Voom to add Encore HD

Encore HD Joins STARZ! HD as the Premier Channels for Hit Movies in Hi-Def VOOM Set To Launch Service, PanAmSat Will Carry on Galaxy 13


LOS ANGELES, CTAM Digital & Broadband Conference, Mar 9, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Starz Encore Group LLC (Starz) will launch Encore HD on March 22. The announcement was made at the Cable & Television Association of Marketing (CTAM) Digital & Broadband Conference. Encore HD, the Hi-Def version of the flagship Encore service, will be transmitted in wide-screen 16x9 1080i and feature Dolby Digital 5.1 sound with East & West Coast feeds.

Encore HD will be available upon launch on VOOM, the first comprehensive high-definition (HD) television service from Rainbow DBS, Cablevision Systems Corporation's satellite division. The latest addition enhances VOOM's already vibrant lineup of HD programming that includes more than 30 HD channels, far more HD programming than any other cable or satellite provider. VOOM also delivers more than 75 popular cable channels in standard-definition (SD) and over 20 exclusive VOOM HD channels created by Rainbow Media Holdings LLC. Starz anticipates announcing more system launches of Encore HD in the future.

Encore HD will be offered on PanAmSat Corporation's (Nasdaq: SPOT) Galaxy 13 North American satellite, one of the industry's most advanced spacecraft, which reaches a current subscriber base of over 60 million subscribers.

VOOM will carry Encore HD (East) in addition to the East and West Coast feeds of STARZ! HD, and the standard definition versions of STARZ! (East), STARZ! Family (East), Encore (East), Love Stories (East), Mystery (East), and Action (East), available to subscribers as part of the VA VA VOOM package, a special all-inclusive programming offer for $79.90 per month, or through the STARZ PlusPack for $14.90 per month.

Encore HD will have first-run and recent big hit movies, plus great films viewers know and love, uncut and commercial free, 24 hours a day. The network focuses on high-quality movies that received box office success or critical acclaim and included notable stars and/or directors. Additionally, Encore HD features star interviews, movie trivia between films, Encore original series geared towards movie lovers, such as "The Directors" monthly series, upcoming original documentaries, "The Cutting Edge: The Magic Of Movie Editing," and "Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade," and "CineNews," the original weekly show about the movie business.

Encore HD will include a selection of films available in 1080i format with other films up-converted to approximate the full Hi-Def experience. Sample Encore HD movies that will be seen in 1080i Hi-Def over the first several days after the service is launched include Blade II, I Am Sam, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Phenomenon, and Taxi Driver.

"Starz has delivered again on its commitment to deliver the best of movie entertainment in Hi-Def, with the addition of Encore HD," said Robert B. Clasen, Starz' president of sales and marketing. "Coupled with STARZ! HD and Starz On Demand, Starz offers the most complete package of on-demand and Hi- Def movie viewing options in the pay television industry."

Both feeds of Encore HD will be carried on PanAmSat's Galaxy 13 along with its sister flagship channel STARZ! HD, which was launched in December 2003. Home of the industry's leading HD satellite neighborhood, Galaxy 13 is located at 127 degrees west longitude in the U.S. cable arc. The satellite is part of PanAmSat's "Power of Five" antenna program, which provides qualified cable operators with simultaneous access to five Galaxy neighborhood satellites and reaches 11,000 cable headends
 
I haven't been terribly impressed with the HD efforts of Starz LLC so far...very limited HD content.

Still, one more HD channel is always nice, and Starz/Encore will improve their content over time. I just hope VOOM can address some of the picture quality issues it has begun to have in the past week or two. I'd be more comfortable if the picture was restored to its earlier form prior to new channel announcements.

As an aside, Wilt just indicated that an update to address some outstanding issues with the set-top box (including slooow channel changes) is coming in about a week.
 
Starz Encore Group Announces March 22 Launch of Encore HD

Text of story.

