Heroes Season 3 episode 1 - update

Pleased to report that the HD listing for the Sunday evening repeat of Heroes next weekend is now listed by the BBC as being the first episode ('The Second Coming') rather than ... er ... the second.
So just so everyone's clear...on BBC HD they're showing the second episode on Weds. at 10pm, but if you want to watch the first episode in glorious HD too you have to wait until the 11.55pm showing on Sunday. Confirmation here.
Why they don't just show episode 1 at 10pm on Wednesday and episode 2 at 10.45pm (instead of a Mitchell & Webb repeat and the ubiquitous Later...) is beyond me...

The evenings are drawing in...

Ah, the weekend beckons, and for those fancying a snuggle in front of their new high def telly on Saturday night it's a predictable line up on Virgin Media HD (aka BBC HD) I'm afraid.
Brucie and Strictly Come Dancing at 6.45pm, followed by a repeat from the second season of Torchwood and six episodes from Gavin & Stacey's second season. Much as I love G&S, yet another repeat (and missing the final episode, too) seems excessive even by BBC HD's standards.
Sunday isn't much better, although Tess of the D'Urbervilles continues at 9pm and Antique Roadshow breaks up an otherwise repeat-ful day's viewing.
Nothing new from Filmflex on the HD front either, and I haven't seen anything of note in the TV Choice On Demand selection for months. Please don't shoot the messenger...

BBC HD scheduling

Head of BBC HD Danielle Nagler has posted another entry on her informative blog, this time about how some scheduling decisions are made. Read it in full here.

2008 Prediction Update

Back in January I stuck my neck out and made ten predictions about Virgin Media and high definition services. Nine months on and some of those predictions have come true, some are wide of the mark, and one or two look even less likely today than they did when I made them. Over to George Dawes for the scores on the doors...
1 Channel 4 HD finally makes an appearance on cable
Hmmmm. I thought it may be the Spring, but we'll be lucky to get anything this side of Christmas now. Once the C4 play out services move from Sky to RedBee Media there may be a change, but I'm not holding my breath and I don't suggest you hold yours. What's also disappointing is that C4 has little more HD content than it did at launch last year.
2 ITV HD not on Virgin Media at launch
Bingo! But I was surprised as anyone that it didn't appear on Sky. Still a Freesat exclusive, although not really a "channel" as yet.
3 VOD HD grows in fits and spurts
Filmflex has grown, but TV Choice On Demand has actually reduced, now just a handful of HBO documentaries, some stuff from the History Channel and seasons of The Sopranos that are removed before you're half way through them. No word on Lost season 4 nor any of the promised Sky series in either High Def or SD.
4 BBC HD expands, but "events" take precedent over regular programming
Still too many repeats, but the coverage of the Olympics, Euro 2008 and Wimbledon was memorable.
5 HD remains a niche product
I don't think anyone would see it otherwise. Sky's HD growth has slowed and they've cut prices to attract more, but it's still around just 5% of their subscriber base. Heavily marketed and now with over 20 channels it's pretty good value at £10 a month, but it's still struggling to become mass market. Only a matter of time, but it's not quite the TV revolution perhaps anticipated by the home cinema press.
6 Sky HD will be impacted by FreeSat
Too early to tell. Once the Freesat+ boxes ship it'll be interesting.
7 Sky One and the basics return
Wrongggggggg....
8 OFCOM report hits Sky...and Virgin
No report as yet. Relations between Sky and OFCOM took a turn for the worse though with the Picnic sniping.
9 Tiscali TV and BT Vision struggle IP TV fails to make the grade
Neither has set the world alight and the former's rumoured to be struggling to find a buyer. BT Vision has made some inroads. Mind you, BBC iPlayer proves that web TV access can be successful, especially the streaming version.
10 Blu-Ray will become the new DVD HD standard
Well, I called that one right at least!

Berkett on...

Virgin Media Chief Executive Neil Berkett's webcast at Goldman Sachs on Wednesday proved consistent with previous statements on Virgin's strategy with TV, but was a tad more enlightening as it specifically mentioned HD, albeit briefly. (My thanks to Cable Forum poster Horizon for the following summary of the salient points from the presentation.)

