[quote=“Bluejays1985, post:612, topic:279”]
It’s only the first day, let them have some time to get it all working properly. [/quote]
There was no point in making a big announcement, e.g. to a big audience at the end of Monday’s news, if there was no HD content. They could have transmitted test broadcasts on the channel to their hearts’ content and then announced it once they got it “working properly”.
ABC HD is now live
Posted 6th December 2016
_ _ ABC main channel is now available in (HD) HIGH DEFINITION. Viewers with HD compatible TVs (with MPEG4 functionality) will be able to experience ABC in spectacular HD, including this year’s New Year’s Eve fireworks.
Upscaled isn’t HD though it’s just a SD picture converted to play on an HD channel. It might offer a bit of clarity to the picture but it doesn’t create HD.
The twitter comments are gold. Not a single positive comment. Every single
Comment is “nothing in HD? It looks the same as SD. Massive fail abc - is this to drive us to murdochs sky news”
This must be a world first. A national broadcast network launching HD and airing not a single thing in HD
The FAQs simply say “shows delivered to abc In HD will air in HD” - but I wonder if abc has made any effort / will make any effort to commission shows in HD.
Drama, lifestyle, comedy, Doco etc
And whilst I didn’t expect all
The state newsrooms in places like Adelaide and Canberra to be HD from day one - I’m shocked flagship shows like abc news nsw, abc news Victoria, news breakfast, the drum, 7.30, late line etc are not in HD
What about studio based panel shows like the weekly?
I find it odd that you’re in a media enthusiast community telling people to essentially “get over it, it’s just TV”. Perhaps this place isn’t for you? I mean, people here are passionate about TV. The level of urgency for proper HD, for example, probably isn’t going to match reality.
Nope I never had a go at anyone. I’ve bee fine discussing the topic. If your going to assume that I’m having a go at anyway I’m not going to debate you because your statement is a lie. I’ve made my points about abc hd and its launch and have made my opinion and never once I had a go at anyone.
ABC you disappoint. Come NYE they better be in actual HD.
[quote=“SydneyCityTV, post:618, topic:279, full:true”]
Australia will probably see all 23 (including datacasts, based on the current status in the Sydney market) free to air channels running in HD…in approximately 2036.
[/quote]Hmm… that’s a little early isn’t it? The year 2100 is probably a little more realistic in my opinion.
I wonder why they didn’t just launch the hd channel on news year eve then.
Would have saved all the grief. I haven’t done a rescan on my computer yet. Will do it in the new year, hope to have some hd shows in hd from the abc by then.
Glad I’m not the only that didn’t notice an instant difference to the SD Feed. I was confused as to why there was no ‘HD’ logo like all their ads plastered everywhere prior to the launch. Switched back to SD and looked exactly the same. The watermark even still looks SD! Pretty poor efforts so far by the ABC with the underwhelming launch. I know not every program can’t be in HD straight away, but a resolution change to the watermark would of been at least an indicator. Oh well, at least they have an HD channel now (again). Hopefully the NYE Fireworks will be in true HD.
I mean, tax payers are footing the cost for whatever the ABC spends its money on. It’s not like Ten, which has no real accountability to us. If the ABC launches a service, it has to be justified by something.
Spending money promoting, readying and ultimately launching an HD channel needs to be a worthwhile expense. At this stage, I’m at a loss as to why the ABC wanted to launch an HD channel, when there was apparently no purpose. It’s even worse that it’s 2016, when most broadcasters globally are in HD, and at the same time the public broadcaster of a first world nation apparently doesn’t have the infrastructure for transmission of HD news, let alone any domestic or international programming…
This raises serious issues into exactly why the ABC chose to go down this route. Not happy.
I do hope ABC has HD content ready in 2017 that will make use of the channel worth while. HD News may take a bit longer, but let’s hope it happens sooner than later (i.e in a few years). So much excitement after delays for the ABC to say it would launch this year. But as you said, seems kinda pointless without the content.
It doesn’t even look like they’ve attempted to do any real sort of upscaling to improve the picture quality somehow… even though it is supposedly 1080i.
I disagree there - the SD channel picture is noticeably softer than the upconverted HD, but the ABC could have achieved that by just boosting the bitrate on SD.
This is the most baffling part. Queensland’s studios are only six years old; surely they built and furnished the centre with HD capture and playout capability as standard.
A few people on ABC TV Facebook complained there’s no ‘HD’ on the logo to indicate that it’s an HD channel, but maybe that is because the content is not really HD. There was some obscure event on Fox Sports 1 HD last night or this morning that clearly wasn’t HD, and the Fox Sports logo didn’t include the ‘HD’ that’s there for genuine HD content.
So looking at tonight’s ABC schedule, and doing some google searches on these shows - you can see most of them were produced and are avail in HD to ABC
6pm QI - HD 630 - QI - HD
7pm - ABC News
730 - 730 8pm - Would I Like to You? - HD 8.30 Doctor Forster - HD
9.30 - Kevin McLeod’s Home Made Home 10.20 - No Offence - HD 11.05 - Would I Like to You? - HD
ABC knew it was going HD in March of this year - they have had 9 months to get these British imports delivered in HD.
ABC’s FAQs says show delivered in HD will be aired in HD.
Well ABC, you have to ask and plan to have them delivered in HD.
Come NYE they better be in actual HD.
The year 2100 is probably a little more realistic in my opinion. 
