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Virgin Media is going to be the first digital TV service to get E4 HD and Film 4 HD – news not so hot for Sky and Freesat’s HD services.
E4 HD is set to go live for Virgin customers in April 2010 at no extra cost to Virgin customers, with Film 4 HD set for “Summer 2010″
More on Virgin Media on our Cable TV page, or at virginmedia.com
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Welcome to March 2010, and to a new podcast. In this show, we get all Interactive at you – hope you enjoy and get involved…
Here’s what we look at in Show 49:
You can download Show 49 direct to your MP3 player or listen online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html.
If you have an iPod or iPhone, get shows faster by signing up via iTunes.
In this show, we want some interaction, so get texting on 07882 043 521!
Links:
Share and Enjoy!
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We already have a winner for the first Freeview HD-compatible set-top box (won by Humax a few days back) – Now we have the first IDTV set with a built-in Freeview HD receiver. This telly from Panasonic also has an onboard Freesat HD receiver, optional wireless Internet connectivity and an SD card for external media.
The catchily-named Panasonic TX-P42G20B is a 42″ plasma TV supporting “Full HD” (i.e. 1080p) with a refresh rate of 600Hz – and here is our first picture:
The Panasonic TX-P42G20B Freeview HD TV is available now – we’ve found it at Comet online.
Oh – If you’re quick, you can get £60 off this (or anything over £1000 at Comet) using the magic voucher code AW60 at the Comet.co.uk checkout. The £60 off code expires on the 27th Feb 2010.
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Ladies and Gentlemen, we’ve just released a mid-month audio update looking at the release of the Humax Fox T2 – the first Freeview HD receiver in the market.
The update runs for nearly 15 minutes and also looks at the new Freeview iPhone app, and some news on BT’s wireless network. We also review your feedback to the last full-length show, including your thoughts on weather stations and lounge net-top PCs.
The show is attached to this blog entry, or you can listen at www.frequencycast.co.uk/update.html
If you’re an iTunes user, get the show from the FrequencyCast Podcast page on iTunes
Please tell your friends!
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Freeview HD launched in December 2009, but there was one big problem – you couldn’t buy a receiver.
Fortunately, that changed this weekend, when the first Humax Freeview HD boxes started to appear in the wild.
Yes, it’s now possible to get your hands on a Freeview HD set-top box – although HD is only being transmitted in the Granada and London areas at the moment.
The Humax Fox T2 HD
The new box supports DVB-T2, the format used for Freeview HD. It has an 8 day programme guide, auto-updates to new channels, supports digital audio, has HDMI and 2 SCART sockets and a digital audio output.
Those looking to get a little more from their kit will be happy to know that the Fox HD T2 has a USB socket which allows you to connect external storage (hard drive or USB stick) for playback of xVid video, MP3 audio as well as JPG images. The T2 also comes with an Ethernet socket that will shortly be able to connect to your Internet router to give you online services including the BBC iPlayer catch-up TV service
The price?
Considering your average standard-definition Freeview box is around £25, the RRP of the Humax HD T2 of £179 is likely to make a few people gulp (Sky’s HD box, the Sky+ HD box, is currently free, has a Sky+ recorder and can get BBC HD without an HD subscription).
Still, this new Humax looks to be a very capable Freeview HD receiver, and comes from a good pedigree of Freeview and Freesat boxes. We’re reasonably sure this will be a hit.
Available instore at some John Lewis branches. It’s also listed at Argos.co.uk ,
Very.co.uk (cheapest at the time of writing) and
Play.com.
More coverage of the Humax T2 in a podcast update due in the next 24 hours!
UPDATE: Podcast First Look released! Humax HD Fox T2 First Impressions
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Carl and Pete have completed another one of their audio updates looking at the latest tech news, plus your feedback on the last show – which was all about backups.
Planned as a 15 minute quick update, this runs to nearly 26 minutes, and fans of Carl and Pete’s tech ramblings and rudeness should enjoy the mid-show argument, and the coffee break.
The show is attached to this blog entry, or you can listen at www.frequencycast.co.uk/update.html.
We’re especially keen to get you to listen via iTunes, as that helps our ratings. Please subscribe via the FrequencyCast Podcast page on iTunes.
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Happy New Year to all of our FrequencyCast listeners!
