Loading ...Sep 22 2009
Good news for all you car fans, Top Gear will be available in stunning high-definition on BBC HD from November 15th.
The announcement was made today by Danielle Nagler, Head of BBC HD on the popular and pleasantly honest BBC Internet Blog.
The decision follows an amazing response to a question Danielle asked a couple of months earlier on which programmes we’d like to see most in HD; going to show that some heads of broadcast do indeed listen.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:19 pm
BBC HD, not so stunning anymore, thanks to reduced bitrate and new encoder, according to all the posts on Digital Spy!
ExpatQuote
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:26 pm
You aren’t forced to watch Strictly Come Dancing I assume then – you wouldn’t be saying that if you had seen it!
AndyQuote
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Don’t read too much into reduced bitrates; PQ still looks good and most wouldn’t even notice if it wasn’t for all the coverage on Digitalspy.
adminQuote
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:28 pm
This is fantastic news. I have also read up that not this new series of waterloo road. But Spring 2010 is going to be filmed in HD
I am so glad about this news
AlexQuote
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:18 pm
oh finally. good things actually do come to those who wait.
euan melvilleQuote
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Fab, This news item alone carries more value than all of the previous ‘new channel’ announcements added together.
boingleQuote
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:45 pm
yes, top gear in HD .
If it wasnt for freesat we would all be stuck with freeview (if we could get it) or filling murdock`s overflowing pockets.
dont bite the hand that feeds you…..simples.
stuart AQuote
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Fingers crossed that the next announcement will be news of Match of the Day and F1 being broadcast in HD.
boingleQuote
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:02 pm
YIPPEE!!
Brian PQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:00 am
I am afraid that both my wife and I have to agree with post 1 (Expat), and as for the following from admin,
quot “Don’t read too much into reduced bit-rates; PQ still looks good and most wouldn’t even notice if it wasn’t for all the coverage on Digitalspy.”
We did not need to be told that the PQ has dropped it still looks good’ it’s supposed to look Stunning as the following Quot says
Quote “Good news for all you car fans, Top Gear will be available in stunning high-definition on BBC HD from November 15th.”
Robert HudsonQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:10 am
Why does every piece of good news get trashed by the “yes but the bit rate has dropped so the picture must be rubbish” brigade?
If you don’t like the FREE offerings, then subscribe to $ky and move on.
… and all the “its not really free – you pay for it in your license fees” brigade can get off their high horses too!
there – feeling better already. more, BBC, more!
Al CatrazQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:51 am
Good news indeed that Top Gear will be in HD, although I’m not a huge fan of the programme (and I mean that literally, I like it but don’t love it).
@Alex: It sounds from Danielle’s earlier blog ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2009/09/bbc_hd_autumn_schedule.html ) that the next series of Waterloo Road will be broadcast in HD this autumn, not next spring.
@boingle: Match of the Day will move to HD in 2011 when BBC Sport moves to Salford; the reasons are explained here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/front_page/6183981.stm#hd
AndrewMQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:51 am
Well said Al. Here, here.
I can only get Freeview when the wind is in the right direction and Murdock’s priority is his wallet.
Freesat is the future and HD just gets better. (Except STV!)
Andrew MQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:56 am
It’s my doppelganger! (with a space)
Guess I’d better change my name to avoid confusion…
AndrewM the firstQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:05 am
Also, for any fans of Countryfile, that is moving to HD this Sunday (27 September):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00n13qc
AndrewM the firstQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:15 am
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2009/09/picture_quality_on_hd_a_respon.html
Read the bbc blog . A full detail on the bit rate issue . sept 17th 2009.
Dean smithQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:19 am
Agree Al – This issue about the “bit rate” is beginning to sound like a broken record. The fact is the BBC HD picture is excellant.
I suggest we have a separate section called “Bit Rate” where the “bit rate moaners” can discuss the issue and technicalities all day, and leave the main message page to the rest of us to talk about other issues.
DenisQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I have been posting the reason why MOTD is not in HD on various forums for nearly two years now. Glad the BBC has at last published the reason too!!
derek500Quote
September 23rd, 2009 at 12:42 pm
@ Denis & Al Cartraz. Agree with you both. It’s getting ridiculous that people are freeze framing a bunch of people doing the Mambo to look for artefacts!!
derek500Quote
September 23rd, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Top Gear is sold around the world so it had to go HD. The only thing that Danielle Nagler listens to is the bottom line.
