BBC iPlayer to get HD

The BBC will be launching a high definition version of the iPlayer online catch up TV service.

There has not been any official notification of the actually launch date yet, but the BBC has been looking to offer HD services through the iPlayer for some time.

If and when the iPlayer HD is launched it will cause some despair amongst the internet service providers whose networks will have to cope with the extra bandwidth required to download each programme.

The iPlayer caused concern when it was first launched, although the complaints have not been so vocal recently, but the HD upgrade is bound to create friction between the BBC and the broadband providers.

The BBC has, in the past, wiped its hands of any responsibility for broadband providers’ customer broadband usage, due the iPlayer.