BBC HD

BBC HD
Ownership
Owner	BBC

BBC HD is a high-definition television channel provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007. The first HD originated programme to be shown on the channel was Planet Earth, shown on 27 May 2006.

The broadcasts are generally six to eight hours per day (expanding to 9 in 2009), and include simulcasts with BBC channels, such as Michael Palin's New Europe and Hustle (also on BBC One), and replays of HD programmes such as Planet Earth, Bleak House, Torchwood, and Hotel Babylon. Live coverage of events such as The Proms, Wimbledon, the Eurovision Song Contest, the World Cup, and the Concert for Diana have already been shown, with the first live event to be broadcast being the opening game between Germany and Costa Rica which took place on 9 June 2006.

When high-definition programmes are not being shown, the channel broadcasts a looped preview containing clips from BBC HD programmes.

Initially the trial lasted 12 months, after which the BBC Trust agreed to a Public Value Test (PVT) which began on 21 May 2007 and the BBC extended its own HD trial, which was to end in June, until the end of the PVT process. It was announced on 19 November 2007 by the BBC Trust that following the PVT they had approved the BBC Executive's high definition television proposals to allow the launch of UK's first free-to-air, mixed-genre public service HD channel.^[1]

Technical details and availability

BBC HD is available to viewers of the Astra 2D satellite (Sky+ HD EPG No. 143) and Virgin Media cable service subscribers (EPG No. 108) with suitable reception equipment. The channel was also broadcast as a digital terrestrial (DVB-T) service from London's Crystal Palace Transmitter until May 2007, enabling the channel to be viewed by a selected trial group of 450 companies and homes.

Both the satellite and terrestrial broadcasts were free to air, which means that anybody with the necessary equipment (for example, an adequately powerful personal computer with a DVB-S or DVB-T interface and suitable software) was able to view the channel during the trial. The broadcasts are typically at a resolution of 1440x1080i, and encoded in MPEG-4 H.264/AVC.

The BBC has, therefore, been the only terrestrial broadcaster so far to offer a "platform neutral" HD offering. ITV's trial HD channel was not available by satellite, but was carried on cable. Channel 4 and Five carried out broadcasts in HD, although these were very limited and only available as part of the closed Freeview trial in London.

The BBC HD channel is not currently available via the digital terrestrial service. The BBC says there is a lack of available bandwidth at present on this service; a new Freeview HD service will be launched on a region-by-region basis, starting in early 2009 in the BBC's North West region. BBC HD can currently be accessed free-of-charge on Freesat, and as a free addition on Virgin Media and Sky+ HD.

International version

It was announced in September 2006 that BBC Worldwide plans to broadcast an international version of BBC HD in the near future. During the first broadcast of BBC World News America, it was announced that BBC America HD will be launched in 2008. The channel will begin broadcasting on 20 July 2009.^[2] In Australia, an Australian version of BBC HD is broadcast on the Foxtel HD+ service which was made available to subscribers on 2 June 2008 and was officially launched at the end of June 2008. In late 2008 BBC HD will be also launched in Poland. It has been reported that it will focus on documentaries and drama. BBC HD started broadcasting to the Scandinavian countries on the 3 December 2008.

BBC HD service

The BBC has been approved to provide a service of nine hours per day, 15:00 to midnight, with some flexibility to extend beyond this to allow for the coverage of significant live sport or other events. The BBC Trust stated that the service should be available on cable and satellite as soon as the service licence was effective, and the channel had its official launch on 1 December 2007. The decision to provide an early Freeview four-hour overnight schedule has been put on hold with the preferred option being to provide the full nine-hour service as soon as possible, this would be reviewed in spring 2008 when there would be greater clarity over spectrum bandwidth and broadcast standards for digital television.

The BBC HD channel is a mixed-genre service. Its aim, as far as possible, is to showcase programmes produced in HD from the schedules of other BBC channels. These are broadcast in HD end-to-end, not converted from standard definition (SD). Any individual programme may contain up to 25 per cent of non-HD material converted from SD — for example, archive shots in a documentary.

The content comes from across the BBC's portfolio of television channels. It was found by the BBC Trust from the PVT that there was considerable support for BBC HD to show programmes in prime time that would most benefit from the uplift to HD, and not to be just a channel that would simulcast BBC One programmes at this time.

Worldwide events

So far, the BBC has broadcast the 2006 World Cup, Wimbledon, Open Golf, England football internationals, action from the FA Cup and Six Nations rugby in high-definition. The US Masters golf from Augusta National was screened in HD for the first time in 2007. The Eurovision Song Contest was also broadcast live in high-definition on BBC HD in both 2007 and 2008, and is likely to broadcast upcoming contests in the same way.

The Euro 2008 Championships were broadcast during June and from 8 August BBC HD showed coverage of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, considerably extending the channel's operating hours to do so. Coverage of the Australian Open and French Open tennis tournaments in HD, which the BBC hold the rights to along with Eurosport, are expected to start in 2009. BBC Sport officials have indicated that they hope to offer all of their output in HD by 2012, based on the availabilities of global feeds and planned new studios or HD-friendly renovations in London and Manchester.^[3]

As well as Sport, the 2009 United States presidential inauguration was also shown on the channel.

References

External links

[1] BBC Trust HDTV public value test final conclusions

[2] BBC America press release

[3] [1]

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