BBC One HD This Autumn

Dgiguide shows Regional News and Weather at 6.30pm, with the description "Please tune to your regional BBC1 channel to watch the Regional News and Weather". That's what I assume the caption will say.

Remember the fuss when BBC News [24] moved their clock outside the 4:3 safe area, leading to them quickly moving it back? Given that the channel is broadcast on analogue (with ticker/etc graphics) only in the wee hours of the morn, I suspect that any attempt to move to 16:9 safe-only would meet with resistance...

[The number of people watching 4:3 centre cut-out in stretchovision on a widescreen telly have a lot to answer for.]

on page 13.

I think it will cost alot for every bbc region to broadcast in HD but BBC should at least put a preview loop or other programming while the local new is on at 6:30 and 10:35

Will there be a few second delay between BBC1 & BBC1 HD? When the same programme is on BBC1 & BBC HD I noticed that BBC HD was a few seconds later (I'd guess 2 or 3) - is that just because the number of frames in a GOP on BBC HD is longer than BBC1 or mpeg2 vs mpeg4 or both?

I may be wrong, but I've been led to believe that the process of encoding and decoding an HD channel takes longer than for SD, hence why HD channels are generally a few seconds behind.

I think GOPs are longer on HD (it's not uncommon to see 300 frame GOPs suggested for MPEG4 codecs, though it wouldn't be that long), and presumably HD takes longer to process at every step anyway. BBC1 and BBC HD (as was) weren't simulcasts anyway, and I've seen them be minutes out of sync.

David

Cost a lot? Understatement. 17 Regions of which only two could possibly transmit in HD. Although all BBC NPCs should be able to if they used the Network kit.

And I see the BBC National News broadcasts are all simulcasts, and not as the FAQ someone posted a link to, unavailable on BBC 1 HD ?

I believe the FAQ should have read .... not available IN HD at the moment.

Well yes, exactly what I suggested back in Post #95, only to be shot down by David in #96

Let's wait until 22:00hrs Wednesday to know for sure !

What network kit is that? None of the English NPCs (Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham) have network studios any more. Even if they did it would probably be the same situation where the network Studio A at Pebble Mill was widescreen capable but Midlands Today's Studio B wasn't.