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...

No C4 HD on FreeSat at launch

According to this exclusive on Digital Spy, Channel 4HD will not be appearing on the new FreeSat format when it launches shortly. So, did C4 and Sky agree some kind of exclusivity deal to prevent the fledgling HD channel appearing on other platforms? Or are there 'technical issues' with providing the service? Whatever, something's amiss, and one of the country's 'public sector broadcasters' ain't delivering to a lot of its public...

Ten predictions for 2008

A little late, but here are some quick predictions for what we can expect on the HD front from Virgin Media this year:

1. Channel 4 HD finally makes an appearance on cable Probably in the spring. Forums instantly flooded by the same people who had complained about it not turning up at launch in December, now complaining about the lack of genuine HD on the channel
2. ITV HD not on Virgin Media at launch I hope I'm wrong, but I suspect that it will be a late show on cable, especially if Sky retains its stake in ITV. Again, forums flooded with complaints about the lack of HD content on the new HD channel, many realising that ITV actually broadcasts mainly rubbish these days
   
3. VOD HD grows in fits and spurts 4OD HD content sneaks out but at 99p a pop for the US imports. As the Hollywood writers' strike hits hard, there's very little new available
4. BBC HD expands, but "events" take precedent over regular programming Kicks off as a genuine channel only with the launch of FreeSat.Throughout the summer the channel is dominated by Wimbledon, Glastonbury, the Proms, the Olympics, leaving little time for other programming. Things pick up in the autumn, but it's a long wait
   
5. HD remains a niche product I think this will be true for both VM and Sky customers. The V+'s upscaling of SD is so good that for those without a TV 40" or bigger there'll be no great demand. Sky's pricing will drop but it will still prove prohibitive to the average viewer. HD versions of FX and a few more movie channels appear on the platform
   
6. Sky HD will be impacted by FreeSat I don't think it will hit Virgin as hard as it will Sky. People who want HD, have a dish but don't fancy the Sky charges will opt for the Beeb-promoted "free" alternative for the main channels in HD (check out the Sky HD forums - lots of posts from people unhappy with the reliability of the Sky boxes and HD programming)
   
7. Sky One and the basics return Wishful thinking? Not really, but it matters to many and the impasse will end because ...
   
8. OFCOM report hits Sky...and Virgin Neither side happy with the findings from OFCOM into the pay TV market. Nothing of any real substance comes out but it does broker the return of the Sky basics to cable...but not in HD
9. Tiscali TV and BT Vision struggle IP TV fails to make the grade; the former will be sold at a knock down price, the latter will remain a minor player
10. Blu-Ray will become the new DVD HD standard But will still remain a niche product for the home consumer. Players will start to sell in larger numbers, but Recorders will be prohibitively priced. HD-DVD will die a fairly quick death without the support of the film studios
    

New poll: what next?

Whilst we're waiting for C4 HD, here's a bit of fun - what would be the next HD channel you'd like to see on Virgin Media? (I've deliberately missed off Sky One as that would probably be a landslide winner!) Give it some thought and please vote - poll will close at the end of January.

C4 HD on Virgin Media - the votes are in

It’s difficult to know who are the more disappointed with Channel 4 HD – those who don’t have the new channel (Virgin Media customers) or those that do (Sky HD folk). The poll run on this blog received almost 300 votes from VM customers with the vast majority (92%) voicing their disappointment at the absence of the channel from the VM line up despite launching on Sky mid-month. In fact, almost fifty voters sited it as the final straw and have decided to opt for Sky HD, whilst less than 10% declared themselves “not fussed”.

However, a quick look at the Sky HD forums will prove that the other man’s grass ain’t always that much more colourful. Check out the threads here and here: much disgruntlement with the paltry amount of actual HD currently on C4 HD – films apart, there is frankly bugger all HD at the moment. Sky customers say the upscaling is better than the upscaling their boxes do on Channel 4, but we know already that the V+ makes a better job of that than a Sky HD box.

So until Channel 4 start broadcasting in HD, Virgin Media customers ain’t missing that much. Don’t get me wrong, I’d much rather be complaining about the lack of the HD programmes than the lack of the entire channel, but anyone thinking of shifting to a dish just for C4 HD should perhaps take their time before making any expensive changes.

But come on Virgin – what’s going on with HD services on cable??!

Lack of HD programming

Interesting piece from The Times last weekend:

Channel 4 begins broadcasting in high definition next month but there are still far too few HD broadcasts to satisfy those of us who shelled out for the new Sky boxes last year. Happily, the BBC is simulcasting Cranford on its HD channel. So it should. It was shot not only on HD but an expensive HD variation called Genesis. The result is that when an interior is lit by candles that really is all it is lit by. But HD does not work for everything. The BBC’s Oliver Twist was going to be shot on HD but has reverted to celluloid. Those famous chase scenes looked blurry, I’m told.

