The first five HD+ receivers will hit German retail outlets before the end of the year. Three manufacturers – Technisat, Technotrend and Humax – are ready to deliver the sets, which have an integrated HD+ card reader.
Manufacturers are to rush the sets to the shops in order to meet the November 1st deadline, when the first broadcasts on the HD+ platform on Astra will start with two channels – the main RTL HD channel and Vox HD – from the RTL Group.
HD+ is the new platform launched by SES-Astra to accommodate HD simulcasts of commercial broadcasters. For the moment, only the German speaking market is targeted, with RTL starting broadcasts this year and being followed by three channels from ProSiebenSat.1 in January next year.
The five models that will be available are the Technisat Digit HD8+, Humax HD Fox and iCord HD+ as well as theTechnotrend Micro S835 HD+ and Select S845 HD+, according to information obtained by the German news site Digital Fernsehen.
According to SES-Astra, a number of manufacturers will make firmware updates available to enable a selected number of legacy HD receivers fitted out with a CI slot compatible with the HD+ platform.
