UK TV Gold is in Widescreen

I think the consensus is that the switch was just for a short period to allow the final of DWTS to be shown? Not a permanent switch?

The other issue is that shows for UKTV are apparently cached already converted to 4:3, not in 16:9, so even though a show is made in 16:9 it is probably only stored in 4:3. That means if and when they switch to 16:9 they will have to re-transfer 16:9 versions - and some shows may have been supplied in 4:3.

(The Bill is 4:3 centre-cut not 14:9 for some reason - which suggests it may be delivered in 4:3 by Fremantle?)

Well one would expect them to move to widescreen slowly and update older stuff as they go. I'm quite sure UKTV (one of the largest digital groups) could afford to get new copies of a few series a year until it was all lovely.

Yes, certainly until at least 5 years ago the master tapes held by the UKTV library were 4:3 masters. The programmes were re-versioned (edited for compliance and breaks inserted) and part of that process was ARCing to 14:9/4:3.

I would have thought that this was still the way they did it until they left TV Centre, but there will be many tapes still being used which were versioned back then.

So showing an episode of a 16:9 programme that they originally got in 2000 would mean getting the original back from the owners, and re-re-versioning it!

I just don't understand why the Beeb couldn't have sorted this out earlier, now you finally go widescreen and you are faced with a library of 4:3 copies!

Not the BBC - Red Bee and UKTV...

Nothing to do with the BBC of course!

The facilities it used until about 2 or 3 years ago were installed for UKTVs launch in 1997, with all 4:3 programmes and adverts there was no need to build a 16:9 facility. It is far easier to have everything the right shape rether than have ARCs switching everything as they leave the building.

But then if UKTV had wanted to do it earlier and were willing to pay for it the BBC/Red Bee would have done it for them

How do you know they haven't? For all we know, the last few months could have been spent updating the library.