Encore HD Joins STARZ! HD as the Premier Channels for Hit Movies in Hi-Def
VOOM Set To Launch Service, PanAmSat Will Carry on Galaxy 13
LOS ANGELES, CTAM Digital & Broadband Conference, March 9


/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Starz Encore Group LLC (Starz) will launch Encore HD
on March 22. The announcement was made at the Cable & Television Association
of Marketing (CTAM) Digital & Broadband Conference. Encore HD, the Hi-Def
version of the flagship Encore service, will be transmitted in wide-screen
16x9 1080i and feature Dolby Digital 5.1 sound with East & West Coast feeds.

ADVERTISEMENT
Encore HD will be available upon launch on VOOM, the first comprehensive high-definition (HD) television service from Rainbow DBS, Cablevision Systems Corporation's satellite division. The latest addition enhances VOOM's already vibrant lineup of HD programming that includes more than 30 HD channels, far more HD programming than any other cable or satellite provider. VOOM also delivers more than 75 popular cable channels in standard-definition (SD) and over 20 exclusive VOOM HD channels created by Rainbow Media Holdings LLC. Starz anticipates announcing more system launches of Encore HD in the future.

Encore HD will be offered on PanAmSat Corporation's (Nasdaq: SPOT - News) Galaxy 13 North American satellite, one of the industry's most advanced spacecraft, which reaches a current subscriber base of over 60 million subscribers.

VOOM will carry Encore HD (East) in addition to the East and West Coast feeds of STARZ! HD, and the standard definition versions of STARZ! (East), STARZ! Family (East), Encore (East), Love Stories (East), Mystery (East), and Action (East), available to subscribers as part of the VA VA VOOM package, a special all-inclusive programming offer for $79.90 per month, or through the STARZ PlusPack for $14.90 per month.

Encore HD will have first-run and recent big hit movies, plus great films viewers know and love, uncut and commercial free, 24 hours a day. The network focuses on high-quality movies that received box office success or critical acclaim and included notable stars and/or directors. Additionally, Encore HD features star interviews, movie trivia between films, Encore original series geared towards movie lovers, such as "The Directors" monthly series, upcoming original documentaries, "The Cutting Edge: The Magic Of Movie Editing," and "Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade," and "CineNews," the original weekly show about the movie business.

Encore HD will include a selection of films available in 1080i format with other films up-converted to approximate the full Hi-Def experience. Sample Encore HD movies that will be seen in 1080i Hi-Def over the first several days after the service is launched include Blade II, I Am Sam, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Phenomenon, and Taxi Driver.

"Starz has delivered again on its commitment to deliver the best of movie entertainment in Hi-Def, with the addition of Encore HD," said Robert B. Clasen, Starz' president of sales and marketing. "Coupled with STARZ! HD and Starz On Demand, Starz offers the most complete package of on-demand and Hi- Def movie viewing options in the pay television industry."

Both feeds of Encore HD will be carried on PanAmSat's Galaxy 13 along with its sister flagship channel STARZ! HD, which was launched in December 2003. Home of the industry's leading HD satellite neighborhood, Galaxy 13 is located at 127 degrees west longitude in the U.S. cable arc. The satellite is part of PanAmSat's "Power of Five" antenna program, which provides qualified cable operators with simultaneous access to five Galaxy neighborhood satellites and reaches 11,000 cable headends.

About Starz

Starz is the largest provider of premium movie services in the United States with approximately 144 million pay units. Starz offerings include the Starz Super Pak®, with up to 13 digital movie channels and more than 750 movies per month, Starz On Demand®, the only on-demand pay TV subscription service available on cable, satellite, and broadband platforms, and a suite of advanced video offerings, including STARZ! HD(SM), STARZ! Hi Res(SM), and Starz On Demand HD(SM). Starz is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation (NYSE: L - News, LMCb - News), www.starz.com .

