Sky now has a HD web site
 

http://hd.sky.com/

"olympus" wrote in message
...
http://hd.sky.com/

Yes, part of the *.sky.com domain - it's hardly a registration bonanza.

And the proof of the pudding will be in the answer to the question: will Sky
offer HD tv to owners of all HD compat sets or will there be some sort of
funky protection system that makes the majority of 2 year plus old sets
unusable and only HD Ready tvs usable?

Gareth.

Gareth wrote:

And the proof of the pudding will be in the answer to the question: will Sky
offer HD tv to owners of all HD compat sets or will there be some sort of
funky protection system that makes the majority of 2 year plus old sets
unusable and only HD Ready tvs usable?

http://hd.sky.com/default.aspx?id=4&pg=2

"Dale Richards" wrote in message
...
Gareth wrote:

And the proof of the pudding will be in the answer to the question: will
Sky offer HD tv to owners of all HD compat sets or will there be some
sort of funky protection system that makes the majority of 2 year plus
old sets unusable and only HD Ready tvs usable?

http://hd.sky.com/default.aspx?id=4&pg=2

The dreaded HDCP (dreaded as far as owners of some "older" sets are
concerned).

Gareth.

olympus wrote:
http://hd.sky.com/



No 1080p. Only 720p is available on component video!

Regards
Glenn...

"Gareth" wrote in message
...

And the proof of the pudding will be in the answer to the question: will
Sky offer HD tv to owners of all HD compat sets or will there be some
sort of funky protection system that makes the majority of 2 year plus
old sets unusable and only HD Ready tvs usable?

http://hd.sky.com/default.aspx?id=4&pg=2

The dreaded HDCP (dreaded as far as owners of some "older" sets are
concerned).

Well it does say analog component is supported too

Loz

Mike Henry wrote:
In , "loz"
wrote:

"Gareth" wrote in message
...


And the proof of the pudding will be in the answer to the question: will
Sky offer HD tv to owners of all HD compat sets or will there be some
sort of funky protection system that makes the majority of 2 year plus
old sets unusable and only HD Ready tvs usable?

http://hd.sky.com/default.aspx?id=4&pg=2

The dreaded HDCP (dreaded as far as owners of some "older" sets are
concerned).

Well it does say analog component is supported too


But that tends to be American, both in your spelling and implementation
(high-end projectors). What about analogue SCART RGB?


Component Video is commonly available on large screen TV's. My 36"
Toshiba is 3 years old and has Component Video Progressive Scan.

Why put analogue SCART on a HD product. Since SCART doesn't support any
kind of HD there is no point. If ya want SCART buy Sky+.

Regards
Glenn...

"Gareth" wrote in message
...

"olympus" wrote in message
...
http://hd.sky.com/

Yes, part of the *.sky.com domain - it's hardly a registration bonanza.

And the proof of the pudding will be in the answer to the question: will
Sky offer HD tv to owners of all HD compat sets or will there be some sort
of funky protection system that makes the majority of 2 year plus old sets
unusable and only HD Ready tvs usable?

Gareth.
Two years old, a lifetime in plasmas, you must be half way through the life
of the screen.
had to turn up the brightness yet?

"Mike Henry" wrote in message
...
In , "loz"
wrote:
"Gareth" wrote in message
...

And the proof of the pudding will be in the answer to the question:
will
Sky offer HD tv to owners of all HD compat sets or will there be some
sort of funky protection system that makes the majority of 2 year plus
old sets unusable and only HD Ready tvs usable?

http://hd.sky.com/default.aspx?id=4&pg=2

The dreaded HDCP (dreaded as far as owners of some "older" sets are
concerned).

Well it does say analog component is supported too

But that tends to be American, both in your spelling and implementation
(high-end projectors). What about analogue SCART RGB?

?

lots of UK equipment has analog(ue) component.
Even my £499 LCD has it - and is therefore usable with Sky HD at 1280x720

Loz

In article ,
Gareth wrote:
And the proof of the pudding will be in the answer to the question: will Sky
offer HD tv to owners of all HD compat sets or will there be some sort of
funky protection system that makes the majority of 2 year plus old sets
unusable and only HD Ready tvs usable?

Um, that question has already been answered! The "some sort of funky
protection system" is HDCP. It's in the FAQ.

(No, not all content will use it)

Dave
--
Email: MSN Messenger:

"Usenet" wrote in message ...


Why put analogue SCART on a HD product. Since SCART doesn't support any kind of HD there is no point. If ya want
SCART buy Sky+.

