Digital-Lifestyles pre-empted and reported thousands of articles on the then-coming impact that technology was to have on all forms of Media. Launched in 2001 as a research blog to aid its founder, Simon Perry, present at IBC 2002, it grew into a wide ranging, multi-author publication that was quoted in many publications globally including the BBC, was described by the Guardian as 'Informative' and also cited in a myriad of tech publications before closing in 2009

Digital-Lifestyles pre-empted and reported thousands of articles on the then-coming impact that technology was to have on all forms of Media. Launched in 2001 as a research blog to aid its founder, Simon Perry, present at IBC 2002, it grew into a wide ranging, multi-author publication that was quoted in many publications globally including the BBC, was described by the Guardian as 'Informative' and also cited in a myriad of tech publications before closing in 2009

UK Students Peruse Porn And Study Online: Research
A government-backed study has revealed that more than one in 10 UK teenagers frequently use the Internet to look at “adult-only” Web sites.
Interviewed by the National Foundation for Economic Research, some 12% of 13 to 18-year-olds admitted that the quest for saucy titillation was one of their main reasons for going online.
However, homework was the most common reason for Internet use, with just over three-quarters using the Internet for research (and, in some cases, to plagiarise!)
The NFER study discovered that 52% used the Internet for Instant Messaging (IM) services and 36% logged on to shop for goods or services.
Some 18% looked up news and current affairs sites on the Web with 9% visiting discussion forums.
When it came to trusting the media, television was seen as the most trustworthy form of mass communication, with 48% trusting it completely or a lot.
Older students – already building up a healthy head of cynicism – were less convinced than younger ones of the level of honesty in the media, with newspapers faring worst overall, trusted by just 13%.
The eight-year NFER study was carried out on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills, and involved 6,400 pupils in 237 schools and 50 colleges in England.
National Foundation for Economic Research
Department for Education and Skills
19 April, 2005
BBC THREE Trials New Multi-Screen Application
BBC Three viewers will be able to schedule their own Sunday night viewing in a pioneering multi-screen application trial starting on 1 May 2005.
The service will work like a stripped down Video On Demand (VoD) service without the need for a dedicated infrastructure or additional consumer boxes.
From 9.00pm on Sunday nights, digital satellite viewers will be prompted to bash the red button on their remotes and be rewarded with a choice of three BBC THREE programmes, in addition to the channel’s live transmission.
The programmes will be categorised under Dramatic, Funny and Real, with the first night’s offering serving up the first two episodes of Nighty Night; the first and second episodes of the second series of Twisted Tales; and the first and second parts of the second series of Little Angels.
Stuart Murphy, Controller of BBC THREE, explains: “The ‘Best of Three’ multi-screen trial is a bold and ground-breaking new application which offers viewers more control and greater access to the wide range of programmes on BBC THREE.”
“In the future we believe viewers will want to watch their favourite show when they want it and not wait until a scheduler decides to transmit it.
“It’s a key stepping-stone to true video on demand in a free-to-air digital environment, and shows that we are serious about BBC THREE being the country’s most innovative digital channel, which evolves as fast as the audience’s tastes and needs.”
Emma Somerville, the BBC’s Head of Interactive Programming, added: “Interactive TV can really help our audiences engage with the BBC’s TV channels.”
“The ‘Best of Three’ multi-screen will test new ways of giving viewers more flexibility over when and how they want to enjoy our programmes.”
Viewers will be encouraged on air to try out the new service and the trial will last for six months.
The BBC hopes that the service will prove a showcase for the multi-genre offering of BBC THREE content and enable them to get more value from the full range of programmes that the channel broadcasts.
If all goes to plan, viewers will be encouraged to sample programming that normally wouldn’t whet their tele-whistles and also use the service to watch programmes that they might have missed.
If the trial is a hit, the BBC plans to roll out this application on Freeview and digital cable.
BBC Three
19 April, 2005
BBC Radio Times Partners With Gemstar Guide Plus+ EPG
Old school TV listings magazine The Radio Times, has announced a partnership with Gemstar, the Murdoch-owned electronic programme guide (EPG).
The deal – the first TV listings partnership of its kind – allows the Radio Times to provide listings, contents and reviews to the subscription-free, seven day Guide Plus+ EPG.
Gemstar will be building its EPG into a number of electronic devices such as digital TVs and DVD recorders. The EPG will allow consumers to browse and select their TV viewing for the next seven days.
