BBC HD - Eastenders

[mersey70]

Mnay people over on DS be they DTT, satellite or cable viewers don't seem to be impressed with Eastenders in HD.

I cannot see much difference myself but it is a bit clearer (and we now have a new 46" set so it's not because of our older 32" TV being too small.

[Digital Fanatic]

Originally Posted by jamiec21

How much of the increased bitrate is negated by the fact VM encode in MPEG2 rather than the more efficient MPEG4 used on Sky/Freeview HD?

MPEG4 is more efficient use of bandwith, but both should give the same end result as far as picture quality.

It's well known that the satellite feed has a lower bitrate to begin with from the BBC, this has made a few people complain on satellite about the picture quality of BBC HD channels.

---------- Post added at 15:16 ---------- Previous post was at 15:14 ----------

Originally Posted by mersey70

Mnay people over on DS be they DTT, satellite or cable viewers don't seem to be impressed with Eastenders in HD.

I cannot see much difference myself but it is a bit clearer (and we now have a new 46" set so it's not because of our older 32" TV being too small.

I don't watch EE, but i think my post earlier may explain?

Isn't EE filmed months in advance anyway? So the xmas episode was probably HD, but episodes you are seeing now may have been filmed earlier?

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Stuart

Not really. Most of the TV programmes produced until now have been SD programmes (HD wasn't even an option until the mid 90s). Even now, the only country producing a lot of HD is the US, and while the US is a huge producer of TV, they are far from the only one. A lot of countries still only have SD TV. Even in both this country and the US, a lot of production and TV companies are not equipped for HD due to the cost (the consumer only has to replace their TV and STB, the production companies will have to upgrade cameras, editing computers, video recorders not to mention both data and electrical networks connecting that lot - this is one major reason why the BBC is moving out of Television Centre as it would cost too much to fully upgrade). In short, if you upgrade to HD, it might cost a couple of thousand pounds. If a production company upgrades, it will cost them more than ten times that.

Actually I underestimated the costs for production companies there. Factoring in the costs of the cameras (which can cost anywhere from £2,500 to over £100,000), even a small production company probably wouldn't see much change from £250,000. Larger production companies may well spend over £1m, or even £10m.

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by Digital Fanatic

MPEG4 is more efficient use of bandwith, but both should give the same end result as far as picture quality.

It's well known that the satellite feed has a lower bitrate to begin with from the BBC, this has made a few people complain on satellite about the picture quality of BBC HD channels.

---------- Post added at 15:16 ---------- Previous post was at 15:14 ----------



I don't watch EE, but i think my post earlier may explain?

No it is definitely in HD, it simply isn't very good that's all but it seems the same on all platforms.

I would agree with an earlier poster that Coronation Street seems to have a far better picture.

[jamiec21]

Even on Christmas Day, EE didn't look great. I watched it then and couldn't tell any major difference from the upscaled pictures on BBC1HD over the last month or so. Agreed that Coronation Street (from the limited bits I've seen) looks much better. Not convinced it's a BBC1HD bitrate effect, plenty of stuff on there looks great, just seems that the source material is iffy.

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by jamiec21

Even on Christmas Day, EE didn't look great. I watched it then and couldn't tell any major difference from the upscaled pictures on BBC1HD over the last month or so. Agreed that Coronation Street (from the limited bits I've seen) looks much better. Not convinced it's a BBC1HD bitrate effect, plenty of stuff on there looks great, just seems that the source material is iffy.

I think you are right as The Royle Family was noticably better on BBC One HD than SD.

And although a terrible show Come Fly With Me, which is on now is much sharper in HD, still not amazing though in my opinion.

[muppetman11]

Originally Posted by mersey70

I think you are right as The Royle Family was noticably better on BBC One HD than SD.

And although a terrible show Come Fly With Me, which is on now is much sharper in HD, still not amazing though in my opinion.

Martin Clunes on ITV1 HD looks sharp

[mersey70]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

Martin Clunes on ITV1 HD looks sharp

Yeah it does, but I have got to say overall with HD it's a bit of a letdown for me. It is certainly better than SD but just isn't as good as I expected but I think my expectations were too high given the hype and the '5 times the detail' flannel.

I haven't witnessed the surround sound yet though, that's why I am so keen for Sky Arts HD as that is the only channel that would make me invest in a decent amp.

[Retro-Cable'94]

Originally Posted by trickytree

It's probably more down to the notorious low bitrate of BBC HD over ITV HD

But why does BBC HD have a low bitrate/bandwith in the first place, if it means the picture quality suffers?

---------- Post added at 08:12 ---------- Previous post was at 08:05 ----------

Originally Posted by mersey70

I think you are right as The Royle Family was noticably better on BBC One HD than SD.

And although a terrible show Come Fly With Me, which is on now is much sharper in HD, still not amazing though in my opinion.

I remember watching Last of the Summer Wine on BBC HD & it was stunning, then i watched Live at the Apollo on BBC HD & the picture is still good (compared too it being broadcast in SD) but not stunning, it's as if there some fuzzyness/pixelating or something like that, sometimes on BBC HD, it's hard to explain.

[basicfags]

can't stand the program personally but my missus watches it (eastenders) and it looks a lot better on hd freeview than virgin hd. the best hd i seen on my telly though was the cricket over xmas (sammy v+ box) looked amazing on sly sports1 hd

[muppetman11]

BBC One HD is generally good but Eastenders sucks both pq and content LOL :-)

[Miyke]

Well, surprise! Eastenders seems to have improved today and you can actually see that it's HD, still not as good quality as Coronation Street though Just turned that knob up a little bit more BBC & we may have a HD content as goos as your other programes :-)

[Stuart]

D'you know something? I watched EE in HD t'other day. First thing I saw was a close up of Ricky.. Was in shock for the rest of the ep..

[Miyke]

Yes, he was

[muppetman11]

BBC One HD picture quality is awful in my opinion.