A worthwhile luxury purchase (Sky HD)

Member Name: theboyellis

Product:	Sky HD
Date:	25/01/09 (118 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stunning picture on the majority of HD channels, Dolby Digital sound

Disadvantages: Hardware relatively expensive and it's yet another £10 you wont see every month

When describing a luxury item, Sky HD fits the bill perfectly - no one can claim to need it. As with most things technological, the UK is a good five years behind our friends across the Atlantic where pretty much every channel is broadcast in HD. The costly Sky HD hardware and £10 per month subscription which provides relatively few channels therefore made the decision to upgrade from Sky+ a little fraught.

As usual, I ignored the nagging financial-led doubts pounding the door at the back of my mind and went for it. And I'm glad I did. Sky HD is an absolute delight and never fails to amaze.

There's still a lot of needless mystique surrounding high definition video; it is simply displayed at a higher resolution than we're used to. For anyone geeky enough to care, Sky HD broadcasts at a maximum resolution of 720p (1080p would simply take up too much of their bandwidth) and quite a few of the programs are 'upscaled' - i.e. not HD at source, but put through Sky's expensive kit to make them look better.

As with 'normal' Sky, the HD channels differ in quality - BBC HD proving the most disappointing with a rather grainy, dull picture. Sky 1 HD, Eurosport and the film channels shine, though, as do football and golf broadcasts on Sky Sports.

Along with HD video, you also get to enjoy proper Dolby Digital surround on the majority of broadcasts; a feature that will be just as important for those with home cinema set ups.

It's certainly not a credit crunch purchase, and if you don't possess the sport and film subscription, the lack of HD channels (who watches Sky Arts?) make the additional £10 per month questionable.

The only other downside is that you'll find yourself watching a great deal of rubbish 'just because it's in HD'. Indeed I watched a full episode of Don't Forget the Lyrics because it looked so good. I feel like a little part of me died during that hour, but it was worth it.

Summary: Get it and make the most of your HD telly, but only if you currently subscribe to sports and films