17 Denis. A few shows look excellent. Others look like upscaled SD.
Richard CrichtonQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I agree that BBCHD is now not as good but this is a significant step forward for the BBC who have until now decided that its premiership programs should be transmitted in black and white and mono.
Some say that in HD he appears as a cloud of 1′s and zero’s. All we know is he’s called The Stig.
TheDukeOfHunsletQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:48 pm
The BBC picture quality is better than SD but only just. It is about the same as the upscalled SD shown on Eurosport. Freesat viewers have very little to compare quality with. If you get the chance just compare Eurosport HD or Sky Sports 1 HD and you will see quite a difference. There is also a serious problem with 5.1 sound which they are trying to fix. I would not advise anyone to get freesat at the moment until the future becomes more certain. Its not Digital Spy that is covering this issue most complaints are on the BBC blogs.
Trevor HarrisQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:50 pm
@ Andrew M “…..Murdock’s priority is his wallet.”
I don’t which Murdoch you’re referring to, I assume it’s Rupert who is the chairman of News Corp, who owns through the Murdoch family’s shareholdings about 11% of Sky.
Of course BSkyB which News Corp has a 39% holding is a PLC and is there to make profit, like all other PLCs. The only reason it’s successful is because it gives subscribers what they want.
You won’t find many posts on forums moaning about why is this football match not in HD? Why is this programme not in HD. Why is the PQ poor etc. etc.
You pays your money (or not in the case of Freesat) and takes your choice.
With such a small percentage of the licence payers being able to receive BBC HD, they do a very good job with limited resources.
Sky of course, only charge for HD if you can receive it, so they are more accountable for the quality of their HD channels.
I’m not being pro Sky or anti Freesat, I’m stating facts.
derek500Quote
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:57 pm
@ Richard Crighton. Which programmes on BBC HD look upscaled to you?
The only HD I’ve seen which fits that category was last Sunday’s Doc Martin on ITV HD.
derek500Quote
September 23rd, 2009 at 4:33 pm
I hear some people complaing about BBC HD and SD pictures, I would suggest that perhaps their choice of TV and set up may have some bearing on things.
BBC SD and HD look great on my Panasonic 50″ Plasma and Sd looks great on my Phillips 32″ LCD. On Freesat and Freeview.
I researched both TV’s before purchase and both where Award winners.
You cant blame the BBC for poor TV purchases and freebie HDMI cables.
The shooting of material in HD also has benefit to SD viewers and so things can only get better.
Cheers, Chris
chrislayerukQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
I see the new series of Benidorm starts next week and is not in HD.
Last year I thought I read somewhere that the new 1 hour episodes would be in HD.
Is this another ITV change of mind.
Chris KQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Waterloo road, Top gear and many more great programs in HD.
Along with the iPlayer coming, and hopefully CH4 at sometime soon.
I think freesat is going to stay at my house now
I just hope BBC promote the fact that topgear, and waterloo road are going to be on HD. As that will being up freesat viewing figures.
It disappoints me sometimes that when programs are in HD, the voiceover guy at the start of the program dosnt promote that viewers can watch it is ‘super hd quality’
AlexQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 5:45 pm
CH4HD in my pervious message sorry
AlexQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 6:44 pm
chrislayerruk – Good point about choice of TV. I have a Panasonic LCD 32″ and have no complaints about the picture SD or HD. Like you I spent a long time researching my choice. Also careful choice of HDMI cable.
As I have said before on here with so many variables on equipment this arguement about standard of HD picture is a non starter and dead in the water.
DenisQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 8:11 pm
I totally agree with comments on the drastic drop in the quality of the BBC HD picture, The Incredible Human Journey was recently repeated on BBC HD and I made a point of watching it then comparing with the recording I made when it was first shown prior to the BBC HD change and even the recording was very clearly a better quality picture?. Poorer quality and lack of future expansion of HD content removes one of the main reasons for getting Freesat and I’m certainly not recommending it to anyone anymore.
JEQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 9:57 pm
I’d agree BBC HD is excellent, just not stunning any more. If the reason for the bitrate reduction is to launch ITV HD then that’s ok, but no doubt it’s to save a few pence.
