Digital TV Blog

Nearly half of the UK’s cable viewers use VoD

According to Virgin Media, roughly 1.6m of their digital cable television customers, representing nearly half of its TV customer base, make use of the Virgin Central VoD (Video on Demand) services. This includes pay per view content such as movies and music videos as well as content offered on the 7 day catch up service and the BBC iPlayer channel.

The company, which has seen net TV customer additions of 24,800 in the second quarter of 2008, reported that average views of video on demand content per month were 24, compared to 14 during the same period last year.

“During the quarter, we launched the BBC’s iPlayer service on our VoD platform offering hundreds of hours of BBC ‘catch-up’ content,” a Virgin spokesperson explained. “Virgin Media is the first TV platform to make BBC iPlayer available in full screen picture quality directly to its 3.4m digital TV subscribers. Developments like this give VoD a new impetus and help establish on-demand as a genuinely mainstream TV service.”

Virgin also noted that take up of its high definition PVR package V+ is used by nearly half a million of its customers (424,900) or some 13% of its digital TV customer base.

What would Richie and Eddie say?

The cast of ITV soap Emmerdale were apparently not too keen when producers told them that Britain’s third most-watched soap is to be filmed in HD.

Over the years, the West Yorkshire village has been rocked by fires, murders, explosions, the collapse of local pub the Woolpack as a result of the infamous Emmerdale Plane Crash, but nothing has prepared the actors for high-definition telly.

According to New! magazine, the cast are reportedly terrified of the prospect of their show being filmed in HD. A source crowed: “The HD format of the show promises to show every wrinkle, every blemish and every eye-bag. The women especially are worried they are going to be made to look awful!”

Lucy Pargeter (pictured), who plays feisty Chastity Dingle told New!: “We all held our breath because we’d heard all the horror stories. However, it was fine – if you don’t look too closely!”

1080p for all, at last

Word on the street is that since the launch of Freesat a couple of months ago, take up of HD TV equipment has really started to take off. According to sales figures, there are approximately 10 million HD TV sets currently in use in British households, half a million of which are being used in conjunction with the Sky HD service, which, incidentally, is set to take a price tumble tomorrow.

Virgin, which has proudly boasted its own V+ HD digital TV service since inception, also commands a portion of this figure. However, it is thought until now, the majority of HD Ready TV sets have been purchases with the purposes of enjoying next-gen home entertainment in the form of Blu-Ray and HD DVD players, not to mention the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Yes, and the Wii, although we realise it’s technically not a next-gen console…

Anyway. Just as Freeview and Freeview Playback drove the increase in sales of switchover-ready Digital TV sets, Freesat looks all set to do the same for HD-compatible kit. Like Freeview, the main selling point of the Freesat package is the one-off install fee, no subscription deal which sees punters able to sign up for a whole bunch of HD channels all in one go.

If that wasn’t enough HD access to keep people happy, the BBC are reportedly trialling HD transmissions over Freeview, using the Guildford transmitter as a test bed, putting paid to rumours that HD on Freeview would never happen. The broadcast utilised the newfangled DVB-T2 spec, which apparently offers 30% more capacity than the standard DVB-T, on which the existing Freeview equipment runs.

Justin Mitchell, head of the DVB-T2 development team at the BBC, said: “This is a big step forward in enabling the introduction of full HD terrestrial on Freeview by the end of 2009.”

The DVB-T2 specification means that Freeview punters will almost certainly have to buy a new set-top box, which prompts the question why bother waiting when you could just shell out for Freesat now? Well, the problem with Freesat is that it requires a dish to be fitted to the side of a property, and for structural and contractual reasons, this isn’t an option.

2009 is also well in advance of the 2012 switchover and just in time for the Olympic Games, meaning that every British household ought to be able to see that high-watermark acheivement of graphic design that is the London 2012 Olympics logo in super-high 1080 progressive scan resolution.

Sword and Sandal action on Sky

Maybe its the Gladiators effect (Sundays, Sky One, 11pm), maybe not, but Sky have seem to have got Romans on the brain; recently they snapped up the rights to the stunning six-part miniseries Empire, which tells the life story of Gauis Octavius Thurlinus, better known as Octavius, who would later assume the mantle of Emperor under the name Augustus. Confused yet?

