BBC HD - I wish they had kept the trial

loz

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and not made it a "proper" channel. :thumbsdow

The trial content was so much better. :smashin:

They even broadcast for more hours. :smashin:

At the current rate, I predict BBC HD will soon be broadcasting 1 hour per night, alternating each night with a repeat of either Planet Earth, Bleak House, Jools Holland, Cranford, Robin Hood, ... :eek: :)

Where did it all go so wrong?

Budget cuts I presume :mad:
 
Couldn't agree more!

Saturday nights offering was appalling ........ only highpoint being no Jools Holland repeat! :eek:

Bring back the trial! :mad:

ATB

Max
 
Yup in total agreement as well;

Christmas on BBC HD was total rubbish compared with last years trial service at Christmas which really did have some appealing films etc. FA Cup football recently condemed to the SD channel & nothing shown in HD where as before they always had a game or 2 from the cup in HD & still no season 2 of Heroes yet on HD. I really would have hoped now its a 'service' & not 'trail' that the entertainment would have got better not worse as to date it appears to be.
 
Yes and very disappointing that the FA Cup games over the weekend were not on BBCHD. The difference in PQ between them and the Luton/Liverpool offering on Sky was like night and day.

Come on BBC!
 
Agreed, the picture quality of the Stoke and Newcastle game reminds you just how bad it was before HD!

I went to the Bristol City V M'boro game and there was a TeleVido HD Setup there. Any idea who would get this HD Content (assuming they filmed in HD) given that the game was only shown on Match of the Day for 30 seconds in the evening. Why film in HD and not use the content, yet we have to put up with SD games on the Sunday. Nice to know they are using my license fee well...............
 
bbc quality seams to have droped all round since they made the statement about having to show more repeats because they didnt get the license fee increase they wanted (teddy out of pram job)

since then bbc hd has been very poor and this weekend turned bbc into dullovision with the spamming of constant crapball i mean football YAWNNN

at least we have QVC to fall back on ....
 
I switched over to BBC HD on staurady evening expecting to see the Aston Villa v Mancherter Utd game, and they were showing a clip from last year's FA Cup final :mad:.

Very poor of the BBC not to show the footy in HD
 
Well I can confirm that the BBC did in fact film and produce the Aston Villa vs Manchester Utd and the Stoke vs Newcastle games in HD I will try to upload the evidence and further information later. I feel very let down by the BBC on not showing the FA cup games in HD when they have the feed available and also on the general lack of content now the channel is full time when it was a trial there was always new content being on now its just a repeat channel.
Another gripe I have is why is prime time Sat night programme The one and only in SD instead they are showing repeats of Robin Hood again.
I feel a bit ripped off by the BBC at the minute myself and many others on here gave the BBC our full support by filling in the consultations,reports and providing feedback when they required it but now they have the approval just fill the channel with repeats.
 
They do seem to have gone into holding mode. I think we'll have to wait until the launch of the new FreeSat platform (or whatever it's called) in the spring before we get a proper "launch" of BBC HD.

It is disappointing, though. They're not even showing new drama like Sense & Sensibility in HD.

I'm very happy with them keeping the football away, though. It's bad enough that they throw away the BBC 1 prime time schedule to show football. I don't want them to do that with HD as well.

Jerry
 
Well I can confirm that the BBC did in fact film and produce the Aston Villa vs Manchester Utd and the Stoke vs Newcastle games in HD I will try to upload the evidence and further information later. I feel very let down by the BBC on not showing the FA cup games in HD when they have the feed available and also on the general lack of content now the channel is full time when it was a trial there was always new content being on now its just a repeat channel.

No, BBC OB units 10 & 12 were used. Although HD capable they were working in SD mode.
 
I was about to post about BBC HD.

I have just returned from a long holiday in Australia and New Zealand and was surprised at the sate of the BBC HD channel.

Before I left at the beginning of Decemebr, I had read that the BBC HD channel was to become a full channel rather than a trial.

So I was rather surprised to find it mostly full of Previews - worse in fact than the trial channel.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
It certainly looks like its going downhill fast, just looked at digiguide and can't see anything that is not a repeat before Thursday nights "fairytales".

I am a stauch supporter of the BBC and think that in general they do a sterling job, especially when you compare it to the other dross that is on most of the time on other channels.

However I think that they are taking the Pee regarding the so called "launch" of the HD channel.As previously pointed out I think this is what we are going to get till "Freesat" launches, it hopefully will get better then.:(
 
Given that the trial was due to end late last year, and there was no confirmation that the channel would continue, i'm hardly suprised that we have a "slow period" for a few months. Stuff that is being shown now on the SD channels will have been comissioned/filmed with no knowledge of whether there would be an HD channel to show it on.

I would expect things to gather pace strongly in a month or two - when stuff comes through the pipeline that was comissioned with the knowledge that there would be an HD channel to show it on!
 
Yes, we have to keep this in perspective.

It has gone a little disappointing and they do seem to be treading water but they never promised to improve hours immediately.

I have read comments elsewhere that Channel 4 HD is now showing more HD programming than the BBC.

Hardly. A few films per week, yes, but not any actual HD programmes (including those that they could show - such as Smallville or ER).

BBC HD this week and next has at least three new HD series (Damages, Fairytales and Torchwood).

This is hardly a disaster.

And it is no surprise that they will need to be careful over spending on a niche channel until it is readily available to more people. This may even be part of their budgeting strategy.

And overall with Sky boosting their HD output (three HD NFL games this month, Law and Order in HD at last etc), with Channel 4 HD launched and ITV HD coming soon it really is not doom and gloom.
 
Yes, we have to keep this in perspective.

It has gone a little disappointing and they do seem to be treading water but they never promised to improve hours immediately.

