Antwerp, 29th December 2005 • Euro1080, the first high definition television (HDTV) company in Europe, which started its activities on 1st January 2004, will celebrate its 2nd birthday with the HDTV transmission of the New Year’s Concert live from Vienna.
The HDTV transmission will be able to be seen across Europe (with the exception of Germany) on Euro1080’s HD2 channel on Astra 1D at 23.5° East. The concert will also be brought to 9 cinemas (of which four of the Utopia Group and five of the Swedish Folkets Hus Group) via the cinecast concept that was also used a few months ago at the occasion of the Robbie Williams concert live from Berlin.
Gabriel Fehervari, CEO of Euro1080, commented: “For almost two years the Euro1080 channels were the only existing HDTV channels in Europe. Since a couple of weeks some German TV stations are also broadcasting in high definition. We welcome this development warm-heartedly and we hope that many other broadcasting companies in Europe will join the HDTV league soon. 2006 announces itself as the year of the HDTV breakthrough in Europe. The FIFA World Cup 2006 is one of those events that might serve as an important catalyst. In the meantime, our strategic partners - Pioneer, Panasonic, Sony and Loewe - confirm that sales of HD-ready screens are booming. Once sufficient MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 compliant satellite and cable receivers are available on the market, there is nothing left that will stop the roll-out of HDTV in Europe.”
He added: “The fact that in certain countries certain TV operators are now promoting digital standard definition TV is regrettable. Not only do they sell to the consumers a technology that will become obsolete in a few years, but the companies itself are burning loads of cash in promoting old technology. This money would be better spent if it were invested in preparing their organisations for the arrival of HDTV. HDTV will become inevitably the ‘ultimate consumers’ choice’.”
