After frantically searching the internet for any HD material or hardware it slowly began to dawn on us that this was the case and that the HDTV being shown in the Comet instore TV demonstration was in fact craftily being fed through a computer (more about that later) to the 50 inch TV screen and was generally not available to the UK public. To say we were a little annoyed would be an understatement, considering the Sagem TV cost £2800!

For those of you who are not familiar with HD (High Definition or High Def), it is a new video format using digital technology. Content in HD format offers a sharper, more true-to-life image that makes regular TV look fuzzy. Normal UK TV has 625 lines (US 425) on the screen but HDTV has a resolution of 1081. (Note: Lines now tends to be referred to as screen resolution - For more detailed information see the Useful Links section below) Your HDTV will have 4 times more picture detail than your analog TV. You will also receive CD-quality surround sound and it will have a wider 16:9 (width to height) aspect ratio rather than 4:3

Sagem Axium DPL 50inch Back Projection HDTV

I have to say that when we complained about the lack of HD material to Comet they were not very helpful, or clued up on the subject. However when we took the matter up with Sagem, especially after we further discovered that the television was also not compliant with the newly introduced HDCP (High Definition Copyright Protocol - see useful links below), which effectively stops us attaching any further HD equipment to the television, such as HD DVD players, we were offered a full refund. Now that's what I call customer service! (Have to say Comet were not particularly happy with the situation.) However in the end we took a £800 refund instead, (the amount the television had dropped in price since we'd bought it) as we really did like the TV and preferred to keep it.

Sagem UK was particularly helpful and responded in a very positive and professional manner to our complaint, in fact the full refund was offered during the initial phone call. I have since discovered that Sagem are trying to work on a solution to this copyright problem for those (like us) who forked out too early for a HD television that wasn't up-to-date with the latest technology.

Important note, if you are thinking of purchasing a HD television in the near future make sure that the appliance is HDCP compatible. We were lucky in the fact I was able to purchase a Samsung HD DVD 935 player (probably the last one left in the UK) whose HDCP at the time had not quite been perfected and could easily be overridden. Which basically means that I will be able to play HD DVDs on the Sagem when they arrive on the shelves hopefully by Christmas! (Now 2006 - see links below)

So, although we are eagerly awaiting a solution from Sagem, in the meantime we will at least be able to watch High Definition on our Sagem HDTV, which may be more than most unfortunate pre-HDCP purchasers can do. EXTRA NOTE: Since writing this article I have spoken with Sagem again regarding the HDCP solution and I'm afraid the answer was not very encouraging, as they didn't hold out much hope for one!

I also asked how this would then affect the Sagem's compatibility with the new Sky HD box and it looks as if the only way it can be hooked up will be via the composite connections (Progressive Scan), which will produce 720 resolution but not the full 1081 the TV is capable of. Seven-twenty is still classed as High Definition but obviously not nearly as good as the 1081 resolution. Again very disappointing news to those of us who forked out too early! Also you should be aware that only the first SKY boxes to be produced will have the composite connections, after that, the next generation of boxes with only have a HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) port which will not be compatible with most of the older HD TVs. So, if you are thinking of subscribing to SKY HD and own an 'older' HD TV that does not have an HDMI connection, make sure you purchase one of the first generation SKY boxes. How ironic is it, when your expensive HDTV is already out of date before you've even seen any HD content on it!!

March 2006:
Our Sagem TV broke down for the second time in three months - first time was over the Christmas and New Year period when it took over two weeks to get it repaired. Anyway, to cut a long story short, this time the main board had gone and Sagem said they were unable to repair it. So after nearly two years, and never having seen any HD on the TV, it was taken away - never to return, this just a few weeks before Sky HD is due to be installed. (How ironic is that). Fortunately Sagem/Comet offered us a complete refund and luckily Sagem have just brought out a new 50inch DLP TV (G4 series) that is completely HD compatible, (not to mention only a third of the price (£999.99) of the first Sagem we bought) so we immediately placed an order. Talk about cutting it fine - the new Sagem is being delivered on Tuesday moring 23rd May and Sky HD is due to be installed the that afternoon!

Got our new TV - very nice, but Sky has put back our installation until the 29th May due to a lack of boxes and leads.

Piano black Sagem Axium HD-D50 G4 (50inch) Back Projection HDTV