I have read comments elsewhere that Channel 4 HD is now showing more HD programming than the BBC.

Hardly. A few films per week, yes, but not any actual HD programmes (including those that they could show - such as Smallville or ER).

BBC HD this week and next has at least three new HD series (Damages, Fairytales and Torchwood).

This is hardly a disaster.

And it is no surprise that they will need to be careful over spending on a niche channel until it is readily available to more people. This may even be part of their budgeting strategy.

And overall with Sky boosting their HD output (three HD NFL games this month, Law and Order in HD at last etc), with Channel 4 HD launched and ITV HD coming soon it really is not doom and gloom.

I don't think we're complaining about the overall situation with HD, just the BBC's offering!

Say what you will to defend them, but since it's ceased to be a 'trial' channel the content has diminished considerably. As I posted earlier, Saturday nights' offering (prime viewing time!) was rubbish! :thumbsdow

ATB

Max
 
I think they should go the same way as ch4 and transmit a simulcast of BBC1, we will at least get decent bit rates for sd programs and bang all the HD repeats on in the early hours.
 
I don't think we're complaining about the overall situation with HD, just the BBC's offering!

Say what you will to defend them, but since it's ceased to be a 'trial' channel the content has diminished considerably. As I posted earlier, Saturday nights' offering (prime viewing time!) was rubbish! :thumbsdow

ATB

Max

I am not defending them as such, although I have made programmes for the Beeb so I guess I have some bias.

I am not arguing that there is not a reduction, as there obviously is. No FA ip games in HD (although they did explain that reasonably) and The One and Only the first live vote off show not in HD. Both bad signs.

But I think we should bear in mind that as a trial it had a flexibility it will not have as a full time channel where it has to be seen as part of the overall BBC portfolio.

I suspect that come the spring when ITV HD arrives and freeview type HD is looming and time has passed to allow programmes now commissionable in HD to be ready for airing after the full time channel was greenlit that there will be noticeable improvements.
 
Signs is on next Monday on BBCHD.
 
I am not defending them as such, although I have made programmes for the Beeb so I guess I have some bias.

I am not arguing that there is not a reduction, as there obviously is. No FA ip games in HD (although they did explain that reasonably) and The One and Only the first live vote off show not in HD. Both bad signs.

But I think we should bear in mind that as a trial it had a flexibility it will not have as a full time channel where it has to be seen as part of the overall BBC portfolio.

I suspect that come the spring when ITV HD arrives and freeview type HD is looming and time has passed to allow programmes now commissionable in HD to be ready for airing after the full time channel was greenlit that there will be noticeable improvements.

That's exactly what we are bearing in mind. Now it's been given full channel status they seem to have had the 'flexibility' to reduce the content. Your examples of the FA Cup ties and The One and Only are typical. Since the trial ended, almost everything I check for is not simulcast in HD. Very poor! :thumbsdow

I'm glad I'm not on Virgin Media, the BBC HD channel is the only HD channel available to their subscribers. Imagine that! :suicide:

ATB

Max
 
To try and see how honest BBC viewer relations were being when saying that they couldnt broadcast the FA cup in HD due to not having required equipment and budgeted for it, I decided to drop into Villa park on sat on my way to covering the Wolves v Cambridge game to see what units they using and I was surprised to find two of BBC resources HD ob units and the very smart HD graphics unit I was told by a colleague it was a HD production but others are stating it was only done in SD just a shame it was never shown in HD whatever happened
Hopefully if i have done it right heres a couple of pics i took on Sat apologies if quality not brilliant photography is not my strong point first three are from Villa other one is my regular 2nd home
 

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To try and see how honest BBC viewer relations were being when saying that they couldnt broadcast the FA cup in HD due to not having required equipment and budgeted for it, I decided to drop into Villa park on sat on my way to covering the Wolves v Cambridge game to see what units they using and I was surprised to find two of BBC resources HD ob units and the very smart HD graphics unit I was told by a colleague it was a HD production but others are stating it was only done in SD just a shame it was never shown in HD whatever happened
Hopefully if i have done it right heres a couple of pics i took on Sat apologies if quality not brilliant photography is not my strong point first three are from Villa other one is my regular 2nd home

Remember though that those units can work in either HD or SD. If they work SD then BBC Resources own just about enough SD cameras, lenses, VTR's and EVS's to do the job themselves. If they switch to HD then they need to rent in HD cameras, HD wireless cameras, HD lenses, HD Super slo-mo cameras, HD EVS's (slo-mo replay machines) and HD VTR's. Roughly speaking that would add about £10k to the budget. Then you have the added complication of having to run fibre cables to each camera position where the SD triax camera cables are probably permanently rigged.
 
Remember though that those units can work in either HD or SD. If they work SD then BBC Resources own just about enough SD cameras, lenses, VTR's and EVS's to do the job themselves. If they switch to HD then they need to rent in HD cameras, HD wireless cameras, HD lenses, HD Super slo-mo cameras, HD EVS's (slo-mo replay machines) and HD VTR's. Roughly speaking that would add about £10k to the budget. Then you have the added complication of having to run fibre cables to each camera position where the SD triax camera cables are probably permanently rigged.

So basically you're reinforcing the OP's view and mine ;)

When we had the trial we had HD footie on BBC HD. Now it's a channel they can't find the £10k and we're worse off. :mad:

ATB

Max
 
So basically you're reinforcing the OP's view and mine ;)

When we had the trial we had HD footie on BBC HD. Now it's a channel they can't find the £10k and we're worse off. :mad:

ATB

Max

Yes.

But on top of that BBC Resources is about to be sold off to the private sector. Therefore there has been a lack of investment in new facilities. Once BBC resources is sold and the HD Freesat is officially launched it will get better.
 

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