MediaCorp TV HD5 or HD5 (formerly known as MediaCorp TV HDTV or HDTV) is a 24-hour Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 first over-the-air HDTV channel simulcasting HD version of MediaCorp TV Channel 5 programming when available. It is the first terrestrial broadcast HD channel in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

 and also first in the world to use MPEG4/AVC

H.264/MPEG-4 AVC

H.264/MPEG-4 Part 10 or AVC is a standard for video compression, and is currently one of the most commonly used formats for the recording, compression, and distribution of high definition video...

 compression.

There are about 10 hours of True HD programmes shown on HD5 every week. The types of programmes include movies, dramas and local productions.

At other times, HD5 shows simulcast of upconverted MediaCorp TV Channel 5 broadcast.

On 1 January 2007, MediaCorp officially rolled out its HD5 television signal.

History

1 January 2005

• The Information, Communications and the Arts Minister Lee Boon Yang announced Singapore to begin trial HDTV services by 22 December 2006.
• It is part of the efforts by the Media Development Authority of Singapore
  Media Development Authority
  The Media Development Authority is a statutory board of the Singapore Government, under the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts .-History:...
  
  (MDA) to speed up the deployment and adoption of HD technology nationwide as the local media and entertainment industry shifts to digital technology.
• 1000 participants, 10 community clubs and various retail stores were selected for the trial. It was initially expected to last for six months.

22 December 2006

• The trial channel named MediaCorp TV HDTV called as HDTV was launched with the movie premiere of "Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers" shown on the first day of broadcast.

1 January 2007

• The channel was renamed MediaCorp TV HD5 called as HD5.
• MediaCorp officially rolled out its HD5 television signal. The number of True HD programmes shown every week is starts broadcasting 24 hours a day.
• MediaCorp announced its plan for the official launch of HD5 during the last quarter of 2007.
• Subscribers of mio TV
  Mio TV
  mio TV is a 24-hours pay-TV service, introduced by SingTel. It is transmitted through the company's SingNet broadband network via an IPTV service and uses Microsoft Mediaroom as its end to end software platform. It is a service that will allow multimedia content - including broadcast channels and...
  
  are able to receive HD5 via its HD Set-Top box.
• "HD5 LIFTOFF", an HD5 channel showcasing event was held at Suntec City Hall 401.
• Various HDTV manufacturers were also at the event to promote their HD products.
• HD5 broadcast various foreign and local HD productions for its channel showcase for that 2 days.
• The programming on that day include National Day Rally 2007
  National Day Rally
  The National Day Rally is an annual address that the Prime Minister of Singapore makes to the entire nation, on the second Sunday after August 9, the country's National Day...
  
  , National Day Parade 2007
  National Day Parade, 2007
  The National Day Parade 2007 ' was a national ceremony held on 9 August 2007 at the Marina Bay Floating Stadium to commemorate Singapore's 42nd year of independence. For the first time, the event was held in the Marina Bay area.- Venue :...
  
  and 2007 Singapore Fireworks Celebrations.
• MediaCorp officially rolled out its HD5 television signal. The number of True HD programmes shown every week is increased to 7 hours.
• Subscribers of StarHub TV are able to receive HD5 via its HD Set-Top box.

8 August 2008

• As one of MediaCorp's broadcast channel for Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics Games
  2008 Summer Olympics
  The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
  
  , HD5 shown events from 9am to 4am daily in True HD and Dolby Digital 5.1 throughout the duration of the Olympics. It was one of the first few channels in the world to show the Summer Olympic Games
  Summer Olympic Games
  The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...
  
  in HD and the first in Southeast Asia
  Southeast Asia
  Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
  
  .

11 August 2010

• As MediaCorp official broadcast channel for Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games
  2010 Summer Youth Olympics
  The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, officially known as the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games , were an international multi-sport event for youths that took place in the city-state of Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010, in the XXIX Olympiad. They were the inaugural Summer Youth Olympics, a major...
  
  , HD5 shown events from 9am to 4am daily in True HD and Dolby Digital 5.1 throughout the duration of the Youth Olympic Games
  Youth Olympic Games
  The Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event first held in Singapore from August 14 to August 26, 2010. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with the current Olympic Games format. The age limitation of the athletes is between 14 to 18...
  
  .

