ITV HD available on new Sky+HD EPG

Although not officially available on any platform apart from FreeSat, folk with the new Sky+HD electronic programme guide can access ITV HD, albeit with some manual tuning - see DS thread here.
Virgin Media customers wishing to access ITV HD can only do so by installing a satellite dish...

High Definition's Great Event

Only two episodes to go of the finest optical spectacle currently on television: BBC HD's extraordinary Nature's Great Events has been an absolutely astonishing piece of television, truely what HD is all about. I thought Wild China and Planet Earth were good, but this has been mind-blowing and I cannot commend it highly enough. Wednesdays at 9pm, repeated Sundays at 6pm.

More comments on the New Samsung V+

From this thread over on Cable Forum:
"I have fitted 5 over the last 2 days. We are being instructed by Virgin to make sure all new install get the Samsung so now is the time to order in Notts.
They are great, channel changing is quick, there is nothing between it and my Sky HD box so it looks like that old complaint is over and done with.
PQ is just the same as the SA. No Component, No RF. VCR scart always active with menus.
Overall this box is what we have been waiting for. Now just lets get more HD."
"I noticed it was much sharper straight away on HDMI. Also menu at 1080 looks great. Haven't got any complaints about the box at all."

The best EPG around?

Who's got the best EPG - Sky or Virgin? To be frank they both look absolute pants when you see the Verizon fibre TV service from the US - click the link the the "Take a look" button and have your breath taken away...

Sky HD EPG finally arrives

There are precious few areas where Virgin Media's TV service is superior to Sky's, but the V+ EPG's functionality is one. Okay, so the interface itself isn't to everyone's liking, but what it actually does is pretty impressive and it's only now that Sky seems to have caught up. According to Digital Spy, the new Sky HD EPG is finally rolling out this week, many, many months after it was first announced. Here are the key features new to the service:

• a mini TV screen, so viewers can browse the guide without interrupting the programme being watched
• a now, next, later banner that displays full data about forthcoming programmes in the next 12 hours on any channel
• the ability to record and series stack without going to the planner
• a grouping of stacked series in the planner so that all recorded episodes are displayed together
• an improved search feature that includes genre and sub-genre filters.

Of these, only the last one is really lacking from the V+ - genre categories not featuring at all on Virgin.
I've always prefered the colour scheme of the Sky planner but it does feel extremely dated compared to Virgin's. It'll be interesting to see if it performs any faster than the V+ software, and if it's bug-free; Sky of late have had some issues in quality assurance.

In the news

Virgin Media TV (Living, Trouble, Bravo and Challenge) may be a profitable business in its own right but it's up for sale. Here's the report from The Times. Also up for grabs is VM's stake in UKTV. Letting go of the content side of Virgin's business has been a strategic intention for many years and will bring some much needed cash into the business to offset some of the crippling debt still on the books...and may be some investment in new services?
Also, programmes from UKTV channels Gold and Eden are to available online via SkyPlayer. Virgin Media co-own UKTV yet they're on demand via Sky? I know it's old BBC content and some is already in Virgin's On Demand service, but it still struck me as an unusual deal.

New Samsung V+ "launched"

[split screen picture top: the current SA V+. bottom: the new Samsung V+ in the same position]
According to the always-informative Cable Forum and this thread, the new V+ from Samsung is launched on a trial basis this week. A number of reliable Virgin contacts have posted comments:

• "As with any new STB there will be a limited number of installs across the network to cover all senarios - it cannot be asked for, it will purely be if the installer has been given on."
• "Best part is the much much sharper picture and also the menu looks great even at 1080i and quicker channel changing."
• "It has the same amount of tuners as the current V+ box. So you can record 2 and watch a third channel"
• "You can still archive recordings while watching something else"

In the news

ITV's dire trading will no doubt curb any HD investment plans but may lead to ITV HD appearing on satellite and cable a wee bit quicker than planned - can they afford to keep it as a FreeSat exclusive? (Suggested in an email I received from Matt B today - cheers Matt)
BBC's gloat-free account of Michael Grade's blackest day at ITV here.

OFCOM has greenlit BT's request to charge ISPs the earth for its fibre-to-the-cabinet- network of the future. Virgin's advantage with broadband speeds in the major conurbations. BBC story here.

And Malcolm Wall, Virgin Media TV's Chief Executive, is leaving the company to "pursue other interests". According to the report on BroadcastNow:

Virgin Media CEO Neil Berkett said: "Malcolm's long experience in broadcasting, combined with an acute understanding of the changes that are taking place in the industry, have helped steer our content business into the digital age. On behalf of Virgin Media, I wish him every success for the future."

In a statement, Virgin Media said: "An announcement about the future management of Virgin Media Television and Virgin Media's subscription TV services will be made in due course".

It's been widely reported that VM are looking to sell Virgin Media TV (Living, Bravo, Trouble etc) and it's share of the Flextech stable (Watch, Gold, Dave et al), so his departure is not really a big surprise. Not sure what they're going to announce on the management of the "subscription TV services" but hopefully it will be about someone who's vocabulary includes the words "high", "definition" and "now". And less of the "soon".

BBC HD highlights this week

Broadcasting now for 8 hours a day (5pm - 1am -ish) and pretty strong on original programming at the moment - BBC HD may have some odd regulars (has any one watched Doctors or Raven in HD?) but it's improving almost every week. Here are the highlights for the first week in March

Monday
8pm Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections

9pm Heroes (BBC2 simulcast)
10pm Who Do You Think You Are?

Tuesday
8pm Timewatch QE2 - The Final Voyage
9pm Touring Britain The Victorian Way

10pm Mad Men

Wednesday
9pm Nature's Great Events (the best HD showcase around today - last week's was the best HD I've seen this year)
11pm This Way Up (Oscar winning short animation)

Thursday
9pm Darwin's Dangerous Idea

Friday
10.35pm Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (not much of a highlight - Friday's being a pretty weak night at the moment on the channel)

Weekend: nothing really of note. Sunday has Damages and Victorians, but most of the weekend's schedule is repeats I'm afraid.

Nialli's series links

Somebody asked, so here's what I have series links on the V+ for at the moment:

• Being Human
• Lost
• Desperate Housewives
• Nature's Great Events
• Heroes
• My Name Is Earl
• Damages
• Mad Men
• QI
• Spooks
• Battlestar Galactica

(bold indicates titles in HD on VM). Of course, if I had Sky HD everything would be available in HD except QI and the old repeats of Spooks from Watch.