Watching HD channels

silkyuk9

ok, ive just got a new tv which is HD ready and has freeview. How can i watch bbc1 HD or any of the other free channels that are available in HD. All i have is a standard sky box. I know if i buy a sky hd box at 45 quid and pay to get HD channels i can watch but how can i watch the BBC channels in HD without involving Sky TV.

Marty_J

You need a Freesat HD box.

Leopard

For the additional £120 a year that Sky charges for HD, you don't get "the BBC channels" in HD. You get one part-time (evenings) channel called BBC-HD, in poorer picture quality that you would receive it via FreeSat.

For the nothing a year that anyone charges, you can receive this same, single, BBC-HD channel in better picture quality via FreeSat.

So, if what you want is BBC-HD, you can either watch it in excellent quality free or you can pay Sky £120 a year to watch it with a poorer picture.

Marty_J

Well, Sky does have 30 HD channels, so I do think it's fair to point out that you can't get exactly the same on Freesat as you can get on Sky; you certainly get more than one part-time HD channel.

But why do you say Freesat has a better picture? Doesn't it receive exactly the same signal from the satellite?

Leopard

Watch them side-by-side on a 52" in a Sony Centre (which sells neither and has no axe to grind). I did.

They say, there, that it's because Sky broadcasts the BBC HD feed in lesser bandwidth than its own channels in order to flatter its Sky product.

I don't think they both use the same satellite signal for BBC HD. I believe (but I may be wrong) that each of them uploads its own collective output to the Astra array separately. I am fully open to correction on that, though.

Whatever the technical reason, that result was what my companion and I saw (and we did switch their two HDMI leads to check! :cool: ).

I was, nonetheless, minded to be sceptical of it to the point of remaining silent but there have been several other postings in this sub-forum confirming it, including the comments of installers who deal regularly with both.

I concede that Sky offers many more channels in HD than FreeSat but the question is whether they're channels you actually want to watch. The OP asked specifically about BBC channels and my answer was thus worded accordingly.

moonrakerz

Marty_J wrote: »

But why do you say Freesat has a better picture? Doesn't it receive exactly the same signal from the satellite?

I have to agree with Leopard there. I have Freesat and Sky HD and Freesat is definitely a better picture. Not that I am saying Sky HD is poor, it is still very good - Freesat is just very, very good !
I also use a separate sat receiver for all the other channels, which again are better than Sky.

Leopard

Thank you for this confirmation moonrakerz. It isn't just my eyes then!

Marty_J

Sky and the BBC use the Astra 2D satellite. Sky use the same signal that Freesat uses for the BBC; the BBC simply stopped encrypting its signal so that it could be picked up on Freesat.

Sky broadcasts all of its HD channels in MPEG-4 h.264 DVB-S2, apart from BBC HD, which is broadcast using the older DVB-S standard.

deanos

Leopard wrote: »

They say, there, that it's because Sky broadcasts the BBC HD feed in lesser bandwidth than its own channels in order to flatter its Sky product.

Not according to this...

http://www.digitalradiotech.co.uk/satellite_hdtv_bit_rates.php

silkyuk9

Really, what i was asking was receiving HD, why do we have to go through SKY to recieve HD??

I have a HD tv but do not want to involve SKY in my equation in watching HD.

Was HD invented to involve SKY tv??

If someone has a hd tv but does not have a sky box, how can they watch HD channels, wether its BBC or ITV

What exactly is Freesat, is it just a desktop receiver?? if so, my tv has freeview already on my new tv, isnt thins the same??

Marty_J

silkyuk9 wrote: »

Really, what i was asking was receiving HD, why do we have to go through SKY to recieve HD??

I have a HD tv but do not want to involve SKY in my equation in watching HD.

Was HD invented to involve SKY tv??

If someone has a hd tv but does not have a sky box, how can they watch HD channels, wether its BBC or ITV

What exactly is Freesat, is it just a desktop receiver?? if so, my tv has freeview already on my new tv, isnt thins the same??

HD is only available via satellite or cable.

If you want to get it via satellite, you need Sky or a Freesat receiver.

Freeview isn't satellite; it picks up signals from your TV aerial.

HD will eventually be available on freeview once the old analogue TV signals are turned off.

You'll need a different freeview receiver however.