ITV HD testing? Channel reshuffle to accommodate more HD?

Interesting post over on a Digital Spy Forum thread this morning suggesting that ITV HD tests may be going on.
There has been an update overnight in many areas and there's been quite a bit of shuffling in the EPG. Over on Cable Forum, regular newshound MediaBoy has suggested a new revision of the EPG that will include the following HD channels. (n.b. I cannot at this stage verify or confirm this story)

191. BBC HD
193. For ITV HD
194. For Channel 4 HD
196. For Sky1 HD
197. For FX HD
198 - 200 For new HD Channels

Interesting - that would make some sense (us getting Sky1 HD rather than the full Sports/Movies package) and a handful of others. Why FX HD I wonder? And what timescales? Having the channel allocated isn't of course the same as broadcasting it.

The Devil's Whore

Okay, so us poor VM customers can't get to see the highlight of Channel 4's autumn season, The Devil's Whore, in glorious HD - that's only for Sky customers, but it's still great looking TV even in standard definition. Being shot with HD cameras benefits everyone...or does it? Over on the site broadcastnow.co.uk director Marc Munden reveals that HD cameras aren't universally loved by the technicians:

"Munden shot in HD, albeit grudgingly. "I hate it. It can look great but it's just a pain. You're always linked to a monitor and the cameras are huge. I use a lot of zoom lenses and if you've got a zoom on an HD camera it's like a tank. I like to be free to pick up the camera and run with it," he says.
"Apart from the low budget BBC2 drama Shiny Shiny Bright New Hole In My Heart, it's the first time he has shot on HD. "It's a cost thing, 16mm film is much more expensive. I can be a bit out of control shooting stock and, if that does happen, it gets very expensive. On HD you're just using tape and it doesn't cost any money."

So HD is actually cheaper to shoot than film? Interesting. If it makes financial sense for productions then it definitely will be the media of the future, regardless of any qualms the creative folk may have.

Remember this?

Virgin Media lines up further HD entertainment

Virgin Media has struck a deal with Channel 4 that enables them to offer a selection of Channel 4 programming in HD via their TV on demand service.

Virgin customers can already catch up on Channel 4 shows free of charge for up to seven days post transmission, plus access a library of hundreds of hours of their best library programmes and watch the latest US dramas and comedies on a pay per view basis, via the 4oD service. Now a selection of these shows will also be available in HD format.

The deal also gives Virgin Media the option of carrying the soon-to-be-launched C4HD linear channel.

The company's on-demand library already includes HD assets from content partners including FilmFlex, the BBC and History Channel.

Malcolm Wall, Virgin Media's CEO for Content, said: “We are delighted to be adding Channel 4 content to our growing line up of high definition programming. Virgin Media is at the forefront of technology advances in television and is not only offering its customers higher quality pictures in HD, but also the ability to watch what they want when they want it via the on demand service."

“Demand for HD is increasing, and befitting our ambition for viewers to be able to access our programming when they want it and in a format of their choice, it's important for us to be meeting this demand wherever we can. We are delighted that HD versions of some of our shows will be available to Virgin TV on demand users and look forward to increasing the amount of HD programming in our schedule over time” added Sarah Rose, Head of Video on Demand and Channel Development, Channel 4.

Source: Virgin Press Release, October 2007

Of course, the C4 HD channel has still yet to appear, and C4 HD content in TV Choice On Demand has been noticeable by its absence too - a smattering of US import content at 99p per programmes for a few weeks last Autumn then nothing whatsoever.

To date the C4 high definition offering has been so weak it has been difficult to get enthusiastic about it. But over the last couple of months it has improved and will be even more desirable when C4 does its seasonal film bonanza over the Christmas season. So come on Virgin; you announced the commercial deal was completed ages ago, now give us what you promised in 2007 and let your high paying, HD-starved customers have something early this Christmas!

Channel 4 HD - what HD?

We all know that Channel 4 HD has been something of a disappointment since its launch late last year. For Sky customers there's precious little actual HD content; for Virgin Media and Freesat customers there's precious little sign of the channel at all. (And don't get me started on the C4 HD On Demand we were promised.)
At launch and around Christmas it looked like VM customers were really missing out as there were some pretty good films on show on C4HD. Then as we headed into the new year and the US imports started their annual runs there was quite of a bit of HD scattered around the schedules, albeit none homegrown.
Now it has all but dried up. I see that Hollyoaks is now HD...but that's about it. Most US series are now debuting on E4 or More4 (neither HD services) so there's even less high def than there was a few months ago. Even the films are down to one or two minor titles a week, normally in the wee hours.
So, something of a damp squib. Maybe the Channel 4 HD capability would be better used going 'a la carte' like BBC HD, showing a selection for the 4 stable of C4, E4, More4 and Film4? It seems a waste as it currently broadcasts, and I feel we're not missing much on VM without it.

Channel 4 HD - where's the HD?

Like all V+ customers, I'm getting increasingly frustrated with the wait for C4 HD content. Late last year, when the channel was launched on Sky, we were told that Virgin had secured the rights to the C4 HD as both a linear channel and for video on demand. Almost six months later and we're still waiting.
It may be a delay because of bandwidth restrictions. It may be because C4 itself isn't truly free-to-air quite just yet. It may be a technology restraint. It's most likely just not a priority in the days of marketing "super fast" broadband and "Mix It Up TV". Whatever. I feel like I'm still waiting for my last 2007 Christmas present...
But before we take to the streets burning effigies of Neil Berkett, have you seen what's actually showing in HD over on Channel 4? Pardon my french, but absolutely bugger all - six months after launch and there's still only a couple of films and a handful of US imports in HD. No homegrown HD programming whatsoever next week and, given that C4 has recently announced they're cutting back on the US stuff and focusing on UK programmes, that's pretty worrying.
In fact, Skins apart, I cannot recall any HD from these shores on C4 in 2008. Shameless? No. Peep Show? No. Even the weekly overstuffing of Ramsay and Oliver cookery entertaining, which uses very few cameras and can look sumptuous in HD, is still being shot in standard definition. Even I can pop down to John Lewis, buy myself an HD camcorder and make a better hash of it.
And because the HD channel's a C4 simulcast, HD shot shows on E4, More 4 and Film Four have no HD outlet whatsoever. Think how great an HD showcase taking the best of all four Four channels could be. But even on C4 new series of US imports like Smallville and ER , shot in HD but still being shown over here in SD, it's pathetically weak when compared to Sky One HD or even the often-maligned BBC HD.
Virgin Media should broadcast C4 HD as a priority to make a statement of intent with high definition services for its customers, but Channel 4 needs to make a similar statement by making an effort and delivering what it says on the tin: high definition programming.
Come on, chaps...before Christmas 2008 is upon us...