These are exciting times for television. The device that John Logie Baird
first knocked together out of a washstand and a tea chest now comes in
plasma, LCD and Jumbotron; it's beamed to us down phone lines, over the
internet, from space; it comes in High-Definition, Super Hi-Vision and even,
if BBC boffins have their way, in 3-D.
And now, from the unlikely bedfellows of BBC and ITV, comes a really Big Idea:
it's called Freesat.
Strangely little is officially known about Freesat. Even its rumoured launch
date of this Tuesday has never been officially confirmed, despite being, ooh
- no rush guys, grab another latte - just a few days away. There has so far
been no marketing, and no hype campaign. Its own official website still
merely talks of a “spring 2008” launch. Specifications for receivers have
appeared on the websites of John Lewis and Comet, only to be removed a
couple of days later. Strain your ears: the strange sounds accompanying this
mysterious disappearance might just be of a gun being jumped, followed by
the slapping of wrists.
And yet, Freesat promises to be the biggest thing since Freeview. For though
Freeview has been a runaway success, available now in 15 million households
throughout Britain, a quarter of the population lives in areas without
reception; a huge problem given that analogue through-theaerial TV will be
switched off altogether by 2012. Freesat, by contrast, will be almost
universally accessible to anyone prepared to pay the one-off equipment fee.
But the thing that will have everyone talking is that Freesat, unlike
Freeview, has the space to take new channels, including that much-touted
invention, High Definition or HD TV.
HD TV has been the subject of hype and wonderment ever since Planet Earth
showed how sharks looked in super-slo-mo, but still fewer than one in 20 of
you can receive it. So, for the uninitiated, is it worth it? Will its
inclusion on Freesat be enough to get us to chuck out our Freeview boxes and
join the space race?
After two years of watching HD on Sky, there's no doubt that natural history
programmes benefit hugely: it's like the difference between IMAX and normal
cinema. And as for football, you can see every blade of grass, every
spectator. The only danger is that you can miss a goal while scanning the
crowd for faces you've seen on Crimewatch, or that employee who called in
sick on match day.
And then half-time is a problem. You become hypnotised by the scar on Alan
Hansen's forehead, by the individual hairs on Alan Shearer's balding pate,
by the beads of sweat pricking from their uncomfortably suited bodies. The
Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys famously suffered so many chants of
“werewolf” from fans after the 2006 launch of HD TV that he returned for the
next season with his hands curiously bare.
The truth is, just as most people don't look that great in real life,
especially with a thousand watts of studio lighting stuffed up their
nostrils, nor do they look that great in HD. There's a whole new argot to
cover the trend in America, with HD website TV predictions running regular
top tens of High-Def Honeys (Angelina Jolie is the overall recent winner, if
you must know), and the launch of a make-up range called Blu-ray (after the
HD DVD player).
As for make-up, there have been countless stories of terrified presenters
demanding extra slap, though the truth is, says the BBC's Head of HD, Seetha
Kumar, “that less is more, as the HD cameras will pick it up”. With
wonderful circularity, the only solution, and one employed by the more
demanding US TV stars, is digital airbrushing - “the greatest use of
technology to counter technology”, as BeyondSatire website puts it, “since
the snooze alarm neutralised the alarm clock”.
Traditionally, we like movies and TV to sell us dreams, to weave delicious
fictions - not to magnify imperfection. There were two great technological
innovations at the birth of film that helped to create stars: Vaseline to
smear on the camera lens and, when that wasn't available, filming through a
stocking.
So why put everyone through it? It's the same impulse that drove cinema to
experiment with Technicolor or Cinemascope, getting increasingly desperate
in the Fifties with 3-D and Smell-o-vision and Hypnovision: the threat of
being rendered obsolete by a new medium. Then it was television; now it's
the internet, with young viewers preferring their entertainment fixes in
attention-span-friendly doses on YouTube.
That's why even HD won't be the end of it. The BBC made a test broadcast of
the Six Nations rugby in HD 3-D, and plans to do the same with Formula One.
“3-D is still very much at the research stage” is the official Beeb line,
with Sky saying that “using our high bandwidth satellite network for
broadcasting in 3-D is something we have been exploring for some time”.
Again, it's something Hollywood has been resurrecting of late. The director
of the forthcoming Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D says he had to
re-edit scenes to make them longer, so fascinated were preview audiences by
the rich hyper-realism of its subterranean landscapes.
The next jewel in the BBC's crown to go HD is EastEnders, which will require a
move to Pinewood and new sets, or else you'd see the sticky-back plastic
holding the walls together. But hang on - 'Stenders is not “real”, and all
the better for it. If I wanted reality, I'd head out to the East End, cover
my head with a hood, and sit on a park bench drinking cider. As for
Casualty, which will follow, do we really want heart ops spraying blood
across our screens in livid HD? Just be thankful they haven't yet perfected
3-D.
Kumar, head of BBC HD, laughs at this, but her passion for HD is in earnest:
programme-makers, of whom she was once one, will learn, will grow, and if
initial techniques don't suit the dramatic material, they will change. But
Strictly Come Dancing certainly looked gorgeous in HD, she says, as does
that BBC staple, the costume drama.
