BBC HD is the high-definition television channel launched by the BBC on a trial basis from May 15, 2006, with the first HD originated programme, Planet Earth, shown on May 27. Image File history File links BBC_HD_logo. ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... The 16:9 aspect ratio (also known as widescreen) is an aspect ratio that is 16/9 or 1. ... 1080i (pronounced ten eighty eye) is shorthand name for a category of video modes. ... Projection screen in a home theater, displaying a high-definition television image. ... DVB-T stands for Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial and it is the DVB European consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... H.264 is a standard for video compression. ... Astra 2D is one of a group of satellites operated by SES Astra, located at 28. ... The Sky HD logo Sky HD is the brand name of the HDTV service launched by BSkyB on 22 May 2006 in the UK and the Republic of Ireland to enable high definition channels on Sky Digital to be viewed. ... H.264 is a standard for video compression. ... Virgin Media Inc. ... Old TVDrive Logo V+ (previously known as TV Drive) is a product from Virgin Media which provides Personal Video Recording (PVR) and High Definition (HD) functionality to customers who subscribe to the service. ... Projection screen in a home theater, displaying a high-definition television image. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Planet Earth is a BBC nature documentary series narrated by David Attenborough and produced by Alastair Fothergill. ... is the 147th day of the year (148th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The broadcasts are generally two to five hours per day, and include simulcasts with BBC channels, such as Michael Palin's New Europe and Hustle (also on BBC 1), and replays of HD programmes such as Planet Earth, Bleak House, Torchwood, and Hotel Babylon. Live coverage of events such as The Proms, Wimbledon, the Eurovision Song Contest, the World Cup, and the Concert for Diana have already been shown, with the first live event to be broadcast being the opening game between Germany and Costa Rica which took place on June 9 2006. Hustle is a British television comedy-drama series made by Kudos Film & Television for BBC One in the United Kingdom. ... Planet Earth is a BBC nature documentary series narrated by David Attenborough and produced by Alastair Fothergill. ... Sleeve for 2005 tie-in book edition of Bleak House Bleak House is a fifteen-part BBC television drama serial adaptation of Charles Dickens novel Bleak House, which was originally published in 1852–53. ... For plants known as torchwood, see Burseraceae. ... Hotel Babylon is a BBC television drama series based on the book of the same name by Imogen Edwards-Jones and Anonymous, first shown in January 2006. ... A Promenade concert in the Royal Albert Hall, 2004. ... The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly referred to as Wimbledon, is the oldest major championship in tennis and is widely considered to be the most prestigious. ... The modern logo was introduced for the 2004 Contest (in Istanbul) to create a consistent visual identity. ... “2006 World Cup” redirects here. ... Concert for Diana was a concert held at the new Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom in honour of the late Diana, Princess of Wales on 1 July 2007, which would have been her 46th birthday; 2007 is also the 10th anniversary of her death. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ...

When high-definition programmes are not being shown, the channel broadcasts a looped preview containing clips from BBC HD programmes.

Initially the trial was due to last 12 months, but the BBC is to seek an extension, subject to regulatory approval ^[1]. The BBC Trust agreed to a Public Value Test (PVT), which began on Monday May 21 2007. The BBC will also extend its own HD trial, which was to end in June, until the end of the PVT process (November 21). Once both have been completed the Trust will consider both assessments and make provisional conclusions, which will be published for consultation before reaching its final decision by November 21.^[2] The BBC Trust logo The BBC Trust is a body that oversees the BBC, being independent of BBC management and external bodies. ...

Technical details and availability

BBC HD was first available to viewers of the Astra 2D satellite (Sky HD EPG No. 143) and Virgin Media cable service subscribers (EPG No. 108) with the suitable reception equipment. The channel was also broadcast as a digital terrestrial (DVB-T) service from London's Crystal Palace Transmitter until May 2007, enabling the channel to be viewed by a selected trial group of 450 homes. Both the satellite and terrestrial broadcasts were free to air, which means that anybody with the required equipment (for example, an adequately powerful personal computer with a DVB-S or DVB-T interface and suitable software) is be able to view the channel during the trial. The broadcasts are typically at a resolution of 1440x1080, and encoded in H.264/MPEG-4 AVC. Astra 2D is one of a group of satellites operated by SES Astra, located at 28. ... The Sky HD logo Sky HD is the brand name of the HDTV service launched by BSkyB on 22 May 2006 in the UK and the Republic of Ireland to enable high definition channels on Sky Digital to be viewed. ... Virgin Media Inc. ... DVB-T stands for Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial and it is the DVB European consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television. ... The Crystal Palace Transmitter is a telecommunications tower in the Crystal Palace area in the London Borough of Bromley, England (grid reference TQ339712). ... Free-to-air (FTA) television (TV) and radio broadcasts are sent unencrypted and may be received via any suitable receiver. ... DVB, short for Digital Video Broadcasting, is a suite of internationally accepted, open standards for digital television maintained by the DVB Project, an industry consortium with more than 300 members, and published by a Joint Technical Committee (JTC) of European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC... DVB-T stands for Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial and it is the DVB European consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television. ...