Users will have access to seven-day listings, programme recommendations and a database of 24,000 film reviews with star ratings, with the service being compatible with all major channels on the terrestrial, cable, satellite and digital terrestrial platforms.
Simon Adams, deputy-managing director of Gemstar-TV Guide’s European division, said the move would benefit users by providing a “quick, easy, and free way to intelligently navigate what is an increasingly complex entertainment environment”. This partnership kicks the Radio Times firmly into the new digital age of television, with the company selling advertising on Guide Plus+ and boosting awareness of the EPG by plugging it relentlessly in its print magazine.
All concerned plan to expand the offering, with on exmaple given as onscreen adverts might eventually include clickable ads for programmes, letting viewers jump straight to the selected broadcast.
It is hoped that this synergetic partnership will expand what choca-mocha-latte supping advertising execs call the “brand heritage” of the Radio Times, which currently shifts over 1.1 million printed copies a week.
The BBC owned brand – the UK’s oldest radio and television listings magazine – has a presence across a range of media, with their website attracting nearly 600,000 unique users per month, and a text messaging service which allows readers to access listings. Radio Times was named as Britain’s “most reliable” media brand back in 2002.
Gill Hudson, editor of the Radio Times, declared: “There is now no format not covered by Radio Times – you can access RT via mobile, your PDA, online, and now the Guide Plus+ EPG.”
The Radio Times recently spent £1m (€1.44m) on a marketing campaign to promote the magazine in the face of a price war between the UK’s best-selling title, What’s on TV, and rival TV Choice. Clearly, the BBC hopes that this move into digital listings will provide a competitive edge.
Radio Times
Radio Times named Britain’s “most reliable” media brand
19 April, 2005
Adobe To Buy Macromedia: US$3.4Bn
Digital document software giants Adobe have announced that it will be buying up rivals Macromedia for about US$3.4 billion (£1.7bn/€2.6) in stock.
Adobe, best known for its market-leading document distribution Acrobat PDF software and Photoshop graphics suite, said the deal would help the company meet customer demands for wider-ranging applications, including audio and video capabilities.
The deal, announced early today, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2005, subject to shareholder approval.
Bruce Chizen will continue as Adobe’s chief executive and Shantanu Narayen will remain president and chief operating officer. Macromedia chief executive Stephen Elop will join Adobe as president of worldwide field operations.
Here’s the PR spin on the deal:
“The combination of Adobe and Macromedia strengthens our mission of helping people and organizations communicate better. Through the combination of our powerful development, authoring and collaboration tools – and the complementary functionality of PDF and Flash – we have the opportunity to drive an industry-defining technology platform that delivers compelling, rich content and applications across a wide range of devices and operating systems.
By combining the passion and creativity of two leading-edge companies, we will continue driving innovations that are changing the ways people everywhere are experiencing and interacting with information.”
The combined company would have annual sales of just over US$2bn (£1.05bn/€1.5bn), based on the most recent fiscal and calendar year figures from both.
The two companies have been battling it out for the hearts of creatives for several years – Adobe’s killer app Photoshop has long ruled the roost for designers, although Macromedia’s innovative rival product Fireworks was constantly nipping at its ankles.
Macromedia is best known for its hugely-popular HTML authoring package, Dreamweaver, and its animation software ‘Flash’, which enables Web designers to deliver fast downloading, interactive multimedia content.
Adobe’s late-to-the-party Flash riposte, ‘Live Motion’ never really got anyone excited, and its capable HTML authoring package, GoLive, failed to seriously trouble Dreamweaver’s dominance.
There has been no announcement about the future of individual products, and bulletin boards on the Web are already speculating as to the future of competing products, such the high-end illustration packages, ‘Freehand’ and ‘Illustrator’ (Macromedia and Adobe, respectively).
Both products have large, loyal user bases and there may be some concern that – in the words of Sparks – “this town ain’t big enough for the both of us”.
There are also fears that with Adobe now free of any real competition in this lucrative sector, a damaging monopoly could emerge.
Adobe
Macromedia
18 April, 2005

Jabra BT 250 And Logitech Mobile Freedom: Review and Comparison

Jabra Freespeak 250 & Logitech Mobile Freedom Review and Comparison Introduction
I’m no stranger to Bluetooth headsets, and the way this review is written reflects that: I’m not going to go through the whole look-no-wires thing over and over again as they do in adverts and will instead go into a little more detail about the headsets in question.

This review serves to compare and contrast the Jabra Freespeak 250 and Logitech’s Mobile Freedom.

