BBC May Launch HDTV Channel In U.S.

[Poke]

This might not be a bad channel for Dish to add when it comes out...

http://www.tvpredictions.com/bbchd100206.htm

Says network will be one of the world's biggest high-def producers in three years.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (October 2, 2006) -- The British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) says it may soon launch a High-Definition TV channel in the United States.

That's according to an article in this week's Multichannel News.

The publication reports that the high-def channel would be part of a worldwide expansion by the BBC, which would also include an Hispanic service.

Darren Childs, BBC Worldwide's managing director of global channels, says the network will be one of the world's biggest producers of high-def content in three years.
"In terms of the channel initiatives, we're also looking at HD," Childs told Multichannel News. "We're working very hard now to try and get a BBC HD service launched -- whether that is a linear or nonlinear business is still to be decided. But the BBC is going to be one of the biggest producers of HD content in the world in three years. We make some of the best content in that HD format. And it just seems a natural for us to have a strong presence in one the biggest HD markets in the world, as well."

 

[clapple]

The BBC Hd would be a great addition, especially during the summer TV doldrums. Which is when I do my most BBC watching.

 

[Neutron]

I'm just curious, is European High Definition the same as the US version?

 

[Juan]

I'm just curious, is European High Definition the same as the US version?

Nope.. the europeans have their own standard PAL i believe (atleasts thats the SD standard. Thats why european tv's dont work in the US and vice versa

 

[Neutron]

I knew about PAL vs NTSC, but that is for Standard Definition.

I wasn't sure if HD would be different either.

 

[Juan]

I knew about PAL vs NTSC, but that is for Standard Definition.

I wasn't sure if HD would be different either.

http://www.ee.washington.edu/conselec/CE/kuhn/hdtv/95x5.htm I think they use NHK

 

[Juan]

I knew about PAL vs NTSC, but that is for Standard Definition.

I wasn't sure if HD would be different either.

http://www.ee.washington.edu/conselec/CE/kuhn/hdtv/95x5.htm

 

[jokeworm]

As long as it isnt BBC America HD i'd be happy with that - they have around 50 years worth of excellent documentaries and sports and other good for tv HD stuff that they could fill a channel with - please let it not be the wall-to-wall gardening and DIY shows they insist on repeating daily on the current BBC America channel.

The link provided seems to suggest it wold be a new channel though ...

 

[Pepper]

I knew about PAL vs NTSC, but that is for Standard Definition.

I wasn't sure if HD would be different either.

I think most of Europe is using some variation of the DVB standard.

 

[whatchel1]

World Digital TV standards

All digital TV variants can carry both standard-definition television (SDTV) and high-definition television (HDTV).

All early SDTV television standards were analog in nature, and SDTV digital television systems derive much of their structure from the need to be compatible with analog television. In particular, the interlaced scan is a legacy of analog television.

Attempts were made during the development of digital television to prevent a repeat of the fragmentation of the global market into different standards (that is, PAL, SECAM, NTSC). However, once again the world could not agree on a single standard, and hence there are three major standards in existence: the European DVB system and the U.S. ATSC system, plus the Japanese system ISDB. For cable, in addition to ATSC standards, the SCTE standard is used to describe cable out-of-band metadata.

Most countries in the world have adopted DVB, but several have followed the U.S. in adopting ATSC instead (Canada, Mexico, South Korea). Korea has adopted S-DMB for satellite mobile broadcasting. On June 29, 2006, after long debate, Brazil officially adopted the Japanese system. China has announced yet another standard, called DMB-T/H (GB 20600-2006), which itself consists of two other standards: ADTB-T (similar to ATSC-T) and a variant of T-DMB.

There could be other specialized high-resolution digital video formats in the future for markets other than home entertainment. Ultra High Definition Video (UHDV) is a format proposed by NHK of Japan that provides a resolution 16 times greater than HDTV.

If you want even more info it can be found on Wikipedia at the following link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_tv

 

[Pepper]

um, yeah, that's what I was saying.


lots of useful info there, thanks!

 

[who_the]

BBC uses 1080i but at 50hz (frames per second) rather than 60hz. The frame rate conversion can be handled well by modern systems; this year's World Cup originated in 1080i/50 and was converted to 720p/30 for broadcast by ESPN and ABC.

 

[Smith P.]

same VxH as here in US plus 50 Hz support - read page#11 of the document

 

[navychop]

720 60p

60 progressively scanned lines per second

 

[tvdxer]

As far as I know, European HDTV is virtually the same as American HDTV, except for easily overcome differences like refresh rate. Both have 1080i as their highest standard (i.e. the "Euro 1080" service).

I would love to have such a channel - however, as a previous poster said, I would not care for it if it were simply a high-definition version of BBC America. It seems like every other time I've turned that channel on there's some fashion program or another on, like "What Not to Wear", or an old show. Bring some more recent programs and documentaries! I'm sure the BBC has an absolute treasure trove of them.

 

[Smith P.]

I did provide a URL to Europen "HDTV Ready" TV set standard in post # 13.