Panasonic World Plasma TV Leader

With growth in plasma TV sales steaming ahead and the last quarter of this year expected to be double last its a great time to be a plasma tv manufacturer and a great time being a Panasonic executive.

The report by DisplaySearch found that the plasma tv market is dominated by six brands:

Panasonic: 26%
LGE: 15.4%
Samsung 14.4%
Philips 13.3%
Hitachi 7.3%

Whilst the others accounted for 23.5% of all sales. More interestingly for us UK citizens, Philips was the top company in Europe. In total 5.9m units were sold in the world last year. But more and more people are moving over to LCD screens in the 40" - 44" range dispite the prices of plasma screens dropping by 32% on average in 2005.

We all know what will open Sky HD

Well we don't really, but we're assuming its going to be the World Cup. This is just following on from the Dutch whose Sport1 HDTV channel will launch with the World Cup. They stated:

A Sport1 HDTV channel will launch early June, driven by the start of the World Championship on June 9, and will also show matches from the main European football competitions as well as a wide variety of international sports in the HDTV format.

We're getting closer everyday, and its time to get your HDTV so you're ready to watch the @Beautiful Game" in high definition, colourful, entertaining style.

Best HDTV Offers

Below we've tried to come up with the best HDTV Offers. Also you may want to try Comet!

Sky Competition - Win a 40" Sony HDTV

The second prize in my opinion is the VIP trip to Hollywood to attend the red carpet arrivals for the 2007 Oscars - only kidding. The other prize is a 40" Sony HDTV.

To enter the competion visit here.

Laser Rear Projection TV

I'm not entirely sure about Mitsbushi's latest offering, this huge thing is a rear projection TV powered by laser rather than mercury lamps. The company does say however that the picture quality is greater than plasma or LCD TVs.

We'll have to take a look for outselves when its out in the market.

P2POD - Online HDTV Broadcasting

The P2POD is a nifty little gadget. Its capable of broadcasting over 1 thousand digital TV channels avaliable on the internet directly to your TV at HDTV quality.

Its also a delight to use, its simple and easy to set up the channels and if you're a internet radio buff it could also stream over 6,000 internet radio channels in stereo.

If you're the sort of person that would want to keep broadcasts, you can store them on the device too and then transfer them to a PMP via USB 2.o.

We don't see this as a competitor to Sky HD, this is for buffs whilst other people will use Sky HD to snuggle up on the couch on a Saturday night or watch the footy.

Satellite Reciever for Free to Air HD TV Channels

Humax has revealed a new product that will allow people to watch free-to-air HD TV channels. Currently there's just Euro 1080 that offer those channels but with the heat being turned up in HD TV land I'm sure that'll change very soon.
But here's one of my pet hate's. I go to the Humax website to find out more, and there's no information, the Press Release section is hideously out of date! grr!

From what I can gather it'll sell for around £300 and will decrupt MPEG 4/2 HD and standard transmissions, will support software updates etc, but you won't be get the new Sky HD channels.

The Observer: HD TV Revolution

The Observer has called HD TV the "biggest TV revolution since the switch from black and white to colour 40 years ago" and the rush for HD Ready TVs is already underway.

Not only have Sky made HD TV programes but the BBC have too with Bleak House and Planet Earth being shot in the high definition format.

Sharp 65 inch PN 655 LCD HDTV

How big? Pure madness!! If you're a home-theatre or HDTV buff then surely this is the fella for you!

It's designed for the business-user, but 65 inches of pure bliss is enough to make any reasonable electronics fan get their flexible friend out (as long as their wallet is as big as the TV!)

People are calling it the "World's largest 1080p LCD HDTV" and rightly so!

At last, more information from Sky

Sky have at last updated their website dedicated to their new Sky HD service. There's a shed load of information now including HD Video Clips, Wallpapers, Screensavers, News and a Glossary.

They point to the three things that you need to see Sky HD: A Sky HD box, a Sky HD Subscription and a HD Ready TV set.

It's getting close ...

British Sky Broadcasting have specified which company will provide the speakers to capture the sound for live premiership matches on Sky Sports HD and according to InfoComm its SoundField.

That's it? That's all you're tell me? Well come on how interesting could it be?

Discovery TV added to HD TV Lineup

We've heard news that Discovery will launch a 24-hour HD TV channel alongside the other channels that you can see when you flick through Sky.

And Sky are pretty chuffed by it all: "Sky HD will offer the best picture quality available and the addition of Discovery HD to the portfolio will enable viewers to be transported into the amazing environments featured on the channel, "said Brian Sullivan, director of customer products and services at Sky.

Sky HD Launch - April Fool's Joke

Sky have rejected claims that they'll launch their HD broadcasting service on 1st April. Another website called the Sky Customer Service line and an operator said that Sky HD would be ready on April 1st. Now we've either got a customer service operator with a sense of humour (a unique thing in my experience) or theres nothing to laugh about.

Our own view is that it'll be ready for the World Cup - just gut instinct, don't go writing any stories about it.

More details come to light.

Here's what you can expect from the range of channels that will support HD TV?

Sky One - 24, Rescue Me, Bones, Over There and Stargate.

Artsworld HD - The Marriage of Figaro, Othello, The Who Live at the Isle of Wight, Jimi Hendrix Live at the Isle of Wight Festivaland Anthony Minghella Directs Madam Butterfly

Sky Sports HD - All of this seasons Barclays Permiership and Guiness Rugby Permiership has been recorded in HD. Also this years live Test and One day internationals in England will be recorded in HD.

Sky Movies HD - There will be two HD movies channels as well as HD movies avaliable on Sky Box Office.

