[Merged] Where is HD from NTL? When?

[Bob]

Originally Posted by Neil

ntl saw the HD era coming & ignored it to the detriment of most of their customer base.

Way to go ntl.....

So you are saying that most of the customer base has HDTV ready? Somehow doubt that

I do believe that TW launched their HD service before they actually merged. So that is totally irrelevant

[King Of Fools]

Originally Posted by Neil

Sky saw the HD era coming & approached it with open arms.

TW saw the HD era coming & embraced it with new STBs.

ntl saw the HD era coming & ignored it to the detriment of most of their customer base.

Way to go ntl.....

I thought it was actually:

ntl saw the HD era coming & embraced it with new STBs. TW and ntl merged. Then the TW CTO said that ntl customers cannot have better STBs than TW customers, so they cannot have any!

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Bob

So you are saying that most of the customer base has HDTV ready? Somehow doubt that

No, what I am saying is that ntl customers in non Telewest areas do not have any choice in what HD content they can get from ntl.

ntl customers in non Telewest areas on the other hand have much more choice.

Originally Posted by Bob

I do believe that TW launched their HD service before they actually merged. So that is totally irrelevant

Not irrelevant at all Bob.

The 3 main TV providers in the UK (Sky/ntl/Telewest) all made a seperate business decision regarding how to proceed with an HD TV product.

Sky went for it & improved on a great product (Sky +), they now have a sound product on offer that offers PVR functionality along with HD programmes.

Telewest went for it (albeit not knowing what HD channels they would be able to offer, but the prioity for TV Drive was a PVR), they now have a product on offer that offers PVR functionality, upscaling of SD channels to 720p/1080i, & the ability (now) to watch all World Cup games in HD.

ntl have neither a PVR out nor an HD service.

Do you see the difference between the 3 companies planning now....?

The fact that ntl & TW are now as one is not relevant.

TW saw the future & embraced it.

Sky saw the future & embraced it.

What have ntl done?

No HD box.

No PVR.

Great planning by ntl....

[Bob]

I never had a problem seeing the difference between the three companies planning - but thanks

Hmm... but did NTL not plan to launch a MPEG4 PVR. - was announced last year. I would call that forward thinking.

Only recently have we discovered that those how now been sidelined for the foreseeable future because they decided it would be easier to offer the same as TW. Perhaps trying to avoid another two tiered system? Because like I said before the PVR was launched in TW before the merger - they could hardly change their plans coudl they?

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Bob

Hmm... but did NTL not plan to launch a MPEG4 PVR. - was announced last year. I would call that forward thinking.

What would you call the decision making that means that only ex TW customers can watch any form of HD?

[orangebird]

Originally Posted by Neil

What would you call the decision making that means that only ex TW customers can watch any form of HD?

Did TW start their HD project before the merger?

[Neil]

Originally Posted by orangebird

Did TW start their HD project before the merger?

What difference does that make?

Either way, TW customers can watch HD & ntl customers can't.

So what was behind that decision making process?

[Bob]

Originally Posted by orangebird

Did TW start their HD project before the merger?

Yes

Originally Posted by Neil

Either way, TW customers can watch HD & ntl customers can't.

Yes we know that and it was always going to be the case

Originally Posted by Neil

So what was behind that decision making process?

They were two seperate companies at the time - both had different decision making bodies

[Neil]

Let me approach this from another direction.....

1) TW started planning an HD before the merger.

2) Sky started planning an HD product sometime last year.

3) ntl have done what....?

My point is that pre merger what were ntl doing about HD?

[orangebird]

Originally Posted by Neil

What difference does that make?

Either way, TW customers can watch HD & ntl customers can't.

So what was behind that decision making process?

It makes every difference Neil. You asked

What would you call the decision making that means that only ex TW customers can watch any form of HD?

There was no 'decision' to do this. It was purely (unfortunate?) timing or each of the pre-merger companies projects and the merger. What was the collective supposed ot do. Not release HD at all?

[Neil]

So why did ntl not have an HD product in the pipeline pre merger?

[Edit]-If ntl were as 'on the ball' as Telewest then they would have had an HD product ready, & then placed it on hold post merger.

[King Of Fools]

Originally Posted by Neil

So why did ntl not have an HD product in the pipeline pre merger?

ntl did have a HD product in the pipeline very much pre-merger!

From this very site:
http://www.cableforum.co.uk/article/...tas-mpeg-4-pvr

Originally Posted by Cable Forum

21. October 2005 by Mick

Cable Forum has received an interesting news release from ntl today regarding Scientific-Atlanta’s first MPEG-4 personal video recorder (PVR) for European cable operators, which has been selected by ntl for the launch of its PVR service in the UK. The new HD PVR, introduced at IBC 2005, will enable ntl to take advantage of the bandwidth maximization and video storage benefits of MPEG-4 part 10/H.264 compression as it launches high-definition (HD) television and personal video recorder services.

---------- Post edited at 16:07 ---------- Previous post was at 16:02 ----------

Originally Posted by Neil

[Edit]-If ntl were as 'on the ball' as Telewest then they would have had an HD product ready, & then placed it on hold post merger.

ntl's MPEG4 PVR was already on trial before the merger but these trials were suspended by the ex-Telewest CTO post-merger.

[jtwn]

Neil you go on as if they have done absolutely nothing. They most likely are doing more than you give them credit for.

For instance, ntl trialled HD over ADSL2+ way back in March 2005 on the UK's first ADSL2+ trial. Forgot about that didn't we

[ntluser]

I have a JVC 28"" 28D40BK CRT TV which I am told from the specs is HDTV ready but it can only be achieved by having the signal input via its RGB component sockets as opposed to the normal HDMI socket. It can cope with both the 720 and the 1080 formats. When NTL do get round to supplying HDTV set-top boxes what kind of cable link will they use between the STB and the TV?

[Neil]

HDMI & Component will both handle an HD signal (720p or 1080i)