The simulator delivers an unprecedented level of realism that gives trainees a better and more accurate learning experience. Never again will a train operator not know what to do when he or she encounters something on the tracks (here’s a hint: ’stop’). The system just became available commercially for three million yen (about $31,000), so extremely rich Thomas the Tank Engine fans, it’s time to make your train-operating dreams come true! [Fareastgizmos]

AU: Ok, so none of these are available her in Australia, but don’t you always wonder what it would be like to be able to download video without having to rely on bittorrent?

“People have been waiting a long time to move into the Hi-Def era and now they have the confidence that this is going to be the format,” claimed Rowe, whose cheapest Blu-ray player, the Samsung BD-P1400/XEU, costs just under US$400.

But don’t expect a slew of discounted HD-DVD movies just yet. “There are no real plans for us to slash prices on the disks,” says Stuart. “A lot of people have the players and collectors will keep buying them for the time being.” [T3]

BBC HD
Because the BBC has such a wide variety of programming, you can expect BBC HD to be just as eclectic in its selection. Some of the programs you can look forward to watching include comedies and dramas like Bleak House, Robin Hood, Torchwood, Hotel Babylon, Lead Balloon and Sensitive Skin. Plus you’ll get awesome documentaries like Planet Earth, Galapagos, Hannibal, Supervolcano and Who do you think you are? (If you haven’t seen Planet Earth in HD, you should go out, buy a Blu-ray player and the Blu-ray disc and watch it today – it’s spectacular). Finally, there will also be musical shows and operas, like The Proms, Glyndebourne, Aida and Tosca.

While not every thing there sounds completely enjoyable, it offers a pretty good variety. And with the BBC hoping to produce all its primetime programs in HD by 2010, the amount of content is only going to grow in the next few years.


Fox Sports HD
Last year, Channel 10 showed their key AFL matches and the Rugby World Cup in HD. If you didn’t get to experience it, you were missing out – HD is pretty much made for sport. Fox Sports HD is going to join the other four Fox Sports Channels as a dedicated station, showcasing a selection of Australian and international sports.

The press release says local coverage will include the “AFL, NRL, Rugby Union Internationals, Socceroos matches, The Hyundai A-league and the Ford Ranger Cup”. At the launch, they also mentioned the Super 14 in that list.

On top of that, look for international HD coverage of sports like tennis, cricket, golf and motorsports including NASCAR. Local sports panel shows NRL on FOX, Total Football and Inside Rugby will also be filmed in HD.

I’m not entirely sure whether Fox Sports HD will be filming their own coverage in 1080i, although it would seem logical, considering half of those are currently only filmed in SD. I’ve put the question to Foxtel and am currently waiting for a response.

ESPN HD
Continuing the sports theme, we’ll also get ESPN HD which will show a massive array of US international sports. Think Indy Car racing, NBA, baseball, American Football, Soccer, Lacrosse, Horse racing, X Games plus news and entertainment. Oh, and Poker – the toughest sport of them all.

ESPN HD will generally be transmit at 720p – Foxtel HD+ will broadcast in the standard the program was filmed at, and most US sports is filmed in 720p.

Discovery HD and National Geographic HD
These two channels get grouped together because, well, they’ll be broadcast as a single documentary channel. At least initially – once that D3 satellite goes online next year, expect them to branch off into two separate entities.

Content-wise, the mega documentary channel is fairly self-explanatory. You can expect to see lots of documentaries.

Foxtel Box Office HD
The new iQ2 box that’s a necessary part of the HD+ package lets Foxtel improve their Box Office / On Demand offerings into one super service. Box Office HD will offer a selection of 1080i HD movies with 5.1 surround sound that can be watched instantaneously.

It works exactly the same as On Demand does in the current iQ box – movies will be pushed to the iQ2’s hard drive via a built-in 4th tuner, so that when you press play, the movie starts immediately. It also offers full DVD functionality – you can pause, rewind and fast forward through the film.

Purchased movies are available for a full 48 hours and the service is on offer for all iQ2 subscribers.

The Future
As mentioned earlier, Foxtel are planning on expanding content when the D3 satellite goes online in May next year. The most obvious moves would be to separate the National Geographic and Discovery HD channels, plus add more standard entertainment HD channels – think Fox8 HD, Arena HD, TV1 HD and so on.

The fact that they’ve only launched with four HD channels may turn some people off subscribing initially, but it isn’t necessarily a bad move. Remember, HD is still in its infancy in Australia – it was only November/December last year that channels 7 and 10 launched their own HD channels, which still spend a lot of time showing the same content as the SD channel. Channel 9 is still fart-arsing around with their HD offering, and despite the fact HD panels are selling more and more, most people still only have CRTs in their lounge rooms, making HD irrelevant to them.

The good news is that with everybody moving towards an HD future, content is going to become more readily available. This move from Foxtel is just the start.

The new service is called Foxtel HD+. Why the ‘+’? We think it might have something to do with the extra dollars you’ll have to pay. Maybe – pricing and release date haven’t been announced yet, so that’s just us having a friendly rib at Foxtel’s pricing structure at the moment.

The core component of the Foxtel HD+ service is the Foxtel iQ2. As the name suggests, its the successor to their successful iQ box. It works in much the same way, by letting you record content to its internal hard drive (which, as we announced previously, is a “massive” 320GB). That will give you about 30 hours of HD recording or 90 hours of SD, with some capacity reserved for Foxtel’s on demand services.

