Foxtel’s upcoming HD set-top box stakes a claim as the must-have accessory for HD TVs.
The dam hasn’t exactly burst on HD programming, but it’s looking better for owners of big flat high-definition TVs.
Foxtel today announced its HD+ service, including pay-per-view HD movies on demand from Foxtel’s Box Office service. The movies will be “ready to watch instantly” and can be viewed anytime 48 hours after purchase.
The service will launch in “mid-2008” and will also include four pure HD channels - BBC HD, Discovery HD, National Geographic HD and Foxtel Sports HD and ESPN HD.
The highlight is Foxtel’s new HD set-top box - iQ2 - which will have four separate TV tuners for recording and watching several channels at once. By contrast, the Beyonwiz DP-S1 PVR has two HD tuners and a 200GB hard drive. The iQ2 will have 320GB of hard drive space, which Foxtel claims is enough for 30 hours of HD recordings or 90 hours in standard definition.
While Foxtel’s on demand movie service sets it apart from the channels offered by free to air HD stations, it’s not the first such attempt. In 2006 Telstra launched the PC-based Bigpond Movies service which offers time-limited movies which are downloaded via the Bigpond Media Manager.
Pricing and package options for Foxtel HD+ are yet to be announced. More information can be found here.