Regards
Glenn...






The SKY+ HD will have full access to the SD broadcasts and while it's all
dandy to say if you buy into HD you will only need component and/or HDMI
it would be foolish to make sure the SD or downconverted HD broadcasts
were not available on the industry wide Scart connection as well as s-video
and possibly RF for TVlink usage.

SKY hardware has long been criticised for limiting the flexibility of connection
methods so maintaining backwards compatibility with all forms of displays
not only makes a lot of sense but probably does not make a significant impact
on the final retail price.



Mike C

"Mike_C" wrote in message
ng.com...
Why put analogue SCART on a HD product. Since SCART doesn't support any
kind of HD there is no point. If ya want SCART buy Sky+.
The SKY+ HD will have full access to the SD broadcasts and while it's all
dandy to say if you buy into HD you will only need component and/or HDMI
it would be foolish to make sure the SD or downconverted HD broadcasts
were not available on the industry wide Scart connection as well as
s-video
and possibly RF for TVlink usage.

SKY hardware has long been criticised for limiting the flexibility of
connection
methods so maintaining backwards compatibility with all forms of displays
not only makes a lot of sense but probably does not make a significant
impact
on the final retail price.

It does say that you can connect 1 HD and 1 SD device with the "appropriate
cables"

loz

"loz" wrote in message
...

"Mike_C" wrote in message ng.com...
Why put analogue SCART on a HD product. Since SCART doesn't support any kind of HD there is no point. If ya want
SCART buy Sky+.
The SKY+ HD will have full access to the SD broadcasts and while it's all
dandy to say if you buy into HD you will only need component and/or HDMI
it would be foolish to make sure the SD or downconverted HD broadcasts
were not available on the industry wide Scart connection as well as s-video
and possibly RF for TVlink usage.

SKY hardware has long been criticised for limiting the flexibility of connection
methods so maintaining backwards compatibility with all forms of displays
not only makes a lot of sense but probably does not make a significant impact
on the final retail price.

It does say that you can connect 1 HD and 1 SD device with the "appropriate cables"

loz





Indeed.
SKY have left a lot unsaid perhaps due to the final spec not being confirmed
or simply because they don't want to go over board with technical details
and to keep it as simple as possible.

Since there is the ability to output SD native material and probably down-converted
HD material then it's logical to assume that Scart will be present since forcing
people to buy a component to scart/s-video is an ugly solution when incorporating
the standard video/audio connections into a system which is heavily based on an
existing product would be far easier and user friendly.

Time will tell though :)



Mike C

Mike Henry wrote:

In , "loz"
wrote:

"Mike_C" wrote in message
ting.com...

Why put analogue SCART on a HD product. Since SCART doesn't support any
kind of HD there is no point. If ya want SCART buy Sky+.

The SKY+ HD will have full access to the SD broadcasts and while it's all
dandy to say if you buy into HD you will only need component and/or HDMI
it would be foolish to make sure the SD or downconverted HD broadcasts
were not available on the industry wide Scart connection as well as
s-video
and possibly RF for TVlink usage.

SKY hardware has long been criticised for limiting the flexibility of
connection
methods so maintaining backwards compatibility with all forms of displays
not only makes a lot of sense but probably does not make a significant
impact
on the final retail price.

It does say that you can connect 1 HD and 1 SD device with the "appropriate
cables"


Well if the "appropriate cables" are RF, or RCA, or anything short of
RGB SCART, I won't touch it with a bargepole. I'm not going to be buying
a new display for many years yet and they need to cater for SD displays
during the long drawn-out changeover period from SD to HD.



Since RF nor Scart are compatible to HD why would they be installed on a
HD receiver.

After looking at other HD receivers available on the market, HD output
is only via DVI-I, HDMI or Component Video, although composite, S-Video
and RGB are available. Sky have got the concept of HD spot on in my
opinion. If you don't have a DH compatible TV then Sky+ is your option.
If you have a HD telly, then HD-Sky is what you want. You pay to
upgrade from SD to HD in the future. Financial sense for Sky.


Regards
Glenn...

"Usenet" wrote in message ...


Mike Henry wrote:

In , "loz"
wrote:

"Mike_C" wrote in message ng.com...

Why put analogue SCART on a HD product. Since SCART doesn't support any kind of HD there is no point. If ya want
SCART buy Sky+.

