back to article Virgin Media wins Film 4 HD exclusive

The HD incarnation of "public service broadcaster" Channel 4's Film 4 offering will only be available to paying Virgin Media customers, it has emerged. Film 4 HD is scheduled to arrive in the summer, VM said today, which implied the channel will be offered to its subscribers at no extra cost. VM already broadcasts Channel 4's …

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  1. Richard Tobin
    WTF?

    "Blow to Freeview HD"

    Was there ever any possibility of it being on Freeview HD in the near future? Isn't all the space on the one HD multiplex already committed?

    1. marksi
      Dead Vulture

      Blow to accurate journalism

      Correct Richard, there is no possibility that Film 4 could have been on Freeview so it being described as "a blow" is nonsensical.

      The question that should be posed is why as public service broadcaster, Channel 4 has chosen not to make it's 4HD service available on Freesat.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Blow to freesat maybe

    As others have mentioned, it never had even the smallest chance of launching on Freeview HD, there isn't the space. It's certainly a blow to Freesat and lets face it, to me as a Freesat viewer. Although I have a subscription to Virgin, I flat refuse to pay the extra monthly subscription charge for the HD STB.

    As a PSB, Channel Four should have launched their HD channels on Freesat, end of story.

    1. Martin
      WTF?

      Extra monthly charge?

      What you're paying for is the V+ box, which gives you a three-channel PVR. I had that way before HD arrived. When Virgin introduced HD, they didn't charge any more for it if you had a V+ box.

  3. ElNumbre

    Film4again.

    I remember the good old days when Film4 was a subscription channel - No adverts, and no viewers.

    As long as its not an extra subscription, hopefully things will be different this time around. I wonder how long the agreement for a single carrier will last though?

  4. Daniel Owen
    FAIL

    Sky Users

    Blow for sky users too :(

  5. Rasczak
    Flame

    HD ?

    VM will begin E4HD in April ? It is already on satellite, however you do need to pay Sky a sub to some other channels to get it.

    I'm not that concerned though, as HD is all a scam anyway. It is not about improved picture clarity, it is about getting bigger screens to the same clarity at close range, that we have on current screens when viewed at the correct range.

    If you look at 576i on a screen bigger than 32" from closer than 6 feet then you can start to see the lines, similar to when you get recordings from old shows that were filmed with 405 line cameras shown on analogue telly. And when you stick this onto 50" or bigger screens that people have in their living rooms and view from 8 feet or less then it looks absolutely abysmal, even worse when you have the distinct pixels of an LCD.

    When the source is 1080p on that 50" screen, it starts to look closer in clarity to the 576i on a 28" screen at the same physical distance.

    Put the 576i image on a 50" screen viewed from the same relative distance as the 28", ie they appear the same size due to perspective, and the clarity will be similar.

    So if you want to have too big a screen, at too close a distance then HD is needed. If you want a reasonable size screen, at the right distance, then there is no appreciable improvement.

    Icon, as I know I am about to get burned at the stake as a heretic by the HD zealots.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Lol

      'HD is all a scam anyway. It is not about improved picture clarity, it is about getting bigger screens to the same clarity at close range'

      Wow, thanks for clearing that up! So many people have fallen for this, we must do something about it. Write to your MP, petition Parliament, we need to expose this scam.

      Mind you, thinking about it, you're not talking complete bollocks are you? I'd be dead annoyed if you'd got me all worked up about this only to find out that a 1080p high bitrate picture is stunning compared to an old 32" SD pic on a CRT. I must go and see if I can find these 'lines' you speak of.....

      Oh, and 'distinct pixels'. Eh? Hang on, this was a proper scientific analysis you did and not just some FUD that's come from your backside?

    2. StooMonster

      Big screen

      Rasczak, long time no 'see'!

      Anyway, I can still tell the difference between 576i upscaled to native 1080p versus 1080i/1080p content on my 50-inch plasma even when I sit nearly 5-metres away from it; although barely, yes I know the limits of human eye resolution, but it's text that usually gives it away.

      But where HD really matters is on the projector ... how far away would I have to sit from a 120-inch screen to make 1080p look like 576i on an old 28-inch television?

  6. Daniel Owen

    Stand Corrected

    Shows how much I use it on sky lol

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