It's ridiculous UKTV's programming isn't yet in widescreen considering they are one of the major digital broadcasters.
I'd imagine virtually all their output is now produced in widescreen anyhow considering most of it has been screened by the BBC in the last few years.
If UKTV Gold was still mainly showing stuff from the 70's and 80's they'd have a justification - but considering "Gold" is now considered to be something shown last week - and often not from the UK either - they just look pretty amatuerish!
It's ridiculous UKTV's programming isn't yet in widescreen considering they are one of the major digital broadcasters.
I'd imagine virtually all their output is now produced in widescreen anyhow considering most of it has been screened by the BBC in the last few years.
If UKTV Gold was still mainly showing stuff from the 70's and 80's they'd have a justification - but considering "Gold" is now considered to be something shown last week - and often not from the UK either - they just look pretty amatuerish!
I totally agree, a lot of the programming is in 16:9, and I know the promos are produced in 16:9 as seen when shown on Sky owned channels. I think it's stupid for them to have to ask us if we want widescreen, but it's a start.
The problem is that UKTV don't necessarily have widescreen source for their material even if it was made in widescreen - the BBC (and other broadcasters) still offer '4:3' versions of programmes (which are 14:9 crops shown in a 4:3 frame just like analogue terrestrial). This is certainly what UKTV *were* buying in, and may well still be doing now.
Moving the channels to widescreen would only make a difference to material which was newly bought in - older widescreen stuff would still be shown as a 14:9 crop. The only way to fix this would be to purchase new copies of *everything* made in widescreen, and since the majority of their output now has been made since 1999 (when widescreen production became commonplace), we're talking about a *lot* of programmes and a *lot* of money.
Despite what people may think, moving the UKTV channels to widescreen is a big job - it's not just a matter of making new idents and changing the aspect ratio they broadcast in.
You have to remember the BBC own half of UKTV, and with UKTV being in the same transmission center as the BBC (Red Bee Media), there is no reason why they can't use the BBC's playout server, if they aren't already. The problem in the past was all the tapes were recorded in the 14:9 letterbox, but now it's server based, so there is nothing stopping 16:9 playout.
:-(
A former member
so what about all the 1970's, 80's 90s programmes that anit in wide screen like are you being served or murder she wrote
I'd love to see widescreen on UKTV, it does look much better than 4:3 (I believe because of the golden rectangle shape). The source material in 4:3 should be transmitted in 4:3 and not be cropped to 14:9.
The problem is that UKTV don't necessarily have widescreen source for their material even if it was made in widescreen - the BBC (and other broadcasters) still offer '4:3' versions of programmes (which are 14:9 crops shown in a 4:3 frame just like analogue terrestrial). This is certainly what UKTV *were* buying in, and may well still be doing now.
Moving the channels to widescreen would only make a difference to material which was newly bought in - older widescreen stuff would still be shown as a 14:9 crop. The only way to fix this would be to purchase new copies of *everything* made in widescreen, and since the majority of their output now has been made since 1999 (when widescreen production became commonplace), we're talking about a *lot* of programmes and a *lot* of money.
Despite what people may think, moving the UKTV channels to widescreen is a big job - it's not just a matter of making new idents and changing the aspect ratio they broadcast in.
I've never really understood this concept its effectively BBC (under the disguise of UKTV) buying BBC programmes!
The problem is that UKTV don't necessarily have widescreen source for their material even if it was made in widescreen - the BBC (and other broadcasters) still offer '4:3' versions of programmes (which are 14:9 crops shown in a 4:3 frame just like analogue terrestrial). This is certainly what UKTV *were* buying in, and may well still be doing now.
Moving the channels to widescreen would only make a difference to material which was newly bought in - older widescreen stuff would still be shown as a 14:9 crop. The only way to fix this would be to purchase new copies of *everything* made in widescreen, and since the majority of their output now has been made since 1999 (when widescreen production became commonplace), we're talking about a *lot* of programmes and a *lot* of money.
Despite what people may think, moving the UKTV channels to widescreen is a big job - it's not just a matter of making new idents and changing the aspect ratio they broadcast in.
I've never really understood this concept its effectively BBC (under the disguise of UKTV) buying BBC programmes!
I'm sure the BBC want an extra bit of Flextech's (sorry - Virgin Media Television's) cash.
