The constant reminders that Channel Ten’s ONE HD was only X number of days away was cruel. Very cruel. It was like an April Fools joke to regional viewers. When the day finally arrived, we were left with a message saying “Southern Cross Ten wishes to advise viewers that the ONE HD Channel is currently only available in metropolitan areas. We apologise for any inconvenience.”
Inconvenience. You could say that again.
Southern Cross was so secretive in the lead up to ONE HD. There were rumours on various websites that regional viewers would be unable to receive the channel until later in the year, but no official word.
What really annoys me is the excuse they’ve given.
Apart from the throw-away line about an “economic crisis,” apparently regional areas do not have the infrastructure to broadcast the HD Channel. This includes our nation’s capital, which is also under the control of Southern Cross Ten!
So what about all those times Rove was in HD, or NCIS, or any other entertainment show? What was that infrastructure? Did it just magically happen?
If High Definition is the only problem, why don’t they just broadcast it in Standard Definition?
And what about all those people that went out and bought digital set-top-boxes so they could watch their sport for free 24-hours a day?
Clearly the only thing preventing Southern Cross Ten from launching ONE HD to us hapless country folk (and Canberrans) is advertising. They specifically want local ads to appear on the channel.
Instead of a metropolitan mobile phone company advertisement, which only makes Channel Ten money, they want their own Southern Cross advertising revenue coming from one of those annoying Rivers ads or the local butcher.
So now we just have to bide our time, again. They claim it will be ready in a couple of months, but I wouldn’t count on it.
We’re used to waiting in the country. Our broadband services are rubbish, yet we still get charged the same prices.
Now when promised free sport, we still have to pay for it. Actually, sometimes we can’t even watch it at all.
About a month ago, the World Matchplay championships were only on Ten HD. So I couldn’t even watch Tiger Woods’ return to professional golf, unless I looked for an illegal loophole on the internet (I may or may not have found one).
I’ve been too scared to check next week’s TV guide to see whether the Masters is only on ONE HD. If it is, I may just throw this computer against a wall in disgust.
Please, someone tell me I can watch one of my favourite sporting events of the year. Even if it is only on analogue TV or in black and white, I don’t care.
Surely Southern Cross has the infrastructure for that?
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April 3rd 2009 @ 7:13pm
Frank said | April 3rd 2009 @ 7:13pm | Report comment
Millster is probably correct, though the financial performance of 10 would indicate that we may need to get used to a diet of Bull Riding and Poker until the rights for “World’s Strongest Man” and “Women’s Bodybuilding” are up for renewal. In the meantime, this is a lame sports channel.
April 3rd 2009 @ 7:13pm
Tifosi said | April 3rd 2009 @ 7:13pm | Report comment
Living in canberra, i rang SC ten to find out when One HD would be coming, the answer was sometime during the middle of the year. They say the infrastructure costs are large but my bet is 2010 at the earliest. How Canberra misses out on HD television is crazy.
This country is so backwards when it comes to television and broadband its not funny.
April 3rd 2009 @ 8:54pm
The Auteur said | April 3rd 2009 @ 8:54pm | Report comment
“Who knows, ONeHD might be the future home of the Socceroos on FTA…”
Hopefully that will never happen.
April 5th 2009 @ 8:25pm
Timmuh said | April 5th 2009 @ 8:25pm | Report comment
Getting the Socceroos on One would be great, once (if) One is available nationally.
Given SC10 never got TenHD together for the “breakaway” programming despite promising it by April last year, I’m not expecting OneHD to be available in SC areas until 2011 at the very earliest. They are saying “in the coming months” on Channel 50 now, but March 2051 is a coming month.
At the moment One is light on for major sports. Once Fox exclusive rights are up for renewal, expect One to get in the bidding. We might some English Premier League, away cricket tours, A-League, etc on free to air once that happens. Until then, One will be light on. Hopefully at some point, after 2012, all AFL games will be on One nationally so those of us without Fox actually get to see our team each week.
April 5th 2009 @ 9:50pm
The Auteur said | April 5th 2009 @ 9:50pm | Report comment
All football on FTA should only be on SBS.
April 5th 2009 @ 10:30pm
Captain Crapper said | April 5th 2009 @ 10:30pm | Report comment
el_capitan is completely correct. I for one bought a new antenna and HD set top box solely on the assumption that I would be able to watch some AFL on OneHD.
I live on the Central Coast and now I find out that it was a complete waste of money.
And to be fed a complete load of clap-trap about lack of infrastructure – what a joke !!
I do not believe a word of it.
If they can transmit “test loop” why can’t they transmit a feed from OneHD?
I’m beginning to think that I should have spent the money on getting Foxtel installed.
April 13th 2009 @ 12:05pm
equality4all said | April 13th 2009 @ 12:05pm | Report comment
Hmm, very frustrating. I bought me Dad a HD set-top box for his birthday as he loves his sports only to find once i set it up that he SC10 is not yet broadcasting OneHD.
And i don’t think Ch10 care at all. Advertising boards behind each interviewed runner in the Stawell Gift clearly displayed the OneHD logo in a town that can’t even receive that channel.
I didn’t realise we were that far behind the rest of the world with technology.
April 16th 2009 @ 11:05pm
jimbo jenkins said | April 16th 2009 @ 11:05pm | Report comment
I’m disgusted with the complete lack of HD in Canberra. I was one of the early adopters of HDTV, couple of yrs ago, only to find that Ten and Win don’t even broadcast a full-time HD channel. The rolling pictures they screen are so annoying. Atleast Prime cuts in and out from HD to SD on their HD channel. What a disgrace for the other two supposedly “regional” broadcasters. Incompetence at its best!!!
And what a kick in the teeth for Canberrans to be constantly reminded about the Federal Government push for Digital TV and more channels, with their crappy ads, when there’s obviously no intention of ensuring these initiatives are nation-wide. Here’s an idea for the next number plate phrase “CANBERRA: The Neglected Capital”.
April 24th 2009 @ 10:25pm
Alex McCanberran said | April 24th 2009 @ 10:25pm | Report comment
I love watching HD loops of bendigo mining feilds and some lake. Not. Thats all SC10 HD is… Rubbish. Nations Capital? We don’t get treated like it. Also, how DO they really play HD Rove & House without the ‘infastructure’?? If it was true that they didn’t have infastructure, this must be SD..
Also can someone tell me if ONE HD will have an SD compagnion? as i have a full HD tv, but my HDD recorder is SD so it cannot record HD channels – (ONE…) so i hope it has an SD version to record programs that are played late at night. Oh, SD, that reminds me, CAN’T THEY MAKE ONE HD SD????????
Thanks a lot SC10…
April 25th 2009 @ 3:22am
corym said | April 25th 2009 @ 3:22am | Report comment
^^ They have got OneHD on a SD channel. It’s Channel 12. Still not playing on SC-Ten in Queensland though.