ARD and third parties in SD resolution in just a few hours of history

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On January 7, 2025, ARD will stop broadcasting Das Erste and all third-party television programs from state broadcasters via satellite in SD resolution. Viewers can then receive all ARD television programs exclusively in HD. And at Vodafone, Germany’s largest cable network operator with 11 million TV subscribers, related channels will only be available in HD.

Viewers can check if they are already watching in HD by adding “HD” to the program name in the channel listing (for example Das Erste HD) or to the channel logo in the current program. Otherwise a search of the station will be necessary. Heise Online had already reported last November that the names of the corresponding channels on satellite receivers had been changed through EPG during the ongoing operation. When switching “Das Erste” then became “alt_Das Erste”. However, this did not change the sorting in program lists.

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Most TV homes already have HD reception on cable networks: according to Vodafone, less than two percent of cable customers use a TV receiver that only supports SD quality. These are TV receivers from Kabel Deutschland or UnityMedia that are more than 12 years old. While around 93 percent of the 36 million TV households in Germany were already watching TV in HD on all reception channels in 2023, there are likely to be even more participants today.

Homes that do not have an HD-capable television (newer televisions are HD-capable since about 2010) should plug an HD receiver with a SCART connection into the television. HD-capable TV receivers that also work with older televisions can be purchased from specialist retailers.

ZDF arrives in November

ZDF is still sticking to the SD resolution and is not planning to switch off SD until November 18, 2025. SD broadcasting on Channel One, tagesschau24 as well as arte and phoenix ended in 2022.

This change follows the savings recommendations of the Commission to Determine the Financial Requirements of Broadcasting Corporations (KEF). He had already called for ARD and ZDF’s SD broadcasts via satellite to be discontinued in 2020. Four years ago, KEF had reported a potential savings of 13.7 million euros and canceled funding for SD broadcasting.

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