After months of promotion to encourage people to make the jump to HD for this World Cup tournament, ITV HD made the mother of all blunders during England's showdown with the USA on Saturday.
Just minutes into the first half England took the lead from a Steven Gerrard goal. But those watching on ITV HD would not have had time to celebrate, as the channel cut to adverts during the moments it took for England to put the ball in the back of the net. To make matters worse, the transmission that then returned was in standard definition rather than high-def format for the majority of the game.
ITV HD's Adrian Chiles apologised for the problems at half-time, saying "apologies for those watching in HD. I believe there was some interruption in your coverage."
An official ITV statement puts the blame down to "human error" and a transmission problem from supplier Technicolor.
But ITV's problems didn't just affect the 1.5 million watching the match in HD. Glitches during the opener between South Africa and Mexico meant that some 90,000 struggled to follow ITV's online coverage of the game.
All the scrum crunching, drop kicking action of the 2010 6 Nations Rugby tournament will be broadcast in high-def, free of charge, thanks to Freesat HD and the BBC HD channel.
This year's 6 Nations rugby tournament will be broadcast on BBC HD from February 6th until the 20th of March, with Ireland and Italy squaring up in the first match.
It's a good year for Freesat HD-owning sports fans. They can also look forward to The World Cup on the BBC HD channel and ITV1 HD, as well as Winter Olympics, Golf Masters, Wimbledon, FA Cup and UEFA Champions league matches.
For more info, check out www.freesat.co.uk.
The first technical transmissions of Freeview HD have begun today.
The Winter Hill transmitter group is currently beaming broadcasts to select areas of Manchester, with the Crystal Palace group doing the same for pockets of London. They are the first in the world to adopt the DVB-T2 standard and MPEG-4.
James Jackson, BBC head of broadcast infrastructure carried out a demonstration live at the BBC Media Centre. Promotional cuts from BBC HD and ITV HD broadcast by the Crystal Hill group were displayed using brand new IDTV's manufactured by Sony and Panasonic. Both channels were fully incorporated into the Freeview electronic programme guide.
Though the BBC broadcast was the same as is currently available on Freesat, ITV's offering was currently just an upscaled broadcast of the ITV1 channel. ITV have committed however to broadcast most of their top peak programme scheduling in full HD as the service becomes more widespread.
The BBC hope to have a national coverage of 50% for Freeview HD in time for the 2010 World Cup, reaching its maximum 98.5% national coverage by late 2012. Channel 4 also hope to launch a Freeview HD channel in the new year, with as many as five other HD channels in the wings from the network.
For news of when your area will be receiving Freeview HD broadcasts, click here.
Freesat has announced that, from Wednesday 1st July, The Bill will be showing in high definition exclusively on the Freesat satellite platform.
The first episode -- "Conviction Cover-Up" -- starts a six-part series.
It follows a line of popular ITV dramas to get the HD treatment including Lewis and Law & Order UK.
It's a shame that these dramas are currently only (easily) available to Freesat users. Hopefully the advent of Freeview HD (or perhaps some better licensing agreements instead).
It's a big week of football next week, as Manchester United take on FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League final on Wednesday 27th May, and then Everton play Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday 30th May.
Both games will be available exclusively in high definition on the ITV HD channel, currently only readily available on the Freesat platform.
Perhaps Men Behaving Badly star Martin Clunes should be the celebrity face for promoting high definition in the UK, because he's certainly appearing in his fair share of HD programmes at present.
Hot on the heels of playing a rejuvenated Reggie Perrin (Friday nights, BBC HD), he's also been filming a three-part series trekking around Britain's islands.
Ahh, a four-day weekend beckons. Here's a look at some of the high definition highlights available across the UK channels this weekend.
Don't forget, you need Freesat in order to watch ITV HD, and either Sky or Freesat to watch BBC HD or Channel 4 HD.
