iPlayer HD - good enough to play through your TV?

Those dapper guys at Crave have had a good look at the new BBC iPlayer HD and rate it pretty highly. Here's their conclusion:

"So, is iPlayer HD good enough for your HD TV? Yes, we think it is actually. The quality isn't perfect, but if you missed something, or simply don't have access to the proper HD channel, it's likely to be a godsend. We're hopeful that the BBC will continue to improve the quality."

And for more, here's the link to the full review.

BBC iPlayer in HD arrives...or does it?

According to a number of sources, the BBC's online version of iPlayer is now delivering high definition programming.
BBC iPlayer Labs report that the new "high-quality stream" has a 1,500kbps bit-rate. Hmm. That's not HD in my book - YouTube HD maybe. A somewhat liberal use of "HD" if you ask me. It's better than the previous "High Quality" streams but most definitely not true HD. Think DVD rather than Blu-Ray.
No word on when real HD programming will be made available via iPlayer on Virgin Media (or other platforms).

BBC HD On Demand Disappears

As predicted a few posts ago, the BBC HD On Demand programmes have now gone. No more Blue Planet (upscaled), Superstorm or Planet Earth - just a lone episode of Hotel Babylon remains.
[UPDATE: It's only temporary I've been told - see Comments]
BBC iPlayer though is now fully integrated into the Catch Up menus (look under Channels) and there's an impressive selection of BBC stuff available there, albeit none yet in HD.
BBC HD varies from the norm this weekend btw, with a film tonight and the Florence Nightingale drama tomorrow. And I know I keep going on about it, but Wild China on Monday night really is what HD was invented for!

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!)