Steve Mehs
06-10-03, 04:03 AM
High-definition television stole the spotlight Monday at the NCTA show in Chicago, including the much-anticipated (and already much-talked about) HD plans for Starz Encore.
Starz Encore unveiled a HD channel - containing East and West Coast feeds - for the premium Starz net along with Starz Hi-Res, a high-resolution, DVD-quality version of the premium movie channel that uses only a third of the bandwidth of typical high-def.
The announcement of the two new channels came with a plea from Starz Encore Chairman John Sie asking platform providers to do a better job in conserving the spectrum they use in delivering services. "The industry cannot afford to rebuild cable systems and to launch new DBS satellites to provide additional bandwidth," he said.
"Only by prudently managing the existing bandwidth can the industry maximize the billions of dollars that have already been invested in upgrading our delivery systems," Sie said.
The NCTA's show showcased the latest in high-def at a HD Pavilion, and a lot of the show's booths had displays of HD content.
According to the NCTA, HDTV packages were being offered by at least one cable system in 91 DMAs, including 62 of the top 100 markets. About 37 million TV households - or about one in three of all U.S. TV households - were being passed by cable systems offering HD packages, the association said.
Comcast President and CEO Brian Roberts said his company is serving 17 markets with HD. This week, Comcast systems in the Chicago saw the debut of the MSOs high-def offering.
From SkyReport (http://www.skyreport.com) (Used with Permission)
Starz Encore unveiled a HD channel - containing East and West Coast feeds - for the premium Starz net along with Starz Hi-Res, a high-resolution, DVD-quality version of the premium movie channel that uses only a third of the bandwidth of typical high-def.
The announcement of the two new channels came with a plea from Starz Encore Chairman John Sie asking platform providers to do a better job in conserving the spectrum they use in delivering services. "The industry cannot afford to rebuild cable systems and to launch new DBS satellites to provide additional bandwidth," he said.
"Only by prudently managing the existing bandwidth can the industry maximize the billions of dollars that have already been invested in upgrading our delivery systems," Sie said.
The NCTA's show showcased the latest in high-def at a HD Pavilion, and a lot of the show's booths had displays of HD content.
According to the NCTA, HDTV packages were being offered by at least one cable system in 91 DMAs, including 62 of the top 100 markets. About 37 million TV households - or about one in three of all U.S. TV households - were being passed by cable systems offering HD packages, the association said.
Comcast President and CEO Brian Roberts said his company is serving 17 markets with HD. This week, Comcast systems in the Chicago saw the debut of the MSOs high-def offering.
From SkyReport (http://www.skyreport.com) (Used with Permission)