Berkett said he did want to make HD a priority went its right to do so, but that would still mainly appear in the form of VOD rather than linear channels. He did admit HD is better. Other headlines from the webcast:
VM will launch mobile broadband by the end of the year. Expect to see fixed line/mobile bundles soon both for voice and broadband packages.
Lots of hints that all broadband speeds could be upgraded in the future. Berkett wants VM to have "clear water" between VM and DSL competitors in this market. Which is why he has given priority to broadband and VOD, rather than HD.
50mb on course to launch by the end of the year and hints of upgrades to upload speeds in the future, once DOCSIS 3 and its bonding of channels is rolled out. But this product will never be anything near 50/50 speeds both ways.
VM has no intention of going after illegal downloaders for the reason there is no law to say they should. VM prefers to work with people like the music industry, but he made it clear that it's the owners of intellectual property (ie music companies) who should protect their property, not VM. Berkett said that VM would like to offer its own music service, but no details were given.
No agreement with Sky on getting the basic channels back. Berkett made it clear he would prefer to avoid litigation, but for the court case to be dropped there needs to be a deal done first on good economic terms for VM. Berkett made clear that this issue is tied into the wider issues with Sky that Ofcom are investigating and the issues surrounding pricing of premium channels too. Berkett made clear he could have the Sky channels back now if he wished, but the price isn't right.

Heroes' Return...October 1 (updated)

The third season of Heroes kicks off on BBC2 on Wednesday, October 1st at 9pm. At the time of writing the Radio Times website is listing only the second episode of season three being on BBC HD (simulcast at 10pm with BBC3) - the 9pm slot is the new series of Silent Witness.
A somewhat corny trailer for Sylar's return can be found here

BBC HD this weekend

Although I'm not a fan myself there's no doubt that Strictly Come Dancing is one of those programmes that looks great in high definition, if only because it can look so poor in standard definition. BBC1 in standard def really struggles with the flashing lights and fast images, whereas in HD they look great. Throw in the sequins n wrinkles and the intrigue of Bruce's "hair" and you have something of a visual feast! 6.10pm on Saturday night.
Disappointing but not surprising is the absence of the evening's new BBC centrepiece Merlin from the HD schedules. Apparently the Beeb isn't geared up for HD special effects (Doctor Who similarly suffers) so it's just available on BBC1. I was intererested until I saw the talking dragon...
On Sunday we have two episodes of Tess of the D'Urbervilles; a repeat of the opening episode at 5.30pm then the second episode at 9pm. Last week's looked great in HD and hopefully things will move a little faster plot-wise this time around. And, yes, Gemma looks gorgeous in HD.
Unfortunately next week on the channel has little worth commenting upon; repeats aplenty and just a handful of new programming; the intriguing Amazon, entertaining Mutual Friends and unintentionally hilarious Tudors.

Could this be the Samsung V+?

Pure speculation, granted, but I've found this on the Samsung site whilst looking for a cable PVR picture. You may recall that Virgin earlier this year mentioned a new V+ box being available in the second half of 2008, initially thought to be another Scientific Atlanta box (like the current V+) but later confirmed as a new Samsung machine.
This is the cable PVR on Samsung's international site; 160gb drive and just two tuners, but with both Mpeg2 and Mpeg4. More details here. If this was the release spec (which I doubt) that's a more HD capable box that would probably benefit from a bigger disc. It's a nicer looking box to my eye, looking more like a regular domestic piece of kit than the somewhat space age and plasticky design of the current V+.
Then again, it could be a completely different Samsung box or it could even be that the Samsung V+ never makes it to Virgin customers as it's still in the labs at VM and there've been no official announcements.

A selection of HD movies for a penny next month

FilmFlex are expanding their "1p movie" deal this autumn with a number of HD offerings. P.S. I Love You is available for a week from October 3rd for a penny; National Treasure: Book Of Secrets follows from October 10th along with The Cottage and then Be Kind Rewind is a £0.01 during the week commencing October 17th. Finally, a real treat with There Will Be Blood costing one of her majesty's finest pennies from the 24th. More details and trailers can be found here.

New this week on BBC HD

BBC HD's Paralympics 2008 coverage has been kicking off earlier than originally scheduled and is pretty much through the day most days. Check the daily BBC HD updates for details.
Amazon with Bruce Parry starts on Monday 15th September at 9pm. The Radio Times billing says:

Bruce Parry begins an epic adventure in the Amazon following the river from source to sea. The first part of his journey takes him from the source in the High Andes through Peru's dangerous cocaine producing valleys to visit the Ashaninka tribe.

And on Thursday 18th September at 10pm Horizon goes HD, with a programme asking some of the biggest names in science to have a quiet word with the new President, be it Obama or McCain.