BBC to trial HDTV next year

8th November 2005

The press release says:

"In the limited technical trials, it is planned to simulcast highlights of BBC ONE's peaktime schedule in high definition on satellite and cable, as available, from mid-2006."

The BBC also wants to run a technical trial on terrestrial TV, but the press release confirms that it won't be using existing Freeview capacity:

"For the terrestrial trial, the BBC will apply to Ofcom for temporary use of an unused frequency currently not allocated to broadcasters and unsuitable for conventional broadcast use."

But it admits that:

"Capacity for high definition broadcasts on terrestrial television (Freeview) will be very limited until digital switchover - between 2008 and 2012."

Sky is planning to launch HD next year, so people that sign up for Sky's HD should be able to view the BBC One HD trial streams.

As the BBC is also launching the Freesat platform (the satellite version of Freeview) next year, then HDTV would clearly be a major unique selling point.

What will be most interesting from a technical point-of-view is which of the two HDTV formats the BBC chooses out of 720p and 1080i. 720p is better for sport but has a far lower resolution than 1080i. A comparison of the resolution (how sharp the picture is) of the two formats can be found here.

To view HDTV channels in true HD-quality viewers will need an HD-Ready TV and a new set-top box. If you want to buy an HD-Ready TV / display then make sure it has an HD-Ready label (the requirements for an HD-Ready display can be seen here), but there have been reports of some retailers putting an HD-Ready label on non-HD-Ready displays in stores or in the descriptions on their websites, so make sure you check that the display actually does meet the requirements. The main requirement for a display to be HD-Ready is that it must be able to display at least 720 horizontal picture lines, and any display that cannot is not HD-Ready.

However, unless you actually need a new TV now, it would probably be best to wait for Sky's HD and/or the BBC's HD trials to launch before buying a new display, because prices are still relatively high and they should come down significantly in the next year.

Also, currently available digital satellite receivers are not capable of decoding HDTV channels, but new HD-enabled digital satellite set-top boxes will become available next year, hopefully by the time the BBC launches Freesat.