Melita inaugurates high definition television
Melita’s High Definition TV service was officially inaugurated this morning by Communications Minister Austin Gatt at Melita’s retail outlet in Naxxar.
This week, Melita started installations, both in commercial outlets and households, of its new Melita netbox HD – a new intelligent set top box similar to a mini computer which is revolutionizing the TV experience by making High Definition (HD) television possible and also by personalizing the TV viewing experience through the facilities of pausing, rewinding and recording live television.
“This is a big day for Melita and for the Maltese Islands. Earlier this year, we committed ourselves to a multi-million euro investment programme to upgrade our services, in particular our TV offering.
“We have increased the channel line-up to 150 channels at no extra cost to customers and introduced high definition content.
“We plan to continue investing further in this area to offer on-demand content for a truly personalised experience” said Andrei Torriani, chief executive officer for Melita.
He added:
“We are proud to be the first operator to offer high definition television to Maltese and Gozitan families.
“This is a very important milestone in the progression of television services in Malta.
“We promised to transform TV viewing in Malta from a linear model controlled by TV station managers to a personalised experience where our customers can watch what they want, when they want. This is the promise we are delivering today.”
He said that Melita’s HD content is not limited to sports only.
Melita is offering 10 new HD channels which will be added for free to the XL channel line-up with including Discovery HD Showcase, Nat Geo HD, Nat Geo Wild HD, Rush HD, iConcerts HD, Eurosport HD, History HD, Luxe TV HD, FTV HD and MTVN HD.
Melita’s High Definition television service is being launched right in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup matches.
Every single action in South Africa will spring to life on a dedicated sports HD channel with English commentary and with Italian commentary for matches played by the Italian national team.
All matches will also be broadcast in standard definition. After an agreement with PBS, operators of the national TV station TVM, Melita and TVM are sharing broadcasting rights for the World Cup matches leaving viewers and football fans spoilt for choice in how to watch the World Cup.
The World Cup is also available for free on Melita through TVM which will broadcast 46 live matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
For those who subscribe to Melita HD by the end of June, Melita is offering free installation of the new netbox HD and is also waiving the monthly rental fee of the set top box (€10 a month) until October 1.
Melita subscribers who are currently subscribed to Melita’s digital television can keep their existing digital set top box on another television set for free December 31.
Besides offering access to HD TV, the new set top box will allow customers to pause, record and rewind live television at will and to make use of a completely re-designed Electronic Programme Guide and a fully fledged media centre which includes a massive 320Gb in-built hard disk and USB inputs.
To get a taste of the extraordinary picture detail of high definition television, Melita is showcasing the new melita netbox HD and HD channels in Melita’s outlets in Paola, Naxxar and Valletta.
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Iro Schembri
May 28th 2010, 00:20
Here in Australia, HDTV has been around for a few years now. The newest craze is 3D TV. There was a big launch last week by a retailer to showcase 3D. Two Tv channesl has started to broadcast the sports in 3D.
The price for a 3DTV is still high, but is coming down. Trouble is only Samsung make it so far, but when more manufacturers bring theirs out, the price will tumble to the prices of a HDTV. eg 42inch HDTV is about $800Aus and the same in 3DTV is about $2500AUS.
Bye.
S Zammit
May 27th 2010, 17:55
As Meilta have dropped the airing of the Premiere League, Champion's League, Formula 1 in English, I have opted for Dreambox as it is HD, has about 2,000 Channels, Full HD and cheaper in the long run!
Alfred Bugeja
May 29th 2010, 09:04
Isnt dreambox illegal?
joe.camenzuli
May 27th 2010, 17:42
Money, money, money...and the government hasn't done away with the TV licence as promised in the PN election manifesto.
l fenech
May 27th 2010, 16:44
Being the first to have the HD netbox, the difference is beautiful in sound and vision. However the channels in HD should be increased to have a larger variety, lets hope that this does not take too long.
NB. THE HD NETBOX IS NOT EQUIPPED WITH TELETEXT AND I AM CURIOUS TO KNOW WHEN THIS TELETEXT WILLL BE AVAILABLE. MELITA PLEASE TAKE NOTE.
