BBC News Studios

We won't mind!

Smart Glass is so last year

Totally agree with this, although will the directors actually have a chance to do this whilst their heads are in all the other technology required?

So it's not smart glass. Confused now.

I don't think anyone has said it ISN'T smart glass in the pictures (which can be used as a projection screen)... They've just said it's very last year...

Though the black bezel around the edge of the projected area suggests it might not be?

It looks as though they might have changed it since this picture was taken, perhaps it was too washed out looking on screen as there is certainly no bevel on the glass at either side of the set

G-TAKE is the helicopter the beeb still seems to own. Here is a recent flickr shot taken on June 1, this year:
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7212/7316432860_628ec3f743_q.jpg

From http://www.flickr.com/photos/egcb_egcc/7316432860/in/photostream/

The description says:


If you want to read about it there's an old Newswatch article all about people giving out about it. Newsnight rented a helicopter for the 2005 GE it seems.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/ukfs/hi/newsid_4600000/newsid_4605600/4605678.stm

EDIT -> Here's a fun fact. This copter was owned by ITN from 1981 - 2005.
http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=60&pagetype=65&appid=1&mode=reg&fullregmark=TAKE

No bezels either.

Why do they use an image of the South Bank? That's not proper London. Marr uses it too.

To be more accurate Arena Aviation own G-TAKE now, not the BBC. The BBC doesn't own its own helicopter AFAIK.

http://www.arena-aviation.com/

Looks like Arena Aviation (a division of the same company that also owns Arena OBs - who are a descendant of the old LWT OB dept I think) bought it from ITN (it was previously registered G-OITN) and the BBC have a rental deal on it.

http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?airlinesearch=BBC%20News

AIUI the BBC pay more for the deal, but ITN and Sky also contribute and there is a poolin agreement in place. (I think the BBC have more say over where it goes, but ITN and Sky have some access to pictures)

I think the deal gives the BBC a fixed number of hours (or is it days?) of use per year - and Arena can negotiate access for third party use during down-time. It's a more cost effective solution for the BBC than owning its own helicopter or hiring ad hoc.

Might not be now...

(One of the reasons the BBC don't want pictures splashed all over the place is that some details inevitably change during piloting...)