The launch of HDTV services means that satellite broadcasters have a greater incentive to use new technologies to save bandwitdth. Alongside advanced video compression technology PMEG-4 AVC, the new satellite broadcast standard, DVB-S2, is key to their strategy. However with two new technologies being implemented together, thimng is key. The launch of HDTV promises to be the key story in European pay-TV in 2006. Satellite pay-TV broadcasters have been expected to lead the way. However, satellite HD services have taken longer than expected to get off the ground. In attempting to time HD launches to take advantage of a new generation of bandwidth-saving technologies, broadcasters have set themselves (or their technology suppliers) a number of difficult challenges to solve in a relatively short space of time. UK pay-TV operator BSkyB, for example, set the bar quite high in specifying that it wanted to launch HDTV services using MPEG-4 AVC, and DVR-capable set-top boxes.
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