Yes, I can confirm that you can watch Ch 309 Celestial HD channel with the HD Service (RM 20 per month) subscription.

The Emporer Pack and Celestial Movices Pack include Ch 322 Celestial Movies (SD) channel. Since you did not subscribe to these 2 packs, you cannot get Ch 322 which is SD channel.

However, Ch 309 is included for ALL HD Service subscribers. I also did not subscribe to these 2 packs so when Ch 309 HD was launched, I can watch this HD channel and confirmed when I phoned to Astro Customer Support.

In my earlier post, I mentioned that ALL HD Service subscribers can watch 5 HD channels but agingamer corrected me who mentioned that its actually 7 HD channels. I made a mistake when I earlier did not mention Ch 706 LiTV/Food Network HD and Ch 720 beTV HD.

I repeat, here are the 7 "basic" HD channels that ALL HD service subscribers can watch ...
Ch 309 Celestial HD
Ch 393 One HD
Ch 721 AXN HD *
Ch 706 LiTV/Food Network
Ch 720 beTV
Ch 726 FX HD
Ch 729 Kix HD

* Tied to Basic (Family) Pack.

These 7 HD channels are not "tied" to any packages. All Astro subscribers must subscribe to the Basic (Family) Pack.

Ch 310 Zhi Zun HD channel is tied to the Dynasty Pack which you subscribed, so you can also watch this.

With your "Family + Dynasty + HD Service", you can now watch 8 HD channels from total 18 ones.

Example of HD channels tied to a subscription Pack... Movies Pack which include Ch 411 HBO, Ch 412 MAX, Ch 413 Fox Movies Premium, HD channels tied to it... Ch 431 HBO HD, Ch 432 Fox Movies Premium HD and Ch 438 Sundance HD. So... if you did not subscribe to Movies Pack, eventhough you got HD Service, you cannot watch Ch 431, Ch 432 and Ch 438.

It is not correct to say... "Family + Dynasty + Byond". Byond is only the name of the decoder box which can receive both SD and HD channels. Astro Byond is the brand name of the product for HD channels reception. When the Byond decoder was launched, the "old type" Astro DMT box have been discontinued so new Astro subscribers will only get the new Byond box. Such new subscribers who did not subscribe to HD Service will get the Byond box with HD function not activated.

Only for "old" subscribers who got the old Astro DMT box who now want to subscribe to the HD Service MUST change to the new Byond box because the old box cannot receive HD channels. When the box is replaced to the new Byond box, a new 1 year contract is tied to it. You can choose to keep the old box by paying RM 100 (I paid this amount to keep mine when I upgraded mine to Byond box in 2010), so its up to you.

If you are still not sure or don't believe, you can always call Astro Customer Support to make sure. Its toll-free and costs only local call charges from the house land-line phone.

Hope my explanation is clear enough for you, hehe. 

I am repeating some parts of my previous Post No. 1500 which are partly related here.

The Byond box HD setting can be used ONLY when subscribed to HD service. When subscribed, it needs to be activated.

These are the available Byond "HD Settings"... 576i, 576p, 720p, 1080i. Of course the best quality to choose is 1080i because ALL "HD Ready" and "Full HD" LCD/LED TVs support it.

HD resolution is actually 720p, 1080i and 1080p. I think Astro included SD resolution for 576i and 576p into the Byond HD Setting for compatibility with very old LCD TVs and Projectors.

Its not necessary for me to explain in detail what is "interlace mode" for 1080i and "progressive mode" for 1080p. Although there is a difference in delivery and video quality, I would believe that most people eyes don't notice the difference !

Ok, to answer your question, I will try my best to explain with full details below...

1) Basic HD Pack
When subscribed to the HD service, it means the Basic HD Pack. Monthly Subscription : RM 20. For Superpack 1, 2 and 3, this HD service is already included.

2) HD channels included in Basic HD Pack
These are the HD channels that ALL subscribers to Basic HD Pack can watch...

Ch 309 Celestial HD
Ch 393 One HD
Ch 721 AXN HD *
Ch 706 LiTV/Food Network
Ch 720 beTV
Ch 726 FX HD
Ch 729 Kix HD

... that means that these are the "7 minimum HD channels" which we can watch with the extra payment of RM 20 per/mth.

Refer here... http://support.astro.com.my/Shop/AstroPackages.aspx and look for the title "High Definition Channels" which explains this clearly.

3) Additional HD Channels Tied To Packages
Yes, HD Service (Basic HD Pack) included 7 HD channels BUT more HD channels can also be watched which depend on which pack it is "tied" to. I think there are a total of about 18+ HD Channels available now.

