No open in bbc hd????????

[MJI1961]

Bit annoyed with the BBC HD service. The picture and sound is great of those few progs that are on it...
However...
I really don`t understand how progs are selected for the BBC HD service. For example, Torchwood is. Doctor Who isn`t. The Invisibles was. New Tricks isn`t. Wimbledon and Euro 08 was. The Open which begins tomorrow wont be shown in HD. This would look spectacular in HD.
The channel just sits there for most of the day showing previews, surely this cant be right? I emailed the BBC and they said that funding for this service wa still an issue which i dont beleive for one moment. Why are the most popular progs not in BBC HD? No wonder Sky have the upper hand in HD...

[Bachstrad]

Originally Posted by MJI1961

Bit annoyed with the BBC HD service. The picture and sound is great of those few progs that are on it...
However...
I really don`t understand how progs are selected for the BBC HD service. For example, Torchwood is. Doctor Who isn`t. The Invisibles was. New Tricks isn`t. Wimbledon and Euro 08 was. The Open which begins tomorrow wont be shown in HD. This would look spectacular in HD.
The channel just sits there for most of the day showing previews, surely this cant be right? I emailed the BBC and they said that funding for this service wa still an issue which i dont beleive for one moment. Why are the most popular progs not in BBC HD? No wonder Sky have the upper hand in HD...

There are four Major Golf Championships worldwide and this is the only one not being shown in HD.

The Open is the oldest championship in the world and attracts a field of the top players in the world (sadly no Tiger Woods this year through injury) and it's one of the 'crown jewell' sporting events that the BBC get almost by default. It's a poor show that the BBC are not covering it in HD, particularly as we got The Masters from the States in HD via the BBC.

ATB

Max

[mjcairney]

I normally stick up for the BBC because they are usually extremely good at whatever they do, but I agree that they are totally wrong in not using the HD Channel for the Open, the biggest golfing tournament around.

Cheers,

Martin.

[Cupart]

Could also be that BBC doesn't have rights to broadcast in HD along with other programs as it is a different format from SD...

[Bachstrad]

Originally Posted by Cupart

Could also be that BBC doesn't have rights to broadcast in HD along with other programs as it is a different format from SD...

The BBC have the broadcast rights.

'There will be firm words between the R&A and BBC Sport hierarchy at Birkdale this week over the broadcaster's financial reluctance to commit to screening The Open in high definition, which is now the norm for the American tournaments and Sky's golf coverage.

The R&A have a rights deal with the BBC until 2011, and boss Peter Dawson said: 'We have a duty to keep the championship up to date and the TV coverage should do the same.'

Source


ATB

Max

[Stephen Neal]

The BBC are likely to be covering the Open in HD from next year, when their main (now SIS's main) huge event truck is replaced with an HD model. This is the truck that does the BBC One/Two studio for Wimbledon, as well as the Open and other very big multi-feed events. There are VERY few other trucks in Europe that are designed to work in a similar manner. (There are lots of large multi-camera trucks - but they aren't designed to work in the same way)

The current truck (well there are two similar trucks) are SD-only - but now the BBC has sold their OB division to SIS - SIS are investing in new production units for HD.

At the moment the BBC can't do the Open in HD without changing their resource providers from their former in-house division to a 3rd party provider - as this year their former in-house division don't have the HD capacity (though they will next year). With an event of the scale of the Open (which takes a fortnight to set-up) the Beeb really require the expertise and experience of the teams who have done it over the years - and who the Beeb probably have long-term contracts with.

Added to this there is also a shortage of HD production capacity in Europe in general at the moment - as many trucks (including most of the current SIS HD units) are all on the same boat to Beijing for the Olympics... (The BBC are HD host broadcasters for the rowing and other flatwater sports I believe)

[TG GOOS3]

I thought The Open was in HD last year (or maybe 2 years ago?)

This is appalling - the BBC clearly don't care. Sky show pretty much every golf tournament in HD.

[Bachstrad]

Originally Posted by Stephen Neal

The BBC are likely to be covering the Open in HD from next year, when their main (now SIS's main) huge event truck is replaced with an HD model. This is the truck that does the BBC One/Two studio for Wimbledon, as well as the Open and other very big multi-feed events. There are VERY few other trucks in Europe that are designed to work in a similar manner. (There are lots of large multi-camera trucks - but they aren't designed to work in the same way)

The current truck (well there are two similar trucks) are SD-only - but now the BBC has sold their OB division to SIS - SIS are investing in new production units for HD.

At the moment the BBC can't do the Open in HD without changing their resource providers from their former in-house division to a 3rd party provider - as this year their former in-house division don't have the HD capacity (though they will next year). With an event of the scale of the Open (which takes a fortnight to set-up) the Beeb really require the expertise and experience of the teams who have done it over the years - and who the Beeb probably have long-term contracts with.

