SKY HD, true high definition or not? (Sky HD)

Member Name: makro74

Product:	Sky HD
Date:	06/08/08 (1241 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliant if upgraidng to HD

Disadvantages: 1080i, not true 1080p, causing standard picture worse due to scaling

High definition by sky. Well you wouldn't expect anything from Sky since they usually at the forefront of new technology. One of the reasons why Sky is as big as it is is because there is very little satellite competition which has a developed, almost teresstial standard. Naturally, HD would come easily for SKY. But has it?
THE BROADCAST
Let's be clear - it is not cheap to upgrade to HD in the first place, but before we get into that, is SKY HD, truly HD? For all intents and purposes, it is potentially a great picture with the right equipment to receive and you will immediately notice the difference on SKY HD channels.
But, this is the big but, SKY broadcasts on 1080i, a somewhat poorer version of the true HD of 1080p. It actually upscales the 720p HD ready to mimic the true HD. So as technology moves forward, you have to buy basic equipment making the advanced feature on your TV redundant.
Moreover, if you try watching normal channels with SKY HD on a HD TV, the downscaling is very notable when comparing with either the CRT's or even the freesat pictures.

THE EQUIPMENT
In any HD scenario, the TV is important as well as the HDMI cables. But SKY HD, cannot reproduce to the quality of say a Blue Ray simply because of the nature of the broadcast. For example, if you were to buy a 1080p latest Panasonic Viera or Samsung Series 6 with contrast ratios of 30000:1 (ie the higher the ratio, the deeper the colours and the more 'real' the picture becomes), you will notice the difference when you play a Blue Ray disc and Sky HD - the picture would be much better on Blue ray.
The box itself comes with a 160GB free storage hard drive and is pretty much similar to the standard sky box or Sky+.

THE COST
HDMI cables are not cheap around £60 a shot, but because of 'gassed' nature, they compensate for the sensitivities of the TV to energy fluctuations and other interference which would otherwise degrade the picture. SKY HD box is £300 on its own, but I believe you can haggle it down when you barter with a SKY agent. Then of course there is the additional £10 per month subscription
THE CHANNELS
Currently only 12 channels broadcasts are in HD and only 2 are available most of the time. Depending if your interest is only in the receivable HD channels, it is a limited availabity for the investment placed to receive them. And as noted above, the other channels are notably poorer in quality.

SOUND
This is not really a SKY HD box issue, but remember to appreciate good natural picture, good sound quality is advised. Phillups HD tv's tend to have the best local sound, but if you invest in a cinema system than any TV can produce brilliant sound reproduction
EVALUATION

This all depends on what you want out of the HD revolution. If its all about upgrading and HD name then SKY HD is for you. However, if value for money comes into play and the best technology for the best potential picture, I would recommend it would be better buying 1080p TV, high contrast ratio and invest in Blue Ray at the very least. Then as the technology improves or the price comes down you have a better deal for your telly.
Or the other option is, if you have a CRT with a relatively large screen and realtively good picture, eg. Pixel Plus, trintron, 100hz, etc, then at this stage, you probably do better to stick with it. Because remember, the new LCD's and plasmas are more of a fashion statement, and the basic cheap ones are in no way better than the old CRTs. Only recently have the LCD's rectified their side angle viewing problem, and also introduced 100hz into te setup.

So it is cash spending versus quality and fusion of technology. Cleary HD has not settled down to fall in the latter category and the danger is that depending on what you buy, your equipment could become obsolete in a matter of months.
There is talk of actually increasing 1080p to about 1620p. And Sky HD is looking into 1080p broadcasts.

So if you want HD now, then Sky HD would be reasonable choice. The rest is about how much you really want to spend and how much 'real' quality you want.

Summary: Cheat version of High Def to the perfectionist