Sharp images from the SRG
HDTV High-definition television is now also coming to Switzerland: SRG SSR is launching an HD channel on December 1.
HDTV High-definition television is now also coming to Switzerland: SRG SSR is launching an HD channel on December 1.
Many people have already read "HD ready" on the label of their new flat-screen TV. But until now, high-definition television (HDTV) has been a technical gimmick for most viewers in Switzerland. This is because the reception of such broadcasts was reserved for those specialists who could afford the necessary satellite reception equipment. This is now set to change. On December 1, 2007, SRG SSR will begin broadcasting in HD. It is launching a new national channel on which broadcasts from all three language regions can be seen. SRG headquarters in Berne is still keeping quiet about the name of the channel and program details. The new SRG HD channel will be freely receivable via satellite Hotbird 8 with the existing SRG SSR decoding card. It is obvious that the cable networks will then also have no choice but to distribute this channel in their digital offerings. Cablecom has announced an HDTV offer for the fall and will certainly switch on the SRG HD channel, as confirmed by media spokesman Hugo Wyler.
Pacesetter Euro 08The European Football Championships in June 2008 should give HDTV a development boost. After all, sport has always been the pacemaker for technical innovations: This was already the case with the introduction of color television in 1968, the year of the Olympics. In mid-March, SRG SSR signed the contract with UEFA allowing Swiss television to broadcast all Euro 2008 matches. According to Head of Sport Urs Leutert, the matches will all be produced in HD format, as was the case for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, unlike the World Cup, they will also be broadcast in high definition on the new SRG HD channel.
Technically, the new HD channel will broadcast in the "720p" transmission standard. This means a picture of 1280 x 720 pixels, whereas the conventional TV picture is only 768 x 576 pixels. However, the letter "p" makes the big difference. It stands for a full 50 pictures per second. In conventional television, 50 half pictures are broadcast, which are combined into 25 full pictures per second - including flickering. The picture quality of the 720p standard, on the other hand, is around four times better. Even an even higher picture resolution - the 1080i standard - has outperformed it in audience tests, because the transmission of full pictures instead of half pictures is subjectively perceived as sharper, especially on large screens. Accordingly, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has recommended that all public broadcasters launch HDTV in 720p format.
Aha experience for viewersThe SRG channel will only show genuine HD productions. There will be no retransmission of electronically upscaled standard broadcasts. "You should see the difference in quality. Viewers must have an aha experience," says Beny Kiser, manager of the new SRG HD channel. In addition to live sports broadcasts, viewers will mainly be able to see productions from SF, TSR and TSI that are already being produced in HD due to international agreements or in view of the planned migration of all SRG programs to HDTV, but cannot yet be broadcast in this quality on the traditional channels.
So far, live broadcasts from Euro 08 and probably also from the Olympic Games in Beijing have been included in the program concept. In addition, there are purchased HD productions in the respective original language, including mainly documentaries, music programs and feature films. However, the SRG's trilingual joint channel will largely have to do without top series from the USA and free TV premieres of feature films, as their rights are sold per language area and not per country.
HDTV with advertising In terms of advertising and sponsorship, the same regulations apply to the SRG HD channel as to all other SRG channels. According to the channel manager, the channel with its premium products offers an ideal environment for targeted advertising to audience segments with high purchasing power. The income from advertising and sponsorship will in turn be used to make the program offering on the HD channel more attractive.
It will be some time before SF 1 and SF 2 also broadcast in HD quality on their traditional channels: The switchover is currently planned for 2012. Nevertheless, SRG SSR is ahead of the game internationally with its new HD channel. Together with Westdeutscher Rundfunk in Cologne, which also plans to launch trials towards the end of the year, it is one of the first public broadcasters in the German-speaking world. All others have postponed their launch dates until the next decade. Meanwhile, private HDTV trials have been broadcasting via the Astra satellite since 2005: Sat 1, Pro 7 and a little-known channel called Anixe maintain corresponding channels on the back burner. To date, more extensive HDTV broadcasts can only be seen on pay TV.
