2006 will see HDTV arrive in the UK

[Gregg Lengling]

After all the hype UK households will finally get a chance to experience high definition television (HDTV) next year. With some trial services already up and running major broadcasters are preparing to get in on the act.

HDTV promises improved picture and sound quality and will go hand-in-hand with the switch over from analogue to digital. The UK government plans to start shutting off the analogue signal in 2008, with the country going 100 per cent digital by 2012.

HD has attracted a wide range of media coverage and has been billed as a major watershed in the development of home entertainment on a par with the launch of DVD players. The industry is hoping that homes throughout the country will switch to digital TV and buy a widescreen, high definition television set to watch it on.

At the moment access to HD is limited to a handful of pilots and the showrooms of electrical retailers. Some TV on demand customers, for example, can access HD content if they have a compatible set.

But all that will change next year when the UK's two broadcasting heavyweights, the BBC and BSkyB, begin broadcasting in HD. Sky has already started shooting some of its sports coverage in the new format, ready for the launch early next year. Customers will be able to access films and flagship shows like 24 in high definition.

The BBC is also keen on HD, having put it at the heart of its vision to get the UK hooked on digital TV. By mid-2006 the state-funded broadcaster plans to have parts of its prime time schedule available to satellite and cable customers in HD. The Beeb's flagship series, Rome, has been shot in HD, as has the period drama Bleak House. It aims to have all of its programmes in HD by 2010.

"The time is right for the BBC to get involved in high definition," said the BBC's director of television, Jane Bennett. "High definition may take time to grow in Britain, but as with the other technologies we helped to build, the BBC wants to prepare now to be able to deliver the benefits of HD to all its licence payers in the long term."

As well as digital and satellite, HD is also available to cable customers. Telewest announced earlier this month that it was making some HD content available to a selected group of existing subscribers ahead of a wider roll out next year.

Despite the excitement surrounding HD the industry will still have some work to do convincing consumers to buy a compatible set and upgrade their subscriptions. With more than two thirds of households already watching digital TV, broadcasters will hope that current levels of enthusiasm for an improved television experience can be maintained.