Canal+ live & on-demand TV comes to French Xbox 360s
by Richard Lawler 
posted Jun 29th 2009 at 11:26AM
[Via Reuters]
france posts
[Via Reuters]
Numericable brings Ushuaia HD / Eurosport HD to French subscribers
by Darren Murph posted Jan 14th 2009 at 10:03AM
Read - Ushuaia HD addition
Read - Eurosport HD addition
Read - TF1 agreement
Eurosport HD floats to France on CanalSat
by Darren Murph posted Dec 14th 2008 at 1:21AM
CANAL+ KEY provides pay-TV reception of French networks
by Darren Murph posted Dec 9th 2008 at 4:25PM
Forget those OTA tuners that only pick up what's widely distributed for free; the CANAL+ KEY can handle that and more. Developed in conjunction with DiBom, the device -- hailed as the planet's first USB key-sized DTT HD decoder -- enables the reception of French pay-TV programs (SD and HD), 18 free DTT channels and even the premium channel CANAL+ HD. The key is equipped with two small antennas and can provide viewing enjoyment to any USB-equipped PC. Regrettably, there's no price / availability date mentioned, but yet again, we're amazed at how quickly France is becoming Europe's beacon of HD light.[Via TechDigest]
MTVNHD headed to France via SES ASTRA
by Richard Lawler posted Dec 2nd 2008 at 8:38AM
MTVNHD -- the international variant of +Le Cube HD DVR brings a touch of class to Canal+
by Richard Lawler posted Nov 30th 2008 at 2:53AM
Gallery: +Le Cube HD DVR
TNTSAT expands reach in France, going HD in February 2009
by Darren Murph posted Nov 22nd 2008 at 3:07PM
TNTSAT, a digital terrestrial free-TV offer via the ASTRA satellite system, has just found its way into 750,000 domiciles across the beautiful French countryside. For those unaware, the service targets regions where TVs cannot receive signals from terrestrial transmitters, and it offers viewers the "full range of French digital terrestrial free-TV channels over the ASTRA satellites, allowing a 100% coverage of France." But that's not all that's being announced today: TNTSAT HD is being launched on February 15, 2009 alongside the launch of free DTT channels in high-def being available on ASTRA; those eager to get a jump on things can expect around ten more SD / HD TNTSAT receivers to become available before the year's end. And to think, we heard that France wasn't exactly rushing to adopt HD back in May -- guess there's nothing like a little kick in the pants to get things going.French national HD channels first to implement Dolby Digital Plus
by Darren Murph posted Nov 2nd 2008 at 8:23AM
Four French national channels going HD over-the-air this month
by Darren Murph posted Oct 27th 2008 at 4:16AM
Apparently all that's necessary to get a lagging country to hop on the high-def bandwagon is to talk bad about 'em, or at least that's the case here with France. After we heard that the nation wasn't exactly rushing out to adopt HD, in comes word that four major French channels will soon be available in high-definition on digital terrestrial TV (DTT). TF1 HD, France 2 HD, M6 HD and Arte HD will all begin broadcasting OTA in HD on October 30th, and while all of these are already available on other platforms, we can only imagine that beaming 'em out gratis will greatly increase HD awareness. Any other nations want to follow suit? Oh, and France, way to be a role model out there.Numericable plans 5 new HD channels this month
by Richard Lawler posted Sep 2nd 2008 at 10:17AM
With enough bandwidth to support 1080p video on-demand, France's Numericable has apparently found space left over in its MPEG-4 DOCSIS 3.0 network to add five new channels. All due before the end of the month, Melody Zen and Brava HDTV jump into the Premium Plus channel lineup, while Euro 1080, i-Concerts HD and Ushuaïa TV HD head to the premium package. No MTV Networks?SES ASTRA tardily trumpets 12 channels of HD Olympics across Europe
by Darren Murph posted Aug 19th 2008 at 9:58AM
[Image courtesy of Beijing 2008]
European broadcasters rushing to add HD ahead of the Olympics
by Richard Lawler posted Jul 8th 2008 at 11:40AM
Despite word from France Television's director of sports programming that HD wouldn't be available for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, France 2 HD has already launched on CanalSat DTH and Numéricable. Unlike the Versus broadcast here, French viewers are also getting the Tour de France in HD and can expect the same from their Olympic coverage. Meanwhile Belgians can thank TV Vlaanderen for adding VRT's Eén HD temporarily to its DTH platform, delivering both events in HD, along with Belgacom TV adding Eén HD, France 2 HD, Eurosport HD and TF1 HD for a total of 13 high definition channels. Really, we can't see watching the Olympics any other way.Read - Belgacom TV
Read - France 2
Read - VRT Eén HD
France not exactly rushing to adopt HD
by Darren Murph posted May 27th 2008 at 10:12PM
Talk about a let down. According to a new report from Variety, Daniel Bilalian -- France Televisions' director of sports programming -- has announced that "HD transmissions would not be available for this summer's Olympic Games on any of the pubcaster's channels." The article also notes that French networks in general have been slow to move towards high-definition, with only Canal Plus putting forth a proposal for premium HD transmissions (from pay-TV providers). Still, it's noted that private networks TF1 and M6 have "committed to airing at least 80-percent of their content in HD by the end of 2012," but it's not like we're really down with twiddling our thumbs for four more years waiting for it to happen.France 2 getting new $3.1 million HD studio in Paris
by Darren Murph posted Apr 14th 2008 at 3:18PM
Though quite a bit of broadcast news is flowing from the States right about now, Thomson is out boasting of its involvement with France 2's forthcoming HD upgrades. The "first public television broadcaster" in France has indeed chosen Thomson to construct a new high-definition facility (studio and control room) in Paris, which will set the network back a cool $3.1 million. Reportedly, the new France 2 HD project will include system design, installation, staff training and around the clock customer service. Among the new equipment is a pair of Kayak HD video production switchers and a Trinix HD router -- both of which should be well-oiled and ready to rock when the studio goes on-air by late August.France's Numericable rolls DOCSIS 3.0 network to five new cities
by Darren Murph posted Mar 12th 2008 at 8:38PM
While the likes of Comcast (among others) won't have DOCSIS 3.0 ready to roll out until sometime next year, France's Numericable is already dishing out the high-speed goodness. Reportedly, the French cable operator has stretched its all-fiber network to Angers, Martigues, Marseille, Lille and Metz over the past month or so, bringing the total homes touched by said network to over two million. For the lucky residents of the aforementioned cities, they are now able to receive blazing fast internet (up to 100Mbps), HDTV, VOD and lots more. If your locale wasn't mentioned, take heart, as the company is purportedly aiming to reach some 70 cities by mid-year.