Channel 4HD's miserly HD content

Given how little genuine HD is being broadcast on C4 HD, I'm starting to wonder how much UK TV stuff is actually shot in HD. I heard a year or so ago that the BBC and C4 were shooting everything already in HD, but that doesn't look like it's the case by a long shot. The story last week that the BBC is having to rebuild sets (eg EastEnders) for future HD filming suggests that there's nowhere near as much in HD as people may have guessed. I would have thought the likes of Spooks, Oliver Twist, Fanny Hill et al on the BBC would be shot in HD, but apparently not. On C4, Jaimie at Home, Grand Designs, Shameless - surely in HD? Maybe not.
Almost all US shows from the last few years will be in HD, but the BBC only show a handful (Heroes, Medium, 3lbs) and Channel 4 show fewer these days - Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives are the only ones I can currently think of (Scrubs seems to be E4 only these days and even the mighty Earl seems destined to lose its C4 slot after poor ratings for season two). With the writers' strike in Hollywood hitting hard and it looking like most US shows this season will be restricted to around eleven shows each, HD content is going to be very thin on the ground.
Thinking about it, Five would probably have the most HD as it shows a lot of US stuff now. Maybe the next channel to be simulcast should be FiveUS?

What's HD on C4 HD

Actually, not that much. Here's a list of all the stuff actually in HD on the new, Sky-only (for now) C4 HD channel 'til Jan 5:

• Ugly Betty
• Conquest of Planet of the Apes
• Knights Tale
• The Long Ships
• Solaris
• Breakfast at Tiffanys
• Scissor Sisters at the Dome
• Changing Lanes
• Keane at the Dome
• Sky Capt and the World of Tomorrow
• League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
• League of Gentlemen - Apocalypse
  
• The King
• Explorers
• Sexy Beast
• Oldboy
• Motorcycle Diaries
• An American Tale
• Amy Winehouse @ the Bush
• Night World
• Mika live in Paris
• Golden Voyage of Sinbad
• Home Alone 2+3
• Bridge on the River Kwai
• Vice Versa
• Golden Child
• Fantastic Four
• Harry and the Hendersons
• My fake body (doc)
• The Dish

What I find amazing is that, apart from the stuff in italic (which is almost all live music shows) there's nothing there except films. Very disappointing if you ask me - I would have expected a lot more genuine HD content given the prestige of it being the first of the main channels to simulcast in HD. Let's hope they add considerably more before we get the channel on VM.

No date for C4 HD on Virgin

Over at Digital Spy, a Virgin Media spokesperson is quoted as saying: "Virgin Media does not have a fixed date for the launch of Channel 4 HD yet, though we already carry HD programmes from Channel 4 through our on demand service. Popular shows such as Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Brothers & Sisters and Studio 60 have already appeared in HD for Virgin Media customers, and we will continue to add more HD shows from Channel 4 to the 4oD area. Having these shows available on demand gives Virgin Media customers the flexibility to watch Channel 4 HD shows at a time that suits them rather than being tied to the TV schedule."
That highlighted piece is simply not true: only Brothers & Sisters was available in HD, and then it was 99p an episode (Channel 4 HD is a free channel). Making false statements like this seriously undermines Virgin's credibility (and that of Digital Spy - don't they verify these statements before publishing them?). Pretty poor show all round...
At least the BBC's HD schedules are looking good for Christmas, with the broadcasting hours extending to 12 hours rather than the promised nine for Christmas Eve. More details to follow

Channel 4HD launches on Sky

...but not Virgin Media, who remain silent as to when/if the service will appear on cable. Whilst there is probably disappointment a-plenty to readers of this blog, some consolation in the fact that there are actually only three programmes this week being broadcast in HD (as opposed to being upscaled) and two of those are Ugly Betty. There's also a showing of Planet of the Apes in HD, and presumably all films are going to be shown in HD now.
From the Digital Spy thread it looks like the launch has not been without some issues - sound dropping, etc. Still, it would be nice to have those kinda problems ourselves...

C4HD

Rumours over at Cable Forum that Virgin Media won't be carrying the forthcoming C4HD channel any time soon but we may get some HD content via VoD. Disappointing - surely carrying a second HD channel isn't going to choke that much bandwidth?