Shot in 2005, the six-parter follows the life of Octavius and his struggle to fulfil the dying wish of his great uncle Julius Ceasar; for him to take command of the Roman Empire. The show, broadcast in both standard and High Definition is said to be “visually stunning” and casts Santiago Cabrera (aka Issac Mendez from Heroes) in the lead role. Emily Blunt, who starred in The Devil Wears Prada, features alongside Cabrera, as does Jonathan Cake, star of Channel 4’s Mosley.

Sky says: “Empire is an epic drama bringing to life the fate of the entire Roman Empire and arguably one of the most significant figures in modern history, Octavius - the boy destined to become Emperor Augustus.”

Empire was filmed way back in 2005, probably conceived as a screen rival to the lavish BBC/HBO series Rome, and has been available on Region 1 for some time now. Empire will begin airing on Thursday nights from June the 26th on Sky One and Sky One HD.

TV Tuners for your lappy

Anyone remember the TV Tuner which came out for the Sega Game Gear? On the surface, it was amazing; cheap portable TV! In colour! In reality, it was a shoddy dissapointment, with intermittent reception, crap sound and wrong colours – and that was at the best of times. Plus, the already battery draining nature of the Game Gear, which normally ate up a massive 6 AA’s in the space of four hours, was amplified by this non-functioning monstrosity to the point where you couldn’t actually watch an entire 90 minutes of a football match plus the attendant commentary without the power dying halfway through. It was all well and good if you plugged it in via the mains adapter, but chances are if you were anywhere near a mains socket, then you’d be close to a proper TV set as well, sort of defeating the TV Tuner’s USP.

Fortunately, things have moved on a lot since 1991, no pun intended. A number of a companies have recently started churning out tiny DVB Digital TV tuners which connect to laptops via a USB port, allowing for Freeview channels to be viewed on the move. For about a tenner, you get a Tuner/USB Dongle thingy which comes with an aerial and a remote control – simply run the install CD on your laptop, plug it in and watch it go.

Of the devices currently available, the punchily titled Lupo Digital TV DVB-T USB Adapter Freeview Receiver for PC and Laptop is the most popular, costing a mere £9.99. HD fanatics will be pleased to know that an 1080i HDTV Ready option is available for £15.95 from ebuyer.com.

Whilst TV cards have been available for computers for years now, the release of these plug and play style devices, along with platforms like 4oD and BBC iPlayer, only goes to show how the role of the computer in the household is changing, occupying areas traditionally held by other devices. How long will it be before we can link up our computers to sensors in fridges, which automatically send out orders to the local supermarket when we get a bit low on milk? How long before the Talkie Toaster from Red Dwarf becomes a reality?

In a distant and second hand set of dimensions…

Following on from the hugely successful BAFTA award-wining production of Hogfather Terry Pratchett’s Christmas-based wheeze, it was inevitable that more Discworld adaptations would winging their way to TV screens on the back of four elephants standing on the shell of a massive space turtle.

Sky, once again working with The Mob Film Company, turned their attentions to the first two books of the Discworld series, producing The Colour of Magic, a two-part epic which sees Sir David Jason reprise his role as the cynical and inept wizard Rincewind, and Lord of the Rings stars Sean Astin and Christopher Lee making respective appearances as bumbling tourist Twoflower and the voice of Death. Dependable screen villains Jeremy Irons and Tim Curry also make appearances.

The first episode – covering the events of the first book – was screened at a world premiere on last Monday at the Curzon Cinema in Mayfair, and the red-carpet event was attended by Jason, Astin, plus director Vadim Jean and Terry Pratchett. The Colour of Magic will be broadcast in two two-hour long parts over the Easter holiday in standard definition and HD on Sky One and Sky One HD.

Sony-backed format triumphs

Whilst this isnt strictly a post about the telly, it will be of interest to those who’ve shelled out for big expensive HD Ready TV sets, presumably to enjoy the superior picture and sound quality available on next gen services and products such as Sky HD, V+, Xbox 360 and the PS3.

Sony’s Blu-Ray has won the battle of the HD formats, as HD DVD backers Toshiba formally announcing that it is to cease producing HD DVD discs and players. This is bad news for Xbox owners who shelled out for the add-on HD DVD players, although thanks to the deal done with BT Vision, owners should be able to watch downloaded HD content when the platform is released next year.