Show 47, the first show of 2010, has just been released for your listening pleasure.
In this show, we discuss all that’s new with digital TV and technology. Here’s what we cover in this show:
You can download Show 47 direct to your MP3 player or listen online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html.
If you have an iPod or iPhone, get shows faster by signing up via iTunes.
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As we covered in our November audio update, the BBC dropped the bitrate of the BBC HD channel in August, angering many viewers.
The BBC has denied that the 40% bitrate reduction will have any impact to the viewing experience, but HD viewers aren’t convinced. HD viewers are being encouraged to sign a new petition at the Number 10 website to get the Prime Minister to ask the Beeb politely to restore the bitrate.
If you want to sign and voice your opinion on the BBC HD channel quality, the petition is on the BBC HD Petition at Number 10.
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A new podcast update has just been released, keeping our listeners up-to-date with some hot TV news, including:
The show is attached to this blog entry, or you can listen at www.frequencycast.co.uk/update.html, or get us from the FrequencyCast Podcast page on iTunes.
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It’s the first of December and Show 46 of FrequencyCast, the UK’s TV and Tech podcast, has just been released for your listening pleasure.
In this show, we discuss all that’s new with digital TV and technology. Here’s what we cover in this show:
You can download Show 46 direct to your MP3 player or listen online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html. If you have an iPod or iPhone, get shows faster by signing up via iTunes.
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Hot off the press, over 16 minutes of tech and TV news from the team at FrequencyCast.
In this update we look at the merging of two mobile networks, what Apple’s been up to this month, Freeview HD testing, BT Vision updates, a Sky offer, the latest on iPhone sat nav applications, and a new DVD release.
The show is attached to this blog entry, or you can listen at www.frequencycast.co.uk/update.html
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Show 42 of FrequencyCast, the UK’s TV and Tech podcast, has just been released.
In our regular online radio show, we discuss all that’s new with digital TV and technology. Here’s what we cover in this show:
You can download Show 42 direct to your MP3 player or listen online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html. If you have an iPod or iPhone, get shows faster by signing up via iTunes.
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We’ve just released an audio update to cover some stories that have broken since our last full-length show…
In our update, we look at the latest on Setanta / ESPN, good news for Virgin Media customers looking for HD, news of a product recall for the o2 Joggler, plus the end of the road for Phorm.
Enjoy the update.
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This month, Ofcom announced details of the fourth service to be offering free-to-view HD content, when the new Freeview HD service goes live.
Bids are in and the fourth slot has provisionally been awarded to Five. That makes the lineup unsurprisingly BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five.
Five will be offering some of their fdaytime and evening shows HD, with an HD-on-demand service overnight. Five HD aims to launch by the end of 2010.
More details: HD on Freeview.
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Show 40 of FrequencyCast, the UK’s TV and Tech podcast, has just been released.
In our regular online radio show, we discuss all that’s new with digital TV and technology. Here’s what we cover in this show:
You can download Show 40 direct to your MP3 player or listen online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html. If you have an iPod or iPhone, get shows faster by signing up via iTunes.
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Show 39 of FrequencyCast, the UK’s TV and Tech podcast, has just been released.
In our regular online radio show, we discuss all that’s new with digital TV and technology. Here’s what we cover in this show:
You can download Show 39 direct to your MP3 player or listen online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html. If you have an iPod or iPhone, get shows faster by signing up via iTunes.
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We’d like to remind listeners to our podcast that the Half Price Sky HD offer ends this week, on Friday the 31st of October 2008.
Get the Sky+ High Definition box for just £75, and there’s a £15 credit when you order online at http://packages.sky.com/see/EquipmentSkyHD.aspx.
With two new channels due in November, that’ll total 26 HD channels, by far the widest choice in the UK. Here’s our channel list:
More details on Sky’s HD site, or on FrequencyCast’s UK HD page
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The first Freesat hard-disk recorder is expected to appear in mid-November.
Made by Humax, the Foxsat-HDR will bear the “Freesat+” badge, have a dual tuner, and will support HD, series link, live pause, live TV rewind and the ability to split recordings.
With two SCART sockets, one HDMI high definition socket, the Humax Foxsat-HDR has a 320GB hard drive, and will be in the shops in mid-November, with a pricetag of £299.
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