Having said that, it may not be too long a wait...here's an interesting post from Sirius on Digital Spy. What he's saying is that the new Scientific Atlanta equipment being purchased by VM for its headends will be able to take any HD feeds from FreeSat, regardless of whether they're MPeg2 or (more likely) MPeg4, and carry them on Virgin. He also points out that a single analogue channel from the legacy network being dropped will free up enough capacity for three HD channels, so bandwidth ain't a reason to hold back. (It's been suggested on Cable Forum by the engineers who post there that VM intend to close the analogue network down Q1 2008, though I've seen nothing definite on that from VM)

Confirmation of Channel 4 HD coming to Virgin

Kinda. Digital Spy are reporting that a deal's been done with Channel 4 that will give us Virgin customers free access to some HD content via VOD and most likely carriage of the new 4HD simulcast of C4 (though not 100% confirmed - capacity needing some management before full announcement, perhaps?).
Here's the DS story:

Virgin Media is to offer Channel 4 programmes in high definition via its on demand service.

Cable customers can see a selection of Channel 4 shows, which now includes some in HD, free of charge for up to seven days post-transmission via the 4oD service.

The deal also gives Virgin Media the option of carrying the new Channel 4 HD linear channel, which will launch in December.

Malcolm Wall, Virgin Media's chief executive of 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."

Virgin Media's on-demand library already includes HD assets from FilmFlex, the BBC and History Channel.

Channel 4's head of VOD and channel development Sarah Rose said: "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."

(Actually, the bit about us having the History Channel in HD is wrong.) Personally, I would like to see them round up all the +1 channels and use that capacity to expand the HD offering. I also think it's time VM bit the bullet and axed the analogue service that has a huge overhead on the network for a minority of customers, and shifted the phone service to IP. That's how the American cable companies have such awesome HD capabilities. It would be great if they adopted the newer standards for broadcasting HD rather than the dated Telewest set up, but I can't see that happening just yet with a growing V+ population. Ho hum.

4HD on its way?

Channel 4 have announced the HD simulcast of its main channel will appear on Sky in December 2007, and one hopes on Virgin Media around the same time. It's easier to broadcast a new channel on satellite (effectively you only have to secure the EPG position with Sky, the transmission can be sorted without Sky) whereas with cable Virgin Media have to work a wee bit harder. Fingers crossed for "4HD" on Virgin before Christmas, and with ITV also promising HD output in time for Euro 2008, things are finally looking up.
Here's the Channel 4 press release:

Channel 4 is to launch a high definition TV (HDTV) service for British viewers, which will be available on the Sky Digital platform from launch in December.

Channel 4 HD will be a simulcast of the core Channel 4 schedule with a proportion of programmes produced and transmitted in the HD format. The Channel 4 Group is committed to increasing its investment in HD production and the proportion of its schedule transmitted in high definition over time.

The new HD simulcast will initially be available to subscribers to Sky HD, but will also be made available on other platforms in future.

That last bit's my emphasis. "Other platforms" would be Virgin Media, the forthcoming FreeSat and IPTV services. Here's how the BBC reported the arrival of "4HD", and also reported an update on the BBC HD trial's likely future:

Channel 4 to launch HDTV service

Channel 4's Ugly Betty is already shown in high definition in the US

Channel 4 is to be broadcast in high definition later this year, the first time a UK terrestrial broadcaster has simulcast its output in this way.

Viewers with a compatible TV and Sky HD box will be able to watch Channel 4 HD without paying an extra subscription.

However, only programmes recorded using high-definition techniques will be screened in HD, a format which promises better-quality pictures and sound.

Other shows will be seen in standard definition, a Channel 4 spokesman said.

He added that the proportion of programmes shown in HD would increase over time.

The BBC has offered a trial HD service since last year, but this free service carries a customised selection of programmes, rather than simulcasting an existing service.

Channel 4 said it "anticipated" that its HD service would launch in December.

Expanded BBC service

The announcement came a day after the BBC Trust - the body which must be consulted before any new BBC channel can begin - indicated it was in favour of a permanent BBC HD service.

BBC executives have proposed a daily nine-hour schedule - from 1500 to 0000 - on satellite, cable and Freeview.

Michael Palin's latest travel series is being screened on BBC HD

However, this would only be possible on Freeview once analogue signals had been switched off across the UK in 2012, owing to the lack of space on the airwaves.

An interim measure - if approved - would see BBC HD on Freeview between 0200 and 0600 daily.

But BBC Four, BBC Parliament and three BBCi services would have to be taken off air during those times to provide the necessary bandwidth.

The trust set down several conditions for the overall HD service, saying it was important to broadcast material from a variety of channels during peak-time evening viewing, rather than simply simulcasting BBC One.

However, it concluded overall that the service "would deliver a medium to high level of public value".

A further set of provisional conclusions on BBC HD will be published by the trust next Tuesday, and the public will then be able to submit their views during a month-long consultation process.

A final announcement on the service will then be published in November.