Animation
Good Friday
10 April | Chicken Run
Classic Aardman Animations comedy with the voices of Mel Gibson, Julia Sawalha and Imelda Staunton | 4.20pm | BBC HD |
Good Friday
10 April | Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death
Follows the plasticine pair running their own bakery business. | 8.30pm | BBC HD |
Easter Saturday
11 April | Finding Nemo
Animated underwater comedy | 5.10pm | BBC HD |
Easter Saturday
11 April | Persepolis
Animated drama based on graphic novel of Marjane Satrapi. | 11pm | Channel 4 HD |
Replacing Wild at Heart which concluded last Sunday, Kevin Whateley returns as Lewis in a new four-part series, beginning next Sunday, 22nd March, 9pm on ITV HD.
ITV doesn't seem to boast about its high definition achievements, but this two hour drama is the latest in the line to get the HD treatment. The BBC is more prolific, but ITV is catching up.
It's a shame that it can only be enjoyed via Freesat, as that narrows down the audience who can enjoy it. Nevertheless, Lewis is a worthy addition to the format.
The first episode sees performances from, among others, Laurence and James Fox and Art Malik.
Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.
Comedy
That Mitchell and Webb Glimpse (9.45pm, BBC HD) is a fifteen-minute highlights programme from series two of the sketch show.
Drama
Doctors (6pm, BBC HD) sees Julia helping a distressed gypsy with a skin problem.
Law & Order: UK (9pm, ITV HD) sees a pensioner's grisly discovery forcing the retrial of a man found guilty of murder.
Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.
Documentaries
Nature's Great Events (9pm, BBC HD) looks at the annual flooding of Botswana's Okavango Delta, which turns miles of arid plains into waterholes. Millions of animals are drawn to the water, including herds of elephants and buffalo, zebra, giraffes, birds and vast clouds of dragonflies.
Drama
Doctors continues tonight at 6pm on the BBC HD channel. Jimmi gets involved in a student film.
Desperate Housewives continues at 10pm on Channel 4 HD. Susan and Edie find themselves locked in a basement.
Mad Men is repeated tonight at 11.20pm on the BBC HD channel. Don finds himself caught in the middle of marital issues between TV comedian Jimmy and his wife Bobbie. Meanwhile, Joan gets engaged.
There's also another chance to see Law & Order: UK at 10.35pm on ITV HD. The team look into the killing of a former vice cop after his body was found in an underpass.
Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.
Comedy
Shameless continues at 10pm on Channel 4 HD, followed by The Big Bang Theory at 11.10pm and My Name is Earl at 11.35pm.
Drama
Doctors (6pm, BBC HD) sees Lily's life in danger when she crosses paths with a hypochondriac.
In Mad Men (10pm, BBC HD), Don ends up at the police station after crashing his car.
In Damages (11.35pm, BBC HD), a suspect is arrested for the murder of Daniel's wife.
Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.
Comedy
The final part of The Green Green Grass airs tonight at 8.30pm on BBC HD, as Marlene receives shocking news when she plans to renew her marriage vows on her 40th wedding anniversary.
Documentaries
In Darwin's Dangerous Idea (9pm, BBC), Andrew Marr traces the development of evolutionary theory from its beginnings to the present day, showing how it has influenced virtually every area of modern life. He begins by exploring the impact of Charles Darwin's ideas on religion and morality, revealing why many Muslims, Jews and fundamentalist Christians still regard his theories as heresy.
Alternatively, on ITV HD at 9pm, Billy Connolly: Journey to the Edge of the World sees the comedian travelling on board a cruise ship from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the fabled Northwest Passage.
Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.
Documentaries
Nature's Great Events (9pm, BBC HD) follows the spectacular feeding frenzy that takes place along South Africa's east coast each winter when the greatest gathering of predators on the planet hunt down billions of sardines.
Drama
Doctors at 6pm (BBC HD) sees Ruth getting caught up in a waitress's struggle to deal with her oppressive relationship.
Desperate Housewives (10pm, Channel 4 HD) follows the inevitable competition when Bree meets Andrew's future mother-in-law for the first time.
Mad Men continues at 11.20pm on BBC HD. In the run-up to Easter, Peggy's family hosts lunch for a visiting priest. Don and Betty argue about parenting and the Sterling Cooper employees have to work overtime.
There's also another chance to see Law & Order: UK at 10.35pm on the ITV HD channel.
Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.
