Antwerp - Stuttgart, 22nd February 2005 • The readers of the German trade magazine "Video" voted Euro1080 HD1 as the best market innovation in 2005. HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) came second. Gabriel Fehervari, CEO of Euro1080 that operates HD1, i.e. the only High Definition TV (HDTV) Channel in Europe so far, was offered the prestigious award.
HDTV stands for television images, which are 5 times sharper than standard television, as we know it today. It is remarkable that the readers of "Video" prefer high quality standards by large. Other innovative developments such as the influence of PC applications in the living room and even "video-on-demand" are looked at in a more sceptical way.
When receiving the award, Mr Gabriel Fehervari, CEO of both the Belgian-based TV facilities company Alfacam and Euro1080, stated: "While consumers in the Far East, Australia, and both Americas are very familiar with the phenomenon HDTV, this is not yet the case in Europe. Many do not realise that we are at the brink of a new era characterised by digital HDTV. I am very pleased that our company stands aside the cradle of this exciting new development in Europe. While major players in the European television sector such as BskyB in the UK, Premiere in Germany and French TF1 and CANAL+ are preparing their first steps in HDTV, Euro1080 is already more than one year active in the HDTV field with its HDTV channel HD1 and soon also with HD2, which will be launched in June 2005".
Euro1080 – HD1 went on air on 1st January 2004. Being the first HDTV channel in Europe, HD1 can rely on the HD experiences gathered by Euro1080's sister company Alfacam, which provides television facilities at large international events such as Euro2004 in Portugal, Formula 1 racing, and many musical top events like the New Year's concert in Vienna, the BBC Proms, and concerts of a.o. Madonna, The Rolling Stones and Jean-Michel Jarre.
Results in the category "Video - Innovations" (survey by “Video”)
HDTV Euro1080 HD1 26.2%
HDMI-link 25.2%
Hard disk camcorder 13.2%
DVB-T-television 9.7%
HDV-camcorder 9.7%
WMV-HD-disks 3.7%
Media-centre software 3.7%
Network Media Receiver 3.4%
Video-on-demand 2.2%
For more information:
www.euro1080.tv