Example
Movie Pack include these channels...
SD channels > HBO Ch 411, MAX Ch 412, Fox Movies Premium Ch 413
HD channels > HBO HD Ch 431, Fox Movies Premium HD Ch 433, Sundance Channel HD Ch 438

Ch 431, 433 and 438 are tied to the Movie Pack. Eventhough we subscribed to Movie Pack, it does not mean we can automatically watch these 3 HD channels! So if NOT subscribed to HD Service, we CANNOT watch these HD channels. To watch ALL the SD & HD channels in Movie Pack, we must subscribe to (a) Movie Pack and (b) HD Service (Basic HD Pack).

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So... some people may ask... setting Byond to 1080i mean the best HD video quality ?
NO, it does not mean the best video quality all the time.

Why ? Video quality depends on the source video. If they transmit an old movie from SD source (such as DVD), upconvert it to HD, then you will get not so good quality. Usually new movies from blu-ray disc source will be able to give much much better quality. Example... HBO HD... "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls" (older movie 1995) is from a lower quality source and "Thor" (new movie 2011) has incredible excellent video and audio quality.

Even for HD channels, you can get video quality from not so good to excellent ! Well... you will get quality that looks like playing DVD disc to a LCD TV and also quality that reach near to blu-ray disc. I noticed that FMP HD Ch 433 shows a lot more "excellent video quality" movies than HBO HD Ch 431.

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HD Service also gives you better audio quality from Dolby Digital Audio which include surround effects. The HD channels can use Dolby 2.0, 4.0, 4.1 or 5.1 audio channels. Also, Dolby Digital does not guarantee the best audio quality...mmm... also depend on source. I did notice that some programs in Nat Geo HD Ch 573 don't have center channel so the voice heard from main speakers only. Some programs also don't have back surround.

Without HD Service, you get only fixed 2 channel stereo PCM audio and unfortunately, the volume loudness is much lower than HD audio (Dolby).

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Is it worth to pay RM 20 per month for the HD Service ? If you have already subscribed to Superpack 1, 2 or 3, HD service is already included.

Well... I cannot answer that question. Much depends on whether you feel the additional 7 or more HD channels do or do not satisfy what you want, hehe.

In order to get to enjoy the most out of HD service, we need to have a HDTV and connection to a Home Theater System with AV amplifier capable of Dolby 5.1 surround to 6 quality speakers and HDMI cable connection.

Yes, we can still watch HD channels on old non-HD TV... just set the Byond box to output at "Standard Definition"... so the output quality will be downscaled to SD (576i)

I do know of one friend who is willing to pay RM 20 extra per month just to watch Zhi Zun HD Ch 310 and One HD Ch 393 eventhough she have old non-HD TV and no amplifier !!! No HD video and Dolby 5.1 audio quality for her. She loves the chinese (mandarin) mini-series from China/Taiwan and the Korean series from the 2 HD channels, lol !

There is another rich guy I know who used the Multi-Room Promo to add 5 more Byond boxes for him and all his 5 children at an additional total of RM 250 per month (RM 50 for each additional box). Mmm... each account only allowed a maximum of 2 additional Byond boxes but somehow he managed to get 5 by using 3 separate sub-accounts !!

I have another friend who canceled/terminated his Astro account because he don't like the many many many repeats, did not show some of his favourite shows and Channel V was cancelled.

Well... everyone have the right to decide... start new subscription, add/upgrade more Packs, add Byond boxes, or cancel/terminate totally... and also condemn Assteruk monopoly!

FYI... the Multi-Room Promo ends on 30-06-2012 for additional Byond/Byond PVR box of flat RM 50 per month. Mmm... I suspect that this period may be extended depending on good demand, hehe.

Note On Byond/Byond PVR Output Cable Connection
RF Out (BNC) = This connection is NOT Available for Byond/Byond PVR.
RCA Out (Yellow, Red, White) = Only SD quality audio (red, white) and video (yellow) (lowest quality)
Component Video (red, green blue) = Only SD quality (better quality) for Byond but only for video. Actually Component Video specification can accept HD 1080i but the Byond cannot.
HDMI = HD video and audio (best quality)

The old Astro DMT cannot receive any HD channels so it has to be replaced with the Byond/Byond PVR box. Eventhough anyone who only have non-HD TV and want to watch the HD channels in SD quality, the old Astro DMT box still need to be replaced, hehe.

Hehe... I think I have answered more than you have asked.    And I hope I did not confuse you.

ADDITION
Astro announced that The Euro Cup 2012 Finals will be shown in 3D on Channel 831. Only for people who subscribed to Sports Pack (or SuperPack 3) and with 3D HDTV ! I heard from some people that it will be broadcast in S-B-S (Side-By-Side) 3D, not Active Shutter 3D. Astro have broadcast in 3D a few times before BUT only for Live sports events.    I did not subscribe to Sports Pack and do not have 3D TV !