BBC forges ahead with DVB-T2 Freeview HD trial
[Via Digital Spy]
We knew it was coming, and after waiting for quite some time for FreeSat to go from concept to reality, television viewers across the UK can finally indulge. If you'll recall, a recent survey found that just 5-percent of Europe's HDTV owners actually bothered to tune into HD programming, but now that number is likely to change. Effective today, 98-percent of the UK can fork out a one-time fee of £49 ($96) to £120 ($234) in order to acquire a FreeSat set-top-box, and after an £80 ($156) installation, users will have subscription-free access to BBC HD, ITV HD (coming soon), Channel 4's digital service and around 70 other TV / radio channels. Better still, that number is slated to rise to 200 before the year's end, and unsurprisingly, the launch is expected to boost available high-def offerings in the region. Anyone across the pond have their equipment set up already? How's the service?
You patient folks over in the UK have waited a long time for FreeSat to become a reality, and it seems as if that wait will come to an end this Friday. According to an anonymous source across the pond, his store has received a memo stating that the service will go live on
The enduring popularity of "Planet Earth" is compelling enough to its backers to convince them to go back to the well. The Discovery Channel and BBC's Natural History Unit are teaming up again to cover the poles of the Earth in "Frozen Planet." HD content captured from the Arctic and Antarctic? Sign us up! You've got plenty of time to continue enjoying that HDM copy of Planet Earth, though -- the new feature is not set to air until 2012. Yeah, that hurts, but quality takes time, friends. The real question is what HDM format this feature will emerge on (if any still exist); this is one title we'll be putting in our library wishlist.
Why does the hardly-home-theater styled Wii have BBC's iPlayer, and not the much more media player-focused Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3? A note from a BBC employees blog details the troubles of getting things set up with Sony and Microsoft (although with a little tweaking, a PS3 owner has already set up PS3iPlayer.com to give the console iPlayer access) officially, since "they want control of the look, the feel and the experience". Sure BBC's iPlayer is Flash-based (and not the good 1080p Flash either) but their issues could indicate how difficult it will be for other interested parties like Netflix to gain access to the walled garden.
BBC HD is about to head east -- way east. This month, the channel will make its Taiwanese debut via an SVOD (subscription video-on-demand) service on Chunghwa Telecom. Viewers who tune in will reportedly be able to select from "ten three-hour multiple genre blocks of programs at any one time," which will feature "drama, comedy, documentary, natural history, music and arts programming." Of note, the channel will be shown in English with traditional Chinese subtitles added on, but there will be "program promos and navigational menus in traditional Chinese."
Not happy letting us Yankees get away with all the 3D sporting action, the BBC plans to test a 3D HD broadcast of a Rugby Six Nations match next month. A lot like the NBA's test with last year's All-Star Game and NBA Finals, the March 8th game between Scotland and England will be captured by three camera rigs and then transmitted via satellite -- unlike the fiber connection used by the NBA -- to an audience watching a big screen with 3D glasses. Can Communicate, Inition and Axis are the companies forming 3DFirm, which is partnering with the Beeb to make the whole thing happen, including working out a new style of camera work and post production. We won't say we're waiting for a 3D broadcast of real football to get excited about these tests (we'll just think it.)
The writing has certainly been on the wall, particularly of late, but the long-awaited dedicated BBC HD has finally launched on cable and satellite. This means that viewers will be able to see programs such as Strictly Come Dancing and Cranford in high-definition, and moreover, the Queen's Christmas message will also be broadcast in HD for the first time this year. As we'd heard, Freeview audiences will still have to wait, but those tuning in via cable / satellite can catch HD programming for nine hours per day that will showcase content from all of the BBC's stations. Notably, Kill Bill and Sin City are also on the list to be shown in HD later this month, which should certainly inject a healthy dose of holiday cheer (or violent tendencies) into your soul. So, for those of you in Britain, how's the new station?
Just a month after we heard that the BBC was mulling the decision to add a dedicated HD channel comes word that the BBC Trust has given the all-important thumbs-up to the idea. Reportedly, the "mixed genre" channel will show programs from across all of the BBC's stations and will air on cable / satellite "as soon as possible." Additionally, the channel should launch on Freesat just as soon as that goes live, but proposals for viewing it via Freeview were put on hold "because viewers might have been required to buy two new set-top boxes to receive the channel." So, for all you Brits out there, let us know how splendid the channel is when it becomes available -- hopefully your patience will pay off.


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