TI
Hence the disappointing takeup. Apart from ABC2 and the World News Channel - neither of which offer much compelling content right now (either foreign language news bulletins or repeats of obscure local current affairs programs) - there hasn't been much worthwhile content, unlike in the UK where you've got rolling news channels, original series, sport, and interactive services (we had them for a little while but it only worked for one specific set top box; not the most resounding success).
That is set to change a little with Seven/Nine/Ten HD - but given most people have already gone out and bought SD boxes to suit their widescreen TVs there'll be yet another hurdle to jump in terms of people upgrading again.
There have always been minimum levels of HD (government-set quotas, something like 20 hours a week), so by now the majority of things that can be made to be HD, like drama/comedy series, national news, live morning-type shows have been moved over. Now it's only really the stuff from the UK, and smaller companies that aren't in HD - I'm fairly sure Nine were actually the first to show Hotel Babylon in HD, for instance.
In other words, it's been around long enough for people to have an idea of what it's like and evidently good PQ hasn't been enough to convince them to upgrade.
noggin posted:
However so little HD was originally broadcast the service was pretty similar to Freeview in quality - almost entirely SD but with some 16:9 - but without the ability to broadcast lots more channels (for regulatory reasons). Also any HD service had to be simulcast in SD to allow people who bought cheap SD-only digital receivers to still get the channels.
That is set to change a little with Seven/Nine/Ten HD - but given most people have already gone out and bought SD boxes to suit their widescreen TVs there'll be yet another hurdle to jump in terms of people upgrading again.
noggin posted:
Now that Aus is finally moving to broadcasting a decent amount of HD - the combination of HD MPEG2 and DVB-T is beginning to look a bit limiting and long-in-the-tooth.
However it is probably too late to change it...
However it is probably too late to change it...
In other words, it's been around long enough for people to have an idea of what it's like and evidently good PQ hasn't been enough to convince them to upgrade.