Freesat SD picture quality.

[Wayne Moule]

I don't suppose anyone knows yet what the picture resolution and bitrates will be on SD Freesat?

I hope they will be on a par with the five main channels on Freeview. I would like them to be all as good as BBC 1, if not with a higher bitrate, but I know I'm expecting too much there.

[Stephen Neal]

Same bitrates as on DSat (aka Sky) currently - Freesat doesn't involve new broadcasts - just broadcasting a new EPG that will work on non-Sky branded boxes, and MHEG5 "Press Red" interactive alongside the Sky "OpenTV" stuff currently used.

ITV1 on DSat is 544x576, whereas it is 720x576 (or 704?) on Freeview currently. Think the same is true for C4 as well.

[Wayne Moule]

Ok, thanks.

I guess we'll have to wait for the main five channels to go HD then for decent picture quality.

[Stephen Neal]

Originally Posted by Wayne Moule

Ok, thanks.

I guess we'll have to wait for the main five channels to go HD then for decent picture quality.

BBC One and Two aren't likely to go HD in the near-term - that is why there is a BBC HD channel which broadcasts most BBC One and Two HD content as a simulcast, filling non-HD gaps in the schedule with HD material that they can afford to repeat.

As more and more content is shot in HD there will be more and more original stuff on BBC HD I guess. There are issues with shifting the long-running dramas (EastEnders and Holby City particularly) as the current sets, studios and kit are very SD. They are talking about having to relocate the EastEnders production to another site - as rebuilding the backlot whilst in production is looking to be very tricky (the current backlot sets won't convince in HD)

C4 are simulcasting their C4 HD content (mainly movies, US imports and the odd C4 commission) with the SD stuff upconverted. This makes C4HD much nicer to watch, even for SD content, than C4 SD.

Suspect ITV1 will be simulcast in HD rather than there being a separate ITVHD channel - though given that they have some US HD imports running on ITV2-4 they may do a BBC HD equivalent?

No idea what Five are planning - they have a lower budget so may not have the money to go HD just yet. They only do something if it makes total sense to their bottom line, and that is that.

[Dutch]

Emmerdale starts shooting in HD in April. It would be nice if ITV HD was on Freesat by June when those episodes are aired. Mmm...Jo and Katie in HD.

Steve

[Wayne Moule]

Australia has gone HD hasn't it, including it's main soap Home and Away, so Five would be good if it went HD?

[Tatra-Man]

Can someone explain the point of soaps in HD? Surely this is a misuse of the license fee as far as the BBC is concerned!!?

[dicky]

Originally Posted by Tatra-Man

Can someone explain the point of soaps in HD? Surely this is a misuse of the license fee as far as the BBC is concerned!!?

Paying Jonathon Ross millions per year is a misuse of the licencse fee! :-)

[Stephen Neal]

Originally Posted by Tatra-Man

Can someone explain the point of soaps in HD? Surely this is a misuse of the license fee as far as the BBC is concerned!!?

The BBC have announced that they are aiming to produce everything in HD by 2010. It is now increasingly difficult to buy high quality SD-only production gear (SD gear is getting cheaper and nastier, with high-end kit now HD - high-end SD stuff is rare now), so as the Beeb upgrade their gear they are getting the ability to make stuff in HD - and the costs of shifting to HD in this situation is quite low.

However the soaps are highly popular shows - EastEnders is often the highest rated show on the BBC - so shifting them to HD surely is exactly the in the interest of the licence fee payer, as it delivers a very popular programme (watched by more licence fee payers than most) in higher picture and sound quality.

EastEnders is produced on relatively elderly kit (first generation 16:9 SD cameras) and the whole Elstree operation needs a major renovation technically and in set-terms soon -as even in SD the sets are looking less convincing...

Don't see it as a misuse at all - I think the aim of all-HD by 2010 (apart from News) is a good aim - though I doubt they'll hit it.

[Stephen Neal]

Originally Posted by Wayne Moule

Australia has gone HD hasn't it, including it's main soap Home and Away, so Five would be good if it went HD?

Last I heard H&A was shot in 1080/25p but posted in 576/25p (in 576/50i form as 576/25psf) for broadcast at 576/50p (Effectively they shot HD but edited SD progressive segmented frame using SD interlaced gear).

This may now have changed as I believe the network that shows H&A in Aus has shifted from the Aus pseudo-HD format of 576/50p to 1080i or 720p - though I may be wrong.

The best reason for five to go HD is their CSI franchises - which look stunning in HD (They broadcast some CSI in HD on their HD trial service on DTT in London in 2006) That said - five are the lowest budget main broadcaster we have - and don't spend any money they don't have to - so I wouldn't hold my breath. They were the last to do 16:9 / 4:3 switching on satellite ISTR (and were letterboxing widescreen for a lot longer than others on DSat)

Australia went for an HD version of DVB when they started digital - based on MPEG2 (so quite bitrate hungry) - but haven't got a huge HD production infrastructure - with quite a lot of stuff still shot 16:9 SD and upconverted. This IS changing - but some broadcasters went 576/50p (de-interlaced 576/50i) as "HD" initially - and ABC switched off their 1080/50i service to launch ABC2 - though have now shifted to 720/50p I believe?