UK TV Gold is in Widescreen

Well .. only taken them ten years to catch up with the UK widescreen "revolution" I suppose!

AFAIK UKTV has been using ex-BBC playout equipment which isn't 16:9 ready, and today switched to newer equipment, hence 16:9.

Most of UKTV's output is filmed in 16:9 anway, so it is a welcome change to having everything letterboxed in 4:3. Any programme recorded in 4:3, such as early Neighbours, Eldorado etc, will still be broadcast in 4:3, as will some promos, idents etc as these are recorded in advance of the 16:9 switchover.

UKTV G2 broadcast in widescreen during the World Cup as the playout wasn't provided by UKTVs current operator, and that by the program broadcaster (if you understand what I mean?)

Over the next couple of weeks the timetable for 16:9 switchover will be:

Dave: - Tuesday 4th December 2007
UKTV Drama - Wednesday 5th December 2007
UKTV History - Wednesday 5th December 2007
UKTV People - Wednesday 5th December 2007
UKTV Doc - Thursday 6th December 2007
UKTV Style - Saturday 8th December 2007
UKTV Gardens - Saturday 15th December 2007
UKTV Food - will stay 4:3 until early 2008

Hope this helps?

Did they move the DTA and MSA gear from TV Centre to the Broadcast Centre once the BBC channels had moved out? My understanding was that the UKTV areas at the Broadcast Centre were new, but not initially specified to be 16:9, because at the time UKTV were not planning to imminently move to 16:9 playout.

All of the BBC gear at TV Centre then in use WAS 16:9 anyway - as the DTA and MSA were playing out 16:9 channels since 1998 (DTA) and a bit later (MSA).

The 4:3 BBC gear was PAL analogue (NTA and BBC World), and retired once the NTA was taken out of service AIUI, and UKTV hasn't been PAL for years, even though it remained 4:3...

Not sure how much I trust steddenm, he once claimed that the satellite station mktv was being taken over and relaunched by his 'company' Trafalgar Group.I'll happily eat humble pie if any of what he says turns out to be true but right now I'd take that with a pinch of salt.

I'm also fairly sure from what little I know and what has been posted on this forum that the reason UKTV hadn't gone widescreen so far was more of an editorial decision, not sure exactly why but there was a reason they weren't ready to convert - probably cost.

I don't believe a word he says. The implication in his post is that UKTV Gold is now fully widescreen - this is not the case yet.

And if he's so in the know, would he really have posted an 8 months out-of-date press release about UKTV Gold earlier?

Computer says no.

Very little equipment was moved from TV Centre to the Broadcast Centre and the items that were moved were very small in the grand scheme of things. The whole installation at the Broadcast Centre was new (though it used technology trailled in the MSA and BiP parts of the old BBC Broadcast division.)

Although the area that UKTV originated from at Television Centre was used in 4:3 mode from start to finish it was 16:9 capable. However, the programme catalogue was (and still is) 4:3 (with 16:9 originated material ARCd to 14:9 Letterbox). It's been the back catalogue that has prevented UKTV from going 16:9 not any technical infrastructure at the Broadcast Centre.

The area which played out UKTV was all digital (and was set up at the same time as the DTA) and could have been converted to 16:9 quite easily had the will and the back catalogue been there.

The only area where widescreen was involved was where they cached the adverts onto server which (post C-Day) had ARCs so they could be converted to 4:3 in the process.

This is just stupid!

Nearly all the programmes on gold well now drama are not in windscreen!

Colossus?

Yes, Colossus was used in the MSA and BiP, but lots of other types of kit and workflow patterns were trialled at TVC and are still used in the BC.

Just to confirm Dave is NOT in Widescreen today, stil 4:3

UKTV Gold is also still 4:3 (broadcasting an episode of The Bill which was presumably made in 16:9 in 2003)