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BBC HD

(May 2011)

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HA
harshy Founding member
noggin posted:
harshy posted:
noggin posted:
harshy posted:

Well i tried T in the Park in 1920x1080i HD 4:2:2 looked stunning, but the data rate almost killed my hard disk.


That will have been a contribution circuit - which has to be much higher quality to ensure decent quality reaches the end user. Not designed to be viewed at home, but designed to ensure that quality to the viewer at home matches that of pre-recorded content delivered on tape (and soon file)


Well I just managed to watch it, but only just Smile


Hmm - I doubt it was massively more than 60Mb/s was it? That's less than 8MB/s... A normal, nothing special 3.5" USB 2 external hard drive usually delivers 20-30MB/s, and my nothing special Linux-based server happily runs at around 80MB/s over GigE using regular SATA 3 1TB and 2TB 3.5" desktop (not server grade) HDs.


Yeah well the signal comes into my box, but because its 4:2:2 I had to stream it via VLC to my PC over my home network.

Anything over 30mbps and I struggle to watch it.
NG
noggin Founding member
harshy posted:
noggin posted:
harshy posted:
noggin posted:
harshy posted:

Well i tried T in the Park in 1920x1080i HD 4:2:2 looked stunning, but the data rate almost killed my hard disk.


That will have been a contribution circuit - which has to be much higher quality to ensure decent quality reaches the end user. Not designed to be viewed at home, but designed to ensure that quality to the viewer at home matches that of pre-recorded content delivered on tape (and soon file)


Well I just managed to watch it, but only just Smile


Hmm - I doubt it was massively more than 60Mb/s was it? That's less than 8MB/s... A normal, nothing special 3.5" USB 2 external hard drive usually delivers 20-30MB/s, and my nothing special Linux-based server happily runs at around 80MB/s over GigE using regular SATA 3 1TB and 2TB 3.5" desktop (not server grade) HDs.


Yeah well the signal comes into my box, but because its 4:2:2 I had to stream it via VLC to my PC over my home network.

Anything over 30mbps and I struggle to watch it.


Ah - so not the hard drive causing the problem, but either the network or VLC not keeping up?

Don't know if there are DXVA solutions for 4:2:2 - think the old Elecard MPEG2 codec was 4:2:2 friendly and had some hardware acceleration? VLC now has some hardware acceleration on PCs - though not sure if it would help in this case.
NG
noggin Founding member
Ebeneezer Scrooge posted:

Any ideas what equipment they were using? I'm guessing they had a high bandwidth satellite link back to the BBC to keep the pictures clean, but it really was amazing how much better the picture quality was on this outside broadcast compared to most studio based programming, where contribution bandwidth shouldn't be an issue.


Pretty certain the main unit for Springwatch was a SISLive truck (not sure if from the ex-BBC OBs side or the 021 side). Sony HDC1500s (as used in every HD TVC studio) are their workhorses - and don't think this was any different - though if they bought them recently they may be the newer 1500Rs with an improved CCD front-end? If anything you'd have expected the pictures to be a little bit worse - as they were using radio cameras a lot for the studio (you could see them on Unsprung) so there was more compression in the way than you'd have with fibre to the truck (though it was a mix of fibre and radio cameras by the look of it)

Suspect the nice bright sunshine and fine detail in the country scenery made stuff look nicer than 'lit' studios and sets do, and also if you do a good job with the aperture correction/detail, gamma, matrix and knee set-up you can make pictures look lovely. The Sony's can look a bit noisy (which causes compression issues) - but it looked like they had no shortage of light.

Not sure who did the 'little' cameras - but they were cracking - best HD remotely controlled mini-cams I've seen. SISLive Special Cameras have a track record of doing very good stuff (stump cam, the diving and swimming cameras, yachting cameras, the boat race cameras etc.) but not sure it was them.

As for the backhaul to TVC - would have expected 60Mbs MPEG2 (as that is what the BBC officially mandate). However I think quite a few shows use a lower bitrate than this (getting that much capacity is not cheap, and in some cases not always possible, particularly if you need a reserve as well.)
HA
harshy Founding member
noggin posted:
harshy posted:
noggin posted:
harshy posted:
noggin posted:
harshy posted:

Well i tried T in the Park in 1920x1080i HD 4:2:2 looked stunning, but the data rate almost killed my hard disk.


