U.K.: Astra Classical Concerts Available via DBS Demo

Some classical music lovers in the United Kingdom this week began receiving concerts in HD for the rest of the summer on Astra (19.2° East), courtesy of satellite operator SES Astra’s HD demo channel.

The DBS provider is carrying the “Festival Summer of Classics” from now until the end of September, in tandem with Unitel Classica, a German production and distribution company. Astra’s free HD demo channel frequency coordinates for its dish subscribers are:

11.914 GHz H (SR 27,500, FEC 9/10)

The HD content includes (on a loop starting at 7 p.m. CET) about seven hours of productions from this year’s Salzburg Festival, the Valencia Opera House, and other music concerts featuring Placido Domingo and Lang Lang, among others, taped throughout Europe. The feeds, which feature Dolby Digital surround sound, begin nightly at 19:00 (7 p.m.) CET.