To celebrate the first high definition broadcast of The Ashes on Sky HD, and to raise money for some worthy causes, Sky will auction off five unique Sky+HD digiboxes hand-painted by legendary England cricketer Jack Russell MBE.
Jack picked four of his favourite Ashes moments for the first boxes, with the fifth being painted on 8th June as the first-ever Test match ball is bowled at Cardiff's Sofia Gardens.
Sky has decided that the best way to celebrate its high definition coverage of The Ashes is to produce a special remote control unit where all the buttons are rotated through 180 degrees.
This year's Ashes are the first to be shown in HD, with coverage starting on Wednesday 8th July exclusively on Sky Sports HD:
- 1st npower Ashes Test - Wed 8 - Sun 12 July
- 2nd npower Ashes Test - Thurs 16 - Mon 20 July
- 3rd npower Ashes Test - Thurs 30 July - Mon 3 Aug
- 4th npower Ashes Test - Fri 7 - Tues 11 Aug
- 5th npower Ashes Test - Thurs 20 - Mon 24 Aug
ESPN has been awarded the right to show 46 Premier League matches next season (2009-10) and 23 in the following three seasons (spanning 2010-13) following Setanta's broadcasting rights being revoked by the Premier League following non-payment.
To this end, Disney-owned ESPN has plans to launch a premium channel in the UK on Sky, Virgin and BT Vision. So far, Sky is the only deal that has been struck.
HD fans will be pleased to note that the channel will continue to broadcast those games in high definition. Five out of six of the Premier packages have been snapped up by Sky.
Meanwhile, Setanta has made it clear that it intends to continue offering its subscribers a complete service.
(Via Digital Spy)
The BBC's high definition channel is set for a range of sporting and musical entertainment this summer, with initial details being published today.
Three major sporting events will have high definition coverage, along with two musical feasts.
The Queen's Tennis Championship takes place from 8th-14th June, followed by Wimbledon from 22nd June-5th July.
The BBC Proms season begins on 17th July and runs right through to the Last Night spectacular on 12th September.
Glastonbury festival weekend is 26th-28th June, while the Athletics World Championships runs from 15th-28th August.
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.
Sky has filmed Usain Bolt running on a specially-designed 150 metre track using five 3D camera rigs and a total of ten HD cameras.
For the first time ever, one rig was mounted on a rail cam and tracked Usain's movement, stride by stride, along the whole of the track's length.
Brian Lenz, Sky's Head of Product Design and Innovation, said, "It's great for Sky to be involved in capturing another compelling piece of content in 3D, to add to the catalogue of events we've recorded so far - from Ricky Hatton's Manchester Homecoming fight last May to a live 3D broadcast of Keane last month, and even the UK's first 3D ballet. As part of our on-going research and development work, we're continuing to assess how 3D can work across a range of events and programming genres."
The footage will be shown in Odeon cinemas later this year.
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 |
The BBC has one again grabbed the US Masters golf tournament, covering the prestigious event from its start on Thursday 9th April to its climax on Sunday 12th April.
Viewers will be able to enjoy five hours of live coverage of the final day's action.
Great news for those able to get the BBC HD channel on Sky or Freesat, because a significant portion of the action will be broadcast on it.
The full schedule is below, with high definition content marked in bold:
Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.
Comedy
The usual trio of comedy continues tonight from 10pm on Channel 4 HD, with Shameless, The Big Bang Theory (11.05pm) and My Name is Earl (11.35pm).
Documentaries
Horizon (9pm, BBC HD) follows comedian David Baddiel has he surveys the latest scientific research on how parents can best educate their children. After examining unconventional approaches such as hot-housing maths prodigies and rewarding good grades with cash, Baddiel undergoes a simulation of what it is like to struggle at school and discovers the neurological basis for teenage truculence.
Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.
Documentaries
Darwin's Dangerous Idea (9pm, BBC HD) sees Andrew Marr looking at how the naturalist's theory has been used for more sinister practices such as justifying imperial expansion with the oppression of indigenous peoples, selective breeding in the United States and the Nazis' plans for an Aryan race.
Drama
In today's Doctors (6pm, BBC HD), Archie's adherence to the rule of patient confidentiality is stretched to the limit.
The BBC's coverage of last year's Beijing Olympic Summer Games has earned it a Television and Radio Industries Club (TRIC) 2009 award for HD Programme of the Year.
Two other programmes were also nominated for the award: Live at the Apollo and Tiger - Spy in the Jungle.
Interestingly, two other high definition shows also won awards for the BBC. Strictly Come Dancing won the TV Reality Programme award, while Lark Rise to Candleford won TV Drama Programme award.
TRIC Awards 2009 winners (via Press Gazette)
Related posts: Ofcom awards HD broadcast licences to Channel 4, S4C, ITV regions | Blu-ray Disc wins "Best Green Packaging" award | BBC Doctors sneaks into high definition
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.
Although I thought last year's Singapore Grand Prix was lit for high definition, there's interesting news to suggest that this year's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix could get the HD treatment.
As the seventeenth and final race of the Formula 1 season, taking part over the weekend of 30th October to 1st November 2009, it could prove a spectacular finale to the season, but it will depend upon F1 organisers and, in particular, Bernie Ecclestone.
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.
Comedy
Comedy from 10pm tonight on Channel 4 HD with Shameless followed by The Big Bang Theory (11.10pm) and My Name is Earl (11.40pm).
Drama
Damages continues at 11.35pm on the BBC HD channel. Patty pursues a case against a polluting company.
Mad Men continues on the BBC HD channel at 10pm. Peggy's family hosts lunch for a visiting priest.
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.
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.
Documentaries
The third part of Nature's Great Events (9pm, BBC HD) looks at The Great Migration, tracing the bleak outlook for a pride of lions and their cubs in the Serengeti, when the trek to fresh pastures by wildebeest and zebras begins. With David Attenborough.
Drama
Desperate Housewives continues on Channel 4 HD at 10pm. Wisteria Lane intrigue resumes as police arrest Porter over the fire at the night club, and Bree discovers Andrew's boyfriend is a gay porn star.
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