BBC Four TV in HD at last... ready for the 2014 Proms...?

[Nick Armstrong]

Glad tidings (esp following the demise of BBC HD)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23326709

Available on Freeview too, as well as the cable/satellite options.

Looking forward to that.

About time too!

[french frank]

I was just about to post that - pipped at the post!

That's pretty much all the BBC services to be available, then, including CBeebies and CBBC.

[Mr Pee]

Excellent news!

[Bryn]

Let's hope the BBC FOUR Proms broadcasts this year will have been recorded in HD for 'repeat' transmission in the new year.

[Petrushka]

Rather regret not buying a HD Freeview DVD recorder when I replaced my old one last year.

[VodkaDilc]

I've been toying with the idea of moving to HD. Is the improvement really that noticeable?

[Stunsworth]

I've been toying with the idea of moving to HD. Is the improvement really that noticeable?

It depends on the size of the screen and your distance from it. The smaller the screen, or the further away you sit, the less the improvement. I have a 42" Panasonic plasma screen and sit around 8 feet from the set. The difference is obvious.

Also, if you have the correct equipment, HD has the option of surround sound - though not all programmes are recorded in 5.1.

[Mr Pee]

It depends on the size of the screen and your distance from it. The smaller the screen, or the further away you sit, the less the improvement. I have a 42" Panasonic plasma screen and sit around 8 feet from the set. The difference is obvious.

Also, if you have the correct equipment, HD has the option of surround sound - though not all programmes are recorded in 5.1.

Stunsworth is right. I have a 37 inch Plasma and sit a bit closer, and the difference is like night and day. I find SD transmissions quite hard to watch now!! And I am able to take advantage of the 5.1 option when it's available.

Mind you, I have been reading in this week's Radio Times about the next step forward- "4K", or Ultra HD, which presents an image 4 times sharper than current HD transmissions. Many existing films and TV shows are stored in this new format already, waiting for the technology to be rolled out to consumers at an affordable price.

In the meantime I am more than happy with my existing HD set up!

[VodkaDilc]

Stunsworth is right. I have a 37 inch Plasma and sit a bit closer, and the difference is like night and day. I find SD transmissions quite hard to watch now!! And I am able to take advantage of the 5.1 option when it's available.

Mind you, I have been reading in this week's Radio Times about the next step forward- "4K", or Ultra HD, which presents an image 4 times sharper than current HD transmissions. Many existing films and TV shows are stored in this new format already, waiting for the technology to be rolled out to consumers at an affordable price.

In the meantime I am more than happy with my existing HD set up!

I deliberately bought a modestly-sized set earlier in the year - I hate large screens looming over a room! Apart from being HD compatible, it's set up for 3D, with the glasses somewhere in a cupboard. Does anyone have experience or comments about that? I can see that the much-hyped Attenborough 3D programmes must be impressive, but for day-to-day use.........?

[Mr Pee]

I deliberately bought a modestly-sized set earlier in the year - I hate large screens looming over a room! Apart from being HD compatible, it's set up for 3D, with the glasses somewhere in a cupboard. Does anyone have experience or comments about that? I can see that the much-hyped Attenborough 3D programmes must be impressive, but for day-to-day use.........?

Well, the BBC have just said they're putting 3D on the back-burner for the foreseeable future, saying that take-up has been poor and that viewers find it more trouble than it's worth, which just leaves Sky as the 3D option, and there's no doubt that they are making good use of it- David Attenborough's current series on Insects and Arachnids looks incredible even in HD, so in 3D it must be quite something.

I'm not really a fan of 3D, however, not even in the cinema. I think it can actually take you "out" of a movie, since you spend as much time goggling at the 3D as you do actually getting emotionally involved with the film itself. And I find that wearing the 3D glasses over my prescription spectacles is not ideal. Given the option of 2D or 3D at the cinema, I'll take the 2D every time.

When there is 3D without the need for the specs- which I hear is on the way, but not for a while- I might look on it more favourably. Until then I'll probably give it a miss.

[Stunsworth]

I deliberately bought a modestly-sized set earlier in the year - I hate large screens looming over a room! Apart from being HD compatible, it's set up for 3D, with the glasses somewhere in a cupboard. Does anyone have experience or comments about that?

The TV I have is 3D compatible, as is the Blu-Ray player that came bundled with it. I thought I would watch 3D more that I have. I bought a single 3D Blu-Ray disc, and have occasionally have watched 3D TV programmes. I can't remember the last time I watched anything in 3D, so it's not been something that has greatly interested me.

Also, the way that 3D programmes are broadcast means that half the horizontal resolution is lost - this doesn't apply to 3D Blu-Ray discs.

[gurnemanz]

Rather regret not buying a HD Freeview DVD recorder when I replaced my old one last year.

I have one of them, which is also good for recording radio off Freeview and my Astra dish for German channels like Arte, 3Sat and BR Klassik. I find that for everyday timeshift I mainly use an external USB hard drive that plugs straight into the back of the telly. I got the 2 terabyte Buffalo JustStore model recommended by Panasonic for about £80 when I bought the TV two years ago. It can only be used with that specific TV set and won't do radio but has been marvellous with a huge capacity and records High Def.