That will have been a contribution circuit - which has to be much higher quality to ensure decent quality reaches the end user. Not designed to be viewed at home, but designed to ensure that quality to the viewer at home matches that of pre-recorded content delivered on tape (and soon file)


Well I just managed to watch it, but only just Smile


Hmm - I doubt it was massively more than 60Mb/s was it? That's less than 8MB/s... A normal, nothing special 3.5" USB 2 external hard drive usually delivers 20-30MB/s, and my nothing special Linux-based server happily runs at around 80MB/s over GigE using regular SATA 3 1TB and 2TB 3.5" desktop (not server grade) HDs.


Yeah well the signal comes into my box, but because its 4:2:2 I had to stream it via VLC to my PC over my home network.

Anything over 30mbps and I struggle to watch it.


Ah - so not the hard drive causing the problem, but either the network or VLC not keeping up?

Don't know if there are DXVA solutions for 4:2:2 - think the old Elecard MPEG2 codec was 4:2:2 friendly and had some hardware acceleration? VLC now has some hardware acceleration on PCs - though not sure if it would help in this case.


Well the other option is to record it but my harddrive in the box struggles with these type of feeds because the data is huge, so I have to stream it but it has to be 30mbps or under, unfortunately VLC is the only way I can watch it.
CY
cylon6
BBC HD is to become BBC2 HD!! Very Happy

From Broadcast:
Quote:
BBC HD/3D boss quits; BBC2 HD to launch

The BBC’s head of HD and 3D Danielle Nagler is leaving the corporation along with her two team members - and is not being directly replaced.

Meanwhile, the BBC HD channel is being converted into BBC2 HD.

Nagler will leave in September to join City law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner, while team members Ian Potts and Umme Ali depart the business at the end of the year.

Although Nagler said in February that there would be no BBC2 HD for at least two years, the corporation has decided to turn BBC HD into a channel simulcast. As a result, controller Janice Hadlow will take overall responsibility for this part of the job.

A replacement for the 3D elements of Nagler’s role will be announced in due course.

Nagler joined the BBC as a journalist in 1996, moving to Vision in July 2008. She was responsible for a series of developments including the launch of the BBC HD and BBC1 HD channels, as well as spearheading the corporation’s push into 3D, resulting in the first free-to-air 3D broadcast, of the Wimbledon finals, earlier this month. The broadcaster also recently revealed a push into original 3D content.

Roly Keating, director of archived content, paid tribute to her “tremendous” work. “Danielle has always played a very active role within the BBC, bringing to all her jobs a sharp strategic focus, a beady sense of humour and a can-do approach,” he said.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Danielle for the exceptional contribution she has made to the BBC, and to Vision in particular: her passion, intellect, energy and drive have made remarkable things happen here, and she’ll be much missed.”
DO
dosxuk
What does this mean for BBC3 / BBC4 HD content then?
VM
VMPhil
This is terrible news. No output for BBC3/4 content in HD.
DV
dvboy
I assume we'll see more BBC3/4 stuff repeated on BBC2 so that it can be shown in HD. Or programmes will go out on BBC2HD first.
MA
Markymark
VirginMediaPhil posted:
This is terrible news. No output for BBC3/4 content in HD.


It could be slotted in 00:30hrs to 06:00, I don't think we really need Pages from Ceefax in HD !
VM
VMPhil
It's a stupid idea. Yes there currently are clashes but scheduling better would sort that out, rather than having a whole simulcast of BBC Two with not all programming in SD.

I would have liked the addition of BBC Two HD to BBC HD, not as a replacement.
AC
aconnell
There is no clear advantage of this. I really fail to see the sense behind this measure. If you think of Family Guy in HD, as well as the series of 'Extraordinary Me' documentaries running this week on BBC Three, these attract a large, young audience who surely care about whether programmes are shown in HD. A retrograde step, just when the BBC made such a large one forward with trialling 3D Wimbledon.

Is anyone aware of when we will see BBC3 HD and BBC4 HD?
MA
Markymark
VirginMediaPhil posted:
It's a stupid idea. Yes there currently are clashes but scheduling better would sort that out, rather than having a whole simulcast of BBC Two with not all programming in SD. .


SD picture quality is dire, far better to have SD upscalled as it is on BBC 1, ITV 1, and C4.

VirginMediaPhil posted:

I would have liked the addition of BBC Two HD to BBC HD, not as a replacement.


Well I'm sure VM have the bandwidth for that, but DTT and D-Sat don't (without removing the vast amounts of crap channels on DTT).

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