From Colin Mann in London A group of telco and broadcasting industry senior executives has revealed what it described as 'radical proposals' to increase significantly the number of HD services carried on the UK digital terrestrial network, and with further developments could reach 40, plus the inclusion of mobile TV and portable services. The group, […]

The recent closure of two of Germany’s HDTV channels has cast a shadow over European hopes for a rapid transition to high definition, according to Strategy Analytics. The report concludes that Europe’s television providers should concentrate their resources initially on building pay television rather than advertising-based business models in order to reach the critical mass […]

From Branislav Pekic in Rome Italian public broadcaster RAI has signed an agreement with its counterparts from the UK (BBC) and Japan (NHK) for joint research towards the development of the Ultra–HDTV technology. Talks between the three partners initiated in February 2007, but no agreement was reached on a common business plan. After several meetings, […]

Sky UK will offer more high definition programmes on its service by increasing the range of channels available via its HD service. Over the next couple of months, Sky Sports HD 3, Sky Movies Premiere HD and FX HD will be added to the line-up offering a wealth of new content and a number of […]

Comstar-Direct's Stream service, the largest broadband operator in Moscow, has launched a high-definition TV offering. The soft-launch of Stream's HDTV offering will run till June 1. It currently offers four channels—Discovery HD, MelodyZen, Luxe TV and Voom HD—and a package of ten movies via VOD.

Eutelsat has confirmed that Thales Alenia Space has been commissioned to build the W3B satellite which will provide Eutelsat with significant new capacity for broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband services. These additional resources will enable Eutelsat to support the expansion of existing customers, notably broadcasters now launching their first HDTV channels, and will also bring fresh […]

NDS has announced the deployment of a new version of MediaHighway middleware that allows subscribers to upgrade standard HD boxes into digital video recorders. Subscribers to Canal+ and CanalSat in France can attach an external hard drive via USB on their existing HD set-top box to have a fully functional DVR facility. The MediaHighway middleware […]

Intelsat and SISLink, t provider of satellite uplink services in Europe, have formed a strategic alliance to launch an HD-ready automated video delivery service for satellite newsgathering (SNG) users in the United States. The strategic alliance will offer Intelsat uPod, a fully integrated broadcasting solution that will allow U.S. SNG operators to execute real-time broadcasting […]

Sony’s Blu-ray looks set to become the standard for high-definition DVDs after Toshiba signalled it will give up in a long-running format battle, to the relief of investors. Toshiba is reviewing its HD DVD business and “a complete withdrawal is one of the options it is considering.” The demise of HD DVD could spur sales […]

German commercial broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 has opted to halt simulcasting the HD versions of its two main channels, ProSieben and Sat.1, on Astra. No official reason has been given for the termination of the HD broadcasts, but it likely arises from a lack of suitable receivers, the additional costs and the inability to increase advertising revenues […]