0/5

Foxtel makes HD channels easier to find

Hurrah! If you subscribe to Foxtel's HD Channels they will now automatically replace the SD channels.

Well this is such a common sense move, why didn’t somebody think of it before?

If you subscribe to Foxtel’s HD Channels from today they will be easier to find -each HD will now be automatically placed where the existing SD channel has been.

So while Ch. 108 was FOX8 it will now become FOX8 HD. etc. That makes life easier when you are using your remote.

Foxtel Executive Director of Product, Jim Rudder said, “Foxtel subscribers have access to the widest range of premium High Definition channels across all genres offering in HD over 1500 hours of LIVE sport each month, popular general entertainment series, exclusive drama, lifestyle shows, factual programming and blockbuster movies. Foxtel is the leading HD broadcaster in Australia and these TV Guide changes reflect the increasing demand from our subscribers wanting to watch their favourite TV in HD.”

Foxtel General Manager of Platform Development, Jeffrey Smith said, “Foxtel’s TV Guide is the gateway to finding programs subscribers love and to discovering new shows to watch. We are constantly making upgrades to the TV Guide so it’s simpler to use and with more features for viewer discovery. The TV Guide channel updates will help make great TV in HD even easier to find and enhance the discovery of new programs for the ultimate HD experience at home.”

So can we now add FTA digital channels to the FTA menu please? Bring ABC2, ABC3 etc. into line with ABC1 on our menus!

The SD channels are still available at the bottom of each programming genre for recording flexibility, so there’s no need to worry about taking up too much memory space on the iQHD. For example to find FOX Sports 1 (SD version), press the TV Guide on the Remote Control, choose the Sport genre then scroll to the end of the Sport channel list, select FOX Sports 1.

The TV Guide will be automatically updated via a software upgrade from December 1 meaning Foxtel iQHD subscribers won’t have to do a thing to see the new HD channel positions on the TV Guide.

This chart outlines the new HD and SD channel numbers:

Channel (HD)

New Number

Channel (SD)

New Number

FOX8 HD

108

FOX8

208

Lifestyle HD

106

Lifestyle

216

UKTV HD

103

UKTV

214

W HD

115

W

215

MTVN Live HD

812

MTVN Live

252

BBC Knowledge HD

612

BBC Knowledge

242

Discovery HD

608

Discovery

232

Nat Geo HD

610

Nat Geo

236

Nat Geo WILD HD

616

Nat Geo WILD

238

ESPNHD

508

ESPN

211

ESPN2HD

509

ESPN2

212

FOX Sports 1HD

501

FOX Sports 1

203

FOX Sports 2HD

502

FOX Sports 2

204

 

The following features will remain as they are and will not be affected by the HD changes:
• Series Link – all links set up should continue to record.
• Favourites – if HD subscribers have FOX8 (SD) set up as a favourite, it will remain in the list but now will be listed at 208.
• iSuggest – HD subscribers recording events from iSuggest will get the standard version of the program, unless they specifically select content from the HD category.
• Active
• Record Me – this feature will remain the same and will schedule records from the channel currently being watched.
• Online TV Guide – this will display the standard definition TV Guide when users are logged in. This means FOX8 will be listed at 108 and FOX8HD will be listed at 208. The HD channels will be found from 200 to 252 in the Online TV Guide.

There will be no impact to standard Foxtel, iQ subscribers and iQHD subscribers who do not subscribe to Foxtel’s HD channels. These subscribers will continue to see the HD channels in the TV Guide at the 200 numbers, exactly as they do now.

To learn more visit www.foxtel.com.au/hd

38 Responses

  1. It is crap, I can’t just scroll through the channels as i did before. Since when does 219 come before 101???? Why change what wasn’t broken????? All HD channels together worked just fine.

  2. Why would anyone that subscribes to HD watch the SD Channel when there is a HD alternative? I don’t have HD, and the SD Picture quality on my new TV is plain awful. I can’t afford to pay the $150 upgrade at the moment, so was going to cancel Foxtel for a few months before rejoining with IQ2 but Foxtel won’t let me cancel (I’m an authorised person on the account, not the account holder who’s in hospital for several months) – strange Foxtel let authorised people upgrade the account costing the customer more money, but don’t let authorised people cost the customer less money.

  3. Now align the rest of the channels, fox 8 and fox 8+2 should be 108-109 all +2 channels should follow in logical order, dont get me started on the documentary and news channels being mixed, stupid foxtel

  4. This is the mOst ridiculous change I have ever seen. For those of us who use the channel number we know have to scroll through all the channels to find the one we want.

    This is simply Foxtel making us view more of their channels that most of us avoid. Please put everything back so that all the HD channels are together – what was so difficult with that.

Leave a Reply