BBC HD Channel

The old BBC HD thread has now been archived, so here goes with a new one...

There's some interesting news in the latest post on the BBC HD blog.

Aside from the headline about extending hours to 9 a day, this bit caught my eye...



Great news about HD programming coming to the iPlayer, especially for those currently without access to HD.

I'm not sure exactly what 'changes around the channel idents' means. Possibly tweaks to the current idents, or maybe completely new ones. However given the current idents have been on screen for less than a year, it would seem a bit soon to be ditching them already, unless they're really unhappy with them.

Excellent news! Now I just need to buy a new computer that can cope with HD videos.

I did hear from Danielle some months back and she said there was a possibility of the HD logo being added to the main BBC1 and BBC2 Idents when a programme was also being shown in HD - maybe she is referring to this?!?

That would certainly make sense and would be in keeping with the tradition of pointing new technology on the symbol! (Thinks back to "Stereo", "888" etc...)

I think this bit of the post indicates that this won't happen



There isn't a small bit of text (or graphic) like the 888 or Stereo bits to indicate to viewers they can change channel to watch the programme in HD.

Although, maybe a "press green" option could be built, which switches you to the HD version of a channel, with a green BBC HD logo appearing on the idents for programmes being simulcast in HD... Would still take some educating though.

I'm sure I've seen the Saturday night ident with the ferris wheel with a BBC HD logo in the top left?

More to the point why do we still have "Subtitles" on the ident when (I think) it was announced a while back that virtually everything is now subtitled?

Northern Ireland don't

Just out of interest, why does the BBC Trust limit the air time of BBC HD to 9 hours?

I'm glad to hear that there'll be new idents.
I miss the original ones. They were graphically more dynamic and pleasing to the eye, even if the music was rather harsh. They reminded me of BSB's Galaxy a bit!

Never did care much for this HD thing coming out of the water. Music's a bit boring too. Just seems to plod along. Amazed that they actually ditched an impressive suite of idents for this one to be honest...

I think they want to balance investment in HD with their responsibility to spend money in a way that benefits all licence-fee payers in a balanced way. If BBC HD went 24 hours a day, then that would require greater HD investment, meaning less investment in other services.

Whilst BBC HD is still quite a low-audience service you have to be careful not to "super serve" one section of the audience.

When large amounts of HD programming are available at little extra cost (Olympics, Wimbledon) the 9-hour rules is not stuck to, it is just for regular scheduling.

Don't forget, repeats cost money too...

Agreed - I'm not a fan of the current ident either. It just lacks the wow factor which I think an ident for the HD channel needs. Sadly I didn't get HD until after the original ident had been ditched, but from what I've seen online, it does look better.

As for the 'Also on BBC HD' DOG, it was used for a short time on BBC One at least. Don't know why they've not continued with it. IMO, including 'Also available on BBC HD' in the EPG programme information would be more useful though, especially when setting a programme to record. There have been a few occasions when I've recorded a programme on an SD channel, only to find out too late that I could have watched it in HD.

I think one problem they have is that the "Also in HD" or "Also available in HD" is only useful when the HD and SD shows are simulcast. Whilst for imports this is usually the case (separate showings on the SD and HD channels would use up two showings), it isn't always for domestic stuff.

You still have the issue of scheduling and watching in SD, when the show will be on HD at a later point, non-simulcast. You won't want to watch it a second time in HD in many cases - but would have delayed recording it the first time if you had known.

It would be good if the EPG said " Simulcast/Also on BBC HD" or " Broadcast on BBC HD xx/yy at zzzz" to cover both? (Though I suspect the latter is unlikely as it could end up denting BBC One/Two etc. ratings...)