Top Gear to go HD!




No but to be honest, this is fantastic news! I can't wait! :thumbsup:
 
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Have been waiting for this for ages =)

And nati, i got a 500gb just laying around, want it? ;)
 
I've got a few hundred free GB ready for this too. Will try and get the HD version from iPlayer when it goes on. :D
 
Do they even stream 1080p or HD?
My guess: A proper 720p version @2,2 GB should look pretty good and be small enough for storage. I'll still go for the 1080p version ;-)
 
Argh, I hate it when other countries get HD programming while here it's still considered witchcraft! Not that I won't be watching this
 
Do they even stream 1080p or HD?
My guess: A proper 720p version @2,2 GB should look pretty good and be small enough for storage. I'll still go for the 1080p version ;-)

They stream HD, and they let you download it to your iPlayer desktop. I have also found a bit of software that allows me to download said HD streams without any protection, in H.264 format.
 
Why should they do encodes with ten fps more than the BBC broadcasts first place? Just asking.

Keep forgetting the Euro standards are 50fps, not the U.S. ATSC 60fps for 720p...so they shouldn't. :)

But regarless they'll half framerate them more often than not simply to save file size, so it's just as likely they'll be 720p25fps at 1.5Mbps which is a shame to a degree.

Yes I understand not everybody has huge internet pipes and fat storage, but I hope and pray that somebody will do a full broadcast release or at least a very good full frame rate, no less than half-bit rate release. The 5Mbps 720p encodes of normal HD stuff just isn't cutting it for me.
 
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Won't BBC be airing this at 1080i? And I hope the scene does a better job than that 1080p polar special. It doesn't play nice with my WD TV HD player and I'm guessing it has something to do with that funky anamorphic HD 16:9-format with non-16:9 width-height ratio.

What was wrong with, oh I dont know.. normal HD?? :(
 
Will this site still have the normal rips for people without enough space for HD ones?

There are quite a lot of us without sufficient space/speed for the HD episodes. Even if there aren't "official" ones, I'm sure there will be a lot of talk and sharing of smaller files.
 
Yeah-Oh cock, I just hope I don't use up all the broadband. And if I have enough space for them (actually I think i've got about 40GB left on there, so it should be alright, if I don't download anything else like QI, Mock the week, Formula One, HIGNFY etc.)

Will there be 700MB rips still available?
 
Viper said:
We?ll be doing our best to provide 700MB (SD), 720p, and 1080p rips for each episode. The HD rips will likely take a bit longer to release though, so don?t expect them as quickly as we release the current resolution rips.
 
Brilliant news! I've just bought a 63 inch 1080p TV, and watched the Top Gear Polar Special on Bluray, and it was spectacular. To have all of Top Gear in HD will be top notch :D

Though recently haven't they reduced the bitrate of the BBC HD channel? People have been complaining about the quality of BBC HD because of it. I haven't watched anything on it since i haven't got my HD Sky box yet.
 
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