Roll on May 23rd as that when I’ll get my Sky HD box. Need to sort out some HDMI switch box nonsense (why is there always another expense) but I’ve got a long time to get it organised. Can’t wait.
Category: TV
World Cup 2006…..Hi-Def
Well done BBC – they are broadcasting the World Cup in Hi-Def. Wimbledon too and also Planet Earth plus more. Available to Sky, Telewest & NTL users who have HD. Freeview will miss out although some trialists in London may get it.
I will be subscribing to a digital service to get this (currently Freeview only)…only question is which one?
Update. Sky announced their pricing yesterday….I’ve now pre-ordered Sky HD. Hopefully installed in May in time for the summers sporting events. Just need to work out how to pay for it.
West Wing Cancelled
One of my favourite shows is coming to an end. It’s been announced that the last show of Season 7 of the West Wing will be a series rather than season finale. Probably best to come to an end as it’s not got the same impact as the first three series did. Still, if your watching in the UK (and not downloading) you’ve still got a season and a half to go.
HD has arrived
I am weak. This is my new TV – a Philips 32pf9830 LCD. Pictures from all sources look great, especially high def 360 & upscaled DVD’s. Freeview is great for some channels, pixel hell for others. Not messed with the settings much but will post back some thoughts when it all settles down. As Ricky would say…woof!
Weather
Was I the only one that liked the new BBC weather graphics? More detailed, easier to understand and bang up to date. I wasn’t even bothered by the angle the UK was looked at but it has been changed so that Scotland is more in proportion – and it works.
Annoyingly the SNP are now claiming a victory over this change. How sad. One MP even raised a motion in the House of Commons for the map to be changed – great use of political time. The Tartan Tories strike again.
24
The fourth series of 24 has just finished (for those of the downloading community that don’t watch or can’t wait for Sky). Brilliant. Best series since the first one. This had everything from…well – I guess I’d better warn that there maybe spoilers ahead.
E4 on Freeview
By the end of May E4 and also E4+1 will be available on Freeview – the full press release is here. Great news although a bit of a waste to have E4+1 as well. By October More 4 will also have launched on Freeview as well. I’m now more glad that I didn’t move to Sky and also convinced a dual-tuner Freeview PVR is required. Question is, will it be the Topfield or the Inverto? Comparisons with these two plus others can be found here.
The Doctor
Watched the first of the new Doctor Who’s last night. Underwhelmed is about the best I could say but then I never expected too much. Christopher Eccleston played the Doctor as a smiling idiot for the first 20 minutes which was starting to get quite irritating – hopefully this was just a one off and doesn’t permeate the series. Billy Piper played Rose pretty well I thought. However the action was a bit ‘British’ and poor compared to American drama’s – the special effects were also cheap. Spooks does it far better.
Still – good to see an alternative to the usual Saturday evening line-up – far too many reality shows now. Cheap tv is here to stay. I’ll give it another try as hopefully later series can concentrate on plot rather than character introductions.
Comic Relief
Pretty much same old same old but I guess that’s to be expected when appealing to everyone. Ab Fab girls – please stop. Davina wasn’t too hot either. Peter Kay was comedy genius though – grab it here if you missed it. Comedy comes second though after watching some of the serious clips…and just how drunk were the Fame Academy students?
E4 on Freeview
Great news – Digital Spy are reporting that E4 will be on Freeview by the end of the year. For months (read years) I’ve resisted Sky. Too many channels, too little on said channels, too little time to watch terrestrial tv never mind 300 channels on Sky. But I want Sky One. I want E4. I want Sky Sports. More recently I want Sky+. This for me was almost reason enough to move to Sky.
But with E4 moving to Freeview I think I’ll make do with a new Freeview box with twin tuners and a hard disk. Probably cost £150-£300 but that will be it – no £31 to the evil that is Murdoch (childish but true). Just need to make my choice (or wait for the new Panasonic which has taken forever to come out). The only snag I can see is no matter which recorder you buy you end up with bugs and faults. That’s new technology for you. Now – where’s the video tape?