Little Dorrit episode two this evening

Nobody does it better: a touch more of Andrew Davies's Dickens adaptation to warm the heart as the evenings get colder: 8.30, BBC HD.

Queen Vic in HD

No, not the Eastenders local; there's a Timewatch special on Queen Victoria this evening on BBC HD (9pm): details here. Along with Simon Schama's American Future and Bruce Parry's Amazon programme we're having some class documentaries from Auntie in high def this autumn.

New series of Spooks...no HD

There's a new series of one of the Beeb's best thriller series, Spooks, kicking off on BBC1 tonight, but yet again it has been shot in standard definition and won't be on BBC HD. Sure, they filmed Spooks-lite, BBC3's Spooks: Code 9, in HD earlier this year, but still the adult fare is not given the high quality treatment. It's not even a schedule clash; BBC HD is showing the Joanna Lumley Northern Lights documentary at 9pm :o(

BBC HD this weekend

Not much of note at all on BBC HD this weekend; all the usual suspects and what feels like even more repeats of music shows that normal...is this really what we foresaw when the channel was given the thumbs up last year?
Oh well, at least we have Little Dorrit to marvel at (8pm Sunday), followed by the more questionable pleasure of In Love With Barbara, a dramatisation of the life and loves of the lady who lived her life in a cloud of foundation, Barbara Cartland.
Incidentally, if you ever see anything in the BBC HD schedules and want to know more about it, I found this useful link that lists everything currently scheduled for the next few weeks.

Yours for a single penny...

Fans of the finer things in life will welcome this week's penny HD movie - from tomorrow (24th) for a week Filmflex has There Will Be Blood in exchange for the smallest copper coin of the Realm. Click here to see the trailer for one of 2008's better movies.

Freeview HD may appear earlier

According to several sources, the BBC has asked OFCOM for permission to roll out BBC HD on Freeview earlier that the current "by London 2012" timetable. The main focus is London and the South East which could be available as early as next year if OFCOM approves, with other regions similarly taking advantage of some jiggery-pokery with the frequencies. Although existing Freeview equipment won't be capable of handling the HD service, I can't help but feel that Freeview HD will prove to be the tipping point for HD in the UK. Full story here.

BBC HD DOG to disappear...almost

In her latest post on the BBC Blog, Danielle Nagler announces that the BBC HD logo is no longer to appear on most drama and films, and will be fainter on other programming. Hurrah! If only others would take similar steps.
I don't know anyone who's a fan of these "DOGs". The worst for this unnecessary onscreen grafitti, especially the intrusive animated nonsense, are the Sky and Virgin Media TV channels (the former's got even worse since it disappeared from cable and is now reaching US excesses). But you have to go a long way to beat the screen-filling logos on the Disney channels which obsure a ridiculous amount of the screen.
Danielle also admits that the scheduling mess over Heroes/Silent Witness didn't please anyone and pledges to do better in future. It's really refreshing to hear such honesty - whilst it's true that you can't please all the people all the time, at least by listening to her audience she's going to please us more than most.
Now, about all those repeats...

Freeview picture quality better than Freesat?

Interesting article here from the always-interesting Crave UK site. Ok, so it's not about HD nor Virgin Media, but for those considering Freesat as an option to get ITV HD, some food for thought.

The weekend in HD on Virgin Media

BBC HD (just four years until it arrives on Freeview in London folks) has a vast array of repeats for your delectation and delight this weekend. Tucked away in there though are a handful of first showings;
Friday night features the familiar trio of Gardeners' World, Little Britain USA and the dubious pleasure of Jonathan Ross interviewing Ricky Gervais (why don't they just get a room??).
Saturday night is repeats night central, with just Strictly Come Dancing as the new boy on the block. On Sunday there's an interesting Ian Fleming: When Bond Began as a preview to the forthcoming release of Quantum of Solace (just in case you thought the Gemma Arterton pic was misplaced!), followed by Antiques Roadshow. The late night Heroes repeat is still following the BBC2 pace, with episode 3.
New in the HD section of TV Choice on Demand is History Channel's Digging for the Truth (2 Egyptian themed episodes), whilst Big Love episodes are now numbering eight in my region.
Oh, and the HD movie for a penny for the next seven days is the Jack Black Be Kind Rewind.

Little Dorrit in high definition UPDATED

There can be little doubt that one of the BBC's drama highlights of year is Andrew Davies' forthcoming adaptation of Dickens' Little Dorrit. For those who enjoyed Bleak House a few years back and felt somewhat short changed by the Beeb's tired Oliver Twist serial from last winter, this is the real deal, with a cast to die for and the same serial format as its previous award-winning triumph.
And it has been shot in glorious high definition, too.
UPDATE:
Radio Times schedules have just been updated and this is now showing on BBC HD at the same time it's being broadcast on BBC1 - hurrah!