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Sony has revealed that their 2004 range of "HD Capable" large screen LCD and plasma TV displays - which feature analogue component inputs instead of the "HD Ready" HDMI/HDCP inputs - will be able to be used with Sky's high definition television service when it launches.
Quoting from their press release:
"Sky’s most recent announcement has clarified that all current models will be able to receive HD broadcast via the analogue component inputs."
"We are really excited about the development of HDTV and are pleased that we can support Sky as it prepares to broadcast in HDTV," said Adrian Northoversmith, head of digital strategy at Sony. "Existing Sony models will be able to receive HD broadcast and all new large screen Sony models introduced in 2005 will carry both a HDMI and standard analogue connection to remove any confusion consumers may have regarding this technology."
The new sets are expected to go on sale in July.
This question of whether Sky's HD service will offer analogue component outputs from its STB (made by Thomson) has been a vexed question for some time. Until six months ago anyone who purchased an "HD Capable" display (one with a resolution of 720x1280 or higher) did not have the choice of HDMI.
Pioneer were one of the first to put HDMI/HDCP ("HD Ready") on their range of plasma displays and there are now a growing range of displays with HDMI/HDCP or HDCP capable DVI inputs on the market. The difference between HDMI and DVI is, in simple terms, that HDMI contains both audio and video while DVI is video only (both are digital and there are converter cables on the market).
In Sky's FAQ about HDTV they said:
WHAT KIND OF TV SET WILL YOU NEED TO RECEIVE SKY'S HDTV SERVICE?
· Any kind of screen or TV set could be connected to Sky's HD STB but, to truly experience Sky's HDTV picture quality, customers will need a 26" or larger "HD Ready" plasma, LCD or DLP TV.
However, later in the same FAQ, Sky said:
HOW WILL SKY'S HDTV RECEIVER CONNECT TO THE TV DISPLAY?
· The receiver will have an HDMI connector (High Definition Multimedia Interface) as its primary means of connecting to an HD display. HDMI can also be connected to DVI equipped displays using a suitable adaptor cable.
· Most HDTV content will be protected by HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection). This means most HDTV content will only be able to be viewed on display devices that have HDCP software built into them.
This is slightly at odds with Sony's press release and Digital Spy is working to get a definitive answer from Sky on this. It could mean that initially the HD service will work over analogue component outputs but that some content in the future may only be available over the HDMI/HDCP connection. However, it might mean that only a portion of the content is available from day one.
The one certainty is that if you are about to buy a "HD Capable" screen, make sure it is "HD Ready" at least until Sky confirm that you will get a few years of complete HD service from the analogue component inputs.
On the other hand if you have already purchased a "HD Capable" screen then it looks like you may be able to get some value out of the Sky HD service - and that means a big sigh of relief from anyone who purchased such a set more than 6 months ago when there was no choice. What one won't be able to receive in the way of content in the future, however, is unknown.
The next few months will be very interesting as this develops and keep reading Digital Spy to keep up to date with developments. As a final note when I was checking the facts with Sony's Adrian Northoversmith his view was that Sky's service will start sooner than people think.