Lee BQuote
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Lee B @ 31
The problem is that HD should mean something definable; not what the broadcaster wants it to be. How would you feel if the guv’nor at your local decided that a pint was actually 16 fluid ounces rather than 20?
According to the EBU, HD means 1920×1080 transmitted at a bit-rate of greater than 12 Mbps (a 2009 document so includes modern encoders).
We’re not getting that.
MikeCQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 7:04 am
Have you seen the news on BBC RED button under entertainment, Pay for BBC iPlayer? we should be charged a micro fee, read it if it’s true were does that leave us Freesat?????????????
Robert HudsonQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Derek500,
I have to take issue with your comments about Murdock and $ky. My experiances indicate precisely what Murdock thinks about his customer base and his wallet certainly DOES rule.
The quality of $ky’s output depends entirely on the size of their paying audience yet they do absolutely nothing to try and preserve any kind of customer loyalty. They simply continue to try to increase their hold on the market by offereing carrot dangling deals to tempt people in. Yet once the customer has bitten, they do not give a toss about customer service whatsoever.
I was a $ky customer for over 20 years and always had their most expensive package. Yet when I decied to leave them, I encountered problems you can only imagine.
I rang them to tell them I was leaving and asked for a balance. They misquoted me by £25.00 but I didn’t know this.
So I sent them a cheque for the amount they had asked for. Then I started getting letters claiming that I had paid them £25.00 less than what they had asked for.
Eventually, they called in a Debt Collector and threatened legal action so I gave in and paid up.
There was never any ‘Sorry, we made a mistake’. It was all my fault and I was made to fell like a criminal.
What has made me take this point of view is tha fact that I am not alone in all this. Numerous people that I know personally have experienced similar problems. How many then, that I don’t know, have gone through the same scenario? It must be thousands.
No, sorry Derek, what you say is perfectly correct – in a normal business world. But Murdock’s wallet most definately does rule and it’s a case of ‘sod off if you try to cross me’ to the rest of us.
Andrew MQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Here is a note from Freeview site
“Freeview HD will bring you a huge range of entertainment. From the 2010 football World Cup, to your favourite soaps and dramas, children’s favourites, documentaries and a host of top films, they’ll all be available in glorious HD. BBC, ITV and Channel 4 HD channels will be available along with S4C HD in Wales. Five HD aims to launch on Freeview HD in late 2010.”
That is 3 more channels than Freesat!!
Any comments???
YASARQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
No Comment!
Robert HudsonQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
To my understanding while spending money on a good quality HD TV is a good idea, there is no point spending money on anything but a cheap HDMI cable as it is a digital signal and as long as you do not lose any of the transmitted bits then it’s as good as it gets.
JPeeQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
i wonder if 4hd is not coming to us because channel4 is in talks with sky and virgin about joining up for advertising
gordon baconQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
JPEE you havnt got to spend alot to improve freeby cables and you will see the differance. I sugest you Google uk HDMI supplies or somthing like that. You will find what I am talking about. Less than £20.00 will do you good. Chris
chrislayerukQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
I have a CHORD HDMI cable, which was £80 and won the which magazine HDMI cable award. and it is so much better than the standard one that came with the humax.
The colours are better, and it is sharper in SD mode.
Granted if you only watch tv on a little 22″ HD tv, you wont notice any difference, But if you have spend money on a quality tv like my pioneer Kuro. It is worth it
AlexQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Sadly expensive cables win magazine awards for a reason; they are their highest paying advertisers! A £5 HDMI is just as good as an £80 one, the signal is the same.
adminQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Explain how the picture is better then?
a more expensive cable is going to transmit data at a faster rate, and from user experience on my pioneer kuro plasma i will stand by my word. That this £80 chord cable i am using is (not much better, but worth the money) than a standard cheap one.
AlexQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Sorry, but what have these recent posts got to do with Top Gear in HD? I’m looking forward to seeing it on BBCHD, it will be a better picture than I currently get on BBC2 on my Panasonic 46″, so I, for one, am very happy.
RogerdQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Alex. HDMI is a digital signal – ’0′s and ’1′s go in one end and ’0′s and ’1′s come out the other end – no loss of quality to picture or sound. You either get a picture or you don’t. My HDMI cost £2.45 from ebay and the picture and sound are perfect.
