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HD Ready viewers expect HD TV on Freeview - joint release from BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five (30/11/2006)

Successful first trial of high definition services on digital terrestrial platform reveals HD ready households expect HD on Freeview in the future

Encouraging findings from the UK's first ever trial of high definition (HD) television over the digital television platform (DTT) were issued today by the joint trial broadcasters BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five.

The trial, which set out to prove that HD broadcasts over DTT were feasible and investigate their appeal to viewers, was a technical success.

And quantitative research amongst the panel homes indicated that HD ready viewers expect high definition broadcasts on Freeview in the future.

The four broadcasters have been running the trial since June 2006 to a small closed sample group of 450 selected households in the London area, under a non-operational licence from Ofcom.

High definition provides a step change in television technology which produces clearer and more detailed pictures than normal standard definition TV.

In a report published today, the broadcasters have outlined feedback from the sample group, all of whom were issued with a prototype HD set top box that could also receive Freeview broadcasts.

Nearly all (98%) triallists stated that it was important to have HD services on Freeview (the UK DTT platform) in future, with 86% of those surveyed expecting to see these services within three years.

And nine out of ten (90%) believed that the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five (together the public service broadcasters - PSBs) should be at the forefront of HD developments.

When asked about which programme genres would benefit most from being broadcast in HD, wildlife and sport lead the way with scores of 9.4 and 8.9 out of 10 respectively.

Triallists also, on average, felt that there should be at least six or seven channels of HD content available on Freeview, with an ideal of 10.

Overall, the experience of DTT HD exceeded most triallists' expectations, with all but 5% reporting that it looked as good as or better than they had hoped.

Charles Constable, Director of Strategy, Five, said: "This is a landmark collaboration between the leading UK broadcasters.

"All of us are exploring the possibilities for HD programming, and this trial set out to eliminate technical concerns about HD on Freeview and establish demand for services.

"Both of these objectives were achieved."

Seetha Kumar, Head of HD TV, BBC, said: "It's clear even from this small trial that audiences increasingly expect us and the other major broadcasters to offer high quality HD programming on Freeview in the future.

"All triallists experienced our HD programmes first hand. Many of them liked what they saw, and wanted more of it.

"We would like to be able to provide that level of quality to Freeview viewers, alongside other platforms, in years to come."

Simon Fell, Director of Technology, ITV Consumer, said: "Technically, the trial has more than fulfilled our expectations.

"With the help and co-operation of our transmission partners and the consumer electronics industry, we have conclusively demonstrated that HD services can run effectively alongside standard Freeview broadcasts.

"All major technical hurdles are behind us, and collectively we can focus on potentially providing services for the forecasted sales of 10 million flat screen TVs by 2010."

Jonathan Thompson, Director of Strategy & Research, Channel 4, said: "Both the broadcasters and Government need to ensure the ongoing strength of the DTT platform as we approach switchover.

"The trial has raised important questions about how the platform needs to evolve in order to support the delivery of the HD services required to ensure its future appeal."

Programmes from all four broadcasters featured in the trial, including Planet Earth, Bleak House, Poirot, the 2006 World Cup, Desperate Housewives, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Later with Jools Holland.

The broadcasters have worked with the Digital Television Group, set top box manufacturers Humax and ADB (Advanced Digital Broadcast) and transmission companies National Grid Wireless (NGW) and Arqiva.

Playout providers were Red Bee Media and Grass Valley (Thomson).

Siemens Business Services provided technical support for the BBC.

TNS handled triallist research. Notes to Editors

The broadcasters

The BBC

The BBC's trial DTT HD broadcasts mirror its current HD trial on satellite and cable.

It has included some of the BBC's best sport, documentaries, drama and musical performances, such as the BBC's World Cup coverage, major Wimbledon matches, dramas Robin Hood, Torchwood and Bleak House, stunning natural history series Planet Earth and concerts from The Proms to Beyonce Live at the BBC.

ITV

ITV provided a range of content for the trial, including its share of the 2006 World Cup matches alongside drama such as Agatha Christie's Poirot specials Death on the Nile and Murder in Mesopotamia, documentaries such as Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Adventures and classic films including All Quiet on the Western Front The Big Sleep and the Space 1999 series, restored from 35mm film to HDTV format as part of Granada's ongoing archive restoration process.

