Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.

Comedy

The first episode of the new series of Shameless is shown again tonight on Channel 4 HD at 11.05pm.

Films

Channel 4 HD is showing The Way Ahead (1.10pm), a Second World War drama starring David Niven.

Pick of the films across Sky tonight includes The Dream Team (11.40pm, Sky Comedy HD), Romancing the Stone (8pm, Sky Family HD), Saturday Night Fever (12.30am tomorrow, Sky Modern Greats HD), The Bourne Ultimatum (9pm, Sky Action/Thriller HD), The Insider (8pm, Sky Drama HD) and A Fish Called Wanda (6pm, Sky Screen 1 HD).

Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.

Comedy

Shameless returns for a new series on Channel 4 HD tonight at 10pm. The start of series six sees Ian hospitalised after being targeted by an unknown assailant.

The Big Bang Theory continues afterwards (11.05pm) followed by My Name is Earl

Films

Pick of the films across the Sky network includes The Nightmare Before Christmas (11.45pm, Sky Family HD), Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (10.10pm, Sky Modern Greats HD), Sleepless in Seattle (6pm, Sky Screen 1 HD) and The Fountain (5.15pm, Sky Sci-Fi/Horror HD)

Sport

There's live Premier League Football at 7.30pm (Sky Sports 2 HD) as Portsmouth take on Aston Villa.

Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.

Documentaries

A History of Scotland continues on BBC HD at 8pm. How a feud between the Stewarts and the Macdonalds developed into a cuyltural and linguistic divide between Scotland's Highlands and Lowlands.

Films

Brian Blessed and Dallas Howard star in a film adaptation of Shakespeare's As You Like It at 10.45pm on BBC HD.

Witness is a romantic thriller starring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis. Cop John Brook is assigned to protect Rachel Lapp, a member of the Amish community, when her son witnesses a murder. The trio flees to the Lapps's home, a rural refuge unchanged by modern technology.

Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.

Chat

The big news is that Friday Night with Jonathan Ross is back tonight at 10.35pm on the BBC HD channel. Whatever you think of him, you know it's going to be one to watch, not least because Tom Cruise is on the show along with Stephen Fry and Lee Evans, with music by Franz Ferdinand.

Comedy

Plus One (9.30pm, Channel 4 HD) continues. Rob convinces Laura to let him accompany her on an album cover shoot, where he meets model and aspiring singer Aimee.

Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.

Comedy

Two comedy shows on BBC HD tonight, with Life of Riley continuing at 8pm and The Green Green Grass at 8.30pm.

In Life of Riley, Jim decides to be best friends with Maddy's ex-husband Robbie, while The Green Green Grass sees a bored Marlene becoming rather keenly involved in charity work.

Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.

Documentaries

The second part of The Secret Life of Elephants is on the BBC HD channel at 9pm. Baby Elephant Breeze faces her toughest test as the dry season approaches, but her brother Buster seems determined to make things difficult. Elsewhere, African honey bees play a crucial part in stopping a marauding group of bull elephants.

Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.

Comedy

Two new comedies arrive again tonight on Channel 4 HD. Series two of The Big Bang Theory (11.05pm) sees Sheldon put in an uncomfortable position when Penny confides that her first date with Leonard was underwhelming.

That's followed by a repeat showing of series three of My Name Is Earl.

Documentaries

Nicholas Crane's Britannia: The Great Elizabethan Journey concludes tonight at 9pm on the BBC HD channel. This episode Crane traverses Ireland.

Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.

Comedy

The final Live at the Apollo (10.35pm, BBC HD) sees Russell Howard introducing Jo Brand.

The comedy continues at 10pm on Channel 4 HD with Plus One.

Documentaries

In Around the World in 80 Faiths, The Reverend Peter Owen Jones visits Africa and encounters voodoo, an apocalyptic church, and a utopian community of Rastafarians.

Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.

Documentaries

The Secret Life of Elephants begins tonight on the BBC HD channel at 9pm. It reveals the emotional and dramatic lives of elephants in Kenya's Samburu reserve.

As the day begins, there is great excitement in one elephant family when a new baby, named Breeze, is born. But her first few weeks look set to be the most dangerous of her life. Meanwhile, elephant experts Iain and Saba Douglas-Hamilton face the huge challenge of fitting a radio collar to a three-tonne female elephant with an entire herd looking out for her. Breeze faces her first big test, crossing a river, and the research team investigate when one of their best-known bull elephants is found dead in suspicious circumstances.

Back in the reserve, a young calf becomes injured and cannot keep up with his herd. His mother sticks with him, but will he survive without the support of a family? There is further tragedy when a matriarch dies. In unique footage, a herd of elephants visit her body, and appear to mourn her death.

It's fairly clear from comments on BBC Sports Director Roger Mosey's latest blog entry that Formula One won't be available in high definition, despite the BBC taking over the rights to show it from ITV this season.

It's worth noting that many F1 races aren't currently shot in high definition -- it's been a long enough time coming to get them in 16:9 widescreen format -- and therefore the BBC has little control over them. Singapore's night race was the first.

Many suggest that it's an issue with Bernie Ecclestone and the way that Formula One is currently run. Whatever the reasons, F1 won't be available on the BBC HD channel (in native HD at least) this season.

(Via the Join Freesat blog)

Here's a selection of the best high definition content available on UK TV today.

