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heilanner

Listed below are comments made by heilanner between Sunday, 29th March 2009 and Wednesday, 14th October 2009.

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Picture Quality on BBC HD: a response 9:20pm on 14 Oct 2009 i watched Life this week and was already at the section on penguins before i realised i was still on BBC2, so i switched straight over to BBC HD and... noticed no difference at all in PQ. i was so let down. i'd been looking forward to Life for weeks, expecting fantastic HD pictures like we got in Planet Earth, but unfortunately they didn't appear.

like almost everyone else replying to this blog i have noticed a steady decline in BBC HD PQ over the past 6 - 10 months.

Danielle, you have to realise the product you're outputting simply isn't good enough. whether it's down to the encoders or bitrate or something else, you need to get it sorted. the BBC HD channel used to be the flagship HD channel. i used to use the preview loop to demo it to friends and family. now however, i demo it with Discovery HD or Rush HD.

the reason for this is that 90% of the time i can see next to no difference between your HD output and your SD output. i was starting to think that it was maybe that i was getting too used to HD pictures, but it can't be that because other HD channels still show things which make me go "wow".
BBC HD: Autumn Schedule 5:40pm on 08 Sep 2009 32. At 5:09pm on 08 Sep 2009, ropies wrote:
... For whoever asked about Medium, I believe another channel not mentioned has first dibs on it in HD.

That was me. Any chance you might enlighten me as to which channel you're talking about?
BBC HD: Autumn Schedule 12:58pm on 08 Sep 2009 Thanks for the update Danielle. It's good to hear we're getting The Electric Proms in HD again this year... but still no Top Gear, Casualty, Holby City or (so it seems) Waking The Dead?

As to how and where I get my listings, well it's only from the Sky EPG. Every day when I get home from work I look at the planner to see what's set to watch/record. If there are gaps (no shows before 9 for example) then I search through my Favourites for shows leading up to that time or during times when there is nothing I normally watch.

It would be useful if in the programme title or description you could say if it's a repeat as I have come across a few instances where I have settled down to watch a show only to find I have already seen it.

Also, would there be any chance of Medium getting an HD outing any time soon? I know the BBC seem to hate this show with a passion (I mean, why else would it get shunted round the schedules and channels at random and dropped half way through a series with no explanation then suddenly reappear with no advertising whatsoever months later in the early hours of the morning?), but it's a great show and I'd love to see it in HD. (Yes, I know it's on alleged HD on Sci-fi HD but have to seen it? It's both letterboxed and pillared either side giving it a postage stamp appearance on the screen)
Sport on BBC HD 2:43pm on 13 Jun 2009 Thanks for the update on where BBC HD is going Danielle... and ooh, I got a name-check!! it's great news that S3 of Ashes & Countryfile are coming to HD. I can't wait.

so we're getting 300 hours of new stuff this year? I look forward to see what you're giving us.
More in store on BBC HD 6:48pm on 07 Jun 2009 @Andrew Knight

you said, "With a continuous schedule of sport it will help boost the viewing figures and takeup of services to recieve BBC HD..."

i think you give sport too much credit. i have asked around and within my circle of friends and family MORE sport would have the opposite effect. the people i have asked would be less likely to watch or invest in HD if there was more sport.

more drama, more sci-fi, more nature programmes, more documentaries, more music... these would all help with take-up and viewing figures. what would help even more is if well known, staple BBC shows were in HD.
More in store on BBC HD 9:21pm on 04 Jun 2009 OK, let me put it this way, sport is fine so long as it doesn't interfere with normal schedules. there is nothing more annoying for non-sports-fans like myself than having shows i do enjoy seeing being sidelined/postponed in order to show a football match involving two teams that even if i was a football fan, i wouldn't support.

sport should be on dedicated sports channels. the BBC should spend less promoting the gimmicky iPlayer and put that money into turning BBC4 into a sports channel.

i understand the argument that being a Public Service Broadcaster they have to cater to everyone, but i'm betting that even sports fans don't want their sport on in place of other shows which are equally if not more popular. besides, i don't want my license money going to football clubs or F1 which both have and pay their "stars" too much money as it is. let commercial channels throw their money at it if they wish, but taxpayer money should not be given to sports companies/clubs.

and to say live sport should take priority over long-standing drama series which are watched by millions every week is just a nonsense and you know it.
More in store on BBC HD 5:08pm on 04 Jun 2009 @Andrew Knight

if they show all that sport there won't be any airtime left for other programmes!! there's too much sport on BBC as it is.

...but Top Gear in HD would be very welcome, as would BBC1 mainstays Casulty & Holby City. it's a pity we didn't get Ashes To Ashes in HD, surely that's a show worth investing in?

looking forward to Glastonbury and Mitchell & Webb though.
Welcome to some new initials - DRM, HDCP, DTCP and AACS! 7:10pm on 14 Apr 2009 is it just me? am i the only person who couldn't care less about copying stuff? sure, i record stuff on my Sky+HD box but once i've watched it i delete it (unless it's something i can't get elsewhere such as a 'special' on one of the music channels showing every video by a certain artist which is not yet available to buy on dvd).

if a series is worth a repeat viewing/keeping, i will wait and buy the series on dvd/blu-ray - that way i get a MUCH better picture and sound quality (the bit rates tend to be higher) and i get the 'bonus' features.

when i can do this, why would i want to record DOG-covered shows off of the tv? it seems a bit pointless to me.
The Doctor Comes To BBC HD 08:41am on 11 Apr 2009 i'm with bigfan001; i used to have BBC HD on all the time, even on the preview loop as i was so amazed by he picture quality. however, i hardly watch nowadays. looking through my planner just now, with the exception of the new Doctor Who tonight, the only shows i have set to watch are Heroes and Later...

do we really need 2 hours of kids programmes every day? i understand the argument for making all shows in HD for export and/or future proofing, but if as the BBC tell us, the channel is a showcase for the 'best of the BBC' then programmes aimed at toddlers clearly have no place on it.

i part ways with bigfan001 when it comes to comedy and shows such as Jonothan Ross. there is definitely a place for them on BBC HD. i wouldn't want to see it be used purely for drama, documentaries and natural history/nature shows. we have BBC4 for that.

but yeah, what i'm trying to say is we need more new shows and less repeats and kids shows.

is the new series of Ashes to Ashes going to be in HD?
BBC HD Channel Up To Nine Hours Per Day 2:54pm on 29 Mar 2009 thanks for the quick reply Andy :) for that you're forgiven for getting my name wrong ;)

so are you telling us the Top Gear they have listed is not the Top Gear we get here (is it their own version?) or that it's just the specials we have already seen?

9 hours of broadcasting is better than 4-6, i give you that... but i still maintain a schedule repeat is preferable to the preview loop.

as an aside, most people here seem to be moaning about the pq on the channel. i just want to say i think the pq on BBC HD is just as good as Sky1. i have no complaints in that regard (although maybe Rush HD is better). i don't know how the equipment used by yourself compares to them and frankly it doesnt bother me.

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