Measat also carry content for other company, like axn korea in HD. but astro do have the HD broadcasting and decoder hardware in place to move to HD yet

http://www.lyngsat.com/hd/mea3.html

This post has been edited by robertngo: Oct 28 2009, 12:13 AM

surely current decoder wont be able to receive HD signals...astro will definitely release new HD decoder later on...can make more moolah marrr...like how they sell the Astro MAX decoder..altho that 'project' went down the klang river

they need to learn from previous experience, altho many ppl wanna go HD, they still not willing to chop their arms & legs off for it...if they intro at premium price, we will need to wait many many moons before majority ppl go for HD...many ppl i know still quite happy with CRT, SD TV, DVD...

why they like to keep thing a secret? if testing, then just let the public know la..at least we can get excited...now, cant even get excited on a available date as yet...all based on speculation...

my own opinion, they just paid huge sum to secure BPL channels from Sky Sports in the UK..as a football fan we all know there's option for HD football in UK under Sky Sport HD...and Astro did confirm that subscription price will be reviewed (again)...so perhaps by next BPL season we will be able to watch in HD??

Sun Direct, an indian satellite TV provider similar to astro (astro actually has 20% share in that company), has already gone HD, most probably using DVB-S + Mpeg4 route using insat 4b satellite at 93.5°E http://www.lyngsat.com/in4b.html

http://www.sundirect.in/HD/index.php
http://www.sundirect.in/HD/what_can_i_watch.html

This post has been edited by neb: Oct 28 2009, 01:15 AM

astro is not in hurry as they are number one in msia & with no real competition so, there.

yupz, they can said almost monopoly here. paying so much money for so little channel compare to other country.

They have the monopoly license until 2017. Go figure.

monopoly...telekom tried to fight with them for the BPL rights..i think they lost cos of their internet tv (only) launch..for competition, a proper foundation/platform for broadcasting will be required..then the competitor needs to 'tahan' few years without much subscribers as most good channels are all sold to astro exclusively..

MiTV came close (very far actually but de closest) but couldnt tahan long enuff..good plans but becos lack of attractive channels..i was at their operation center in kl plaza during commissioning & all their channels are like *yawn yawn* chinese & indian channels mostly

altho astro monopolizes malaysian market they still need to provide satisfactory service to its loyal subscribers..we paying premium price..i wont say we're paying higher than other countries..other countries also paying premium..sky in uk also dominates the market but their content dun dissapoint..and most importantly..they broadcast in HD..even BBC in HD now..

I think astro lost quite a bit in their Jakarta plan/project..that's why the delay in us getting HD here..

http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/10/27/telev...cer-match-in-3d

mexico just have first 3d football broadcast, in HD no less.

Can we dream of watching next year world cup the 3D-HD???

need HD for astro wah ...

hahahaa...3D..no need dream la...HD already so difficult to broadcast...

http://www.hdtv.vtc.vn/detail/1/1577/bo-th...hd-02/index.htm

closer to home, vtc from Vietnam has also rolled out their own HD channels, as can be seen from the web page, they are using dvb-s2 decoder with both component out and hdmi, but max resolution is only 1080i

This post has been edited by neb: Oct 29 2009, 04:14 PM

I guess its more realistic to just pray for no rain during WC next year

When Astro goes HD, it means increase another premium for it.

yeah, maybe tat time if u wan watch world cup in HD u have to pay extra RM50/month. Damn assss-throw, stupiak punya company with lousy broadcasting quality but excellent monthly subscription fees.

somemore got advertisement in between movies....HEY ASSSS-THROW, WE PAY ONE OK? PAY PUNYA SERVICE SHOUDN'T HAVE ADVERTISEMENT!!! STUPID MONOPOLY COMPANY!!!

Actually, Astro has locked up all the channels which are of any use on an exclusive basis (For Malaysia). So very difficult for any competitor to come in without good content.

Also Astro actually subsidies the decoder on each subscriber. This is why there is a need for a lock in period. If you take the RM49.95 package, they actually lose money if you cancel your subscription at the end of the 12 month.

To watch HD channels, do you need to have a HD enabled TV? If that is the case, I think outside the urban areas not that many have HD enabled TV (Though I could be wrong on both the need to have a HD TV to watch HD channels, and rural folks owning HD TVs). Since almost every urban household already Astro, for Astro to grow, it is reaching out to the rural folks - and they can't do that if they don't have HD enabled TV to enjoy the benefits of a HD channel.

I guess it is just economics...

BTW, I don't work for Astro, I just used to do research on the company many years ago..

Oh.. just like newspapers, media companies make most of their money via advertising. Subscription alone is not enough to pay for all the services they provide us. Unless Govt is sponsoring you.

And on EPL - I wouldn't be surprised if they "repackage" their products so that we end up paying more just to watch EPL. I don't think they can make EPL pay-per-view cause if they do we will all terminate our account and go to the mamak to watch the games.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Many years ago most homes in my neighborhood don't have HD enabled TV. 10 years ago most electrical shops near kampong don't carry LCD wide screen TV, today you can find them carrying these things.
Look at how the mobile phone network is open up. There is healthy competition among the providers and the Rakyat can enjoy low talk time and sms rates. Everybody carries a hand phones. Kids and maids also have one.
To me content and price is the main driver. If asstro have no competitor then there is no reason to for it to provide either one or both. With the monopoly it will continue to milk the Rakyat's hard earn money!

Don't get me wrong bro.. I too want to see more competition... more competition means better deal for us consumers.. but I was just making the point that it is difficult for new entrants into the market because Astro has choked any potential competition, plus the super long, government given monopoly status it receives gives it an unfair advantage.. Kinda a chicken and egg story la.. we subscribe to Astro because there is no other alternative, but because we all already subscribe to Astro, difficult for new players in the market.. so Astro continues to give us mediocre products... the re-runs on the Astro are unbelievable.. sometimes totally nothing to see as we've already seen the programmes on Astro before.

Dont need to have new player in the market, just make it legal people to install receiver for free to air satelite channel. The dish plus decoder cheapest package only cost 200+. by them Astro will surely make more effort to improve their quality. the only reason this will not happen is the government desire to control what you can watch on tv.

This post has been edited by robertngo: Oct 31 2009, 03:18 PM

the rules against installing free-to-air satellite TV seems to be more lenient in the borneo, I heard you can see the big dishs everywhere over there

in asean countries, I think only one country has rules banning FTA sat TV, in thailand and indonesia people can elect satellite dishes freely

This post has been edited by nerfbuzz: Oct 31 2009, 04:02 PM

if HD is much better