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Six Ways to get High Definition Content in your Front Room

The UK is in the early stages of high definition TV when it comes to programming and technology, writes Nicholas Flood. In Japan and the USA, high definition content has been around for the past eight years, with people enjoying all the same programming that we watch but in quality that is four times better than our normal TV sets and with 5.1 surround sound. Interested? Want to know how you can get your eyes and ears on some high quality HD content? Well here's six ways you can get HD in your living room, right now!

Sky HD

Up to eight million people have contracts in the UK with Sky - the first UK-based company to announce the launch of a high definition service. The launch took place earlier this month with boxes costing £299 plus a further £10 monthly subscription fee. This could mean paying up to £52 per month for the new service if you also want the Sky World package. There are currently eight channels available on Sky HD including Sky Movies, National Geographic and Discovery HD. The Sky HD box has a built-in 160GB hard drive, so you can record all your high definition content for viewing another time or use it as a PVR to pause and rewind live TV. Sales of the new high definition service are set to rocket with the World Cup around the corner and a new partnership deal with Sony Electronics.

BBC High Definition Trial

The BBC announced that it would be running trials of its high definition content via Freeview in time for the World Cup in Germany. This trial is limited to a lucky few hundred in London but is intended to be fully developed and rolled out across the country by 2012 when the normal analogue transmissions end and everyone needs to be able to receive digital signals through a compatible receiver. People that have Sky HD boxes will also be able to receive the BBC HD channels for no extra charge. The BBC has been filming drama and nature programs such as Planet Earth in high definition format for many years now. The full range of programmes will only be known once the BBC make the announcements.

Telewest

Telewest launched its TVDrive PVR in March. The device uses a hard disk to store content and streams high definition content over the Telewest cable network. The TVDrive system is much cheaper than the Sky HD service - costing only £10 a month without any further subscription charges on the lowest available package. There have been rumours that Telewest will also show the World Cup over the Teleport system in which users choose which programs they want to watch and the content is streamed across the network. Some users have complained about the lack of available content. A recent email from the Telewest marketing department stated that they were waiting until later in the year to introduce more content.

Euro 1080

Euro 1080 were the first service in Europe to broadcast high definition content via the Astra satellite system. To actually receive the service you will need a high definition decoder which you can pick up from your local independent retailer. They broadcast programs ranging from music to documentary footage.

HD via the web

It is possible to stream content over the Internet to anyone with connections of 8Mbps or above. You can already download a number of high definition trailers from the Apple, Microsoft and DivX sites. Because many computer monitors can support the type of resolutions needed for high definition content, many PC users can see how great high definition footage looks. But, you 'll need a reasonably fast machine to play the files as they are very CPU intense. The BBC has already been running trials for the past six months with its integrated media player enabling people to watch shows for up to seven days after they have been aired. The shows are now being transferred over the Internet using P2P networking, but sometimes slow speeds have hampered the streaming media. As telephone and compression technology improves, pure high definition content will also be streamed from media sites.

High Definition Consoles

The Xbox 360 was the first console to offer true high definition support. You can attach the console to any HD-ready screen and play high definition games. Using the Xbox Marketplace you can also download high definition movie trailers much like the ones on the Apple and Microsoft websites. Later this year Microsoft will be releasing an HD DVD external drive that will enable users to watch high definition movies through the console onto their HDTV sets. Sony will also be releasing the Playstation 3 console later this year which will come supplied with a built in Blu-ray Disc player. Blu-ray is the main competitor to HD DVD, with each format being backed by different major games and technology companies. Standalone Blu-ray and HD DVD players will be available here in the UK later this year but the first HD DVD player was released by Toshiba in America last week to rave reviews.

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