High-definition TV 'in shortage'

[ben2ong2]

England's World Cup campaign begins on 10 June in Frankfurt
A Europe-wide shortage of TV set top boxes means fewer viewers will watch the World Cup in high definition than expected, says a report.
The tournament had been expected to showcase HDTV but a Screen Digest study says a decoder chips shortage means the opportunity will be "partly missed".
"European players are struggling to get HD-capable set-top-boxes in sufficient numbers for consumers," says the study.
HDTV provides a sharper image than the current standard television picture.
Analyst Vincent Letang, who wrote the Screen Digest report, said the delay would only be a short term problem.
'Future standard'
He said: "The World Cup in Germany was supposed to be the perfect kick-start for HD in Europe and its full thrust will be partly missed, but this does not jeopardise the introduction of HDTV."
Mr Letang said the conditions were in place for HDTV to "become the standard quality of television".
The report said Europe had two million "HD-ready" households by the end of 2005 - and by 2010 there would be more than 50 million HDTV sets in place.
Cable company Telewest launched the UK's first high definition service last week.

Sky intends to launch a HD service soon, offering film, sports and documentary channels.
And the BBC is expected to reveal details of its HDTV service soon, which may include World Cup coverage.
Meanwhile, a digital TV channel is to screen live World Cup matches under a deal with the BBC.
UKTV G2 will screen 31 games, including England's opening tie against Paraguay, using the BBC's coverage but with its own commentators and presenters.
The channel, owned by BBC Worldwide and Telewest, has also agreed with ITV that it can show highlights of all 64 games.
Mainstream channels which own rights to "listed" sports events must offer licences to digital channels under law.
Entertainment regulars
UKTV G2 will show high-profile live matches involving Brazil and France, as well as the World Cup final as well as a daily highlights show and a series of pre-match programmes.
A UKTV G2 spokeswoman said the presenting team had not been finalised but would be more "fan-orientated" than the coverage on BBC and ITV.
The channel already has a licence to show highlights of the Six Nations rugby tournament from the BBC.
Its schedule includes BBC entertainment shows such as Little Britain, Top Gear and They Think It's All Over.
High definition TV makes UK debut

Cable company Telewest has launched the UK's first high definition television (HDTV) service.
The service is limited at the moment to shows made by BBC Worldwide and users must have an HD-ready TV and a Telewest TVDrive set-top box to receive it.
HDTV provides a sharper, clearer and more colourful image than the current standard television picture.
Sky intends to launch its HD service this year, offering film, sports and documentary channels.
It has already begun testing the equipment, taking HD cameras to sporting events including football and rugby union matches.
Still in infancy    
Telewest plans to expand the ranch of programmes it can offer in HDTV, with the addition of HD films.
The BBC has trialled a number of HDTV programmes including the latest big-budget nature programme Planet Earth and dramas Bleak House and Rome.
The enhanced HD image is due to the way the picture is filmed, broadcast and displayed on HDTV sets, which use a greater number of pixels to display images than on a standard TV set.
HDTV is still very much in its infancy, with equipment such as HD-ready TV still an expensive prospect.
And capacity for high definition broadcasts on terrestrial television (Freeview) will be limited until digital switchover - between 2008 and 2012.