High Definition television broadcasts

[tsarchasm]

As a future NZer and current home theater geek, I wonder what the high definition television experience is like in NZ. I understand most people use Sky satellite and while I'd prefer Mr. Murdoch not get any of my money, a monopoly is a monopoly. I figure there isn't anything I can do about my gorgeous 50" um... err 127cm plasma in NZ, where to you buy your high def TVs at?

[talisker]

Don't worry, you dont have to give him any of your cash. You can use Freeview HD - works through your normal TV aerial with a fairly cheap set top box http://www.freeviewnz.tv/ . The main channels are not exclusively in HD by any means, but do broadcast an increasing number of HD shows - things like NCIS, Fringe etc. You will need to get Sky if you want HD sport (or any sport, really), their movie channels etc.

Not sure about your TV. If it's got HDMI inputs for your freeview / Sky box, I would have thought it should work here, although you'll probably need a transformer to change the voltage. Obviously the internal tuner won't work, but you probably wouldn't be using that anyway. There's loads of places to buy here: Noel Leeming, Harvery Norman, Dick Smith etc and prices seem to be coming down pretty rapidly.

[frootbat]

We bought our LCD HD TV, (it was about 18 months old at the time, and from the UK so the voltage is the same) and as the previous post says, couldn't get much of anything via the normal aerial but it works just fine with sky, we have many many channels of rubbish available to us with a crystal clear picture!

[Jon&Candy]

On Freeview HD (terrestrial), TV3 broadcast in 1080i while TV1 & TV2 broadcast in 720p. The other channels broadcast in 576i (standard). Most of the content is upscaled from standard definition, but the stuff which is broadcast properly in HD (such as CSI and Dexter) looks spectacular.

[IanW99]

It should also be mentioned on this thread that you will also be able to watch HD broadcasts via Sky and Tivo (from November 2009).

If you are in a TelsraClear (cable) region then you may also be able to use them to get your HD content - can't confirm this on the website though?

Ian

[Gnomon]

I sold my TVs before i left Ireland and bought 2 new TVs in NZ when we arrived because the my TVs had mpeg2 chips for decoding built in and I did not want to have a set top box sky or otherwise to watch digital tv. To receive free view HD without set top box you need to have a TV with mpeg4 chip to decode the signal.

If you don't mind having an extra box/decoder then just buy one and you can watch digital free view through satellite or aerial. I may be mistaken but HD on free view is only available on aeriel here in NZ.

I bought a sony kdl52z4500 from Powerstore 15% cheaper than from sony and I find the quality of the HD free view very good not as good as blu ray but very watchable. HD tend only to be only on prime time 8.30 -10.30pm. HD is broadcast in 5.1 sound so if your amp can decode HD sound you can get the full monty with free view. Last night(sat night)star wars episode III was on as well as Monsters inc in HD. Give it time and more HD will be broadcast.

David

[m.brad.russell]

I did quite a bit of research on this before purchasing my new LCD last week. I am in the states, so the tuner will be useless, but I've always used an external tuner of some sort anyway. Many of the new TV's have power supplies that will run 120-240V 50/60 HZ. You'll have to verify your TV will do that. It's usually noted on the back where the power cord goes. I ended up buying an LG because it will display all of the resolutions- 480i/p, 576i/p, 720p, 1080i/p, in both PAL & NTSC. Most new TV's have this ability as they are manufactured for a worldwide market, but some manufactures will lock the software to only display those resolutions used in the country of purchase. Sony has been known to to this. If you are going to have to buy a new TV, buy it someplace where you can return it, like Costco, if it doesn't display the above formats/resolutions. This is assuming you have a video source that will accommodate the testing. I happen to have a DVD player (Lite-On) that allowed me to test. needless to say, it will be coming with us to NZ as well.

Best of luck! Even if you have to buy a new TV, don't fret as the prices are so low these days for the amount of technology you get; Mine was US$450 for a 32" with full 1080p HD.

Brad

[GrumpyGoat]

We brought our 65" Mistsubishi from the US because it was pretty new and we couldn't sell it. We had to get a step down transformer. We use it only for gaming and videos as we have a smaller Kiwi TV that we use to watch the news on (from the air).

If we get the freeview box, will this convert from NTSC to PALS? (or is it the other way? you know what I mean) Will we get TV stations??

I just wanted to confirm before I spent $$ on this

[talisker]

We brought our 65" Mistsubishi from the US because it was pretty new and we couldn't sell it. We had to get a step down transformer. We use it only for gaming and videos as we have a smaller Kiwi TV that we use to watch the news on (from the air).

If we get the freeview box, will this convert from NTSC to PALS? (or is it the other way? you know what I mean) Will we get TV stations??

I just wanted to confirm before I spent $$ on this

I think (emphasise that word!) you will be OK, because obviously the freeview box will pick up the stations and then you'll be passing that straight to your TV's display, bypassing its internal NTSC tuner. I've used a UK TV (that couldn't tune to NZ stations via the aerial socket) with a Sky box in NZ and it worked fine.