The SKY+ HD will have full access to the SD broadcasts and while it's all
dandy to say if you buy into HD you will only need component and/or HDMI
it would be foolish to make sure the SD or downconverted HD broadcasts
were not available on the industry wide Scart connection as well as s-video
and possibly RF for TVlink usage.

SKY hardware has long been criticised for limiting the flexibility of connection
methods so maintaining backwards compatibility with all forms of displays
not only makes a lot of sense but probably does not make a significant impact
on the final retail price.

It does say that you can connect 1 HD and 1 SD device with the "appropriate cables"


Well if the "appropriate cables" are RF, or RCA, or anything short of
RGB SCART, I won't touch it with a bargepole. I'm not going to be buying
a new display for many years yet and they need to cater for SD displays
during the long drawn-out changeover period from SD to HD.



Since RF nor Scart are compatible to HD why would they be installed on a HD receiver.

After looking at other HD receivers available on the market, HD output is only via DVI-I, HDMI or Component Video,
although composite, S-Video and RGB are available. Sky have got the concept of HD spot on in my opinion. If you
don't have a DH compatible TV then Sky+ is your option. If you have a HD telly, then HD-Sky is what you want. You pay
to upgrade from SD to HD in the future. Financial sense for Sky.


Regards
Glenn...





If SKY+ HD was a HD only receiver I would agree but it isn't.

The SKY+ HD will have compete access to the existing SD channel lineup
and while there may be some upconverison facilities within the chipset the ability
to output both SD and HD acknowledges that SD displays may be the norm
for second location viewing. Once again we are then back to the lack of
component on the majority of televisions and it is far simpler to include these
SD only outputs then not to include them when the cost difference would be
quite small.

I agree that if you are going to pay in the region of £500 for SKY+ HD then
you are going to be viewing in HD on a HD panel but with SD content
accounting for 90%(ish) of the platform it's not a huge leap to consider that
some viewing will be on a SD display in a second location plus and for some
the requirement for off board recording.



Mike C

Mike_C wrote:
"Usenet" wrote in message ...


Mike Henry wrote:


In , "loz"
wrote:


"Mike_C" wrote in message ng.com...


Why put analogue SCART on a HD product. Since SCART doesn't support any kind of HD there is no point. If ya want
SCART buy Sky+.

The SKY+ HD will have full access to the SD broadcasts and while it's all
dandy to say if you buy into HD you will only need component and/or HDMI
it would be foolish to make sure the SD or downconverted HD broadcasts
were not available on the industry wide Scart connection as well as s-video
and possibly RF for TVlink usage.

SKY hardware has long been criticised for limiting the flexibility of connection
methods so maintaining backwards compatibility with all forms of displays
not only makes a lot of sense but probably does not make a significant impact
on the final retail price.

It does say that you can connect 1 HD and 1 SD device with the "appropriate cables"


Well if the "appropriate cables" are RF, or RCA, or anything short of
RGB SCART, I won't touch it with a bargepole. I'm not going to be buying
a new display for many years yet and they need to cater for SD displays
during the long drawn-out changeover period from SD to HD.



Since RF nor Scart are compatible to HD why would they be installed on a HD receiver.

After looking at other HD receivers available on the market, HD output is only via DVI-I, HDMI or Component Video,
although composite, S-Video and RGB are available. Sky have got the concept of HD spot on in my opinion. If you
don't have a DH compatible TV then Sky+ is your option. If you have a HD telly, then HD-Sky is what you want. You pay
to upgrade from SD to HD in the future. Financial sense for Sky.


Regards
Glenn...






If SKY+ HD was a HD only receiver I would agree but it isn't.

The SKY+ HD will have compete access to the existing SD channel lineup
and while there may be some upconverison facilities within the chipset the ability
to output both SD and HD acknowledges that SD displays may be the norm
for second location viewing. Once again we are then back to the lack of
component on the majority of televisions and it is far simpler to include these
SD only outputs then not to include them when the cost difference would be
quite small.

I agree that if you are going to pay in the region of £500 for SKY+ HD then
you are going to be viewing in HD on a HD panel but with SD content
accounting for 90%(ish) of the platform it's not a huge leap to consider that
some viewing will be on a SD display in a second location plus and for some
the requirement for off board recording.



Mike C



But Sky where not even going to have component video but for the fact
that about 95% of Plasma and LCD screens don't have HDCP. So what if
the existing SD broadcasts are scaled up to suit the HD displays. This
is not what this receiver is about. It is designed for HD output to HD
displays. The compatability side of the coin is you get SD digital
scaled up to HD resolutions.