Channel 4

Channel 4's HD trial broadcasts included hit US drama Desperate Housewives, classic FilmFour films and home-grown commissions from drama, history, science and entertainment.

Five

Five's contribution to the trial included episodes of popular US series CSI and House, plus commissioned programmes such as Tim Marlow at MOMA and movies such as Cocktail.

Trial methodology

The trial sample of 450 homes were volunteers recruited through publicity, and selected based on three basic criteria.

First, a postcode checker was used to ensure respondents were within the expected London reception area.

Second, the triallists needed to already own their own HD Ready TV sets, as these were not provided as part of the trial.

Third, all triallists already had to have DTT installed in their homes, which maximised the chance they would be in a good DTT reception area.

Research agency TNS also captured a spread of homes with different HD screen sizes, to investigate the difference that screen size made on appreciation of HD.

Feedback from the trial was captured in two ways. Online questionnaires were used to ask detailed questions about triallists' experiences of HD, and their opinions and expectations for HD in the future.

Three waves of research were conducted between June and October 2006.

Triallists were also encouraged to post their views online on a forum set up for the trial, enabling triallists to give feedback at any point they liked, and also giving them access to information about the trial including programme schedules from the broadcasters.

The trial suppliers

ADB

Advanced Digital Broadcast provides a range of high-quality products and services to the digital television market worldwide and has deployed more than seven million set-top boxes since 1997.

ADB is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland with main offices in Poland and Taiwan and representation in eight other countries around the world including the UK.

Arqiva

Arqiva has a 50-year history in transmission and has helped pioneer the technologies of the digital age.

The company's Terrestrial Media Solutions division provides national transmission for UK commercial television including ITV, Channel 4, Five and associated digital multiplexes, and is playing a leading role in the digital switchover.

Transmission services are also provided to the vast majority of UK independent radio stations, both analogue and digital.

Humax

Humax is one of the world's largest manufacturers of digital set-top boxes, exporting its products to over 90 countries across the globe.

The company is a leading supplier of high quality, feature-rich digital TV products, including Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) and HD-Ready Integrated Digital TVs.

The company headquarters and R&D facility are based in Korea, with offices in Dubai, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US.

NGW

National Grid Wireless is a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Grid and one of two UK providers of terrestrial infrastructure for the transmission of analogue and digital television and radio broadcasts in the UK.

National Grid Wireless has a strong position in the growing digital television market, owning two of the six digital terrestrial television licences and providing infrastructure services to all the Freeview channels, the BBC and BSkyB.

NGW is also the leading independent provider of infrastructure to the mobile telecommunications operators in the UK.

Red Bee Media

Red Bee Media provides the distribution and promotion of multimedia content, offering a comprehensive range of services to playout, publish, promote and provide media access for content across all media, from television to mobile phones.

Red Bee Media is owned by Creative Broadcast Services, which is in turn owned by Macquarie Capital Alliance Group (65%) and Macquarie Bank (35%).

Siemens

Siemens Business Services is an international leading IT service provider.

This Siemens Group offers services all along the entire value chain - from consulting to systems integration, right through to the management of IT infrastructures.

Siemens Business Services is among the top ten providers of outsourcing worldwide. With around 39,000 employees, the Group posted sales in fiscal 2005 (ending 30 September 2005) of EUR 5.4 billion, 75% of which was achieved outside the Siemens organisation.

Thomson

Thomson's Systems and Equipment division develops video and film technologies, products and services sold to all major Hollywood studios, all major television, satellite, and cable broadcasters under the Grass Valley brand-name for the delivery of analogue and digital entertainment.

The division also includes Thomson's Access Platforms and Gateways Business, which develops technologies and products for broadband and telecommunication networks to deliver digital entertainment and data to consumers and businesses.

The Group includes the Technicolor, Grass Valley, RCA and Thomson brands.

TNS

TNS is a market information group.

It is the world's largest provider of custom research and analysis, a leader in political and social polling and a major supplier of consumer panel, media intelligence and TV and radio audience measurement services.

TNS operates across a global network in over 70 countries, allowing it to provide internationally consistent, up-to-the-minute and high quality information and analysis.

www.bbc.co.uk/hd
www.itv.com/hd