SKY HD SYSTEM IRISH

Sky HD -High Definition- Television

SKY HD SYSTEM INCLUDING SKY VIEWING CARD

High Definition TV is the biggest revolution in TV for years. Sky HD brings you a cinema like experience in your own home with sharper, clearer, more vibrant pictures and amazing Dolby Digital 5.1 sound quality on a selection of HD programmes. Once you've experienced it, you'll never want to go back. These boxes take longer than normal to activate so please allow 2 to 3 days extra for delivery. **Please remember this offer includes the Sky viewing card in the package so there is no need to order a separate card as it's included already** Add €15 to monthly cost if subscribing to the HD services.

The SKY HD is a premium service offering a combination of sports, movies, entertainment and documentaries in high-definition. From launch, 100 Premiership football matches per season will also be broadcast in HD. Existing channel packages will be viewable in standard definition.

Channels available on Sky HD - Sky One HD, Arts World HD, Sky Sports HD, Sky Movies HD, National Geographic Channel HD, Discovery HD and BBC HD

Sky's HD box will NOT be restricted to HDCP-enabled DVI and HDMI connections and WILL output HD video via analogue component connectors. These have been added to the Sky HD box to ensure maximum compatibility with TVs that don't meet the new EICTA 'HD-ready' specification.

What does it cost?

The Thompson Sky HD digibox costs £549 inc subscription card. You find the package costs and choose which package you require at the end of this page.

What else do I need?

You need a compatible HD Ready TV in order to experience Sky HD. Sky HD is designed to work with TVs that carry the HD Ready label. Because a High Definition picture has over four times as much picture detail as a Standard Definition picture, you'll need a TV that can display all this extra picture detail. These TVs are called HD TVs. In addition you will need a Sky setup (dish etc) and subscription.

What does HD Ready mean?

HD ReadyHD Ready is a European standard agreed by the TV industry to describe HD TVs. In order to use the HD Ready label TVs must comply with a set of criteria. Sky HD is designed to work with HD Ready TV's.

Some press clippings

British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) confirmed on March 24th, that the first installations of its high definition service Sky HD are scheduled to begin in May 2006. Brian Sullivan, Sky's Director of Product Strategy and Management, said: "Sky is just weeks away from an exciting new era that will transform the television viewing experience. Sky HD customers will be able to enjoy stunning picture and sound quality from the widest range of HD channels in the UK and Ireland. We're delighted that the BBC has said that its HD coverage of the World Cup will be available to all customers with a Sky HD box as a non-subscription channel."

Sky estimates that 2.1 million HD TVs will have been sold in the UK by the end of the 2006, compared with 700,000 at the end of 2005. The initial Sky HD channel line up will consist of:
Sky Sports HD: Live Barclays Premiership football and Guinness Premiership Rugby union are already being produced in High-Definition by Sky Sports in preparation for Sky's HD launch. From the start of the domestic cricket season, England's home Tests and one-Day internationals and country matches will also be produced in HD. From the 2006-07 season, Sky HD will offer live matches in the Coca Cola League in high definition, together with live coverage from the Carling Cup.

Sky Movies HD and Sky Box Office HD: Viewers will be able to choose from two Sky Movies HD screens dedicated to films broadcast in HD, and up to ten extra movies in HD each week on Sky Box Office.

Sky One will be simulcast in HD offering a selection of high quality entertainment with a range of Sky One shows and cutting edge series from the US in HD.

Artsworld will be simulcast in HD showing a selection of arts programming including opera, dance and classical music.

Discovery HD: Delivering the ideal viewing experience, Discovery HD will bring audiences even closer to their world with breathtaking imagery and expansive detail, featuring a selection of programming from Discovery's extensive library of more than 1,000 hours of high-definition content ranging from culture, engineering, science, technology and nature to travel and lifestyle themes.

National Geographic HD: An HD National Geographic channel will be available at launch offering a range of HD content including innovative factual programming, produced in the UK and around the world, covering natural history, wildlife, science and world exploration with the added benefit of Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.

We will have all these details shortly and will announce through or mailing list. If you are not already subscribed please click on the mailing list icon in the right hand column of this web page.

Sky HD digibox specs

*DVB-S2 demodulation capability used for HD transponders

*300 gb hard drive - 160gb for customer recordings , 140gb reserved for future use

*v90 ( 56k bps) Modem

*128Mb General RAM & 32 MB Decode RAM

*2 x 16Mb Flash Memory ( software downloads)

*32Kb NVRAM ( user settings storage)

*Digital Optical Output - supporting Dolby Digital 5.1

*Support for down sampling Dolby Digital to Dolby Prologic for other outputs

*MPEG2 / MPEG4 Decoder

*PAL i UHF Modulator (channel21 -69 controlled by software ) with 2 RF outputs ( one capable of providing 9v to power TV link and accept remote commands )

*HDMI connector

*Component Video - Y pb pr

*TV SCART ( composite video out , RGB in )

*VCR SCART ( composite video in / out RGB in )

*S- Video output ( permanantly on )

*RJ11 telephone socket

*left and right Phono outputs

*2 ISO 7816 compatible Smartcard Slots

*2 USB ports ( 1 front & 1 rear ) reserved for future use

*2 cooling fans 1 in base, 1 on front left side of box

*RJ45 / Ethernet socket - reserved for future use

*SATA interface - reserved for Future use

Note customers should never call Sky directly regarding their subscriptions. All queries are handled by Storesatellite.com. Any direct contact with Sky will result in the subscription being terminated with no refund possible.