My initial impression of the two headsets was quite different: The Logitech comes with less extra bits and pieces, and as everyone knows, it’s the details that make the difference. The content of the box include the headset itself; a charger that plugs directly into the headset; the manual; and some extra foam ear-covers.

The Jabra however adds a mains desktop charging dock and some exchangeable ear pieces of different sizes to suit various sizes of ears.

The Jabra desktop charger really comes in handy as it means less messy cables that you always have to lurch for and dig out of the back of the desk. Just slotting the headset into the charger makes life a lot easier.

The two headsets themselves are of fairly different styles. The Jabra goes behind the ear, has an earpiece that actually goes into the ear, and has a small microphone that sticks out from the bottom of the ear, while the Logitech has a small clip that goes round the back of the ear and has the rest of the headset (the chip, electronics etc. in a small microphone boom.

Jabra Freespeak 250 & Logitech Mobile Freedom Review and Comparison
Headsets Compared Front. Jabra BT 250 on right. Matchbox for scale.

Jabra Freespeak 250 & Logitech Mobile Freedom Review and Comparison

Comfort
So, now to try each one on: The Logitech is a bit fiddly to get seated correctly, but once it’s fitted, it is very comfortable and even after extended use isn’t irritating. Sadly, the Jabra is quite another story: It goes on quite easily, but it feels quite heavy and the earpiece doesn’t actually insert into the ear properly as it was designed to. At least that was the case with my ear. So on comfort, the Logitech wins and rightly so; it’s almost undetectable if you fit it properly.

Score for Comfort:
Logitech:
Jabra:

Operation
Pairing the headsets to a phone is quite similar in each case: All you have to do is hold the power button down for 10 seconds, search for the headset from the phone and then select it, enter the code 0000 as the passkey and then you’re done!

The phone that I performed these tests with was a Sony Ericsson P910i, but the experience should be similar whichever handset is used.

What is meant by pairing?
Pairing refers to the process of connecting two bluetooth devices to each other. Because there are no wires, you can’t simply plug a bluetooth device in: Instead, you have to enter an identical PIN number into each device. If this security wasn’t there, then anyone could theoretically listen into your conversation while you talk over a bluetooth headset. This security feature also prevents Paris Hilton-style hacking, although it doesn’t eliminate it 100%.

After the headsets were paired, I initiated a voice call from the handset to see if the headsets worked. While both took over the microphone and speaker from the phone just fine, the quality varied widely. Both had a slight hiss, the Jabra was an order of magnitude worse than the Logitech. The Jabra also had other quality issues, the worst of which was that the sound both in the speaker and that going through the microphone to the other party was choppy, not dissimilar to the way a normal mobile phone call gets when reception is poor. This problem varied in it’s intensity, but often got so bad I had to get the phone out of my pocket and use that instead. I did experiment with the distance that the phone and the headset were from each other, and the problem with the Jabra did increase with the distance it had to transmit. When the phone was <5cm from the phone the problem became almost unnoticeable, but if you have to hold your phone next to your head to use the headset then you might as well not bother with the headset. This is a fundamental flaw: What good is a headset, if its main purpose doesn't work satisfactorily?When you receive a call, the phone rings and at the same time an alert is sounded through the headset. Answering calls with the headsets is simple enough, or at least it should be because you just have to press one button. In the case of the Jabra, this button was located at the back of the ear, near the top. Not only did answering calls mess up my hair, it also looked stupid because I had to go looking behind my ear for the button. This is quite similar to the fact that the earpiece doesn't fit in the ear properly: It's a good idea, but it's designed terribly and clearly hasn't been properly thought out. Jabra Freespeak 250 & Logitech Mobile Freedom Review and Comparison After some time, it is possible to become accustomed to the buttons, but nevertheless, technology should be intuitive, not require training. On the Logitech, this button is on the outside of the unit, and is easily accessible. Of course, pressing a button isn’t the only way to answer a call: It is also possible to simply say “answer”, if your phone supports this function, and this is one place where the Jabra is better than the Logitech: With the Logitech, the word answer has to be said quite loud, whereas with the Jabra, it can be muttered and the headset still recognises it. This is a big advantage as you, like me, will probably not want to stand there yelling “ANSWER!” at the top of your voice. It would just make you look stupid!

Both headsets have voice-dialing features, meaning that you press the afore-mentioned button, and then say the name of whomever it is you want to call. This feature works well on both headsets, but with the Jabra you have to find the button first, which as I mentioned earlier, is badly placed.