Arts

La Finta Giardiniera shows at 2pm on the Sky Arts HD channel.

Filmmaker Doris Dorrie produces a modern take on Mozart's Opera. The story of a labyrinth of pursuit, betrayal and love is played out in the surroundings of a modern garden centre.

At 10.40pm on Sky Arts HD, Deep Purple: Classic Albums shows:

Home to "Smoke On The Water", Machine Head is the definitive album of British heavy metal icons Deep Purple. Find out how this classic album was created, produced and performed.

Documentaries

First of three parts, Nicholas Crane's Britannia: The Great Elizabethan Journey airs tonight at 9pm on the BBC HD channel.

When William Camden's Britannia was printed in 1586, it staggered its Elizabethan readers. Nothing like it had been seen before. For the first time, the entire British Isles had been described in astonishing detail: the mountains and rivers, the history and customs, the climate and the people of each and every county. Britannia was an encyclopaedic tour of the whole country in a single book.

In this three-part series, Nicholas Crane rediscovers this 'lost' masterpiece as, on an epic 5000-mile hike, he battles the elements in search of Elizabethan Britain. He looks at England and Wales first.

More information

Fancy getting a high definition view of darts flying through the air on target for a one-hundred and eighty? If so, you're in luck as Sky Sports has announced that the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship 2009 will be screened in HD.

Coming from Alexandra Palace, London, coverage starts tomorrow, Friday 19th December, at 7pm.

Sky will utilise the "Flight Cam 1000", a super slow-motion camera that shoots at 1000 frames per second and will show each dart's flight path in amazing detail.

Every game during the 13 day tournament will be shown from 19th December 2008 until 4th January 2009.

Full details can be found at WorldChampionshipDarts.tv.

Sky can continue to commit to showing the best of England rugby union, with news that it has successfully won a five-year contract to show live matches from 2010 until the 2014-15 season.

Under the agreement it will be able to exclusively show all of England's non-RBS Six Nations home matches live, plus all away matches including summer tours in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

It will also be able to show England Saxons matches, Under-20s, Under-18s, and the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup.

Sky has announced extended high definition coverage of NFL games, following on from its Monday night coverage announced in August.

Starting on 6th November with the Denver Broncos at the Cleveland Browns, six Thursday night matches will be shown in high definition, plus the three matches being played on Thanksgiving Day (27th November), the wildcard, divisional and conference playoffs, and the Super Bowl XLIII next February.

Here's a full rundown:

• 6th November: Denver Broncos at the Cleveland Browns
• 13th November: New York Jets at New England Patriots
• 20th November: Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
• 27th November: Tennessee Titans at Detroit Lions,
• Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys,
• Arizona Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles
• 4th December: Oakland Raiders at the San Diego Chargers
• 11th December: New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears
• 18th December: Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars

Wildcard matches begin on the weekend of 3rd January 2009, with divisional matches following the next week, and the Conference Championships a week later.

• 1st February: Super Bowl XLIII - Tampa Bay

(Via Sky Sports News)

Reports suggest that the 2010 World Cup, being held in South Africa, will be available on Freeview in areas which have already switched over (most likely Granada, Wales, Scotland, and the West Country).

This isn't surprising given that both the BBC and ITV are already broadcasting select sporting events in high definition, and that the South African Broadcasting Company is ready to push out HD broadcasts.

(Via HD Report)

ITV has announced that Sony is the exclusive sponsor of the England football team's World Cup 2010 qualifying campaign, beginning tomorrow when they face Kazakhstan.

Over the next two year, all home qualification matches and away friendlies will see prominent Sony branding, as well as a full highlights package showing all of England's international fixtures.

Sony is keen to show off its new 200Hz BRAVIA TVs as the ideal partner to the live matches being shown on ITV HD exclusively via Freesat.

"The new 200Hz Bravia combined with the games being shown on ITV HD gives a new standard in image quality and enjoyment. Sony is proud to be supporting the English team and is behind the boys all the way," said General Manager of Marketing for Sony UK, Matt Coombe.

Eurosport, which launched its high definition channel during May, is expanding into new European countries.

It will now be available on Switzerland's Cablecom network, in both English and Italian languages.

Negotiations continue to bring Eurosport HD to other countries, including Germany.

(Via Rapid TV News)

Sky has launched its new marketing drive to promote the Ryder Cup, which it will be comprehensively covering with 100 hours of coverage, including 38 hours of live high definition.

As well as a dedicated web site, the TV ads are either 30 or 60 second clips of slow motion footage of all twelve European team players swings. See the video below, it's impressive.

The creative team used a Phantom high definition camera capable of filming at 6,000 frames per second, for amazing slow-motion effects.

(Via Creative Match)

Just as the World Cup did two years ago, this year's key summer sporting events have helped to boost adoption of high definition TV in Europe.

According to DEG Europe, one-third of European households will own at least one high definition TV by the end of the summer, though of course they may not be watching high definition content on it. That's thanks in part to the popularity of Euro 2008 and the Beijing Olympics.

Arqiva has announced that it has been instrumental in Sky's transition from standard definition to high definition broadcast of key international speedway events.

While Arqiva has been working with Sky for nine years, this is the first time that a number of significant events have been filmed and aired in HD, thanks in part to demand from customers in Eastern Europe.