Probably no TG HD this series

[upyourego]

There's a post on the BBC Internet Blog from the person responsible for the BBC HD channel and she is responding to a question about Top Gear in HD.

This is what she said:

"We showed Top Gear's Polar Challenge in HD; let me know if you caught it. And of course, I'd love to show the series. Who wouldn't? Our team has discussed this and we're talking to Top Gear to understand the specific production challenges."

Now I'm reading this as - yes we'll be putting TG in HD soon but it doesn't sound like it will be ready for June 15.

Oh and she also mentions F1

"Regarding F1, we hope that this will be available in HD as soon as possible within our new contract, but this depends on demand from other international broadcasters as well as from us."

So - yes the BBC want it but if other broadcasters (host broadcasters) don't then there isn't much the BBC can do about it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcintern..._feedback.html

[ChaoZ]

If the show is shot in HD, then it can still make it for June 15. I was under the impression that it wasn't.

[Cobol74]

Bugger, rats, sod it, I want my licence fee back - no I want my TG in HD!!!!! That Polar Challenge was superb in HD.

[aaurora]

Really stupid question - can I only watch TG in HD (the Polar challenge, for example) if I have a HD tuner?

[Hidden_Hunter]

Originally Posted by aaurora

Really stupid question - can I only watch TG in HD (the Polar challenge, for example) if I have a HD tuner?

no you can watch it on your computer in HD or if you've got an xbox 360 or ps3 connected to a HDTV you can (you might need to convert the file format) watch it also.

[prizrak]

Originally Posted by ChaoZ

If the show is shot in HD, then it can still make it for June 15. I was under the impression that it wasn't.

They can always just upscale it to HD. Hell you could probably find software that would do it for you on the PC.

[upyourego]

There are very strict controls over quality within BBC HD so I doubt they would let it go out upscaled - they'd want the whole thing shot using HD cameras which adds huge amounts to the post production time.

[aaurora]

Originally Posted by Hidden_Hunter

no you can watch it on your computer in HD or if you've got an xbox 360 or ps3 connected to a HDTV you can (you might need to convert the file format) watch it also.

oh, thank you I've got another question, if you care to answer - yesterday I purchased a HD Plasma. With the TG that I download from the FTP's, for example, the Polar Special, will I be able to watch this on my tv in HD (after burning to dvd)?

[Aston Martin]

The BBC HD freeview service is coming out in November, it should be by then.

[Viper007Bond]

Originally Posted by aaurora

oh, thank you I've got another question, if you care to answer - yesterday I purchased a HD Plasma. With the TG that I download from the FTP's, for example, the Polar Special, will I be able to watch this on my tv in HD (after burning to dvd)?

No, DVD is SD (standard definition). You'd either need a Blu-ray burner and a Blu-ray player (both are decently expensive) or you just go the easy route and hook your computer directly up to your TV.

Also, unless your computer is pretty new (like less than a year old), it probably won't be able to play back the 1080p version, only the 720p version.

Still though, the 720p version looks rather good.

[Cold Fussion]

if you have a decent graphics card (g92/g94 based 8800/9800 series or a HD2600xt/Hd3850 etc) it will decode 1080p fine. A core 2 duo should decode 1080p fine as well.

[Viper007Bond]

Originally Posted by Cold Fussion

if you have a decent graphics card (g92/g94 based 8800/9800 series or a HD2600xt/Hd3850 etc) it will decode 1080p fine. A core 2 duo should decode 1080p fine as well.

Compressed 1080p video (x264) is reliant upon the CPU a lot more than the GPU AFAIK.

[Vette Boss]

Any decent dualcore chip will play 1080p, anything above 2.2ghz I'd say.

[Viper007Bond]

Originally Posted by Vette Boss

Any decent dualcore chip will play 1080p, anything above 2.2ghz I'd say.

2.4+ GHz for the best experience. I hear with only 2.2, you have trouble seeking.

[h-p]

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

2.4+ GHz for the best experience. I hear with only 2.2, you have trouble seeking.

My laptop with C2D T5500 (1,67 GHz) plays 1080p just fine.

[deephallow]

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

2.4+ GHz for the best experience. I hear with only 2.2, you have trouble seeking.

Depends, any C2D will play 1080p without problems, but i have my doubts if an AMD athlon X2 below 2.2 will be able to

[SileNceR]

my athlon 64 3000 @ 2.13ghz could run 1080p but had big time input delays for play, pause etc... that was on vista too so it's not impossible just not as friendly.

I don't doubt my current machine (Q6600, 8800GT, 4GB 1066 RAM) would wolf down more than one 1080 feed at once.

[ninja-lewis]

Originally Posted by Aston Martin

The BBC HD freeview service is coming out in November, it should be by then.

Really? I thought there wouldn't be a freeview HD channel until after the Digital Switch Over if at all? Perhaps you mean the freesat service that just launched last week (which already has BBC HD)?