N.Lawrence
May 27th 2010, 14:58
@Angelo Calleja-
So now you can watch the deluge of advertising and repeated progs constantly thrown up by the discovery channels in HD. Wow.
I stopped watching the discovery channels simply because of their irritating, constant self promotion.
A Sciberras
May 27th 2010, 15:20
I think there will be widespread agreement that Discovery Channels (the whole lot of them) are highly informative for all ages.
billy buttmuncher
May 27th 2010, 13:29
HD ready tv's have a native resolution of 720p - full HD tv's are 1080p, Melita say their set top box is full 1080p but it all depends on the native res of the TV channel
Paul Barrett
May 27th 2010, 13:03
To be honest I cannot see the point in changing to HD. 150 channels of which most are total rubbish or at least, hardly worth watching. Those that are worth watching have perhaps one or two programmes a week that are not repeats and as for football; I am not a fan so as far as I am concerned, you can kick that into touch.
I would rather spend my money on a good book - you can start it and stop it when you like, carry it with you anywhere (except swimming), page back and re-read it or jump forward and read the end - all at no extra cost LOL
C.Sammut
May 27th 2010, 12:43
What is even worse is taking a day off so they can come and do the installation, to be called and told they got the wrong date and can they come tomorrow...Needless to say I did not get the service.
Angelo Calleja
May 27th 2010, 12:15
I was one of the lucky people who have had Melita’s HD installed at home for a while. At first I was sceptical but honestly WOW. Being a National Geographic and a Discovery channel aficionado I was amazed at the difference in the viewing quality as soon as I upgraded to HD. The pictures are incredibly vivid and I’m really pleased that Melita included these 2 incredible HD channels immediately as soon as they launched the service. Watching my favourite documentaries is like being at the cinema and better. And it’s more thrilling that I am enjoying HD at home when you consider that even abroad the service isn’t yet so widespread. Melita, well done, you converted me!!! Keep it up.
Angelo Calleja, Ibragg
Christian Sciberras
May 27th 2010, 12:07
And what about the "free internet, just pay 6 eur" offer?
A Abela
May 27th 2010, 11:43
Will we be able to watch Premiere League and Serie A in high def too from next season on Melita????
b.busuttil
May 28th 2010, 10:59
if Im not mistaken.. they cant because Go has the exclusive rights now.
Ian C Ellul
May 27th 2010, 11:27
I was with Melita but changed to Go. I had to. The customer care is practically non existent.
Freda Galea
May 27th 2010, 13:20
I disagree i never had any problems, but then again i was buying and not an existent customer,so i presume that once they got us under their claws and our money the rest is History, so you might well be right.
Joe Grima
May 27th 2010, 17:57
Veru li jghid il Malti: Mitt Bniedem mitt fehma. Jien ippruvajt naqleb mal Go u kelli esperjenza dizastruza, Wara 10t ijiem l-applikazzjoni tieghi qaluli li ma sabuhiex. Imabaghad staqsewni meta u fejn imlejt il formola. Kont imlejtha s-Sibt fl-outlet ta Bay Street. Junmejn wara staqsewni jekk kenitx mara jew ragel li qdietni. Meta ghedtilhom li kienet mara, jumejn wara cempluli biex jghiduli li Bay Street m'ghandhomx nisa maghhom. Hemmhekk bghatthom jixxejjru u dhalt mal Melita. Mal Melita s'issa ma kellix problemi
Paul Konti
May 27th 2010, 19:40
& @ A. Sciberras
Most viewers will agree that Discovery Channels make T.V. viewing worthwhile these days. Most of the other stations, except perhaps the sports channels (for those who are into sports), are senseless. Comedies have vanished. Personally, I would rather watch a repeat of a good-old British comedy than the 'new' so-called comedies which are based on vulgarity and lack humour.
K.Anastasi
May 27th 2010, 11:00
“We have increased the channel line-up to 150 channels at no extra cost to customers and introduced high definition content."
Untrue... my bill went up and when I phoned Melita, the chap told me because they added new channels!
Isn't there a law for misinformation!
J Micallef
May 27th 2010, 12:10
I have Melita's XL package at home with 150 channels including HD.
