How good is HD?
For the cutting-edge viewer, there's little better than glorious high-definition material. There's no mistaking a HD broadcast or a Blu-ray movie - the extra detail, improved clarity and gorgeous colours make for an image that's immediately noticeable to the naked eye.
There's no denying that HD is good, and the FOXSAT-HDR - outputting at either 720p or 1080i - is able to provide a stunning image. Indeed, watching BBC HD on the Pioneer plasma used for our testing is simply breathtaking.
The problem, then, isn't the quality of HD programming, it's the prominent lack of HD content available. At present, Freesat offers just two HD channels - BBC HD, which broadcasts on channel 108 between the hours of 4pm and 1:30am, and ITV HD, a red-button service that broadcasts little more than the occasional football match.
Consequently, you may find yourself reverting to the usual SD channels in the hope of finding something to watch. When doing so, we found SD broadcasts to be upscaled fairly well - although, in our estimation, they weren't quite up to the standard of the Pioneer PDP-LX5090's built-in tuner.
Image quality, and indeed sound, is a mixed bag. When viewing the limited HD content, it's breathtaking - particularly on the impressive BBC HD - but at all other times, there's little difference when compared to cheaper non-HD PVR alternatives.
Herein lies a potential problem. One of Freesat's biggest draws is its promise of free-to-air HD broadcasts, but with HD content so limited in quantity, is it good value?