Al CatrazQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
@Robert Hudson: I assume the news story you are talking about is this one: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8270663.stm . If you actually read the story you’ll see that the call for people to pay for iPlayer access comes from the chief executive at an independent production company, not from the BBC or anyone at the BBC.
AndrewM the firstQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
@YASAR: True that the way things are going Freeview HD will soon have more HD channels than Freesat, but it doesn’t have to be that way. It is within the BBC’s power to free up a transponder on Astra 2D, thus allowing ITV HD, Channel 4 HD and (probably, although I’m not completely sure it could fit 5 HD channels) Five HD to be broadcast FTA and thus available on Freesat. This would be in addition to BBC HD and a theoretical 2nd BBC HD channel.
Andrew Knight explains it here in a comment on the BBC Internet blog:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2009/09/bbc_hd_autumn_schedule.html#P85698552
AndrewM the firstQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Al Catraz, Have you heard of the phenominum known as Jitter?
It geatly effects digital signals and HDMI is a disaster as far as acurate audio goes. Chris
chrislayerukQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
@Alex
Electricity travels at the speed of light. The quality of a cable can’t change this fact – it’s the laws of physics, however the characteristics of a cable can determine the maximum throughput for a specific cable length.
The length of a HDMI cable is more likely to cause a problem than the quality. An £80 cable might be able to carry the image over a longer length than a £5 cable, but this only becomes an issue when you reach cable lengths in excess of 5m.
As others have stated, HDMI is digital. Either it works or it doesn’t. If you get severe break up of sound or video, and you aren’t exceeding the lengths in the HDMI specifications, then the cable whilst described as ‘poor quality’, would technically be ‘faulty’, in which case you are entitled to return it for a refund / exchange. If you don’t get severe break up of sound or video, then your cable is delivering a perfect signal.
I fear you may be one of the many victims of certain cable manufacturers’ marketing tactics for selling over-inflated products.
BoingleQuote
September 24th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
@chrislayeruk
Jitter is a side effect of the HDMI specifications, cable quality plays no part in this.
BoingleQuote
September 25th, 2009 at 6:53 am
@AndrewM the first
I did not say THE BBC SAID I just said that it was on BBC news channel.(red button) perhaps I should of said that it was said by the chief executive at an independent production company, just thought I would let people read it ALL for them selves.
Robert HudsonQuote
September 25th, 2009 at 11:15 am
@ AndrewM I’m sorry to hear of your experiences, but surely you will find examples of bad customer service at any PLC, especially one with nearly ten million customers.
derek500Quote
September 25th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Great news
Now all we need is match of the day HD
zagQuote
September 25th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
The posting from Boingle is quite right.
For those in doubt the Gadget Show spent some time studying HDMI cables and the conclusion was that the hyped and costly cables were of no benefit, assuming a normal length of cable. As others have said a digital signal is just a string of 0s and 1s.
If you are experiencing radio interference (which can cause break up or freezing of signal) then I would fit an HDMI cable with ferrite cores at each end. This is good practice and can give a substantial improvement. Sometimes your own equipment can produce spurious signals that are strong enough to be picked up on the connecting cables, resulting in loss of quality. Ferrite cores help to prevent this. Such cables often cost less that gold plated connectors.
However, the primary legitimate use for silver and gold contacts is in connectors carrying radio signals in the GHz region. Unfortunately some large chain stores and specialist suppliers now promote such connectors for purposes for which they are not required.
DerekQuote
September 25th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
@ zag MOTD in HD in 2011.
derek500Quote
September 26th, 2009 at 2:12 am
@admin #3
Are you suggesting most people are using digitalspy forums to judge picture quality and not their own eyes?
well this guy didn’t read digitalspy – taken from BBC HD blog
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2009/09/picture_quality_on_hd_a_respon.html
“231. At 3:16pm on 23 Sep 2009, Easybourne wrote:
I has just stumbled (via Google) on this blog post as I was looking for other people that had noticed the same degradation of BBC HD quality of recent weeks.
I have had Freesat for about seven or eight months and have notice that the ‘Wow Factor’ has definitely gone from BBC HD. There is a definite softness to the image, lack of pop, and, most worryingly a high incidence and proliferation of encoding artefacts that appear to be a result of poor encoding AND a too-low bitrate”
scoobieQuote
September 26th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Will it be in Dolby Digital 5.1 and will there be a DOG?
