Panasonic to launch Freesat Blu-Ray recorders

For those looking at Freesat as an alternative to Virgin Media's pitiful HD line up, Panasonic is launching a new range Freesat HD digital recorders to the UK in June, two of which are Blu-Ray recorders. (Details from Home Cinema Choice)
The £999 DMR-BS850 and £899 DMR-BS750 will have 500GB and 250GB hard drives respectively, whilst the DMR-XS350 is a DVD recorder with Freesat HD and a 250GB hard drive. While hi-def broadcasts can be recorded to the hard drive, the DVD recorder in the XS350 will only archive in standard def. All three models have twin Freesat HD tuners, but not all HD programmes will be recordable. According to HCC:

'There’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to record every HD show you fancy, or archive them to Blu-ray media. This is because broadcasters reserve the right to flag their transmissions as ‘Copy Free’, ‘Copy Once’ or ‘Copy Never.’

'The BBC has informed us that once these recorders go on sale, they will move the majority of their broadcasts to Copy Free, but if Hollywood, or a rights holder, specifically wants to restrict usage, a TV channel will broadcast ‘prohibit’ flags.'

Freesat numbers double

According to this story, Freesat installations doubled over the last quarter, now over 200,000 for the fledgling satellite "Freeview and then some" from the BBC and ITV. Quickly catching up with BTVision, that's hugely impressive given the lack of hardware, especially the PVR, on the retaillers' shelves.
So what's attracting punters? Well it's not the channel line up (it doesn't even boast Fiver or Five US yet) and the SD picture is by some accounts even worse than that of Freeview. So what could it be?
Well, apparently 61% of a "customer panel" said that the availability of high definition content was their "primary reason" for opting for the sub-free service.
Hello? Mr Berkett? Anyone home??

Freesat takes off...thanks to HD

Got a dish? Tired of paying Sky for hundreds of channels you don't even know about, let alone watch? Then why not buy a Freesat box...one payment, no subscription, plug it in and over 100 channels including BBC HD and the exclusive ITV HD.

It's been a slow start for Freesat, Freeview's fledgling big brother, but it is now starting to make an impression with over 200,000 households installing the alternative dish digital service in the latter half of 2008. Given that the all-important Freesat Personal Video Recorder (Freesat+ in other words) was only released in November and that the hardware was pretty hard to find in the run up to Christmas, that's a fast adoption rate for the new service in a very short space of time, especially as it has had very limited promotion. (By comparison, BT Vision still has only 350,000 customers and it's been around for over two years - Freesat launched in May 2008.)

According to this report in The Guardian, Freesat said that 61% of its customer panel identified HD services as the main reason for purchasing a set top box - that's a wake up call to both Sky and Virgin. The former may have overpriced its HD, the latter has, as we all know, undervalued the demand. With Freesat promising On Demand services next year, Virgin's management cannot ignore the new kid on the block. And neither can Sky - if you've already got a dish and need to save a few quid, Freesat must be very tempting indeed.

Interesting site on Freeview and Freesat

Freeview and Freesat stories aplenty on this site. My eye was caught by the rumour around Sky trying to quash Freesat at birth by nobbling satellite installers - I have no idea if it's true, but the conspiracy theorist in me loves stuff like this! I've added the site to the Links at the foot of the blog's homepage for future reference.

Those awaiting a Freesat PVR may want to check out the Trusted Reviews piece here, which includes headline specs for the Humax Freesat+ box.

ITV1 HD coming in the spring with Freesat

Old news maybe, but here's the official words from ITV.com:

ITV has committed to launch an HD channel in 2008. ITV1 HD will feature the best of ITV sport and drama in stunning high definition quality. It will begin as a two-to three-hour peak time service that will extend its hours as HD audiences build.

HD is already capturing public imagination and industry forecasts suggest that the number of HD ready sets could reach 30 million by the end of switchover.

The launch of ITV1 HD will ensure that ITV is at the forefront of the HD revolution for our viewers and advertisers.

Freesat

A new digital satellite TV service from the BBC and ITV. Scheduled for launch in 2008, freesat has no monthly subscription, just a one-off payment for the digital box, satellite dish and installation. For more information visit the official freesat website.

No mention of ITV1 HD on cable (or Sky, come to that) - I'm sure I'm not the only one who sincerely hopes that both this and C4 HD appear on Virgin Media before the summer.

No C4 HD on FreeSat at launch

According to this exclusive on Digital Spy, Channel 4HD will not be appearing on the new FreeSat format when it launches shortly. So, did C4 and Sky agree some kind of exclusivity deal to prevent the fledgling HD channel appearing on other platforms? Or are there 'technical issues' with providing the service? Whatever, something's amiss, and one of the country's 'public sector broadcasters' ain't delivering to a lot of its public...