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Taking the Doctor to the next dimension

2013-11-22T10:26:17+00:00

Here in BBC Distribution, excitement is mounting with each moment as we count down to The Day of the Doctor. We’re excited enough about the special 50th anniversary programme itself. But we are also thrilled to have the responsibility of delivering the Doctor to a new dimension; to be his human assistants enabling him to burst out of your screen in 3D.

So with the time ticking away to the Time Lord’s return, it’s time for me to give you the latest advice on how best to watch it in 3D. But before I do, I want to take a little of your time to mark the achievements of BBC Red Button HD, which will undergo a regeneration of its own shortly after broadcasting the 3D special.

A Fond Farewell to BBC Red Button HD

At the beginning of the summer we started trying something new. We’ve been experimenting with pop-up red button streams to cover major events like Wimbledon, Glastonbury and The BBC Proms. And it’s clearly allowed us to deliver more value to our audiences.

During the Wimbledon/Glastonbury fortnight we had one additional standard definition (SD) stream on Freeview and two additional SD streams on satellite. Alongside these we offered, for the first time, BBC Red Button HD. By making efficient use of spare capacity we had available over the summer and autumn, we were able to keep BBC Red Button HD going for much longer than the additional SD streams and my team worked really hard with colleagues across the BBC to expand choice and quality for viewers, with really gratifying results:

Overall more than 3.5m viewers used the HD red button stream across Freeview HD/Youview, Virgin Media and Freesat.
During Wimbledon alone, 1.2m people tuned into BBC Red Button HD (with a total of 7.7m million people using the red button to access the additional matches overall; that’s the highest ever for Wimbledon).
We were able to broadcast about a dozen BBC Proms in HD that were otherwise destined to air in only standard definition on BBC Four. These were enjoyed by a quarter of a million people. Plus we upgraded to HD the four outside broadcasts on the Last Night from Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow and Hyde Park London.
The FIFA Confederations Cup and Glastonbury attracted 650k and 300k viewers respectively while other events to benefit from coverage on BBC Red Button HD included tennis from Queens and the ATP World Tour Finals, the British F1 Grand Prix, the Women’s Euros, Diamond League Athletics, Moto GP, RideLondon, the Reading Festival and T in the Park.

Many people across the BBC, our suppliers and the TV operators we partner with worked hard to bring this experiment to fruition. So as it comes to an end, I’d like to say a public thank you to them for all their efforts.

The Day of the Doctor in 3D

BBC Red Button HD’s final mission is to showcase the 3D version of the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special “The Day of the Doctor”. This will be broadcast on Saturday 23 November at 7:50pm (simulcast with BBC One and BBC One HD) and will be repeated on Sunday 24 November at 7pm (simulcast with BBC Three). It will look fantastic in 2D but if you’d like to see the Doctor in a new dimension in the comfort of your own home, there are two ways you can join the adventure in 3D…

You can either watch the episode in 3D live via broadcast on your 3D TV or you can catch up via BBC iPlayer.

How to watch in 3D, live

To watch The Day of the Doctor live in 3D on your TV, you will need: a 3D capable TV and its 3D glasses, and you must be able to receive the BBC’s Red Button HD stream via the telly itself or a set top box.

If you’re not sure whether your TV is capable of displaying 3D, then please check your TV’s manual. When the episode is about to start either on Saturday or Sunday, just switch to BBC Red Button HD, put your 3D TV into ‘Side-by-Side’ mode, pop on your glasses and enjoy!

For viewers with Freeview HD, Youview, Virgin Media, Sky and Freesat, the channel number for BBC Red Button HD is listed below:

Freeview HD/YouView 303

Virgin Media 994

Sky 977

Freesat 980

If you want to record the episode, it’s easy to do because BBC Red Button HD is listed in the electronic programme guide for these platforms. In most cases the channel has been available for some time so you should be able to find it, but if not then you can try to retune your Freeview HD digital TV or box or you can find help at www.virginmedia.com, help.sky.com or www.freesat.co.uk.