1. My bill hasn't increased
2. HD is fantastic - can't wait to watch Brazil playing in South Africa
3. the user interface on the melita netbox is superb - truly a toy for the boys
K.Anastasi
May 27th 2010, 14:24
Good for you, but mine did and Melita confirmed. So their statement is still untrue.
John Pace
May 27th 2010, 10:54
Be Aware!!!!!!! Hidden charges as usual by Melita. I had booked one myself. Then i was reading the report today on this website and it said that to view HD channels you have to upgrade your package to XL which means another €10 a month plus from October another €10 for the box. So in total €20 extra in my case.
This is recidulous. The MRA cant do anything on this matter please? Melita are very well know for these kind of hidden charges.
Ian Fiorentino
May 27th 2010, 10:37
I was intrested in this service so yesterday i went to the melita outlet in paola to have a look for myself before i subscribed to the service. There was one tv setup with the HD service and on the right side there where four tv's running the normal sd service. I was not impressed at all with the picture quality on the hd set. It was slighty better then the sd picture but not as good to what i have seen abroad like bbc hd or sky hd so i guess ill have to keep waiting and see what others will offer now. Sound like this is going to be the same scenario like with the HD tv's mania. Just slap the HD name on it and people will buy it.
Michael Bugeja
May 27th 2010, 10:36
@John Micallef
Caps lock = cruise control for cool.
Also, stop trolling, no one is transmitting in 3D yet - sony are working on it (http://www.tvtechnology.com/article/92604) - so your article is flamebait.
Regards HDTV, about time! Can anyone tell us if it will be 540 or 720p? Should it be the former, it would be a major disappointment for us tech-freaks.
What we really need is a service like Hulu, which allows for watching what you want, where you want, how you want it...for free.
S. Camilleri
May 27th 2010, 11:16
If you're a techfreak, you'd know that HD starts being considered as such at 720p. 1080p (or 1080i) is considered as TRUE HD ...
So the question is.... what is the exact definition of Melita's transmission, 720p or 1080p ??
jake farrugia
May 27th 2010, 11:18
Dear supposedly tech freak....
540p?!?! what are you on about? so if it's 720 you would be happy?
It SHOULD be 1080p if anything. And it has nothing to do with being a tech freak, it's about standards and quality. In the end it depends on whether your TV is HD Ready or FULL HD. Just for your sake I went to their website and tech specs... it is 1080. But I guess it depends on the channels really not just on Melita.
Michael Bugeja
May 27th 2010, 13:45
Dear all,
what I meant was, would they have tried to pass off 540p transmissions as HD? I was not aware that they had posted details on their site so that's a blunder on my part - seems like they've decided to play nice and give us fullHD.
@jake farrugia
Most channels, ex Fox HD transmit in 720p and it still looks pretty good. I agree though, people who have invested in 1080p deserve to be able to exploit it to the full.
Chester Barnes
May 27th 2010, 14:11
You can get Hulu anywhere in the world via a proxy server through your laptop. Hook it up to your tv via a hdmi cable, plug in some speakers and hey presto, US TV for the cost of a monthly vpn service (€10-ish). Also works for Zattoo (showing BBC's 1 & 2, ITV, Channels 4 & 5) and on demand for those channels.
TV through the internet is the way forward. Why pay bucketloads for 150 channels of dross when you can access quality for a very small charge? Satellite and cable providers are dinosaurs.
Joseph Micallef
May 27th 2010, 16:15
@Chester Barnes. You can only watch such internet TV channels if you live in the USA. So wonder why you are promoting them in Malta!
John Micallef
May 27th 2010, 10:20
WELL DONE MELITA
WHAT ABOUT 3D NOW?
Edward Vella
May 27th 2010, 10:31
3DTV has just been introduced, if malta were to take up this initiative and install it alot of people wont buy a 3dtv because: 1. its ridiculously high price, 2. most probably maltese companies will sell the tv for double the price it should be, 3. its only fun once in a while, if you watch it too much you get headaches, 4. there are hardly any tv shows in 3d for now, the only way to watch stuff in 3d is to buy a ps3 to watch bluray movies on it coz it incorporates 3d and you can play certain games in 3d, or just a normal bluray player . its not a good choice in malta for now