Adrian Scherrer
Many people have already read "HD ready" on the label of their new flat-screen TV. But until now, high-definition television (HDTV) has been a technical gimmick for most viewers in Switzerland. This is because the reception of such broadcasts was reserved for those specialists who could afford the necessary satellite reception equipment. This is now set to change. On December 1, 2007, SRG SSR will begin broadcasting in HD. It is launching a new national channel on which broadcasts from all three language regions can be seen. SRG headquarters in Berne is still keeping quiet about the name of the channel and program details. The new SRG HD channel will be freely receivable via satellite Hotbird 8 with the existing SRG SSR decoding card. It is obvious that the cable networks will then also have no choice but to distribute this channel in their digital offerings. Cablecom has announced an HDTV offer for the fall and will certainly switch on the SRG HD channel, as confirmed by media spokesman Hugo Wyler.
Pacesetter Euro 08The European Football Championships in June 2008 should give HDTV a development boost. After all, sport has always been the pacemaker for technical innovations: This was already the case with the introduction of color television in 1968, the year of the Olympics. In mid-March, SRG SSR signed the contract with UEFA allowing Swiss television to broadcast all Euro 2008 matches. According to Head of Sport Urs Leutert, the matches will all be produced in HD format, as was the case for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. However, unlike the World Cup, they will also be broadcast in high definition on the new SRG HD channel.
Technically, the new HD channel will broadcast in the "720p" transmission standard. This means a picture of 1280 x 720 pixels, whereas the conventional TV picture is only 768 x 576 pixels. However, the letter "p" makes the big difference. It stands for a full 50 pictures per second. In conventional television, 50 half pictures are broadcast, which are combined into 25 full pictures per second - including flickering. The picture quality of the 720p standard, on the other hand, is around four times better. Even an even higher picture resolution - the 1080i standard - has outperformed it in audience tests, because the transmission of full pictures instead of half pictures is subjectively perceived as sharper, especially on large screens. Accordingly, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has recommended that all public broadcasters launch HDTV in 720p format.
Aha experience for viewersThe SRG channel will only show genuine HD productions. There will be no retransmission of electronically upscaled standard broadcasts. "You should see the difference in quality. Viewers must have an aha experience," says Beny Kiser, manager of the new SRG HD channel. In addition to live sports broadcasts, viewers will mainly be able to see productions from SF, TSR and TSI that are already being produced in HD due to international agreements or in view of the planned migration of all SRG programs to HDTV, but cannot yet be broadcast in this quality on the traditional channels.
So far, live broadcasts from Euro 08 and probably also from the Olympic Games in Beijing have been included in the program concept. In addition, there are purchased HD productions in the respective original language, including mainly documentaries, music programs and feature films. However, the SRG's trilingual joint channel will largely have to do without top series from the USA and free TV premieres of feature films, as their rights are sold per language area and not per country.
HDTV with advertising In terms of advertising and sponsorship, the same regulations apply to the SRG HD channel as to all other SRG channels. According to the channel manager, the channel with its premium products offers an ideal environment for targeted advertising to audience segments with high purchasing power. The income from advertising and sponsorship will in turn be used to make the program offering on the HD channel more attractive.
It will be some time before SF 1 and SF 2 also broadcast in HD quality on their traditional channels: The switchover is currently planned for 2012. Nevertheless, SRG SSR is ahead of the game internationally with its new HD channel. Together with Westdeutscher Rundfunk in Cologne, which also plans to launch trials towards the end of the year, it is one of the first public broadcasters in the German-speaking world. All others have postponed their launch dates until the next decade. Meanwhile, private HDTV trials have been broadcasting via the Astra satellite since 2005: Sat 1, Pro 7 and a little-known channel called Anixe maintain corresponding channels on the back burner. To date, more extensive HDTV broadcasts can only be seen on pay TV.
Adrian Scherrer