The BBC has, therefore, been the only terrestrial broadcaster so far to offer a "platform neutral" HD offering. ITV's trial HD channel was not available by satellite, but was carried on cable. Channel 4 and Five carried out broadcasts in HD, although these were very limited and only available as part of the closed Freeview trial in London.

Planned service

The BBC is seeking approval to provide a service of nine hours per day, 15:00 to midnight, with some flexibility to extend beyond this to allow for the coverage of significant live sport or other events. At launch, the channel would offer a schedule of three to four hours per day, building to nine hours in late 2008.

The BBC HD channel would be a mixed-genre service. Its aim, as far as possible, would be to showcase programmes produced in HD from the schedules of other BBC channels. These would be produced in HD end-to-end, not converted from standard definition (SD). Any individual programme may contain up to 25 per cent of non-HD material converted from SD – for example, archive shots in a documentary.

By the time the full nine-hour schedule is achieved, content would come from across the BBC’s portfolio of television channels. Approximately half the content would come from BBC One, 30 per cent from BBC Two and the rest from BBC Three, BBC Four, CBBC and CBeebies. The aim is for the bulk of the peak time schedule to be simulcast BBC One programmes. Programmes from BBC Two would be simulcast where the schedule allows. Except in the case of the four-hour overnight schedule on DTT (which would preview the following evening’s output on other channels), programmes would not be shown on the HD channel before their transmission on the originating channel.

In the option of a limited-hours overnight service on DTT, this would show programmes in advance of the following evening’s schedule (subject to rights clearances). By way of example, a new episode of Torchwood, to be broadcast on BBC Two (and on the HD channel on satellite and cable) on a Sunday evening, could be shown on the overnight DTT service on the immediately preceding Sunday morning. This would allow DTT viewers with the necessary equipment to record the programme in HD in advance, and – if they chose to do so – to watch the recorded HD programme at the same time that it is available in HD to audiences on other platforms.^[3]

Sports Coverage

So far, the BBC has broadcast the 2006 World Cup, Wimbledon, Open Golf, England football internationals, action from the FA Cup and Six Nations rugby in high definition. The US Masters golf from Augusta National will be screened later in 2007. This article is about the English FA Cup. ... The RBS 6 Nations Championship, (referred to as RBS 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons) known before 2000 as the Five Nations Championship, is an annual international rugby union competition held between six European sides: France, England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. ... This article is about the golf tournament. ... Augusta National Golf Club, a private golf club in Augusta, Georgia, is one of the most famous and exclusive golf clubs in North America. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st Century. ...

International

It was announced in September 2006 that BBC Worldwide plans to broadcast an international version of BBC HD in the near future. During the first broadcast of BBC World News America, it was announced that BBC America HD will be launched in 2008. No exact date is known as of now. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. ...

BBC HD Preview Trailer/Filler

BBC HD rarely uses trailers for specific programmes as it is a test channel. Between the programmes, two different fillers are used of varying lengths. The music used for the filler is "The Ball" by Craig Armstrong Craig Armstrong (b. ...

See also

• High-definition television in the United Kingdom

High-definition television broadcasts began in the United Kingdom in 2006. ...

References

1. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/sporteditors/2007/01/hd_or_not_hd.html
2. ^ http://www.savefreeviewhd.com/page/savefreeviewhd?entry=bbc_hd_lives_on
3. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/consult/hdtv/hdtv_service_description.pdf

External links

• BBC HD at bbc.co.uk
• How to receive BBC HD at bbc.co.uk
• Report on the digital terrestrial HD trial at bbc.co.uk
• Information about the London HDTV trial and screenshots of BBC HD
• BBC HD at TV Ark