PROGRAMMES broadcast during the evening on stv are to be available on High Definition, including a forthcoming new series of the Miss Marple detective drama.
It follows an announcement made this morning by broadcasting regulators, Ofcom, and is some compensation to stv, which is soon to become just one of numerous digital channels and no longer one of only five channels available for viewing on analogue-only TV sets.
To access the higher picture quality provided by High Definition, viewers will require a HD-ready TV and a HD set-top box (and the box will require to have ‘MPEG4′ and ‘DVB-T2′ technologies).
Also benefiting in the announcement is Channel 4, S4C, ITV plc, Channel TV and UTV. The HD facility is being made available because of a freeing up of broadcasting ‘spectrum’ due to the removal of analogue signals.
Channel 4 expects to broadcast over 150 hours of films in HD during its first twelve months operating the service. At stv, the HD broadcasts will take place between 6pm and 11pm – starting in two years’ time.
It means football’s 2010 World Cup is likely to be widely available in HD.