Wonder why they dropped the footy? Probably realised that the bitrate is too low for acceptable picture quality.
There is no doubt that the picture quality has dropped slightly on BBC HD and I don’t read Digital Spy either.
Question is why did they nearly half the bit rate? No other channel or i-player has appeared so why why why?
Richard CrichtonQuote
September 26th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Andy Quested said that the BBC had acted “to reduce the unsustainable bit rates for HD transmission”, warning that in the absence of such action “it will have no future or will only be available to those willing to pay for and able to get super premium services”.
Is he serious? HD unsustainable unless they use bit rates which do not even qualify as HD according to the EBU definiton of HD broadcasts.
Tony HalesQuote
September 26th, 2009 at 10:48 am
well well, another thread taken over by the bit rate boys….yawn!
Al CatrazQuote
September 26th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I am truly delighted that the Top Gear team will be in HD. I think this is one of the most amusing and light hearted shows on TV.
However, I do wonder if Jeremy Clarkson might be of the opinion that BBC HD needs ‘more power’ (bits)……………?
BrusselsmanQuote
September 27th, 2009 at 9:21 am
@Al Catraz
So what do you have to say that’s interesting?
Prison WardenQuote
September 27th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
prison warden
if you care to read the threads you’ll see I have made many contributions – whether they’re interesting is a matter of personal choice. My point is that whenever there is a new thread with some useful information, it nearly always ends up with a lengthly discussion about the BBC dropping bit rates and how dreadful the picture quality is as a result. I find that irritating and somewhat disrespectful to this site managers’ effort to pass on useful information.
Al CatrazQuote
September 27th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
Is “bit rate” over rated?
DenisQuote
September 27th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Rather – Is ” bit rate” a “bit” over rated?
DenisQuote
September 28th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Hi off topic a bit, when I fast forward a program recorded off BBC HD I get picture breakup, not worrying in it self, but this only happens with BBC HD and not ITV HD or any SD programs. wonder why? any body know???
Robert HudsonQuote
September 28th, 2009 at 10:59 am
@64
Robert, this breakup is directly related to the change of BBC HD encoder – try it with anything recorded before the change and it will work flawlessly.
The bit rate issue does have other consequences.
BrusselsmanQuote
September 28th, 2009 at 11:32 am
@Al Catraz.
Good point.
Prison WardenQuote
September 28th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
There is one thing to say about top gear in hd . Great news. That it.
With bit rates you have a topic which is a popular discussion which neeeds its own page really.
Dean smithQuote
September 28th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
@Robert I have the same problem. at first i thought it was my hard drive playing up when under load, but later found out, its this new bit rate thing.
Doesnt bother me much, maybe a fix humax to do with a firmware update.
AlexQuote
September 29th, 2009 at 10:17 am
@Alex
yep a fix from Humax may fix the problem, or even a fix from the BBC i.e. more bite rate. LOL
RobertQuote
September 29th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Freeview box retune required.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8280067.stm
‘ITV3, ITV4 and some BBC radio stations will also be affected. About 460,000 households are expected to permanently lose access to ITV3 and ITV4.’
The technical changes behind the upgrade will eventually enable High Definition (HD) television to be broadcast on Freeview. HD is already available on the free-to-view satellite service Freesat.
Another potential 460,000 Freesat viewers?
Prison WardenQuote
September 29th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I suspect that the majority of Freeview viewers attached to relay (as opposed to main) transmitters are not aware of the implications of the retune on 30 September. The information has been available, but not on sites that many of them would see.
A few people are not going to be happy about the loss of football that is occasionally on ITV4!!
An engineering test channel (usually identifying as channel 501) continues from Crystal Palace, but many Freeview sets and boxes can’t recognise it.
I agree that this could result in more customers for Freesat.
DerekQuote
September 29th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
@Robert same issue here on BBCHD, looks like not enough bitrate to me.
Lee BQuote
October 2nd, 2009 at 10:49 am
I am so happy about Top Gear coming to BBCHD. By the way Freesat HD is the way forward if you live in the Netherlands. Mine is the only house for miles with a sky dish.
MossydjQuote