One could always a Component Video to Scart converter cable. They are
about £25.00.

Regards
Glenn...

"Usenet" wrote in message ...


SNIP


But Sky where not even going to have component video but for the fact that about 95% of Plasma and LCD screens don't
have HDCP. So what if the existing SD broadcasts are scaled up to suit the HD displays. This is not what this
receiver is about. It is designed for HD output to HD displays. The compatability side of the coin is you get SD
digital scaled up to HD resolutions.

One could always a Component Video to Scart converter cable. They are about £25.00.

Regards
Glenn...






True but they have obviously made the US distributors see sense in
that relying on HDCP compatible connections in the first generation
hardware will limit the launch and therefore the market for HD movies.

We know the SKY+ HD will have HDMI and component but I also
expect it to have the industry standard RGB scart plus s-video and
even RF for the TVlink even though the website does not clarify the situation.
The SKY+ HD does need to be as flexible as possible to make it as
attractive as possible.

Does the inclusion of dedicated SD outputs make any difference to someone
using HDMI or component?
No.
Does their inclusion make a difference to someone using a off board recorder
and second location display?
Yes.

So it makes sense to me to make it as easy as possible for people to continue
to use VHS, DVD and PC solutions for recording SD content as well as the
so simple and effective TVlink system.

This whole thread is basically about what SKY hasn't said and either way
we will find out hopefully sooner rather than later:)


Mike C

Mike_C wrote:
"Usenet" wrote in message ...


SNIP


But Sky where not even going to have component video but for the fact that about 95% of Plasma and LCD screens don't
have HDCP. So what if the existing SD broadcasts are scaled up to suit the HD displays. This is not what this
receiver is about. It is designed for HD output to HD displays. The compatability side of the coin is you get SD
digital scaled up to HD resolutions.

One could always a Component Video to Scart converter cable. They are about £25.00.

Regards
Glenn...







True but they have obviously made the US distributors see sense in
that relying on HDCP compatible connections in the first generation
hardware will limit the launch and therefore the market for HD movies.

We know the SKY+ HD will have HDMI and component but I also
expect it to have the industry standard RGB scart plus s-video and
even RF for the TVlink even though the website does not clarify the situation.
The SKY+ HD does need to be as flexible as possible to make it as
attractive as possible.

Does the inclusion of dedicated SD outputs make any difference to someone
using HDMI or component?
No.
Does their inclusion make a difference to someone using a off board recorder
and second location display?
Yes.

So it makes sense to me to make it as easy as possible for people to continue
to use VHS, DVD and PC solutions for recording SD content as well as the
so simple and effective TVlink system.

This whole thread is basically about what SKY hasn't said and either way
we will find out hopefully sooner rather than later:)


Mike C



I'm nuder the impression that the Component Video connection is what
will be use to connect a SD display. They state that the Component
Video connection may not be available on further revisions of the HD
receiver.

On another note. At the CAI Trade Show in Coventry last month, there was
a vague anouncement about a Quad input, dual output receiver in the
pipeline.

Regards
Glenn...

"Usenet" wrote in message ...





I'm nuder the impression that the Component Video connection is what will be use to connect a SD display. They state
that the Component Video connection may not be available on further revisions of the HD receiver.

On another note. At the CAI Trade Show in Coventry last month, there was a vague anouncement about a Quad input, dual
output receiver in the pipeline.

Regards
Glenn...





The inclusion of component is to make sure owners of earlier HD panels
can use the service and not limit the potential market to
HDMI/DVI (with HDCP) panels.
I expect the US distributors were persuaded that HDCP had to be side stepped
to allow the market to develop but of course there were probably strings attached
which would make the absence of a HD component output on SKY STB's in a year
or so when the market is established a logical step.
If you are using component to watch HD content then without scart
or other SD outputs it makes recording onto off board media an issue and
recording onto VHS/DVD will still be a requirement for many who buy the SKY+ HD.

Interesting, although what private manufacturers say and do is far different from
what SKY would ever say publicly, as the HD website proves they are not
forth coming with info and product roadmaps are unreliable.
However it does tie into the news that a Octo LNB has been approved for SKY
installations although that is just as useful for multichannel homes with SKY+ HD,
SKY+ and a normal box running FTA/FTV or multiroom.

They do really need to counter the new TW STB though which has three independent
outputs and supports HD (in what form who knows) but I have hopes the NDS
home network will form the basis of a server/client system for SKY viewing.



Mike C