Is Top Gear broadcast in high definition in the UK?

[bluemoose]

Is Top Gear broadcast in high definition in the UK?

Thanks!

[Shawn]

No, it's not.

Only the polar special episode was broadcast in HD (720 and 1080 rips are both available for download).

[Viper007Bond]

HD is just starting to make headway in the UK. They switched from analog to SD digital long ago (we're doing that in Fed '09), but are just now starting to get into HDTV.

[teeb]

The BBC hopes to have all programming in HD by 2010. I wouldn't hold your breath, though - HD is only just coming in in the UK and it hasn't really got a big market. Yet.

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

HD is just starting to make headway in the UK. They switched from analog to SD digital long ago (we're doing that in Fed '09)

The analogue signal gets turned off finally this year at some point. To be honest, with Freeview boxes costing as little as £20, bringing a glut of free channels, being a one-off payment and bringing a quality improvement, it's well worth it.

[Zorg]

I remember in one episode JC slagged off HD complaining about how much it would add to the cost of production.

[stiggie]

I remember an article where Jeremy said that to pay for filming TopGear in HD they would have to eat James May.

[AJ888]

That comment by JC was several years ago and costs have come down a fair bit since. Their set is meant to look like a crap aircraft hangar so there's no need to spend money tarting it up to look good in high def. The incar cameras may be a problem, but I'd assume they'd use semi-professional HDV cameras. The way things are going (with more regular BBC programming going HD), I'd expect S12 to be in high definition.

[Prost264]

Why would in-car cameras be a problem? Every NASCAR car has at least 3 HD cameras. 1 inside the car (just as TG would need) and 2 tiny cameras facing the front and back.

In-car cameras are no problem.

[AJ888]

Originally Posted by Prost264

Why would in-car cameras be a problem? Every NASCAR car has at least 3 HD cameras. 1 inside the car (just as TG would need) and 2 tiny cameras facing the front and back.

In-car cameras are no problem.

Judging by the fact the Fox seem to use a mix of SD and HD onboard cameras for NASCAR they must cost a fair bit. (Although I suppose it might also be a radio bandwidth issue whereas TG would be putting it straight to tape.)

There are also broadcast quality issues - quality excusable for live sport is not necessarily allowed for a recorded TV programme.

[Speedtouch]

The point is, the BBC could (probably) afford to film TG in HD, but the audience for the broadcasting of HD is very small in this country. As long as we have Topgear, SD is fine thanks.

[anti-net]

Originally Posted by Speedtouch

The point is, the BBC could (probably) afford to film TG in HD, but the audience for the broadcasting of HD is very small in this country. As long as we have Topgear, SD is fine thanks.

I don't think the filming is the problem, its the lack of audience and the cost of encoding it all, I believe most of the cameras the BBC use now are HD, except for the cameras in the cars maybe and the small ones they use during the challenges.

[upyourego]

The BBC is VERY QUICKLY moving towards HD across the board. I think it's the case that any NEW commission (not new series of an older show) has to be filmed in HD. Even local news stations use low end HD capable cameras for stories.

Older shows are also now starting to move towards HD and I agree with AJ88 - I think Series 12 will probably be HD - Series 13 at the latest.

As for in car cameras - HD is getting smaller and cheaper all the time and there are a lot of small HD cameras already in the BBC.

A lot of the web teams around the country use the Sony A1 for producing web content and that's capable of 1080i.

http://www.sony.co.uk/biz/view/ShowP...site=biz_en_GB

[sns2015]

I think we'll be seeing TG in HD sooner than we think. During the polar special, they were using what appeared to be Sony HDR-HC3's or similar for their in-car cameras. TG currently just uses smaller consumer DV cams suction-cupped to the windshield or dashboard for in-camera, so it wouldn't cost that much to simply replace those with one of the cheaper Sony HDV consumer cams like they did for the polar special. Top Gear can easily go HD, as was proven with the special, but I believe its the studio that needs to be upgraded in order for it to happen with the regular show. I remember hearing in one of the other "Is TG in HD?" threads that they already shoot all the car reviews in HD, its just that the studio cameras and editing equipment isn't HD yet and that it would be prohibitively costly to replace all of that. I would think that the BBC would make Top Gear in HD a bit more of a priority considering its one of the most watched shows in the world.

[ninja-lewis]

I also think Clarkson (or maybe Andy Wilman) mentioned that they couldn't use their filters (see the Ford Focus review) with HD cameras at the time and hence couldn't achieve their 'trademark' look? Plus I think someone else mentioned that it'd take longer to edit the show using existing HD equipment and so they would've had to film the studio segments earlier in advance. Of course, things may have moved on and these problems have been overcome.

Edit: I also seem to remember that they had problems with finding cameras that could cope with the cold for the Polar Special and the ones they did use were only HD hence why they made in HD?

[Mr-Stabby]

I think the problem with using cameras like the Sony A1 for the in-car stuff is that i hear that the BBC refuse to accept HDV as an acquisition format in their top broadcast programmes. Probably due to the fact that it's not true 1080 HD in that it only records 1440x1080 as opposed to proper 1920x1080. Plus it's heavily compressed. In fact i've used a lot of 1080 HDV cameras, and i think the best quality i've ever seen from a HDV camera is from the JVC ProHD range, and they are only 720p. I still wouldn't call them broadcast quality though, not for Top Gear certainly, and the JVC is way too big anyway. I think probably the best smaller cameras they could use in the in-car shots are one of those Panasonic ones with the P2 cards that can record in DVCPRO HD. Though the media to record onto is stupidly expensive.

Surely anything has to be better than those awful in-car cams Top Gear use at the moment. You have to admit they are really bad quality, and occasionally out of focus and blurred generally. For a programme with such high production values, they really do let the show down sometimes. Looking at much older Top Gear episodes, the quality of the in-car shots were so much better.

[Dsemaj]

Originally Posted by Mr-Stabby

Looking at much older Top Gear episodes, the quality of the in-car shots were so much better.

Yeah, I think they used the bigger cameras with cameramen in the passenger seat more often, earlier on in the series.

[Shawn]

^ I think they still do that sometimes. I don't remember what, but I was watching a clip from series 7 or 8, and Jeremy makes a reference to the cameraman who is having a hard time holding his camera steady.

[WillDAQ]

Here's your answer....

I quiver when I am told that we are going to be shooting the next series of Top Gear on HD.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/columnists/hammond/

[Viper007Bond]

Originally Posted by WillDAQ

Here's your answer....


http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/columnists/hammond/

Oh shit!

[Mr-Stabby]

Originally Posted by Dsemaj

Yeah, I think they used the bigger cameras with cameramen in the passenger seat more often, earlier on in the series.

Yeh it looks so much better when they do that. Ok obviously they can't get fully fledged camera people in an Arial Atom or anything like that, and i suppose the long haul trips and the races can't have cameramen in because of the weight and of course it's a LONG trip. But nothing to say they can't get better cameras in.

Great news about HD though, finally something my HD box is worth using for