Inside, there are three HD tuners (so you can record two shows while watching a third), plus a fourth tuner for Foxtel to push content onto your device at their leisure. What kind of content, you ask? Well, it’s all about the On Demand programming – HD movies will be available on demand, and will start instantly thanks to this 4th tuner.

Like the previous iQ, there’s no connection to external storage or the ability to burn content thanks to licensing requirements from their content partners, but there is an HDMI output (only 1.2, I’m afraid), and an ethernet port for future services (potentially IPTV, although that isn’t confirmed at this stage) once broadband speeds in Australia improve.

Content-wise, Foxtel will launch their new service with 4 dedicated HD channels. They include BBC HD, Fox Sports HD, ESPN HD, Discovery HD and National Geographic HD, plus HD movies on demand. These channels will broadcast content in both 720p or 1080i, depending on how the content is recorded (US sports on ESPN HD, for example, are recorded at 720p, whereas the AFL is recorded at 1080i). For those of you who can count, at launch Discovery and National Geographic will be a single channel.

These four channels will be expanded in May 2009 when the D3 satellite goes online and increases their bandwidth. They also plan to show the 2010 Commonwealth and Winter Olympic games in HD, multichannelling up to eight different channels in Hi Def for each tournament.

Although pricing / release dates haven’t been announced, they assure us we’ll be seeing it before mid 2008. The full press release is below, and there were a few other interesting tidbits I’ll put up over then next day or so, but feel free to go comments crazy!

MEDIA RELEASE: January 30, 2008
FOXTEL UNVEILS NEW FOXTEL HD+ SERVICE
FOXTEL today unveiled details of its new High Definition (HD) service – which will be known as FOXTEL HD+ – and revealed the initial exclusive channel line-up at launch would comprise the world’s strongest subscription television brands, namely BBC HD, Discovery HD, National Geographic HD, FOX SPORTS HD and ESPN HD, plus for the first time the introduction of blockbuster movies in HD and On Demand through FOXTEL Box Office.
FOXTEL HD+ will deliver FOXTEL subscribers a complete HD service with:
•Stunningly beautiful HD pictures and immersive surround sound +
•The introduction of the new generation iQ2, delivering incredible iQ functionality and technology +
•Four dedicated, exclusive 24/7 HD channels – the most expansive HD program offering in Australia +
•True On Demand, High Definition movies +
•Exceptional customer care, lifetime service and support
This all adds up to FOXTEL HD+ and will be the most comprehensive HD service available to Australian consumers. FOXTEL HD+ will provide the ultimate experience for subscribers with increased choice to access HD entertainment in addition to FOXTEL’s standard definition service.
It is the next step in the progressive evolution and expansion of FOXTEL which currently provides a full digital offering of more than 100 channels and interactive services, an intuitive and intelligent iQ set-top-unit with a fully integrated electronic program guide and complimentary services available on mobile and the internet.
FOXTEL Chief Executive and Managing Director Kim Williams AM said: “FOXTEL is the home of HD and we can expect consumer demand to be high. FOXTEL HD+ will deliver HD TV the way it should be. It’s about watching what you want and when you want. FOXTEL’s HD+ service will optimise viewer experience, ensure more consumer choice, and provide unequalled customer and technical support and programming for Australian viewers.
“Today marks a significant step in our HD journey. We’ve outlined the programming and channels that FOXTEL will have available at our mid-2008 launch. We’ve also released details about the new iQ2 set-top-unit and secured the world’s leading subscription television brands.
“FOXTEL has cemented its position as the leading innovator and provider of choice in television entertainment in Australia. FOXTEL HD+ will provide consumers with a complete, innovative HD solution with the best pictures and sound that is very simple to use.
“And in 2010, FOXTEL will also showcase its coverage of the Vancouver Winter Olympics and the Delhi Commonwealth Games and in 2012 the London Summer Olympics in stunning HD,” Mr Williams said.
FOXTEL HD+ will launch mid-2008 (with the official launch date to be announced shortly), along with full pricing and packaging details.
FOXTEL is also committed to expanding the FOXTEL HD+ service from as early as 2009 with the launch of a brand new satellite and access to increased cable capacity that will allow FOXTEL to provide a range of new standard definition and HD channels.
FOXTEL Executive Director of Content, Product Development and Delivery, Patrick Delany said: “High Definition is the future of television and provides viewers with a true to life experience with amazing pictures and immersive surround sound that puts you in the centre of the entertainment. If you have a HD ready plasma or LCD TV, you will just have to have FOXTEL HD+.
“FOXTEL has secured some of the biggest brand names in television for the launch of FOXTEL HD+, providing Australian consumers with the most comprehensive HD content that is available covering sport, general entertainment and documentaries.
“FOXTEL is not just dipping its toe in the HD pond, we are immersing ourselves by delivering Australian viewers four, 24 /7 HD channels of some of the greatest television brand names who are the leaders in HD content and delivery.
“To have BBC HD, Discovery HD, National Geographic HD, FOX SPORTS HD and ESPN HD on board for our
launch will deliver a truly fantastic high definition experience for our subscribers with thousands of hours of must see HD programming.
“In addition our subscribers will have access to the latest FOXTEL Box Office movies in HD and for the first time available On Demand, meaning they are ready to watch instantly with a 48-hour viewing window,” Mr Delany said.
www.foxtel.com.au/hd
ENDS