Ultra-sharp TV pictures and local TV
channels are just a few developments in broadcast-related technology to look
forward to in the coming months
Struggling high street sales have meant
these are uncertain times for the TV industry, but while 13 may be unlucky for
some, 2013 looks to be potential boom year for enthusiasts both in terms of
what we watch and how we watch it.
Ultra HD is a phrase we’ll be hearing a lot
of in the next 12 months and beyond. The first compatible TVs are now on sale
and while price tags north of $30,000 put them out of the reach of all but the
most flush of early adopters, Astra has announced it is set to launch a 4K demo
channel next year for those with PCs powerful enough to watch it on. No doubt
we can expect to hear news of the first compatible receivers and fully-fledged
TV channels in 2013.
Ultra
HD TVs stole the show at CES 2013, but they're just part of the puzzle
Having been quick to offer HD and 3D TV in
the past, odds-on Sky will be among the first providers to go the 4K route. The
recent launch of a 2TB box suggests it sees a lot more mileage in Sky+ HD (now
more than six years old), but alongside a Roku-made box for its Now TV service,
we wouldn’t rule out the prospect of a next generation Sky + making an
appearance potentially equipped with multi-room networking/streaming
capability. Indeed, as detailed in our November issue, Sky has been active
together with Astra in the development of SAT>IP, a new form of networking tech
that converts satellite signals into IP streams for home distribution. Of
particular interest to installers, maybe 2013 is the year we’ll hear news of
the first wave of compatible receivers.
Toshiba
Makes Ultra HD LED TV Mark At CES 2013
It’s also shaping up to be quite a year for
Freeview. We should see the first local TV stations up and running in some
cities (and likely appearing on Virgin and Sky too once those involved have
finally decided how this will be achieved). On the hardware side, Freeview has
some catching up to do with the likes of YouView and Freesat’s Free time
service, so the next generation of Freeview HD products, built according to the
DTG’s D-Book 7 spec with backwards/forwards EPGs, remote booking and maybe even
a spot of programmer-related web browsing, can’t be too far away.
An
OLED Ultra HD TV at CES.
The next development for receivers/PVRs in
general, however, seems to be cloud-based storage which could mean potentially
cheaper (well, certainly cheaper to produce) hardware as recordings no longer
need to be stored locally on a hard drive. Virgin Media chief Neil Beckett has
already said a cloud-based TiVo could be in the offing and no doubt Sky has
something similar in mind if not already on the drawing board. Will we see such
a box in 2013?