Added to this there is also a shortage of HD production capacity in Europe in general at the moment - as many trucks (including most of the current SIS HD units) are all on the same boat to Beijing for the Olympics... (The BBC are HD host broadcasters for the rowing and other flatwater sports I believe)

Ah well I expect someone will find a truck for the start of the EPL season on the 16th of August, at least I hope they do because the Olympics doesn't finish until the 24th August!

ATB

Max

[MJI1961]

Seems a reasonable explanation why the Open isn`t being covered. Only one truck eh? This goes some way to explaining the absence of the Doctors adventures in HD. (Arkannis Major is a quite a way away...)
Cardiff aint though. Hmmm...

[Stephen Neal]

Originally Posted by eec3

I thought The Open was in HD last year (or maybe 2 years ago?)

Open has never been HD AFAIK.

HD Radio cameras only just arrived in time for the 2006 World Cup - and they are the key to covering Golf. (Loads of the holes are covered using radio cameras not cabled/fibred cameras)

Think the Ryder Cup in 2006 was the first BIG full HD golfing event.

In the US a lot of their "HD" Golf was only partially HD - rad cams were still SD upconverts (often analogue composite), only cabled cams were HD. It has been a bone of contention to many US HD fans.

[Stephen Neal]

Originally Posted by Bachstrad

Ah well I expect someone will find a truck for the start of the EPL season on the 16th of August, at least I hope they do because the Olympics doesn't finish until the 24th August!

ATB

Max

Suspect the footy trucks from Sky's facility providers are ring-fenced and not going anywhere...

[Stephen Neal]

Originally Posted by MJI1961

Seems a reasonable explanation why the Open isn`t being covered. Only one truck eh?

The SIS (formerly BBC) OB operation has three main HD trucks currently. One medium sized (does a lot of Proms and was doing Court Number One at Wimbledon) and two large trucks (Rugby, Footy, Athletics, Glastonbury kind of trucks) which are already heading to Beijing by boat I believe. The Beeb had to hire in for Wimbledon Centre Court this year (one of these large trucks would normally do this) - but Centre Court is a relatively small commitment in comparison to the Golf.

The two very large trucks used for presentation at major sporting events (Wimbledon, Golf etc.) are still SD only - not until an HD one arrives next year will it be feasible to do the Golf in HD.

On an event like the Golf you often have a couple of trucks working together - as there are so many cameras that a single truck can't cope with them all (you might have one truck handling radio cameras, one handling cabled cameras) - so you work the cameras into multiple trucks, and then take the camera feeds from these trucks into another truck, which will mix between them (and also deal with the studio linking). You might also have another truck dealing with recording and replays etc. For this to be HD - all the trucks have to be HD - or you have to work differently.

If the Beeb had a bottomless pit of money they could try and hire in other facilities (though as I said nearly every European HD truck not committed to long-term contracts is on its way to China) - but they don't...

This goes some way to explaining the absence of the Doctors adventures in HD. (Arkannis Major is a quite a way away...)
Cardiff aint though. Hmmm...

Nice thought - but they make Doctor Who using camcorders... The main arguments used for Doctor Who remaining SD are time (HD sets take longer to build and dress, HD effects take longer to produce etc.) and quality. However I suspect money is also an issue.

[Bachstrad]

Personally, I'd much rather the BBC spent my license money going up the road to Birkdale with an HD truck, rather than sending it half way around the world to cover the Olympics!

ATB

Max

[mrbleu]

ITV had an HD truck at the Goodwood festival of speed last week, provided by Arqiva who have 2 of them. They are also used by Sky for footy.

Surely the Beeb could have used one of these rigs if theirs was on a ship to Bejing?

[Stephen Neal]

Originally Posted by Bachstrad

Personally, I'd much rather the BBC spent my license money going up the road to Birkdale with an HD truck, rather than sending it half way around the world to cover the Olympics!

ATB

Max

I suspect that the Olympic Broadcasting set-up are paying the BBC to do the coverage of the events they are host-broadcasting. It is one of those things that broadcasters are sort of expected to do if asked as Olympic broadcasters. Without them doing it there would be no decent, Olympic standard, coverage of many events.

Sweden and Finland are sending a lot of expertise for the Athletics coverage and the opening/closing ceremonies, Australia does the swimming etc.

The whole event is so huge that no single country can really provide all the coverage these days - so broadcasters from around the world provide teams to cover specific events as host broadcasters that they have experience in providing high quality coverage of - without it you'd have producer/directors and crew covering sports they've probably never seen before! (Canada, Australia, Korea, Japan, UK, Brazil, Greece, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Cuba etc. all provide producers and/or facilities)

(The BBC have historically done this - Tennis at Barcelona 92, Luge/Bob at Lillehammer 94 are two examples)