Sky now taking orders for HD TV service

[Bob Crabtree]

Following close behind the BBC's announcement that it will be showing the World Cup in HD, Sky has at last confirmed the pricing and launch date of its high-definition satellite service Sky HD.

Subscribers will pay £299 for a high-def-compatible set-top box plus £10 per month on top of their Sky digital subscription. Installations are due to start happening in May and will initially be free to new and existing Sky customers.

Anyone who registered an interest in Sky HD before Thursday March 23 should now be able to pre-order the service on line. This involves putting down a £30 deposit before midnight of April 5, after which, says Sky, it will make contact to arrange the installation. Other folk will have to wait until April when subscriptions to Sky HD will be thrown wide open.

Lots more good stuff about Sky HD in this HEXUS.headline.

[Nick]

Ah great... Now I can look forward to some disullusioned Scot ringing me up at 9pm each night to offer me THAT as well as a half-price package if I would pleeeeeease re-new the subscription I cancelled last year...

[bergy10]

Why should I pay an extra £10/month to have an HD feed of something I can already watch on another channel?

I don't have a problem getting the box, the HD monthly subscription is nothing more than 'commercialism'.

[mmmalas]

now I found a good use for my hd-tv, apart from playing games

[steve threlfall]

Lost in HD... *drools*

[Bob Crabtree]

Originally Posted by bergy10

Why should I pay an extra £10/month to have an HD feed of something I can already watch on another channel?

I really don't think you'd ask the question if you had an HD TV.

People who have large-screen HD TV sets are gagging for some HD content.

Check out this piece I wrote back in July.

Originally Posted by bergy10

I don't have a problem getting the box, the HD monthly subscription is nothing more than 'commercialism'.

Um, well, er, BSkyB is a commercial organisation.

I presume you really mean 'exploitation' and, if so, I'd disagree.

As I said, people who have bought large-screen HD TV sets are gagging for some HD content and the investment involved in creating such content is not trivial.

[Funkstar]

It's a premium service that only a (relative) few people are going to take advantage of in the near future. For this service Sky have had to do quite a lot of work so as a comercial organisation they need to see a direct retunr on it.

Give it a few years and there are many times more HDTV ready sets out there and Freeview start offering a HDTV service (although this isn't set in stone, but BBC and others are pushing for it) i can see sky either dropping the £10 surcharge either completely or effectively by doing special promos etc.

[Stoo]

What a shame the subscription costs keep going up for nothing more than dross, and a lot of it repeated dross at that..

I've all but stopped watching Sky in favour of freeview these days, especially with Channel 4 and Five showing some really good stuff.

[Funkstar]

Film4 is also supposed to be coming to Freeview soon too, replacing More4+1

Unfortunitely E4+1 will probably stay as it is so they can have their live stream of BB etc.

[5lab]

Originally Posted by Funkstar

Film4 is also supposed to be coming to Freeview soon too, replacing More4+1

Unfortunitely E4+1 will probably stay as it is so they can have their live stream of BB etc.

doubt that.. film4 is £10/month by itself, even on sky/cable..

the higher subscription is a bit of a pita, but its not overly surprising - you pay more for sky+ (unless you have lots of channels) and you're not getting anything more from it.. eventually the surcharge will be dropped.. if i could get it, i'd willingly pay the extra

[menthel]

They have announced a while ago that film4 will be going freeview. They may not put the same premium films on though.

http://www.channel4.com/film/ffchann..._filmfour.html

[5lab]

i stand corrected..

[mmmalas]

Originally Posted by menthel

They have announced a while ago that film4 will be going freeview. They may not put the same premium films on though.

http://www.channel4.com/film/ffchann..._filmfour.html

now you are talking, becuase if HDTV is not broadcasted for free, then people wont be encourged to buy it, and prices will stay up.

and by the way, I am working in a company that develop setup boxes for the US, its amazing product, with esata/usb/hdd and everything you could dream about in setup boxes

[bergy10]

Originally Posted by Bob Crabtree

I really don't think you'd ask the question if you had an HD TV.

Very good

Originally Posted by Bob Crabtree

People who have large-screen HD TV sets are gagging for some HD content.

Check out this piece I wrote back in July..

I was thinking of 'upgrading' to HDTV, but for now, I will put if off for another few months.

Originally Posted by Bob Crabtree

Um, well, er, BSkyB is a commercial organisation.

I presume you really mean 'exploitation' and, if so, I'd disagree.

As I said, people who have bought large-screen HD TV sets are gagging for some HD content and the investment involved in creating such content is not trivial.

I didn't want to use the word you mentioned, even though it's true.
There's a good liklehood the subscription will be dropped in due course, perhaps in a similar timeframe when sky introduced Sky+