New BBC HD On Demand content?

It's been static for many, many months, but hopefully we'll see new content added to the BBC's On Demand HD selection (Home - 6 - 2 - 1) in the next few days. Why the optimism? Well, the "Days Left" counter on all the programmes I've checked is now down to a single day and, unlike the counters on the TV Choice On Demand HD selection which appear somewhat random, these have been pretty accurate in the past.
Now for my natural pessimism. My money would be on it all disappearing completely for a while - that would be fairly typical VM content management and is even more likely with the likely focus on the appearance of the BBC iPlayer to the Virgin On Demand listings next week. (And although they've said HD content will appear 'in the future' in iPlayer I'm not anticipating it being imminent, and when it does appear it will only probably be content from the previous seven days.)
Hopefully older "showcase" content will eventually appear, replacing the tired Blue Planet/Innocence Project/Supervolcano programming that most of us have already seen a zillion times. It would be nice if they added a broader selection of content, and my pick of the more recent programming would be Glastonbury 2007, Galapagos, Torchwood, Earth: the Power of the Planet, Robin Hood, BBC4 Sessions, Electric Proms, Around the World in 80 Gardens and Wild China. Given that US series are presumably not available, there's actually not as big a selection to choose from. Am I missing anything?

BBC iPlayer arrives

They said it would be here in the spring, and although some may question whether we've actually had any 'spring' yet, BBC iPlayer has arrived on Virgin Media this morning, accessible via the red button.
There's a really interesting post on the BBC's blog about porting the hugely successful catch up service onto the cable platform. Here's an extract that caught my eye:

The programme offering is pretty much the same as that which you get on the web, although there are some exceptions due to rights. Regional variations, radio programmes and some acquistions are not available at present. However, we hope this will change in due course. We also hope to be able to offer High Definition programmes too!

A shame they haven't added the radio just yet - I often use iPlayer to listen to episodes of The Goons and Hancock from Radio 7 - but HD on its way? That may be the same listing of Blue Planet et al we've had for months in the On Demand listings, but you never know - it could be a way of supplementing the BBC HD channel programming during the summer's sporting and Glastonbury blanket coverage - that would be pretty neat.

iPlayer on Virgin - official announcement

The following is from the Virgin Media site:

BBC iPlayer is coming to Virgin TV
Missed your favourite BBC show? Well not for much longer as we're launching BBC iPlayer on Virgin TV.

What is BBC iPlayer?
BBC iPlayer is a catch up service of the last 7 days of the best BBC TV shows.

How can I watch BBC iPlayer on Virgin TV
BBC iPlayer will be part of Catch Up TV on demand soon but in the meantime we're giving Virgin TV customers a sneaky peek. So, from May you can tune to any BBC TV channel and press the red button on your Virgin Media remote to watch the best BBC programmes from the last 7 days.

How many hours of shows will there be?
You can choose from over 250 hours of BBC TV, selected and saved from the last 7 days; that's all the big hits and highlights from the last week's programming – from The Apprentice to Mad Men – ready to watch whenever you want them.

When will BBC iPlayer be in Catch Up TV on demand?
It will be in Catch Up TV on demand soon after it launches through the red button on the BBC TV channels. We'll keep you posted, so watch this space.

Use this early access through your red button to make yourself at home with the service and find out just how fantastic BBC iPlayer is. And don't forget, when BBC iPlayer launches in Catch Up TV on demand it will still be available through the red button on the BBC TV channels.

What will happen to the BBC shows that are in Catch Up TV on demand now?
There's about 50 hours of BBC shows in Catch Up TV on demand right now. When iPlayer launches in Catch Up TV on demand the BBC folder will be renamed BBC iPlayer and instead of having 50 hours of BBC shows to watch there will be over 250 hours!

BBC iPlayer coming to Virgin Media "in the spring"

According to a news story on Digital Spy, the BBC is saying that the port of its iPlayer to cable TV is a top priority and likely in the spring. Although the iPlayer has had a long, protracted birth, anyone who's used the streaming version launched just before Christmas will know that this is a simple but impressive interface for video on demand content, and will be a big improvement over the current EPG for BBC VoD programming.
Taking the speed of the software demoed here with a pinch of salt (presumably running on a dedicated PC rather than a set top box), this demo video may whet your appetites further (apologies for the distinctly non-HD picture quality!)

BBC HD highlights for the coming week

Er....more of the same I'm afraid. Aside from the England Estonia game this afternoon it's pretty much as last week: The Tudors, Heroes and the usual suspects. Big disappointment in that the new series of Spooks and the Titchmarsh series aren't being shown (yet) in HD - maybe they're saving them for the launch of the non-trial version of BBC HD coming "soon".
No sign on my box yet of the promised 4OD HD content apart from half a dozen episodes of Brothers & Sisters at 99p a pop. Hopefully not too long before it appears - there's normally a TV refresh on VOD early in the week, so keep 'em peeled.

