Recording BBC HD

Somewhat bravely, head of BBC HD Danielle Nagler takes on the thorny subject of Digital Rights Management in her latest blog on the BBC HD site. With Freesat Blu-Ray recorders appearing this summer from Panasonic and others (see post from a few days ago) the issue of copying restrictions with HD channels is now with us. Currently, you can record BBC HD and other high definition channels onto the internal disc of your PVR, but if you make a copy to a DVD recorder the quality takes a nosedive and is nearer SD than HD. With Blu-Ray the increased capacity of the discs makes copying a full HD recording to a single shiny disc a technical reality, but the copyright holders have other ideas. Danielle says that:

It will now be possible to make a single HD Blu-ray copy of one of our programmes, although not copies of copies. An HD connection to a protected home network will also be possible, although an HD connection to the Internet or portable devices will not work. The diagram below [click the link to see it] I think sums up the various paths you might want your HD content to take - and the extent to which that will be possible. I should add that the partial unlocking of some paths should also enable the high quality standard definition RGB outputs from some set top boxes.

It's a very interesting post, and one that's already collected a fair amount of comment from its audience. Great to see the ever-informative Andy Quested chipping in with some information too.

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).

Virgin Media on HD channels:

If you complete the Virgin Media questionnaire, you get this feedback at the end of your form filling:

Lots of you were unhappy with the amount of HD Channels available on Virgin Media TV.

We’ve listened to your feedback on this and the great news is we’re launching more HD channels later this year. We‘ll also continue to add a huge amount of new On Demand HD content for you to enjoy whenever you choose, including The Sopranos, The Wire and Dexter and a great range of movies like Tropic Thunder and Kung Fu Panda.

And as well as more HD content, we’re improving our On Demand service – for example, all our TV customers are now able to catch up on the best of the last seven days of ITV shows with ITV Net Player, along with shows from BBC iPlayer and 4oD.

Panasonic to launch Freesat Blu-Ray recorders

For those looking at Freesat as an alternative to Virgin Media's pitiful HD line up, Panasonic is launching a new range Freesat HD digital recorders to the UK in June, two of which are Blu-Ray recorders. (Details from Home Cinema Choice)
The £999 DMR-BS850 and £899 DMR-BS750 will have 500GB and 250GB hard drives respectively, whilst the DMR-XS350 is a DVD recorder with Freesat HD and a 250GB hard drive. While hi-def broadcasts can be recorded to the hard drive, the DVD recorder in the XS350 will only archive in standard def. All three models have twin Freesat HD tuners, but not all HD programmes will be recordable. According to HCC:

'There’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to record every HD show you fancy, or archive them to Blu-ray media. This is because broadcasters reserve the right to flag their transmissions as ‘Copy Free’, ‘Copy Once’ or ‘Copy Never.’

'The BBC has informed us that once these recorders go on sale, they will move the majority of their broadcasts to Copy Free, but if Hollywood, or a rights holder, specifically wants to restrict usage, a TV channel will broadcast ‘prohibit’ flags.'

Doctor Who, Saturday 6.45pm

The latest Doctor Who special (and first to be filmed in high definition) Planet of the Dead debuts on BBC HD Saturday night at 6.45pm, with a repeat showing on Monday at 5pm.

Easter weekend on BBC HD

Here are the highlights of BBC HD's line up this Easter weekend. Aside from Doctor Who's high def debut, if you like golf it's somewhat sparse to say the least (the rest of the schedule is repeats and regulars)

Good Friday
16.20 Film: Chicken Run
20.30 Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death
21.00 Golf: US Masters

Saturday
17.10 Film: Finding Nemo
20.30 Golf: US Masters

Easter Sunday
18.55 Golf: US Masters (all evening)

Easter Monday
17.00 Doctor Who - Planet of the Dead
21.00 Heroes

US Masters on BBC HD

Teeing off on Thursday, April 9th at 9pm is high definition coverage of the US Masters Golf extravaganza. Three and a half hours through to the small hours for four days, it looked great last year and hopefully will be as good this. Enjoy.

Samsung V+

Has anyone out there got a Samsung V+ yet? Now that the new Virgin Media box has been released for a few weeks, it would be interesting to get some opinions on the new hardware's day-to-day performance. Please send us a comment or, if you want to write something a little longer, email me at niallivm@gmail.com

Virgin in "advanced discussions" over 3 to 4 HD channels, or is it 6 to 7?

Not an April Fool (it was published after midday): according to DS, a Virgin spokesperson says that "advanced discussions" are underway with "a number of content providers... aiming to launch three to four linear HD channels over the next few months". The full story is available on Digital Spy
Not really news, and that next few months line was last seen...er...a few months ago. Those still on VM not already signed up to Sky HD are advised not to restrict their respiration waiting in anticipation...

UPDATE: This from an interesting thread on Cable Forum. Aaron emailed Berkett about his promise of HD channels in the next few months (Dec 08) and got this reply:

"No I was referring to HD channels which was absolutely our intention. We are negotiating as we speak and will be launching 6 or seven channels at once shortly

Neil Berkett | Chief Executive Officer
Virgin Media"

Be still my beating heart...deep breaths...

New BBC HD Indent and website

Nice. And there's a new look to the station website too: BBC HD

More details on Danielle's latest blog post