From June 2021, all TV channels from Swiss public broadcaster SRG will be available in full HD. TV viewers will benefit from a noticeable improvement in image quality.
The upgrade affects German-language channels SRF 1, SRF 2, and SRF info, French-language channels RTS 1, RTS 2, and RTS info, and SRG’s Italian-language channels. These will now be available in full HD resolution.
How does the change affect viewers?
The image-resolution of the TV channels will be greatly improved. Until now, SRG channels have been broadcast with an image size of 1280x720 pixels (720p). The resulting resolution is just 921,600 pixels. Now the channels will be broadcast with an image size of 1920x1080 pixels (1080p). The resulting resolution will be 2,073,600 pixels. That means images will have twice as much detail as they have until now.
Which TV plans offer SRG channels in full HD?
Since 19. July 2021, SRG channels can be watched in full HD with the plans «Ultimate» from Zattoo and «Max» from Teleboy.
Will all viewers benefit from the upgrade to full HD?
You only benefit if you have one of the abovementioned plans or if more providers such as Swisscom, UPC and Sunrise implement the changes.
However, the big telecom companies Swisscom, UPC and Sunrise did not provide concrete information. Swisscom says that it is currently in discussion with the SRG and will assess the situation. Sunrise says that the change only impacts the satellite transmission of the channels. The SRG, for its part, clearly states that rebroadcasters – meaning cable TV and TV plan providers – will be able to receive the broadcasts in full HD from June.
The answers provided by telecom companies indicate that it may take some time before most Swiss TV viewers will be able to watch SRG channels in high definition.
Will any other channels be broadcast in full HD?
A number of channels have already been available in HD for some time now. Examples include German channels ARD and ZDF.
Are any channels available in ultra-high definition?
Many television sets support 4K ultra-high definition (UHD) picture. Streaming services like YouTube and Netflix already offer some movies and series in 4K resolution. But conventional broadcasters have not yet begun to broadcast in ultra-high definition. There are a number of 4K channels, but these typically only make a small number of broadcasts for demonstrative purposes. Some select football matches are broadcast in UHD on pay TV channels.
It will likely take some time before conventional broadcasters begin to broadcast in UHD.
Verdict by moneyland.ch telecom expert Ralf Beyeler
It is great that Swiss TV viewers will finally have the chance to watch the SRG’s channels in full HD. It is somewhat astonishing is that the move to HD by the SRG seems to have taken Swiss TV service providers by surprise. So much so that they cannot clearly say when the HD broadcasts from the SRG will become available to their subscribers.
It is also surprising that the SRG has taken as long as it has to make the move to HD. The football world cup – the TV highlight of the year for many viewers – is literally just around the corner. From the look of it, most SRG viewers will not be able to watch the matches in HD. The only alternative is to watch the games on other channels which are already broadcast in HD – such as German channels ARD and ZDF – assuming they broadcast the desired matches. Many Swiss TV plans include ARD and ZDF in full HD.
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Article last updated on 20. July 2021.