What's the deal?

This is a HDTV FAQ provided by Sky to help inform people about the HD TV service that they're about to launch.

When is Sky HDTV being launched?

· Sky is on track to launch a High Definition Television (HDTV) service in 2006.

· Sky's HDTV channel line-up will include a combination of sports, movies, entertainment and documentary programming. They're release full details when they can.

· They'll also tell everyone the costs at a later date.

Why get Sky HD TV?

· HDTV offers a step change in picture quality, delivering a home viewing experience similar to that offered in cinemas.

· Viewers will see greater depth and tone of colours and textures. The improved clarity of HDTV broadcasts will bring an even greater sense of excitement and drama to a wide range of programme genres.

· HDTV can provide more than four times more data on a display screen than a Standard Definition broadcast. This is because of the increased picture resolution that HD broadcasts deliver and HD display devices will be able to receive.
· Pictures are delivered in widescreen format.

What kind of TV Set will I need?

· They advise that any kind of screen or TV set could be compatible with Sky's HD STB but, to get the most out of the Sky's HDTV facility you should get a 26" or larger "HD Ready" plasma, LCD or DLP TV.

How much will I have to pay?
· As above - they'll let us know.

What does "HD Ready" mean?
· "HD Ready" is just a labelling scheme that is being introduced by the TV manufacturer'. The "HD Ready" logo will appear on an increasing number of TV displays in shops over the coming months. Any TV set that carries the "HD Ready" label will work with Sky's HDTV service.

Will I need a new reciever?
· Yes

· It'll be similar to the SKY+ box


What format will they use?
· Sky 's HDTV broadcasting system and HDTV receiver will support two HDTV formats:

- 720 / P / 50 (Progressively Scanned picture)

- 1080 / I / 25 (Interlaced picture)

· Sky believes the progressively scanned picture format is better suited for the delivery and viewing of HD content on large screen, flat panel displays (mostly plasma or LCD) that are increasingly available in electrical and specialist retailers. However, Sky does accept that for some types of programming, the higher screen resolution offered by the 1080 Interlaced format may be preferable.

· Broadcasters planning on launching HD services on the digital satellite platform will be able to choose whether to broadcast content in 720 / P / 50 or 1080 / I / 25.

· Sky's HD service will also utilise the advanced compression technology MPEG4. MPEG4 is a more efficient means of compressing the data in a TV picture.


What does all this jargon mean?
· BIT RATE: Bit rate is measured as "bits per second" (bps) and refers to the rate at which data is transmitted.

· DLP: Digital Light Processor. A display device that reflects light on a pixel-by-pixel basis to create a projected image.

· DVI: Digital Video Interface. Provides high-bandwidth digital connection between a video source and a display device. It is a type of cable connector.

· HDMI: High Definition Multimedia Interface. A high-bandwidth digital connection for both video and audio data. HDMI ensures the best video signal is sent from the source (HDTV signal) to the display (LCD, Plasma, DVL). It does this by sending uncompressed video and multi-channel audio data to the display through one single cable.

· HDCP: High bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) is a copyright protection system that is incorporated into HD displays and receivers. It prevents unauthorised duplication and distribution of copyrighted content.

· INTERLACE SCANNING: Interlaced scanning refers to the process of re-assembling a picture from a series of electrical (video) signals. With Interlace Scanning a display shows every odd line at one scan of the screen and then all the even lines in a second scan of the screen.

· LCD TV: Liquid Crystal Displays are one form of flat-panel TVs. They are made up of two transparent panels with a liquid crystal solution sandwiched between the two. Electric currents are passed through the liquid - this causes the crystals to line up so that light cannot pass through them. Each of the crystals acts as a shutter, either allowing light to pass through or blocking out the light. The pattern of transparent and dark crystals forms the image.

· MPEG4: MPEG4 is a more efficient means of compressing the data that is sent to a TV.

· PIXELS: Pixels is the abbreviation for "picture element". Pixels are the smallest bits of data in a video image. The smaller the size of the pixels in an image, the greater the resolution.

· PLASMA DISPLAY: Plasma display is created by thousands of tiny tubes filled by ionized gas in a plasma state.

· PROGRESSVE SCANNING: Progressive scanning is based on the principle that all the horizontal scan lines are 'painted' on the screen at one time. 720 or 1080 horizontal lines are scanned progressively or in succession in a vertical frame. This is repeated 50 times a second. Some displays, for example LCD and plasmas use the progressive scanning method, while CRTs may use progressive (e.g. in computer monitors) or interlaced scanning method.

· 720P: 720P means the resolution of the TV picture is 720 horizontal lines. P refers to Progressive Scanning

· 1080i: 1080i means the resolution of the picture is 1080 lines. i refers to Interlaced scanning.

Product Information

The initial boxes will be manufactured by Thompson and will have similar functionality as the present Sky+ boxes which have a PVR (Personal Video Recorder).

Sky aims to be the leader in HD TV as they'll be launching their HD product well in advance of any other broadcaster.

So if you're thinking of buying a new plasma make sure it has an HDMI connector and is HD compatible.

Latest News

T3 announced on 3rd August 2005 that they expected Sky to launch a HD service in 2006. The image to the right looks like a pretty neat system. Personally I like the look of the Sky+ unit and maybe even this one. But at the end of the day its mainly about functionality.

What Can I Watch?

Sky will be launching on, at the very least: Sky Sports, Sky Movies, Sky One, Artsworld, Sky Box Office. However, there is no use getting Sky HD compatibility if you don't have a HD TV. Review our selection of recommened High Definition shops.