About VOOM

VOOM, provided by Rainbow DBS, Cablevision System Corporation's satellite division, is the first television service to provide a comprehensive array of high-definition (HD) programming for the rapidly growing but underserved HDTV audience. VOOM's lineup of more than 30 HD channels features an exclusive package of brand-new, commercial-free channels such as WorldSport, Epics and Animania. The service also includes more than 75 of the most popular cable channels in standard-definition (SD), 18 digital music channels, and over-the-air digital broadcast channels in HD, where available. VOOM is offered across the continental United States through local Sears retailers, by calling 1-800-GET-VOOM, or by visiting www.voom.com .

About PanAmSat

PanAmSat Corporation is one of the world's top three satellite operators managing a global fleet of 30 satellites, 25 of which are wholly-owned by the Company, for the delivery of news, sports and other television programming. In total, this fleet is capable of reaching more than 98 percent of the world's population through cable television systems, broadcast affiliates, direct-to- home operators, Internet service providers and telecommunications companies. In addition, PanAmSat supports the largest concentration of satellite-based business networks in the US, as well as specialized communications services in remote areas throughout the world. PanAmSat is 81 percent owned by HUGHES Electronics Corporation. For more information, visit the company's web site at www.panamsat.com .

About Hughes

Hughes Electronics Corporation is a world-leading provider of digital multichannel television entertainment, broadband satellite networks and services, and global video and data broadcasting. Hughes is 34 percent owned by Fox Entertainment Group, which is approximately 82 percent owned by News Corporation Ltd.

For further information, please contact: Eric Becker of Starz Encore Group, +1-720-852-4065, eric.becker@starzencore.com; or Suzie Pileggi of Weber Shandwick, +1-212-445-8170, spileggi@webershandwick.com, for VOOM; or Kathryn Lancioni of PanAmSat Corporation, +1-646-293-7415, klancioni@panamsat.com.


Source: Starz Encore Group LLC
 
Good news. If it wasn't for the Sopranos I'd drop my HBO pack and pick up the Starz/Encore pack. Maybe after this season finishes.
 
Great news. StarzHD is getting better by the day. This may accelerate the variety.
 
Monday Monday do you remember that song......I can play that tune in 4 days also.

HD=Voom
 
Double channels

Why does Voom waste transponder space showing the sd feeds of HbO SHO STARZ etc. They don't have different lineups. Voom is meant to be for HIDEF people so I don't think someone is going to get it just for their SD channels. Seems like they could add a few more sd channels, USA etc in that transponder space. I watched a show on Biography this morning and was surprised picture wasn't that bad. Not HD but definately watchable. Better than my Dishnetwork channels used to be.
 
It has to do with contract agreements as Starz, HBO, and SHO ask them to carry the SD channels as well. Otherwise, there will be not HD channels from them. It will be funny to see what will happen as more SD channels are converted to HD.
 
Since you can hook up a SD display to the receiver and tune to the HD channels, it really does not make any sense to transmit the SD version of these channels, IMO.
 
Since you can hook up a SD display to the receiver and tune to the HD channels, it really does not make any sense to transmit the SD version of these channels, IMO.
I don't think you'll find many people here in disagreement. However, HBO, Showtime, and Starz have decided not to sell their HDTV channels separately; they are only sold as a bundle with the other channels.
 
Gr8Reb8 said:
Since you can hook up a SD display to the receiver and tune to the HD channels, it really does not make any sense to transmit the SD version of these channels, IMO.

I hear what you say. That's not what the programmers (like HBO, etc) have in mind. Hopefully, they will change in the future.
 
Anyone know if we are getting Encore HD East and West? Are we getting just an East feed like with TMCHD? And btw, why DO we get just one Movie Channel feed anyhoo. Kind of curious-so far, TMCHD is the only movie channel that does this.
 
eschu97611 said:
Anyone know if we are getting Encore HD East and West? Are we getting just an East feed like with TMCHD? And btw, why DO we get just one Movie Channel feed anyhoo. Kind of curious-so far, TMCHD is the only movie channel that does this.

Just Encore-HD East. I do not think there is a TMC-HD West channel available or there will be an Encore-HD West channel available on 3/22.
 
Forgot to see if this was added today.

I'm at work (obviously not working :) ) and can't check.

Anyone??

Bill
 
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