During a call, you can adjust the volume of the earpiece using buttons on the headset itself. The ones on the Jabra are, again, in an awkward place, although in this case it isn’t as bad as the answer button. The Logitech provides aural feedback to button-presses, which is a good thing, as sometimes it isn’t clear if you pressed a button or not and then you press it again in error. It also tells you when you have selected the maximum volume, meaning that you aren’t stuck hopelessly pressing a button to no avail. This feedback isn’t so loud that it is annoying though.

In terms of operation, the Logitech is a far better headset because of it not having any interference and because of the superior location of it’s buttons.

Score for Operation:
Logitech:
Jabra:

Battery Life
The battery lives below are according to the manufacturer. It is realistic to expect around half of the values below in a real-life situation.

Jabra 250: Standby: 240 Hours, Talk time: 8 Hours.
Logitech Mobile Freedom: Standby: 250 Hours, Talk time: 7 Hours.

This is one of the only areas where the Jabra beats the Logitech. In practice, you tend to be able to charge your headset at least once every 10 days or so unless you’re lost in a jungle or something though, so it’s not too much of an advantage. The extra hour of talk-time that the Jabra offers could definitely come in useful though.

Score for Battery Life:
Logitech:
Jabra:

Price
Both headsets can be had for about £35 (US$65/€50), which appear as pretty good value for something that only a year ago would have set you back around £100 (US$189/€145).

Score for Price:
Logitech:
Jabra:

Summary
Between the two, I far preferred the Logitech over the Jabra.

While the Jabra did look appealing, the sound quality and Bluetooth range were extremely poor, I found it difficult use and uncomfortable to wear.

The Logitech did have one problem and that was the need to yell voice-dial commands, but this flaw is small in comparison to the negative aspects of the Jabra Freespeak. The Logitech was very comfortable to wear, and the buttons were easy to access.

Score Total (Out of a possible maximum of 20):
Logitech: (14)
Jabra: (11)

