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The BBC will launch an HD version of its BBC Two channel on March 26. Broadcasting free-to-air from ASTRA 28.2°E to the UK as part of the Freesat and Sky UK platforms, BBC Two HD will follow the same programme schedule as the existing SD version of BBC Two, upscaling those programmes not made in high definition.

More than 1 million German homes are now paying the €50 annual service fee to receive the HD+ high definition satellite platform, with almost 2 million more receiving the HD channels in their 12-month free trial period. At the end of 2012 over 944,000 were paying the fee, more than double the number a year previously.

LG has launched the first 4K (Ultra high definition) television to go on sale in Europe. The 84in (206cm) 84LM960V boasts an LCD screen resolution of 3840 x 2160 (compared to full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080) and can also display 3D images, run Smart TV apps and share content with portable devices via WiFi.

Canal Digitaal Satelliet, the DTH satellite platform for the Netherlands, is now promoting channels from three different ASTRA satellite positions, including channels from the UK’s BBC, ITV and others. Subscribers to Canal Digitaal’s Top Brits and TopHD Brits packages receive a special TripleSat dish which, as well as providing simultaneous reception of Canal Digitaal’s encrypted channels from ASTRA 19.2°E and ASTRA 23.5°E, also offers reception of over 80 additional channels, including five HDTV channels, broadcast free-to-air from ASTRA 28.2°E for the UK and Ireland.

Visit www.canaldigitaal.nl for more information

German home shopping channel Pearl TV is now available in high definition by satellite. Broadcasting 24/7 from studios in Buggingen, Pearl TV offers diverse products from jewellery to gadgets, and joins QVC, HSE24 and Juwelo TV in free-to-air HDTV home shopping on ASTRA 19.2°E.

Visit www.pearl.de for more information

German pay TV platform Sky Deutschland has brought the birth of the next generation ultra-high definition broadcasting format a little nearer with the experimental recording of a live football match in Ultra HD. On December 1, the Bundesliga top match between FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund was captured with two 4K (Ultra HD) cameras to give a recorded picture of four times the resolution of a current full HD image.

German pay TV platform Sky Deutschland has added the Discovery HD channel to its high definition offering. Discovery HD is the ninth documentary channel available on Sky Deutschland, after Biography, Discovery SD, History HD and SD, National Geographic HD and SD, and Nat Geo Wild HD and SD. The channel is available as part of the Sky Welt HD package, which now has over two million subscribers.

 Visit www.sky.de for more information

Our satellite services have been at the forefront of analogue switch off across the UK. As the last analogue TV transmissions were switched off in October 2012, so broadcasters such as BskyB and Freesat have used our satellite TV satellites to provide digital SD and HD TV across the UK and reach areas that cannot be economically services with terrestrial technologies.

The same is happening with broadband so that remote communities can have the same access to the internet and digital services via satellite broadband.

Sony will launch the first mass market ultra-high definition TV set in the US within the next two months. The massive 84in XBR-84X900 can display pictures of up to 3,840 x 2,160 pixels (known as the ‘4k’ format) or about four times the resolution of current 1080p HD TVs, and is expected to cost about US$25,000 (€19,000).

A study by Czech market research company Stem-Mark has revealed that a third of households in the Czech Republic now watch TV services in high definition, with a particular preference for HD among younger, male, high income viewers. Seventeen HD channels broadcast in the Czech language as part of the CS Link and SkyLink platforms on the ASTRA 23.5°E satellites.

Visit www.stemmark.cz for more information