Wot, no Spooks?

The BBC's HD highlights announcement for the rest of Autumn had a few notable omissions, notably NO SPOOKS, which is disappointing to say the least. I'd hoped that the Beeb would follow the earlier HD broadcasts of Hotel Babylon and Hustle earlier this year with an HD presentation of its more popular dramas, but it doesn't look like it will be. Also missing is The Nature of Britain, surely crying out for HD (even if I do intend to watch it without the sound of Titchmarsh). Instead, the schedules reveal yet more repeats of Torchwood, Bryan Ferry and bits of Later. Hopefully when the service is properly launches, we'll get a bit more variety and some of the better shows.

Anyway, here's the BBC stuff announced so far for the rest of the Autumn:

* The new series of Strictly Come Dancing (Simulcast with BBC ONE)

* The new series of Robin Hood (Simulcast with BBC ONE)

* The Tudors (Simulcast with BBC TWO)

* Michael Palin’s New Europe (Simulcast with BBC ONE)

* The Antiques Roadshow (Simulcast with BBC ONE)

* Who Do You Think You Are? (Simulcast with BBC ONE)

* The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle (From BBC TWO)

* After You’ve Gone (From BBC ONE)

* The Story Of India (From BBC TWO)

* Ganges (From BBC TWO)

* Saira Khan's Pakistan Adventure (From BBC TWO)

* Cranford (Simulcast with BBC TWO)

* The Company (Simulcast with BBC TWO)

* Fairy Tales (From BBC TWO)

New on BBC HD this week

Robin Hood 19.30, Saturdays
Not a personal favourite as I'm not a teenager, but if the scripts improve from the first series then this may well be worth a watch. Not the blockbuster the BBC had hoped it would prove in the Doctor Who slot, but still nice to see it in HD again.

Ganges, 22.00, Monday
Glorious photography in both this and the preceding Story of India. Beautiful in HD

Heroes, Heroes Unmasked, 21.00 Wednesdays
Thank you, BBC...

The Life & Times of Vivien Vyle, 22.00, Thursday
Jennifer Saunders' latest attempt to recapture the magic of Absolutely Fabulous. Not the finest example of HD content, but better than yet another showing of Planet Earth!

Saxondale, 22.00, Friday
All six episodes of the Steve Coogan comedy's second season

Match of the Day, 14.30, Saturday 13th
England v Estonia. Will look glorious in HD whatever the performance from the Three Lions

Picture break up in New Europe?

Not sure if this was local to me or not, but I had intermittent picture and sound problems for about ten minutes during BBC HD's Michael Palin programme last night. Lasted for about ten minutes from 9.30, but was all resolved by the time he got to Bucharest!
I've had this a few times on BBC HD and the various forums suggest I'm not alone. It's an irritation and I'm not sure whether the problems with the BBC feed, Virgin Media or my V+ box. Anyone know?

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.

Video On Demand - TV HD

Here's a list of what's currently available, free of charge, in HD via On Demand. This is for those on the ex-NTL platform - if you're in an ex-Telewest area, please check MadDonna's site for details of your listings.

To find the listings for HD VOD, go into TV On Demand via the TV Guide, then select 6. More On Demand, and 2. High Definition.

1. Free TV HD
This is all BBC stuff at the moment. It's not a bad selection, but there are the odd omissions (such as episode 3 of Sorted and a missing Planet Earth episode that's on the ex-Telewest network). The BBC stuff does get changed but I haven't yet sussed how frequently. Hopefully we'll see an expansion in months to come; it's been five pages of pretty much the same fayre for a while now.
Diana - Last Days of a Princess
Galapagos Episodes 1 - 3
Hiroshima
Hotel Babylon (Series 1) - (Episodes 1 - 6)
Planet Earth: Great Plains
Planet Earth: Ice World
Planet Earth: Jungles
Planet Earth: Shallow Seas
Pride
Sorted Episodes 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
The Blue Planet: Coasts
The Blue Planet: Coral Seas
The Blue Planet: Frozen Seas
The Blue Planet: Introduction
The Blue Planet: Open Oceans
The Blue Planet: Seasonal Seas
The Blue Planet: The Deep
The Blue Planet: Tidal Seas
Wild Weather Cold
Wild Weather Heat
Wild Weather Wet
Wild Weather Wind

2. Flextech Films HD
I'll list these when I get around to it. A lot of the older Bond films are on here in HD, and a selection of recent releases such as Miss Potter and Venus.

3. Music HD
Just the one:
Gorillaz live at the Apollo

4. Pay TV HD
Now this is curious - C4's Brothers & Sisters has appeared, episodes 14 - 18 and 20, though I don't think it is 20 as the info on it relates to episode 2! 99p an episode is the same as the standard definition version. Appears to be added at the C4 pace rather than E4.

So, you ask, where is Lost in HD? Good question - I have no idea!