[usenetz]

BBC trying to close-down the debate on BBC HD picture quality on their blogs:

BBC - BBC Internet Blog: The Hitchhiker's Guide to Encoding: The Salmon of Style (Or how programmes styles can change your view)

john

[Mel_P]

Am I missing something - why can't we focus on getting broadcasts transmitted at 1920 x 1080 and not at 1440 x 1080 resolution - I did not realise that. Surely FULL HD must be at 1920 otherwise the TV has to StreeeeccccHH the picture - or have I missed something here. A TV cannot be called FULL HD unless is is 1920 / 1080 resolution. The Freesat broadcasters BBC and ITV seem to have pulled a fast one here?

Should we call Freesat "HD Ready" and not Full HD?

Does Sky broadcast BBC HD at 1920 x 1080 or 1440 x 1080?

Puzzled...

Mel

[loz]

Originally Posted by Mel_P

Does Sky broadcast BBC HD at 1920 x 1080 or 1440 x 1080?

Sky doesn't 'broadcast' BBC HD.

The BBC does. Hence it is the same regardless of what equipment you happen to receive it on.

[Mel_P]

But why not at 1920 x 1080 - FULL HD ?

[loz]

Originally Posted by Mel_P

But why not at 1920 x 1080 - FULL HD ?

why not indeed...

Partly historical. When BBC HD first started, much of the source for their home produced HD footage was 1440x1080. Which is considered HD, just not 'full' HD.

Then it got superseded by bandwidth concerns - higher res requires higher bandwidth, and a realisation that Freeview HD was going to be very bandwidth challenged.

To be fair, the BBC have said they will go 1920x1080 when they can. Which will be when they have improved the encoders sufficiently to increase the res without increasing the bandwidth.

To make it even more annoying, note that BBC America HD and BBC Scandinavia HD both broadcast at 1920x1080.

[usenetz]

Originally Posted by Mel_P

Surely FULL HD must be at 1920 otherwise the TV has to StreeeeccccHH the picture

Yes - that is what happens. If BBC HD has some 1920 x 1080 material to broadcast to its UK audience then they compress it to 1440 x 1080, use their encoder to squeeze it into 9.7 Mbps, and when your full HD receiver gets the signal its decodes it and stretches it back to 1920 x 1080.

That's a lot of unnecessary number crunching which, as I understand it, (and I am no expert here so may have got it wrong), can lead to all sorts of problems including pixelation and smearing; if only the Beeb were to just use some of their wasted bandwidth on satellite and up the bit rate and resolution we would see a much improved picture quality.

To help the struggling encoder, I wonder if BBC HD ar doing a bit of pre-encoding lately, (in the way Luxe HD apparently do), as there has been a distinct improvement in picture quality on some programmes, e.g. latest Dr Who, and the drama Canoe Man.

john

[TonyA]

Originally Posted by usenetz

To help the struggling encoder, I wonder if BBC HD ar doing a bit of pre-encoding lately, (in the way Luxe HD apparently do), as there has been a distinct improvement in picture quality on some programmes, e.g. latest Dr Who, and the drama Canoe Man.

Have to agree with you there John, the HD on Doctor Who was really good, and I seem to have seen some improvements recently too. There are still the odd programs that look dreadful though, but I now believe a lot of this is down to post-production processing, where producers/directors are trying to achieve a certain look - a look which come out on the majority of HD TV sets as rubbish!

Let's hope the beeb can push for going full HD sometime over the next few months.

[cheatinjockey]

Originally Posted by usenetz

To help the struggling encoder, I wonder if BBC HD ar doing a bit of pre-encoding lately, (in the way Luxe HD apparently do), as there has been a distinct improvement in picture quality on some programmes, e.g. latest Dr Who, and the drama Canoe Man.

john

Being relatively new to Freesat HD the reduced quality broadcast from the beeb is not something I can comment on because I never saw it before they changed the encoder.

However, Saturday's Dr Who was the best I've seen so far - my wife even commented on how good it looked.

Lets hope more output goes the same route!

