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Tag: Discovery HD Theater

  • DirecTV expands HD offering with TNT

    DirecTV expands HD offering with TNT

    MUMBAI: Turner Network Television (TNT) has announced that it has entered into an agreement with US pay TV platform DirecTV.

    DirecTV will provide customers with the high-definition (HD) feed of TNT. The service will launch on DirecTV on 17 February and will be available on DirecTV channel 75.

    The content will consist of a range of dramatic programming in HDTV format, including sports such as live NBA games and NASCAR races; series; movies; and TNT originals.

    TNT in HD will be available as part of the DirecTV HD package, which currently includes ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, Discovery HD Theater, HDNet, HDNet Movies and Universal HD. In addition to the HD Package, DirecTV customers with HD-enabled equipment can also receive HBO HDTV and SHO HD as part of their premium package subscriptions, as well as HD Pay Per View movies.

    Turner Network Sales executive VP sales and marketing Coleman Breland says, “We are pleased to partner with DirecTV to further expand its robust HDTV package and enhance its customers’ viewing experience with the addition of TNT in HD’s extensive collection of top-rated content.

    “NBA coverage on TNT in HD has raised the bar across the industry. We’re excited to share this compelling sports programming with DirecTV customers in time for the NBA All-Star game.”

    TNT in HD is broadcast in 1080i 24 hours a day and uses Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, a superior audio experience across all TNT in HD programming. In addition, TNT in HD presents all of its programming, including promotional content and commercials, in 16:9 wide-screen, giving viewers a consistent viewing experience.

  • Cable HDTV continues growing across the US

    Cable HDTV continues growing across the US

    CHICAGO: With cable customers gradually realising its benefits high definition television (HDTV) is rapidly spreading its wings across the US.

     
    Cable customers in 78 of the top 100 Designated Market Areas (DMAs) — including 18 of the top 20 — were passed by at least one cable operator that provides HDTV service as of 1 June. The data was provided by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA).

    The information shows that 34 markets beyond the Top-100 also are being served by a cable operator offering HDTV, bringing the total number of DMAs in which at least one cable operator is offering a package of HD channels to 112 of the 210 DMAs across the US.

    In terms of households, 55 million US television households were passed by a cable system that offers HD. This represents a growth of nearly 50 per cent since the start of the year.

    While the mix of HD programming offered by cable operators varies from market to market, NCTA also reported that cable operators are now carrying 190 different broadcast stations that are providing a digital TV signal.

    NCTA president and CEO Robert Sachs said: “The cable industry has thoroughly embraced HDTV, and millions of American consumers in large and small markets have the opportunity to enjoy this exciting new service from their local cable operator. Cable always has believed that the nation’s digital television transition will be driven by new content and applications that will benefit and attract consumers. HDTV is one of these services.”

    Sachs noted the cable industry has invested $75 billion since 1996 to upgrade its infrastructure and launch advanced broadband services such as digital cable, high-speed Internet service, local telephone service, HDTV and video-on-demand. During the same time that cable operators have launched HD service in more markets, cable program networks have also increased the amount of HD programming they are now producing.

    Networks currently offering HD content include HBO, Showtime, Discovery HD Theater, ESPN HD, InDemand, Madison Square Garden Network, Comcast Sports Net and HDnet. Other networks that have announced plans to begin offering HD content in 2003 include A&E Networks, Bravo and Cinemax.

  • Discovery launches 24 hour high definition TV channel in US

    Discovery launches 24 hour high definition TV channel in US

    Discovery HD Theater is the latest innovation from the Discovery Channel stable.

    The new 24 hour definition television network will be launched on HD platforms being rolled out by EchoStar Communications Corporation on its DISH Network satellite TV service nationwide, AT&T Broadband’s Greater Chicago Market and in other markets by Charter Communciations and Cox Communications. 

    The launch makes Discovery one of the first media and communications companies in the US using digital signals for spurring the growth of HDTV and digital television, says a company release. Discovery HD Theater features fiction and non-fiction HDTV programming in all categories of entertainment offered by DCI, including nature, history, world cultures, geographic exploration, science, education, travel and vacation planning, world news and events, children’s education and entertainment, health and medicine and how-to programming in the areas of home, hobbies and cooking. 

    Discovery HD Theater(TM) is delivered to cable systems and satellite providers via Satcom C4, Transponder 14 and will be delivered in 1080i high-definition resolution.

    DCI says it will promote Discovery HD Theater in its chain of retail outlets – Discovery Channel Stores – across the US, through a marketing partnership with DISH Network. DISH Network will deliver a live feed of the Discovery HD Theater signal in these stores while showcasing DISH Network HD equipment and services in Discovery Channel Stores beginning this summer.

    The network will provide continuous 24-hour HDTV programming repeated in three-hour blocks, and presented in a theatrical format.

    Programmes less than 30 minutes long will have no commercial breaks; instead, they will be preceded and followed by commercial messages from the channel’s presenting sponsors. Programs longer than 30 minutes will contain intermissions. Discovery HD Theater currently has more than 110 hours of high-definition hours available to be scheduled, and will more than triple its library by the end of 2003, says the release.