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HD Round-Up: DirecTV’s Emmy Party, CNBC HD+ Not True HD, Comcast Adds TBS HD

Sep 20, 2007  •  Post A Comment

DirecTV Celebrates the Emmys
DirecTV sponsored its first post-Emmy party Sunday. The event served not only to celebrate the 59th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, but also as a launch party for DirecTV’s new high-definition channel rollout. The satcaster says it will offer up to 100 HD channels by the end of the year. Arriving guests were greeted by DirecTV’s “HD Wall,” an 18-by-66-foot entranceway that spelled out “100 HD” using flat-screen TVs. In addition, guests could dance to music inside the inflated 60-foot sphere of a hot-air balloon that featured animated images and videos. Sponsoring the party were DirecTV’s new HD networks, including NBC Universal, Disney/ESPN, Showtime, the Weather Channel, A&E, Fox, MTV Networks and Turner Network Television, along with Philips, Intel and Playboy.
CNBC HD+ Not in True High Definition
When CNBC launches its HD+ channel, the network will be up-converting its content rather than originating the content in high definition, Engadget HD says. However, the network plans to differentiate the new channel by putting the 4:3 picture in a window and filling the rest of the frame with informative HD graphics. While this approach sets CNBC HD+ apart from other HD simulcasts and the standard CNBC channel, many high-def enthusiasts say it’s not a real HD channel unless it’s actually shot in HD.
Comcast Starts Adding TBS HD
Comcast is adding TBS HD in Baltimore Oct. 1, TVPredictions.com reported Monday. A Comcast spokeswoman confirmed the channel addition, but said she was unsure if the network will be added to other markets by the same date. TVPredictions.com said DirecTV had announced it will be carrying the network later in the month (TBS HD launched Sept. 1). With the addition of TBS HD, Comcast will have about 26 HD channels in the majority of markets, the report said.

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