Sky to begin HD installations from May

Sky will begin installing its high-definition television boxes in the UK and Ireland on 22 May, after receiving 40,000 advance orders since 13 April when it began taking bookings from the general public.

The number of orders for the long-awaited service is higher than the total number of sales of the Sky+ personal video recorder in its first year. The expectation surrounding Sky HD has seen sales forecasts for this year rise from 1.4m units to 2m, with the cumulative total expected to be 2.7m at the end of 2006.