HDTV
HDTV means High Definition TV, with a picture that is several times sharper than it is with today's analogue TV. The digital transfer improves reception in every essential way and HDTV broadcasts will mainly be broadcast with multichannel audio, known as 5.1 audio, making the most exciting development in the experience industry in years.
HDTV provides a picture and audio quality that is as similar to a sophisticated cinema as possible. The picture is flicker-free, without any disruptions and the focus is perfect.
On SIRIUS you can receive HDTV channels in the Nordic countries if you have a parabolic dish directed to the SIRIUS satellite and a subscription on the Viasat package. Some cable tv nets also offers HDTV channel subscriptions. You will need a special HDTV set-top-box with a "smart card" which you can buy in retailer stores in the Nordic countries.
How can you view HDTV now?
To be able to view SIRIUS HDTV channels in the Nordic countries you need a receiving dish aimed at SIRIUS (the same as for the Viasat package). A 16:9 screen (or a projector), with a resolution of at least 720 lines (XGA) and progressive scanning. The screen size needs to be 30 inches or larger to get the full benefit of the pictures. You also need an HDTV receiver (set-top box) connected to the screen via an HDMI interface. The sound installation should be able to handle “Dolby AC3” - 5.1 sound to get a maximum experience.
Future development
The new DVB-S2 transmission standard will use the frequency space more efficiently. A new compression standard, MPEG-4 and VC-1, will replace MPEG-2, since it can achieve high compression with no loss of quality.