People have been quick to point out that this is a repeat of the old VHS/Betamax format war, although the difference here is that both the HD disc formats were practically identical in terms of image quality. Blu-Ray discs had the edge over HD DVD in that they could store more information, but the Toshiba-backed product was cheaper to manufacture and reportedly was easier for studios to implement interactive elements such as fancy DVD menus and hidden easter eggs.

Take-up of next-gen digital telly skyrockets

Recent Ofcom figures point again to the massive growth of digital TV in the UK, and Freeview in particular. The report shows that over 80% of UK households are using some form of digital TV viewing equipment on their main living room set, and that in the last year, some 8.6million Freeview set-top boxes or Digital-ready TV sets were sold.

Freeview’s relative inexpense and accessibility is undoubtedly the platform’s strongest point, and the advent of Freeview Playback – affording viewers Sky+ style recordability – has also seen take up increase. The recent report also claims that many viewers are upgrading secondary tellies in increasing numbers, with just under 12 million additional sets now converted to digital.

The number of UK households with digital TV on their main set is 21.7million, according to Ofcom. Sky currently has in excess of 8.4 million TV customers with a view to getting 10 million by 2010.

Virgin Media currently has over 3.4 million subscribers now signed up to its cable TV services, an increase of over 100,000 year-on-year, with over 190,000 customers using its V+ personal video recorder and HD service.

BT Vision has netted 100,000 customers since its inception, with a view to exceeding double this amount by 2010 – as of yet, there are no figures to show how many customers have been making use of its on demand services.

Motorola / BT + V + X (Box) x HD = £££

BT have just announced a deal inked with computer monolith Microsoft, which will allow BT Vision customers to sync an Xbox 360 to the IPTV box and the Home Hub, effectively turning the games machine into a second BT Vision box – gamers will be able to view the BT Vision on-demand and Freeview content on another TV in the house.

BT have also said that they will be launching an HD platform next year, and have appointed mobile phones manufacturer Motorola, who according to BT Vision chief Dan Marks have “extensive experience in IPTV” and have a previous working relationship with Microsoft. When this platform is released, customers will be able to pay to download new titles from the Xbox Live Marketplace in shiny happy HD format.

Last September, we mentioned how Sony had announced the development of their HD-ready Play TV platform for the PS3, allowing viewers to record one programme on Freeview whilst watching another, using the PS3’s hard drive (40GB or 60GB depending on which one you bought) to record programmes to. The versions of the Xbox 360 on sale in the UK, Premium and Elite have 20GB and 120GB sized hard drives respectively.

The deal with BT is part of Microsoft’s plan to extend Xbox take-up throughout Europe, with similar deals being made with Deutsche Telekom in Germany, T-Online in France and Swisscom in Switzerland.

As the Xbox 360 is the second most popular ’seventh-gen’ console, this agreement is mutually beneficial for BT; “we are able to potentially expand our BT Vision customer base by tapping into the popularity of Xbox 360.”

Regulator chooses to “take the money and run”.

As we welcome in the new year, its sad to see that the future of HD on the Freeview platform looks ever more doubtful. Ofcom’s Philip Rutman has been quoted as saying that “There is no compelling case for the spectrum to be set aside for specific purposes,” which can almost certainly be taken to be read as ’spectrum will not be set aside for terrestrial HD.’

The quote comes from electrical retail news website ERT Weekly, who accuse Ofcom of ‘taking the money’, by effectively allowing the majority of the broadcast spectrum to be bought up by the highest bidders, despite Channel 4 and the BBC already committed to broadcasting content in HD before 2012.

For HD fans, the only non-subscription solution available looks likely to be the forthcoming Freesat service jointly run by the BBC and ITV, which promises over 80 digital channels and the ability to upgrade to HD for an additional one-off cost.

But the problem with Freesat is that a satellite dish is required to receive the service – for structural or aesthetic reasons, not everybody can or will want to fix a dish to the side of their home, and so a Freeview version would be the ideal solution for people who either can’t have or don’t want Freesat.

The many manufactures, including Sony, Samsung and Toshiba, who are behind the HDforAll campaign also potentially stand to lose out on revenue from HD TV sets that would not necessarily be purchased is a high-definition terrestrial solution could not be worked out.