BBC to screen World Cup in HDTV

[BGonaSTICK]

The BBC is to screen this summer's football World Cup and Wimbledon championships in High-definition television (HDTV).

The trial run of the service will include the BBC's share of World Cup matches and key Wimbledon ties in June.
The corporation is trying out HDTV for up to a year, starting in mid-May.

The system delivers more detailed pictures and sharper action shots, and will be an additional stream to the current analogue and digital services. HDTV will only be available to viewers who have HD-enabled television sets, set-top boxes and relevant services via satellite and cable distributors.

Roger Mosey, the BBC's director of sport, said the service was particularly effective with live action football and other sports.

"It gives fantastic picture quality, from the blades of grass that are being played on right to the back of the stands," he said.

Mr Mosey stressed that the trial would only be available to a selected group of viewers, but hoped it would prove to be "a glimpse of the future".

The first World Cup match and live HDTV programme to be broadcast will be Germany v Costa Rica on 9 June, which will also include match commentary and studio coverage. The service will come via Premiere, Germany's host broadcasters for the tournament.

High-definition images will also be fed into standard digital and analogue transmissions of the game and the Wimbledon Championships, where the BBC is the host broadcaster.

The BBC's HDTV trial, expected to last between six and 12 months, will begin in May with streams of programmes, including Planet Earth and Galapagos.

Chances to revisit action from dramas Hotel Babylon and Bleak House will also be offered.

HDTV transmissions cannot be offered on Freeview at present due to limited airspace, while a trial limited to a few hundred households in London which have yet to be chosen will take place. The digital switchover between 2008-2012 is expected to provide an opportunity to broadcast HDTV via Freeview.

Any ongoing HDTV service will have to be approved by the new BBC Trust.

Source: BBC

[Analoguesat]

Originally Posted by BGonaSTICK

Roger Mosey, the BBC's director of sport, said the service was particularly effective with live action football and other sports.

"It gives fantastic picture quality, from the blades of grass that are being played on right to the back of the stands," he said.


Source: BBC

And just how long before they start screwing down the compression rates again??

The blades of grass which showed up quite nicely on analogue, then disappeared into mono colour blocks of green with over compression in digital

[BGonaSTICK]

Now that Sky have published more details on their HD package, it says that the BBC HD service will be FTA on 28.2E.

Based on the fact that Sky have it listed, and that the BBC are taking their World Cup feeds from German TV broadcasters Premiere directly, a clear picture is emerging of just what you will have to buy to watch WC-2006 in glorious High Definition.

More details at www.sky.com/hd including a pre-order form I believe. People who have pre-registered can now pay a £30 deposit to Sky for the £299 receiver with free installation, £10/month for HD. Normal Sky+ conditions apply.

You can also of course buy your own DVB-S2 receiver. You will also have to have an HD TV (720 or 1080 lines) whichever way you go.

STICK

[BGonaSTICK]

Information pouring out in the last few days.

Here's a link to the Sky pre-order process:

http://survey.sky.com/hdprereg/preorder.asp

And here is another albeit rather scant page from the BBC about their plans:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/digital/tv/hdtv.shtml