18 April, 2005

PC Sales Up, As Dell Slows: Report Gartner
Worldwide shipments of PCs rose by 10.3 percent in the first quarter, with global shipments increasing to 50.4 million units, up from the 45.7 million PCs shifted during the same period a year ago.
The research by Gartner Inc echoes the general trend reported by its competitor International Data Corp, which reported a slightly higher growth figure of 10.9 percent.
Market leader Dell, saw its worldwide growth rate slip below 20 percent for the first time in 10 quarters, as US companies shelled out less than expected on PCs.
Dell’s 13.7 percent growth rate was still enough, however, to inch up its market share to 16.9 percent from 16.4 percent, with the company continuing to grow faster than competitors and the market in general.
The lack of sales in the US was made up by increased sales in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with small businesses in Western Europe being the biggest contributor to the boost in shipments in the EMEA region.
The report notes that lower vendor prices and the strong Euro to the dollar exchange rate helped open up small business wallets over Europe.
With US corporations appearing to be at the tail end of their usual four-year replacement cycle, the report speculates that sales probably won’t pickup dramatically until around 2008.
The vast bulk of PC sales in 2004 – 69 percent – were by corporations, educational institutions, small and midsize businesses and the government with consumers buying the rest.
Notebook sales globally continued to be very strong with customers tempting by falling prices.
In the US market – the biggest in the world – Apple shimmied up to fifth position, elbowing Toshiba down a place.
As we reported last week, Apple had a bumper year, with shipments rising by more than 45 percent, driven by iMac and PowerBook sales. This success is reflected in the company’s increased market share, up to 3.7 percent from 2.6 percent a year ago.
Dell remains the biggest PC vendor in the world followed by, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Fujitsu/Fujitsu Siemens and Acer.
In the US market, the big boys are Dell, HP, Gateway, IBM and Apple.
Karine Paoli, research director for IDC’s Personal Computing group, took a very deep breath and delivered this exceptionally long sentence : “If 2004 has been a strong year for the PC market, boosted by a rebound in commercial investment and portable adoption across EMEA, and if growth is expected to be softer this year, 2005 will remain buoyant, and highlight key transitions which will shape the market beyond 2006 – expansion of broadband and digital entertainment in homes, while businesses will look increasingly at mobility and wireless as part of their overall IT strategies.”
Gartner
International Data Corp report
18 April, 2005
Advertising in Games Forum predicts $1Bn in revenue 2010
Last week, 250 executives from advertising agencies, game developers and publishers swarmed into the first annual Advertising in Games Forum on 14 April 2005 in New York City.
The audience, primarily made up of sharp-suited, silver tongued advertising agency executives, were there to discover more about market opportunities and expectations within the game industry.
According to the organisers, The Game Initiative, attendees were treated to a feast of ‘key facts, figures and estimates’ spun out by leading industry experts at the forum.
In a bullet point-laden onslaught of PowerPoint presentations, these key facts emerged:
According to the Yankee Group, advertising in games is expected to rise to US$800 million in 2009 from nearly US$120 million in 2004.
Around US$266 million – that’s more than one-third of advertising in games in 2009 – will come from (wait for it) “advergaming.”
For the benefit of buzzword-deficient execs, Yankee Group senior analyst Mike Goodman explained that this hideous word describes what you get when advertisers create a game around a product rather than place their brands within a well-known title.
Mitch Davis, chief executive of video game ad network Massive Inc., whipped the watching execs into a frenzy of monetary expectation when he revealed that the audience video game advertising would top US$1 billion in the United States by 2010, and approach US$2.5 billion worldwide.
Anita Frazier, Entertainment Industry Analyst, NPD Group opened up her big book marked ‘Facts’ and informed the Advertising In Games Forum audience that there are 100 million game capable cell phones currently in the Marketplace – with 65% of the population owning a cell phone.
The sound of keenly rubbing palms grew to a crescendo as Frazier announced that within 16 months all cell phones in the marketplace should be game capable and thus brimming with cash-raking, game-downloading potential.
Fact-bloated attendees also learned that the top selling 2004 game titles (according to the NPD Group) were:
1. Grand Theft Auto San Andreas – 5.5 million sold since launch
2. Halo 2 on X box – 4.5 million units sold since launch
3. Madden NFL 2004 on PS 2 – 3.5 million units sold since launch
4. ESPN NFL 2K5 -1.6 million units sold since launch
5. Need for Speed Underground 2 -1.7 million units since launch
The top selling PC title of 2004 was Sims 2 with 750,000 units sold.
The ‘best selling game title of all time’ title goes to Grand Theft Auto Vice City with a massive 6.5 million units shifted, with Super Mario 64 on the N64 coming in second with an impressive 6.0 million units.
Game Initiative
18 April, 2005
NAB2005
Rapid changes in media technology, the evolution of cross-digital platforms, the need for increased creative inspiration and cost-efficient execution, HD, IPTV, 24P… Where can you turn to keep up? How can you hone your skills to remain competitive into the future? Where can you go to see what’s ahead, talk to the experts, and get hands on access to the technology that will shape the future of media and entertainment? With more than 95,000 media professionals and 1,400 exhibiting companies from 130 countries gathering to network, collaborate and learn, NAB2005 is the only place where you can find all of tomorrow’s solutions…today.
Las Vegas Convention Center http://www.nabshow.com/
16 April, 2005
Freedom2Surf Predicts 35% Increase In UK WiFi Hotspot Use In 2005
Despite being judged the fourth most digitally-savvy nation in Europe, it seems that 40% of the UK adult population don’t know their wi-fi from their waffles.
Research carried out by Freedom2Surf revealed that half of all women and one quarter of all men didn’t have the slightest clue what WiFi was, exposing a very strong gender, knowledge and awareness gap in the UK.
