The French TNTSat free-to-view DTH offer is to include four HD channels from next February onwards, according to SES Astra COO Alexander Oudendijk. The HD line-up will consist of TF1 HD, M6 HD, Arte HD and France 2 HD.
TNTSat is the special service from the Canal+ Group which offers a DTH alternative to DTT with all the free-to-air channels available on satellite. For reception, a special Sagem/Viaccess satellite tuner and decoder is needed. Since a number of these are HD-compatible, some existing receivers will also be able to receive the MPEG-4 HD channels when they will join the line-up.
The Sagem/Viacess TNTSat Sagem – ISD91 HD box is now in 50,000 homes. Oudendijk expects the figure to rise to 100,000 by the end of the year.
