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sipasblog

Listed below are comments made by sipasblog between Thursday, 16th July 2009 and Wednesday, 4th November 2009.

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A day in the life of the Head of BBC HD 1:56pm on 04 Nov 2009 Thanks for posting to the blog, lots of positive comments about programming, scheduling, navigation etc. which I think you're doing a good job of addressing, albeit not as quickly as everyone (including you I guess) would like. There's lots more stuff on BBCHD now, and coming soon, that I'd like to watch.

However, I was very sad to see the "not because I believe there is a problem, but because I want to make sure there is not" comment. PQ is the most important issue, and I don't understand how you can deny there is a problem when the same programmes now look worse than they did a year ago.

Some things are still worth watching on BBCHD for the enhanced picture and sound (eg Emma, Life, Natural World, Later) but a lot of the time it's not worth bothering any more. I suspect the programmes that still look good don't contain much challenging material (darker scenes, pans, fast movement) - I really hope TG is going to be worth it. Nearly everything I watch is via Sky+, and because HD programmes take up a lot more disk space, there has to be sufficient difference to record the HD rather than the SD version (unless there's another reason, like being able to watch Harper's Island without a DOG).

This is not just an issue for technically minded people, I don't care about which encoders are used or the bit rates, I just care about getting back to the stunning PQ that we used to have, however it's achieved.
Picture Quality on BBC HD: a response 1:58pm on 07 Oct 2009 I thought the PQ on Emma was relatively good, the static shots were sharp and the colours nicely saturated. There were problems with movement (eg when Mr Knightley walks past a field of yellow flowers) but because most scenes didn't involve fast movement, shaky camerawork or fast pans it was one of the few programmes that still looks (and sounds) much better in HD. And there's no DOG.

Unlike Last Chance To See, which I've recorded in HD and only just started to watch - I can't see much difference in PQ on BBCHD, and it's got a DOG - I wish I'd recorded the SD version now (which I am doing from episode 6 onwards).
New version of BBC iPlayer for PS3 now available 2:20pm on 30 Sep 2009 Thank you for this, it's fantastic! I previously used the 'unofficial' PS3 iPlayer which was OK, but the quality of the official one is extremely good - not sure how you're achieving this over my relatively slow wireless connection but well done!
Top Gear on BBC HD from November 15th 1:35pm on 23 Sep 2009 Fantastic! Thanks Danielle and the rest of BBCHD. It'll be a good test of PQ(!). Please don't put a DOG on it.
Picture Quality on BBC HD: a response 2:14pm on 22 Sep 2009 Andy Q, you mention ARS and Montezuma as examples of good PQ, but I think they illustrate the problem of variable PQ. ARS had a detailed, crisp picture with rich colours, and (to my eye) few defects, but the nature of the program means there is no fast movement, and little camera movement. Montezuma (great programme BTW) had some stunning still shots, and slow wide pans were (relative to other programmes eg Coast) not too bad, but the 'walk and talks' looked dreadful. The contrast between still and moving images on HD is so much greater than on SD. Please don't degrade the still images to match the moving ones(!), but maybe efforts can be concentrated on improving the moving shots.

PS Was ARS broadcast without a DOG? Is the DOG finally on its way out? Apart from the PQ a big advantage of having Harper's Island on HD is no DOG - I wouldn't have bothered with it on BBC3.
BBC HD: Picture Quality and Dolby Research 2:14pm on 15 Sep 2009 On the subject of Picture Quality and Dolby Research on the HD channel, has the BBC ever considered doing a viewer survey? Along the lines of, on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the highest) how would you rate the following:

How satisfied are you with the current BBC HD Channel PQ?---------------Varies from 1 (eg Coast) to 4 (eg Pirates...)
How satisfied were you with PQ before the bandwidth reduction?----------4
How satisfied were you with PQ during the BBC HD Trial?-----------------Didn't see it
How much do you think Dolby 5.1 sound adds to the overall HD experience?5
How well do you think the BBC is doing in incorporating 5.1 sound?------3
How satified are you with the current 5.1 audio quality, when available?4
How likely are you to recommend the BBC HD channel to a friend?---------2
How likely are you to recommend other non-BBC HD channels to a friend?--4
How satisfied are you with the marketing and PR of the BBC HD channel?--2

Very disappointed with the PQ of most (but not all) recent broadcasts and programmes with a DOG will never get 5 out of 5.
Open post: Thursday, 10 September 2009 2:00pm on 15 Sep 2009 There shouldn't be DOGs on BBC channels - they are on commercial channels for marketing purposes so that viewers have it drummed into them what channel they are watching, so the brand becomes more familiar and recognisable, which feeds into advertising revenues. This does not apply to the BBC.

The compromise on BBCHD is better than nothing (although it's not always adhered to) - why don't the other BBC channels follow suit, instead of ruining dramas like Spiral2? It doesn't matter so much on news, sport, panel shows etc. but the logo can ruin drama and nature programmes.
BBC HD: Picture Quality and Dolby Research 2:42pm on 08 Sep 2009 I thought the PQ on Pirates... was excellent - anyone else think so? PQ on other stuff still disappointing (eg Coast), is it just that the Pirates... source material is more suited to the bitrate/encoders?
BBC HD: Autumn Schedule 2:30pm on 08 Sep 2009 I echo the comments from Idris_ about finding out whether programmes will be in HD, Last Chance... being a good example. I get my schedule information from Radio Times (which is quite good at pointing out when there are non-simulcast HD broadcasts but missed Last Chance...) and the Sky EPG. I'd also like info on whether a programme is to be broadcast in 5.1. It would be useful if the BBC HD web pages carried schedule information beyond a week ahead - Radio Times (which I get on a Tuesday) goes up to the following Friday so the information must be available at least that far ahead.

Voiceover info on BBC1/2 promoting HD broadcasts should be standard, including non-simulcasts (but please please no voiceovers during the credits).

BTW Harper's Island is great, and I'm looking forward to Lost Land of the Volcano.
BBC HD: Wimbledon and some Top Gear questions 2:11pm on 16 Jul 2009 Not sure if anyone will read this, but anyway...

Who do you think you are? was shown without a DOG - hooray! Freefall was shown with a DOG - I thought dramas were meant to be DOGless - boo! Has the DOG policy changed?

PS Dragons Den was great in HD, as was Coast

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