Not surprisingly, the kids were waaay down with that WiFi thang, with Freedom2Surf’s WiFi Report revealing that the 16-24yr old age group were well hip to the technology, with almost 30% connecting to the Internet via a WiFi hotspot more than once a week.
Looking at the amount of time people spent connected via WiFi, the report found that 40% of regular users spend 10 minutes a day on average connected to a hotspot, while a further 40% spend at least an hour in a single session.
Around 10 per cent of users surveyed connect three to four times a day for at least 20 minutes at a time.
The research discovered that WiFi usage is set to increase, with over a third (35%) saying that they expected to spend more time wirelessly connected in the coming year.
A smaller group (15%) expected their usage to increase dramatically in 2005, with the 16-24yr age group expected to increase its usage the most (52%) compared to 34 per cent of the 35-44 age group.
The biggest barrier preventing UK consumers connecting to hotspots was found to be the lack of regular access to a Wi-Fi enabled laptop (40%).
Cost was also perceived as a major factor, with 30% citing price as the biggest barrier.
Greater uptake has also been hampered by consumers expressing bafflement as to where hotspots are actually located along with the perceived complexity of set-up and payment for WiFi hotspot services.
Silver surfers (UK consumers aged 55+) were revealed as being the weakest Wi-Fi user group, with just 11 per cent of the old ‘uns having used a hotspot.
Geographically, London takes the honours as the King WiFi hotspot of the UK with a higher awareness and usage of WiFi (hardly surprising since there are more hotspots in London than anywhere else in the UK) whilst residents oop North in Yorkshire are the least Wi-Fi savvy.
Naturally, ISPs like Freedom2Surf don’t do surveys out of the goodness of their hearts, and predictably rounded off their report with a ten-ton size plug for their new low-cost Wi-Fi service, Freedom2Surf Hotspots.
The company will be partnering with BT Openzone to offer customers access to a network of 1,300 hotspots in the UK, with rates claimed to be “up to 50% lower than those offered by BT.”
These prices work out at 10p (€0.14/US$0.18) per minute (occasional use), £4.50 (€6.60/US$8.5)for a daily voucher (60 Minutes), £15 (€22/US$28) for a weekly voucher (5 hours) and £30 (€44/US$56) for a monthly voucher (20 hours). Payment can be bought on a Pay as You Go basis by purchasing vouchers with a credit card.
Compared to our American counterparts, these prices still seem outrageously steep to us, but Chris Panayis, managing director of Freedom2Surf, clearly doesn’t agree: “The use of WiFi hotspots is becoming increasingly mainstream particularly among the younger age group, and it is encouraging that many of the consumers we surveyed are planning to significantly increase their use of WiFi this year.
“With service providers like Freedom2Surf already acting to reduce the cost and complexity of connecting to WiFi hotspots, the next challenge for the industry is to boost awareness of where hotspots are located and continue to educate consumers on the flexibility that WiFi hotspots provide people who need to connect to the Internet on the move.”
Freedom2Surf
15 April, 2005
BSkyB Announces HDTV Partners
British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) has announced that it has signed a number of further contracts with technology and equipment suppliers ahead of the forthcoming launch of its High-Definition Television (HDTV) service.
Following last month’s announcement that Thomson would be the initial manufacturer of Sky’s HDTV set-top box, the latest agreements put BSkyB on track to launch HDTV in the UK and Ireland in 2006 – notably four years ahead of the BBC’s slothful launch date in 2010.
The agreement will see Sony constructing and equipping a new HDTV studio at BSkyB’s Isleworth headquarters and kitting out additional equipment for edit suites and dubbing facilities at the same site.
Lovers of spec sheets will be thrilled to learn that the Sony studio equipment will include the latest HDC-1500 studio cameras and over 60 HDCAM and HDCAM SR format VTRs, complemented by MVS-8000A series multiformat production switchers and DVS-8000 digital effects plus Sony HD LCD monitors.
Additionally, Sony will smooth BSkyB’s transition to HDTV production with a “this button does that” staff training package.
BSkyB will also be deploying Tandberg Television’s MPEG-4 part 10 (H.264/AVC) video encoding and distribution system for the launch of its HDTV service.
The studio will be fitted out with Tandberg Television HD video head-end with statistical multiplexing with Tandberg EN5990 HD MPEG-4 AVC enabling efficient bandwidth utilisation and high picture quality.
If that roll out of spoddy specifications hasn’t got you excited enough, you’ll be pleased to learn that even more equipment lists will dispatched from BSkyB headquarters in due course. Whoopee!
Alun Webber, BSkyB’s Group Director of Engineering and Platform Technology, said “The launch of HDTV is the most significant development for BSkyB’s broadcast infrastructure since the launch of Sky digital in 1998. These supplier contracts keep us on track to launch HDTV in 2006 and ensure that Sky customers continue to receive the highest-quality viewing experience available.”
Sky is promising a full set of HDTV programming channel line-up when the service goes live, including sports, movies, entertainment and documentary programming.
The system will support both 720p and 1080i picture formats, with broadcasters being able to choose the format which is most appropriate to their individual requirements.
Initially, Sky’s HD receivers will have both a digital HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) and an analogue component connector for viewing HD content.
HDMI delivers the best possible picture quality to a HD display by maintaining an all-digital connection to DVI equipped displays possible using a suitable adapter cable.
Notably, when Sky’s HD content is viewed on a display using the receiver’s HDMI connector it will be protected by HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection).
HDTV is already taking off in the States and with the BBC dragging its heels with their own implementation of HDTV, this move by Sky may prove to be a significant one.
Sky Drops Microsoft Windows Media For MPEG-4 On HDTV
Sky
15 April, 2005