Trial Era

An average of 14 hours of HD content per week was telecasted during primetime hours of 7 pm and 11 pm.
The rest of the programming hours consists of mainly program repeats, trailers and upconverted resolution MediaCorp TV Channel 5 simulcast

Simulcast

Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...

. The name of the channel in the broadcast data was MediaCorp HD1 during the trial era.

End of Trial

Though the trial was expected to end at 21 December 2006 initially, it was extended to 31 December 2007. The channel was then renamed HD5 on the following day.

According to Mr Chang Long Jong, Mediacorp Deputy CEO (Television), trial users gave "Favourable" feedback on HD movies "Live" events, sports and dramas.

Present situation

HD5 now broadcasts 24 hours daily.

Apart from the 7 to 8 hours a week of programming that is in True HD, the rest of the time, it carries an up-converted simulcast of programmes on MediaCorp TV Channel 5.

With the launch of mio TV

Mio TV

mio TV is a 24-hours pay-TV service, introduced by SingTel. It is transmitted through the company's SingNet broadband network via an IPTV service and uses Microsoft Mediaroom as its end to end software platform. It is a service that will allow multimedia content - including broadcast channels and...

a subscription-based IPTV service from SingTel subscribers can receive HD5 for free (though mio TV's minimum monthly charges apply) and along with other MediaCorp TV12

MediaCorp TV12

MediaCorp TV12 is a subsidiary of MediaCorp. It operates the Suria, Vasantham and okto channels, which cater to specific groups in Singapore. It once operated Central...

and MediaCorp TV12 Central

MediaCorp TV12 Central

MediaCorp TV12 Central or Central was an English and Tamil language Television channel in Singapore it was launched on 31 March 1996 replacing Premiere 12 it was launched since on 1 January 1994 as Television Corporation of Singapore since 1994.The channel was a combination of 3 distinct...

and MediaCorp TV12 Suria

MediaCorp Suria

MediaCorp Suria is a Malay language channel featuring local and acquired Malay dramas and popular programmes. Suria has achieved recognition outside the Malay community drawing media attention in Singapore and abroad....

channels.

From 1 January 2007, StarHub TV subscribers with Starhub's HD set-top box can receive HD5 with no additional charges.

Users from west region can receive over-the-air signal, but users from east region require additional signal booster equipment.

Over-the-air DVB-T broadcast

Generally, an antenna is required to received digital TV signal. Some antenna are designed to receive digital TV signal. HDB cable TV outlet do not carry digital TV signal in freely usable form.

HD DVB-T MPEG-4 AVC Set-Top Box

These set-top boxes receive HD5's signal through a roof-top or indoor UHF antenna, decodes the MPEG-4 AVC signal and outputs to HDTV via HDMI or component cables. Such boxes can be purchased at major home appliance retail stores like Best Denki, Courts and Harvey Norman.

HDTV with integrated MPEG-4 AVC decoder

Similar to the above, but the decoder is integrated right into the HDTV itself, therefore saving the need to purchase an external set-top box. Now, most newer HDTV has digital tuner including all Samsung's LED TV series and LG Electronics LG50 series. Another relatively unknown brand Palladine has an integrated DVB-T tuner, but it is unknown if it supports MPEG-4 AVC compression.

PC with a DVB-T TV card

With a DVB-T TV Tuner card/external box installed, it is possible to receive and watch HD5 with a PC, effectively making the PC a set-top box if the video is output to a HDTV.

Due to the complexity of MPEG-4 AVC(H.264) video compression, a relatively powerful combination of PC hardware and software is needed to decode HD5's program stream properly without video lag and shutter.

mio TV's HD Set-Top Box

Using IPTV service from Singtel mio TV set-top box can output HD5 to a HDTV via a HDMI cable without the need of an antenna. Viewing of HD5 channel itself is free but a minimum monthly charge of S$16.05 to subscribers apply if they are not under Singtel's mio Home plan.

StarHub TV's HD Set-Top Box

HD5 is available at no additional cost on Channel 155 to all StarHub TV customers who have HD-ready TV set and StarHub's HD set-top box.

The minimum subscription fees for Starhub Digital Cable is SGD$25.68 per month.

Starhub HD set-top box can be rented at S$6.42 per month

See also

• List of programmes broadcast by MediaCorp HD5
• High-definition television in Singapore

External links

• Sample Images Of HD5
• Discussion group