Documentaries
The final Who Do You Think You Are (10pm, BBC HD) follows Kevin Whately, who finds that business acumen runs in his family. Discovering his grandfather's fishing empire leads him back to an 18th-century turkey trader and on to the Bank of England and the Royal Exchange. Delving further, he discovers two brothers who helped fund the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War.
Drama
Heroes continues at 9pm on BBC HD. The heroes are forced to go on the run from one of their own.
Up against that, the new series of Law & Order: UK continues on ITV HD. The search for a teenage boy's killer leads to a defence strategy that challenges the whole nature of the British legal system.
Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.
Chat
Guests on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (10.35pm, BBC HD) include Sir David Attenborough, Emily Blunt and Clive Owen, with music from U2.
Comedy
Not Going Out continues at 9.30pm on BBC HD, as a new and noisy neighbour annoys Lucy. Will Tim and Lee rustle up the courage to complain to him?
Free Agents (10pm, Channel 4 HD): After Helen finds Alex sleeping in his car, his day gets even worse when their boss tells them that an old friend and rival agent has died, and that they must attend the funeral.
Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.
Comedy
The Green Green Grass reaches its penultimate episode tonight at 8.30pm on the BBC HD channel. Marlene has some of her old bric-a-brac valued when the Antiques Roadshow team visits Ludlow.
Documentaries
Billy Connolly: Journey to the Edge of the World (9pm, ITV HD) sees the comedian heading north to Baffin Island, home of the hardy Inuit, on his journey across Canada.
Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.
Comedy
Shameless continues at 10pm on Channel 4 HD. Karen and Jamie's relationship is shaken.
Drama
Damages continues tonight at 11.55pm on BBC HD. In Burn It, Shred It, I Don't Care, can Ellen lure Tom into making an illegal payment to a plaintiff?
Mad Men continues at 10pm on BBC HD. Don tries to get a comedian to apologise when a joke goes down badly at a promotional shoot.
Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.
Documentaries
Tonight's Who Do You Think You Are? (10pm, BBC HD) follows Zoë Wanamaker. Zoë knows that her American actor father Sam fled to the UK at the time of the anti-communist witch hunts in the 1950s, when she was three. But a visit to the FBI's Washington headquarters reveals the extent of the risk he would have faced had he stayed. In Chicago, Zoë finds out how a series of tragedies suffered by her grandfather Maurice, a Russian émigré Jew, may have influenced Sam's politics.
Drama
Series three of Heroes resumes tonight at 9pm on BBC HD. In A Clear and Present Danger, the heroes are trying to build new lives after the explosions at Pinehurst and Primatech.
Alternatively, there's a new series of Law & Order: UK (9pm, ITV HD) -- starring Bradley Walsh. A tragic death is uncovered during the evacuation of a hospital.
Being Human continues at 11.15pm on the BBC HD channel.
Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.
Comedy
The Green Green Grass continues on BBC HD at 8.30pm, as Boycie decides to write an autobiography as a future legacy.
Documentaries
In a new four-part series, Billy Connolly: Journey to the Edge of the World (9pm, ITV HD), the comedian sets off on an epic journey across Canada, by way of the fabled Northwest Passage.
Meanwhile, Channel 4 HD at 9pm shows Cutting Edge: Britain's Cojoined Twins: Hope and Faith. Eighteen-year-old Laura Williams and her husband Aled found themselves in the media spotlight after their cojoined twins, Hope and Faith, were delivered at Great Ormand Street Hospital in November last year.
Or, on the BBC HD channel at 9pm, Penelope Keith and the Fast Lady sees the actress retracing motoring pioneer Dorothy Levitt's 1905 journey from London to Liverpool.
Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.
Documentaries
A new four-part series begins tonight at 7pm on BBC HD. Richard Hammond's Engineering Connections looks at the "Super Jumbo" Airbus A380.
Tonight's Who Do You Think You Are? (9pm, BBC HD) follows chef Rick Stein as he sets out to explore the life of his father, a manic depressive who committed suicide in the 1960s.
Drama
Being Human continues at 10.30pm on BBC HD, as Mitchell befriends a boy and his mother.
After months of promotion to encourage people to make the jump to HD for this World Cup tournament, ITV HD made the mother of all blunders during England's showdown with the USA on Saturday.
digg this |
del.icio.us this
| 
Stumble It!
