BBCHD - Any news on how long it will last?

ash

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I am planning to buy a FTA HD box for BBCHD. I was wondering if there has been any news if they will be ending their trial, or extending it?

Thanks, hope you don't mind me posting in this section, will get more views. :smashin:
 
BBCHD have just put out a new trial broadcast loop (as from last Saturday) which includes new stuff thats due to be shown well into June.

It does appear that they have been given an unofficial nod that it will continue as it was due to end in May. I doubt they would have gone to all this effort if it was going to end in a few weeks time.
 
i can say without any doubt that it will not end in the near future and probably not for a long time
 
Mmmm.... why would you say that? (Not being sarcy lol)

I don't have SkyHD, so is there something in the new BBCHD previews indicating it, like preview of Wimbledon maybe? I don't want to spend £100 and find out I have nothing to watch for 6 months.
 
Personally I can't see why they would invest all that money in something and then abandon it after a relatively short time, especially after it has been such an obvious success.
 
If its a PACE HD FTA box stay well clear the price matches the quality.
 
I don't have SkyHD, so is there something in the new BBCHD previews indicating it, like preview of Wimbledon maybe?

Its a whole new preview loop, showing lots of new stuff like hustle season 4, great journeys and how we built britain, which on all accounts is not being shown until mid June. There were many more things I cant remember now.

Doubt they would have done this if it was going to stop soon.

Hopefully they will anounce Winbledon in HD soon.
 
BBC HD is the one channel that is reliably good, it better not go:eek:
 
Mmmm.... why would you say that? (Not being sarcy lol)

I don't have SkyHD, so is there something in the new BBCHD previews indicating it, like preview of Wimbledon maybe? I don't want to spend £100 and find out I have nothing to watch for 6 months.

They have just started showing a new set of previews on their demo loop including a clip of Hustle, which has a new series coming up this month but has not been on HD previously. A good sign for you i think.
 
I'm very confident that it will continue :)

I haven't got any insider info but HD is the future and the BBC as always will be leading the market.
 
The BBC were asked why 'Match of the Day' wasn't in HD.

They said that, whilst Sky shot live games in HD, all the others were in SD. Also, they'd have to change every link in the broadcast chain to make it HD (from camera, through production facilities, ewditing, etc), and that this would be very expensive.

The implication is that BBC programmes in HD like Torchwood must have been expensive to make, and the BBC must have spent money on the cameras, mixing facilities, etc, for them in HD.

The BBC are not going to stop using expensive equipment.

Steve W
 
I did a google trawl of this last week given I was/still am thinking of getting Sky HD.

The BBC, or at least a BBC representive, is on record somewhere saying they would like to continue with the HD trial, including Wimbledon etc, however in order to extend beyond the original year HD trial that they started before the World Cup last year, they need some regulatory approval.

So assuming they get that approval, I guess it will be around for a while yet.
 
BBC HD is my favourite HD channel and long may it continue!!:thumbsup:

Gae
 
How long it lasts or indeed whether or not it continues will probably depend on how much success the BBC have with their own Freesat service. That's of course assuming it actually gets going.
 
From what i have read somewhere BBC HD will go fully live (non preview) on either June/july this year.

I doubt that it is going anywhere. In fact i suspect all the other broadcaster will have to follow suit eveentually because Hd is the future of tv. no sense in going back now is there. ;)

Cheers.
 
From what i have read somewhere BBC HD will go fully live (non preview) on either June/july this year.

I doubt that it is going anywhere. In fact i suspect all the other broadcaster will have to follow suit eveentually because Hd is the future of tv. no sense in going back now is there. ;)

Cheers.

Where did you see that?

I have followed this debate closely as I think BBC HD is crucial to the future of HD viewing in the UK. But I have never seen anything reporting the above.

As far as I understood the decision is not the BBCs but the regulators as they need to approve the extension to the trial until such time as the BBC governors analyse the results of year one of the trial and decide whether to apply for a full licence.

That will only happen if it fulfills various criteria - complicated by the less than expected licence fee settlement which involves the BBC making cuts on fringe services. They probably have to be sure that an HD channel for a few hundred thousand viewers (less than 1% of the UK population) is justifiable at the moment. Then, of course, they have to get approval to launch it.

That will surely take longer than three months - possibly needing another year's trial, I would have thought.

BBC HD is bound to come within a few years, but HD on anywhere outside satellite or cable is currently impossible they have to face a limited audience for several years even if HD TV ownership booms.

I regard BBC HD survival as critical not just because it is a fantastic channel with the best consistent PQ (though Sky often matches it now and has better sound most of the time). More importantly the BBC is free and it has to go on without a prolonged break to persuade other free channels (like 4 and 5) to jump on board when they may well otherwise wait years.

If the BBC stop the trial or fail to launch a full channel then HD will be in the sole hands of pay TV during its formative years, leading to a future where the entire ethos of this technology will be dominated by extra charges. That did not happen with colour, better sound or widescreen, because the BBC kept at the fore of the technological wave. If it jumps ship on HD Sky will dictate the next few years of this new technology on its own.

For that reason alone the BC governors and the government should ensure that the BBC is on board without any break.

I hope this happens and your dates are correct.
 
It surely has to continue. In the US there is already 4HD, a news channel in New York and, I believe, a lot more in other places. The future is HD - most programmes are shot in HD then downscaled if HD editing facilities don't exist.
There needs to be continuity from camera through editing to consumer display to get the full enjoyment of HD all the time. I also believe that in the US terrestial HD will be the norm but then they have the bandwidth throughout the country.
 
There may be a break, a they only have a licence to broadcast a trial, and a trial, by its nature needs to be assessed and then the BBC Trust need to decide whether to apply for a full licence, and Ofcom have to decide whether to give them one.

Of course they may try some way to continue with something while this happens - maybe an extended technical assessment or soemthing. :)
 
From what i have read somewhere BBC HD will go fully live (non preview) on either June/july this year.

I doubt that it is going anywhere. In fact i suspect all the other broadcaster will have to follow suit eveentually because Hd is the future of tv. no sense in going back now is there. ;)

Cheers.

I wish someone would tell Ofcom this.:devil:
 
This week's coming efforts are hardly a showcase for retaining BBC HD. :rolleyes:

How many more times can they repeat some of this stuff? :eek:
 
This week's coming efforts are hardly a showcase for retaining BBC HD. :rolleyes:

How many more times can they repeat some of this stuff? :eek:

I could watch HD and Dolby 5.1 versions of Later until the cows come home, it's excellent...but I get your point ;)
 

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