And it's a serious investment: HD requires different cameras, film, editing
suites, let alone more realistic props and costumes. Both Kumar and Sky's
Hilary Perchard are proud of their investment in this infrastructure, of
working with production companies to make the changeover. But it has some
unforeseen complications. When BSkyB introduced HD into Ross Kemp in
Afghanistan, Kemp commented of the bulky and expensive cameras that it was
“like taking a Ferrari on to the battlefield”.
Either way, the message is clear: ready or not, here it comes. The BBC makes
15 per cent of its programmes in HD, and aims to make all its prime-time
programming in HD by 2010. BSkyB, which already broadcasts 12 separate HD
channels, says the main driver by far is sport, but also points out that the
audience for SkyArts has increased by 200 per cent since it went HD. It
recently announced a £10 million investment in original HD dramas, such as a
third Terry Pratchett adaptation.
In truth, this is a rare case of supply coming first, and demand later. Until
two years ago, no one in the UK had heard of HD, let alone demanded it. But
there are two more reasons why programme-makers are going HD: America, which
has had HD since 1998, will no longer buy British programmes that are not in
HD; and the Government is determined to get us all on to digital by 2012, so
it can get on with selling the space freed up to the highest bidder. If HD
can help the public love digital, so much the better.
And it seems to be working. HD, apparently, is better than sex: a recent
survey of 2,000 Comet customers indicated that 47 per cent of men would go
without for six months to get a 50in plasma TV. More seriously, an Ofcom
report found that 43 per cent of HD subscribers were watching noticeably more
television than previously. And the Olympics and Euro 2008, which the BBC
are filming in HD, will surely provide a powerful incentive to switch.
But though there are now an estimated 8 million HD-ready TV sets in British
homes, fewer than a tenth of those are receiving HD, and many viewers remain
confused over how to go about it. So if you want the sharpest sporting
action, the most breathtaking nature documentaries, or just to see your
television heroes presented literally warts and all, follow our HD Q&A.
High-definition explained
What is FreeSat?
As if things weren't confusing enough, there are two rival services with the
same name. They are: Freesat from Sky. This subscription-free service is run
by BSkyB, which does little to promote it, preferring to market its
value-added subscription services. You can get box, mini-dish and
installation for a simple one-off fee of £150 (existing Sky subscribers who
want to convert can keep their existing equipment, and need only pay £20 for
a new viewing card). But though there are “more than 200 channels”, a lot of
them are very niche, and it lacks SkyOne, E4, any HD channels, and many
other key channels offered on Sky's subscription service.
www.freesatfromsky.co.uk
Freesat from BBC/ITV. Expected to launch officially this week, it's a similar
project to Freeview, except on satellite - so it has 98 per cent UK coverage
and can broadcast HD programmes. The channel line-up is still under wraps,
but it is expected to offer 80-plus channels and radio stations versus
Freeview's 44, including BBC and ITV HD with more HD channels to follow.
Installation costs £100, with a standard-definition box costing £50 and an
HD box costing £150. There is no subscription fee thereafter.
www.freesat.co.uk
What is HD TV?
HD provides a sharper, more life-like image on your television, using twice as
many horizontal lines - just as in the cinema 70mm film used to give a
sharper picture than 35mm or 16mm. www.bbc.co.uk/hd
How do I get HD?
Because HD signals carry a lot more information they take up a lot more space,
or “bandwidth”. As a result they cannot be received on terrestrial
television or Freeview (except after 2009/10, and even then just four
channels requiring new equipment). You will need a satellite or cable
provider, and the correct equipment (see below).
Who can I get HD from?
The satellite company BSkyB is the leading HD provider. It offers 12 dedicated
HD channels and, according to new figures released this week, it has 465,000
HD subscribers. The Sky HD box costs up to £250 including installation, and
has a £10 a month subscription of top of other charges. www.sky.com
The cable company Virgin Media (formerly NTL/Telewest) offers HD, but with
fewer channels (BBC HD, and TV and films on demand). The V+ box needed to
receive it currently costs £75 including installation, and has a £5 a month
subscription for M and L packages, on top of other Virgin Media subscription
charges. Different packages are available. www.virginmedia.com
A joint consortium of BBC and ITV is expected to launch Freesat this week. It
will initially carry just BBC and ITV HD, but other HD channels are tipped
to join in a few months, including C4 HD when its BSkyB contract runs out in
autumn. It is subscription-free, but the HD box will cost about £150 (a
non-HD box is £50), plus a £100 installation charge. Suppliers include John
Lewis and Comet. www.freesat.co.uk
Tiscali also provides 60 digital TV and radio channels, plus 1,000 films and
many of the most popular TV programmes available on demand. However, it has
at present no HD channels. Installation is free, with a subscription on top.
www.tiscali.co.uk
What equipment will I need?
A TV set that is marked “HD Ready”, as most recent models are. HD Digital box:
usually supplied by your service provider (see above). Satellite dish or
cable connection, usually installed by your service provider (see above).
HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) cable. An ordinary SCART lead
will not do. Home cinema equipment optional - though it's the best way to
hear the HD programmes that are recorded with cinema-style “surround-sound”.