[chris.farrant]

Got to agree that of late the BBC HD seems to have improved. I have carefully looked at the Dr Who and Dorothy and the picture quality, depth and colour rendition are little short of spectacular on Freesat. Might I also add that the 5.1 sound on the Dr Who was the best I've heard from a broadcast.

[derek500]

Originally Posted by chris.farrant

Got to agree that of late the BBC HD seems to have improved. I have carefully looked at the Dr Who and Dorothy and the picture quality, depth and colour rendition are little short of spectacular on Freesat. Might I also add that the 5.1 sound on the Dr Who was the best I've heard from a broadcast.

I thought the recorded results' show on Sunday was slightly lacking compared to the live Saturday show.

[chris.farrant]

Originally Posted by derek500

I thought the recorded results' show on Sunday was slightly lacking compared to the live Saturday show.

Agreed. I think that it's possible to tell live from recorded.

[doctorblue]

While the Doctor Who presentation was indeed good, the live football game on Monday was a very blurred affair...everything was so soft...I thought I had accidently selected Barbara Cartland TV...

The Doctor

[bminney]

In comparison I thought the Jonathon Creek special was very poor especially in murky scenes. Perhaps some special effects don't come across well in HD.

Going off on a tangent, HD is not very friendly to some actors is it? Didn't realise how many had such bad skin! ITVHd is showing up some rather ugly faces on their soaps!

Cheers

[derek500]

Originally Posted by bminney

Going off on a tangent, HD is not very friendly to some actors is it? Didn't realise how many had such bad skin! ITVHd is showing up some rather ugly faces on their soaps!

No soaps are broadcast in HD on ITV. The only soap in HD is Hollyoaks on C4 HD.

[loz]

Originally Posted by derek500

No soaps are broadcast in HD on ITV. The only soap in HD is Hollyoaks on C4 HD.

Eastenders are in the process of upgrading their studio and set to HD.

[derek500]

Originally Posted by loz

Eastenders are in the process of upgrading their studio and set to HD.

The last I heard was this:-

The BBC has taken its first step towards making EastEnders in HD after new studio and location cameras were ordered for the long running soap opera.

Although no date has been set for the show to be broadcast in HD, a technology refresh has been agreed as part of a new five-year resources contract between EastEnders production and BBC Studios and Post Production (S&PP).

The deal will see SD studio and location cameras that are “beyond their economic life” replaced with tapeless, HD-capable Sony HSC-300s and Sony PDW-700 XDCAM HD422 camcorders respectively.

BBC moves closer to HD EastEnders | News | Broadcast

I thought they needed to build a new exterior set too and were moving to Pinewood?

Emmerdale updated it cameras to new HD models two years ago and still in SD.

[loz]

Originally Posted by derek500

The last I heard was this:-



BBC moves closer to HD EastEnders | News | Broadcast

I thought they needed to build a new exterior set too and were moving to Pinewood?

Emmerdale updated it cameras to new HD models two years ago and still in SD.

Any rumours that Barbara Windsor is leaving Eastenders because of the move to HD are unfounded...

[TonyA]

OMG! Pat Butcher in HD!!!!!

Thankfully I don't watch it! LOL! So I will be spared the horror!

[bminney]

Originally Posted by derek500

No soaps are broadcast in HD on ITV. The only soap in HD is Hollyoaks on C4 HD.

Blimey - It was Emmerdale and just goes to show how good their SD upscaling (?) is!!

[TonyA]

I think the fact that we are seeing upscaled SD source material and people are thinking that it is actually HD material, just highlights how BAD that the normal SD channels pictures actually are!

[loz]

Just a note to say that our new PM has temporarily let the BBC off the hook with my No. 10 Petition, as existing e-petitions will not be carried forward. Not surprising, but disappointing

Introduction to e-petitions | Number10.gov.uk

Existing e-petitions, submitted to the previous administration, will not be carried forward to the new administration as part of this process. We will welcome resubmission on issues of concern to the improved e-petitions system when it is launched later in 2010.

I would like to think that the petition at least played a part alongside Paul Geaton's appeal to the BBC Trust in encouraging the BBC to improve PQ and introduce the recent changes such as VBR and the introduction of stat mux'ing.

Clearly if these do not have the desired effect, we can start the whole process off again.

Thanks to the 2385 people who signed it.