BBC Ident expansions

Does anyone know why the ident used before Football Focus and MOTD, for instance, always seems to zoom in quite significantly about half a second before fading to the programme itself? I cannot think why it happens only with these programmes and not others.

Can't say I've noticed that myself. Do you have a CRT TV? It's not uncommon on CRT TV's to see the picture slightly move or zoom in during scenes which are predominant with one colour, such as the red on the ident.

Are you watching on a 4:3 tv? I remember back when I had one that Football Focus and MOTF always outputted in 4:3 if you had a 4:3 tv and it switched during the ident.

Of course I may be going mad and my mind playing tricks of me - someone will no doubt come along and say I'm talking rubbish

I am indeed, yes. And on analogue as well. It's to do with aspect ratio is it?

Yes, if you're watching analogue TV then that's exactly what you're seeing... the analogue ARC switching from 14:9 to 4:3 centre cut out.

That'll be it - for some reason sport output on most channels is still shown in 4:3 on terrestrial even though most of it has been made in widescreen for years.

I don't really know why they don't screen it in the 14:9 compromise as they do with other programmes. I guess originally it was because some footage in things like Grandstand was still in 4:3, but considering multi-sport programmes are a thing of the past I see no reason why it should still be an issue.

The reason sport output is shown 4:3 on analogue is because if you had an originating sport event in 4:3 it would then appear on an analogue television with black bars at the top, bottom and left and right hand side if you were transmitting it 14:9. For consistency, all sport output is transmitted as 16:9 on digital and 4:3 centre cut out on analogue. It means that any sport programme can have a mixture of both 16:9 and 4:3 material within its programme without having to arc material to a different size.

Yep - and all widescreen sports material is usually shot 4:3 (not 14:9) safe - so that it can be shown by 4:3 broadcasters internationally. As a result 4:3 is the ratio used on analogue - rather than 14:9.

On Sky boxes the aspect ratio switch is not frame-accurate (because Sky don't use AFDs but MPEG header switching). On Freeview it should be a bit better - as that uses AFD switching.

The BBC's policy used to be (maybe it still is) that the aspect ratio change should be hidden with a U transition. Around the same time they moved the ratio switch from the cut between the ident and programme to the one into the ident so they could make arty fades into programmes.

That eliminates the effect you are seeing

Network BBC 1 and BBC 2 don't bother with the U fade when switching between the 14:9 symbol and 4:3 (centre cut-out for analogue) sports programmes any more; they used to, but haven't since moving to the Broadcast Centre. This is why the original poster of this thread is able to notice the switch of aspect ratio while watching on analogue. The analogue ARCs, since moving to the Broadcast Centre a few years back, don't seem to be frame accurate.

I don't know about the other Nations, but most directors in NI still use a V fade (rather than a U Fade) to hide the aspect ratio switch in to sports programmes.

*whoosh*

I remember certainly at BBC Scotland it was a 32 frame U fade to cover the AFD GPI change - I think it looks SO messy when they cut from one ratio to another!!