No FA Cup 3rd Round in HD

Extremely disappointed to find that none of the BBC's FA Cup third round coverage is coming our way in HD. Last season we had FA Cup and England internationals on BBC HD, but this season's first big games are nowhere to be seen on the schedules. What makes this even more surprising is that the BBC has the pick of the 3rd round games with coverage of the games featuring Man U, Arsenal and Newcastle, all big audience pullers.
I'm at a loss to explain this, especially given the fanfare and promise of the BBC's Head of Sport when the Beeb's HD channel was confirmed (quoted here).

Damages, Jan 6

Just been reading about Damages starring Glenn Close and Ted Danson, too. Starts on BBC HD on Sunday Jan 6 at 10.15pm. Radio Times says

Acclaimed American legal drama following a ruthless lawyer's class action suit against Arthur Frobisher, an allegedly corrupt former company CEO. Alleging that he encouraged his former employees to buy the company's stock, only to then sell his own stake after the inflation of the share price, she and her junior associate work to build the case against him regardless of the consequences.

So, is it any good? The American critics raved and it's nominated for four major Golden Globes:

• Best Television Drama Series
• Best Actress in a Television Drama Series - Glenn Close
• Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series, or TV Movie - Rose Byrne
• Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series, or TV Movie - Ted Danson

Coming hot on the heels of the BBC HD US quality import The Company this looks like another quality addition to our HD viewing. Thirteen episodes in all, and with seasons two and three already confirmed by FX in the States this could be well worth your time.

Missing from BBC HD

Trawling through my double issue of the Radio Times, I've noticed that the majority of prestige BBC dramas are still not appearing on BBC HD, which I find somewhat disappointing to say the least.
Over the Christmas period the following have all been missing from HD whilst we've been treated to repeats aplently on BBC HD;

• Doctor Who
• Oliver Twist
• Sense & Sensibility
• Ballet Shoes
• The Shadow of the North

I know the Doctor's special effects preclude its HD filming, but you would have thought the others would have been shot in high definition? I find one of the big benefits of HD is the handling of dark n moody backgrounds, the meat and two veg of winter drama, but these shows are all still being shot on film but broadcast in SD. Most odd.

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??!

BBC HD

Listings for BBC HD are now available on the Radio Times site through to Jan 9, and I'm sorry to report it's four hours of repeats a day still. For those who missed it earlier in 2007, they're showing the last series of Hustle in HD at 10pm on Jan 9, but other than that it really is a pitiful line up for what is now supposedly a genuine channel.

BBC HD reverts to form

Those investing in an HD-ready TV this month better make the most of the longer BBC HD schedules this week, as from Jan 2 2008 it's business as usual.
The promise of more varied programming and longer hours isn't evident in the first days of 2008's schedules, with a weak diet of HD repeats and precious little to excite. Broadcasts start at ... 8pm. Bloody hell. Very disappointing.
So make the most of the next week or so, which features many of the HD highlights of 2007 in their entirety.
Happy Christmas to all fans of this blog - here's to a lot more HD on Virgin in 2008!

ps Fans of Ghost Whisperer should now find 17 episodes from season one in HD under TV Choice on Demand. Not consecutive episodes, but what did you expect?

BBC HD over New Year

Anyone anticipating a scintillating HD extravaganza on BBC HD whilst recovering from the previous night's celebrations is going to have sore disappointment to add to their sore head!
January 1st's schedule features The Electric Proms (yet again) and then five hours of highlights from the worthy but counter productive Live Earth concert.
At 8.10pm the second Lara Croft film is shown in HD - hardly a classic. A truly dire day's offering is salvaged by Terry Gilliam's excellent Twelve Monkeys at 10.10pm. Phew...

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?

Christmas on BBC HD, 30th and 31st

On Sunday 30th the afternoon "complete series in one sitting" is the absolutely mind-blowing Earth: the Power of the Planet. For me, this is one of the year's HD highlights and should not be missed at any cost. Five episodes from 12.50pm to 5.50pm. That's followed by the Chrissie episode of The Green Green Grass and two episodes of Wainwright's Walks. Culture vultures may enjoy Donizetti's comic opera La Fille du Regiment, but I'll probably be otherwise occupied. Worth having a look back at BBC HD though at 10.50 is Vienna: City of Dreams, a 90 minute tour of the city that promises to be an absolute stunner.
New Year's Eve is a mainly music day, with an afternoon of "highlights" from the Concert for Diana, which is preceded by some Tales from Beatrix Potter, especially for those who enjoy prancing frogs, bunnies and ducks. Be still my beating heart. More of the usual concert repeats in the evening, Electric Proms and Later to the fore, topped off with the movie Girl with the Pearl Earring.