7 June 2008 (Full Service)
| ITV HD | |
|---|---|
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| Launched | 9 June 2006 (Trial Service) 7 June 2008 (Full Service) |
| Owned by | ITV plc |
| Picture format | 16:9, 1080i (HDTV) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Website | www.itv.com/hd |
| Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| Freesat | Channel 103 (Via Red Button) |
ITV HD is a British free-to-air high-definition television channel operated by ITV plc, the company which is contracted to provide 11 ITV services in England and Wales. ITV HD is available to view in the United Kingdom exclusively on Freesat via the red button whilst watching ITV.
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The channel originally existed on a trial basis from June until November 2006, primarily to show the World Cup games to which ITV had the rights.
The channel was available to subscribers of the Telewest "TV Drive" cable service, and was also broadcast as a low-power digital terrestrial (DVB-T) channel from London's Crystal Palace Transmitter as part of a terrestrial HDTV trial involving 450 homes. ITV HD did not broadcast on Satellite TV, unlike BBC HD. It was available on Telewest channel 118 and Freeview channel 503 in homes which were involved in the HD trial.
In addition to the World Cup games, ITV HD showed classic films remastered in HD (such as All Quiet on the Western Front and The Big Sleep), documentaries (such as Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Adventures) and dramas such as Poirot.
The original ITV HD stopped broadcasting on the 30 November 2006.
High definition broadcasts from ITV plc launched exclusively on Freesat[1], the new digital satellite service from the BBC and ITV on 7 June 2008, just in time for the start of UEFA Euro 2008. ITV plc plans to spend £10m during 2008 on the launch of ITV HD.[2] ITV HD is currently unavailable on STV and UTV due to these channels being unwilling to give their viewers access to the ITV branded service. However, it is available in Scotland and Northern Ireland on ITV1 London (Freesat channel 977).
In order to limit reception to the UK as far as possible, the satellite broadcast uses a non standard DVB stream.[3] It was intended that only a Freesat receiver would be able to use this broadcast. However, the broadcast can legitimately be watched on some free-to-air receivers in the UK.
ITV HD's first HD drama broadcast of Harley Street reportedly suffered technical problems including picture & sound quality and failing to revert to the normal SD broadcast after the programme had finished. Also, several Digital Spy forum members reported that they could not access HD content via the red button due to the ITV HD service "only being available through the London region".[4]
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