You’ll be able to find information about how to watch The Day of the Doctor in 3D on the BBC’s Red Button text page 998. To avoid any disappointment, you might want to have a practice, in which case you can use the 3D test card that will be shown from 6pm on BBC Red Button HD before the first showing of Doctor Who 3D.

How to watch in 3D on the BBC iPlayer

It will be possible to watch The Day of the Doctor in 3D on iPlayer for 7 days from the 23 November (after the broadcast has ended).

To enjoy in 3D, you’ll need compatible 3D equipment. Your options are:

Connected 3DTV with iPlayer and 3D glasses.
Connected Set-top-Box/Blu-Ray with iPlayer, a 3DTV and glasses (3D is not available via Sky On Demand)
PC/Mac with a 3D Display.

TVs or displays need to be set to “Side by Side” mode for iPlayer to work in 3D, so please refer to your manual if necessary. If your TV does not allow you to switch to 3D mode when using the internal iPlayer, you’ll need to connect the 3DTV (via HDMI) to use iPlayer from either a connected set-top-box, Blu-ray player, Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. 3D is only available in the higher quality version of streaming, so you’ll need a sufficient internet connection.

PC/Mac users have the option of downloading the programme via BBC iPlayer Downloads, where the download can be kept for up to 30 days. However, once you first start to play the download, you’ll have 7 days before the programme expires.

We cannot provide specific guidance to individual set-ups, but we hope you’ll find this information useful.

What will BBC Red Button HD regenerate into?

Last July we were very pleased to announce that the BBC is to launch five new HD channels by early 2014. These will be HD simulcasts of BBC News, BBC Three, BBC Four, CBBC and CBeebies.

I’m sure you’re keen to know when the launch will be but I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a little longer to find out. I’ll post again with an update towards the end of the year. However, in the meantime, I can let you know that the capacity vacated by BBC Red Button HD will be used to broadcast BBC News HD on satellite and BBC Three HD and CBBC HD on Freeview HD/Youview.

Some of you might have liked us to create a permanent red button HD stream. In terms of making best use of the capacity we can afford, the five channels listed above each attract more viewers. However, it’s our ambition to repeat our experiment with pop-up streams in 2014, delivering more choice in an agile way around major sporting and cultural events. And we will continue to keep under review the value for money of expanding our HD offer in the future.

So as to what that future holds, I suppose there’s only one man who knows... And whichever way you choose to watch him in 3D, I hope you’ll find that the Doctor has never looked so good.

Alix Pryde is Director, BBC Distribution

3D Stink

2012-12-20T09:00:09+00:00

The cast of Mr Stink (credit BBC/Gary Moyes)

Midway through the BBC’s 3D trial, our thoughts began to turn to trying out a comedy or drama in 3D. Having experimented with factual, CG (computer generated) and entertainment, not to mention collaborating with OBS (Olympic Broadcasting Services) on the Olympics, it felt like the right time to explore the creative and technical challenges with scripted.

We began talking with Mark Freeland’s comedy department who were incredibly positive about working together, and suggested a range of projects they were planning in 2D. One leapt out immediately: an adaptation of David Walliams’ Mr Stink. As conceived by David and Mark, the quirky, cartoonish quality of the script seemed to lend itself intriguingly to 3D. The chance to enhance the imaginative world of the lonely young Chloe Crumb, whose life is turned upside down by a very smelly tramp (with a secret, of course!), just seemed too good to miss. And the fact that it would star Hugh Bonneville and David Walliams too, was simply a bonus.

One of the interesting things from the 3D Trial’s point of view is that Mr Stink is the first programme we have done where the 2D and 3D versions were shot at the same time and by the same cameras, with the 2D then taken from one of the 3D cameras. It was significantly less cumbersome therefore than many 3D shoots, but still had its challenges for a very experienced team, most of whom had never worked in 3D before.

The final results can be seen on the BBC’s HD Channel on Sunday 23 December at 6.30pm, simultaneous with the 2D version on BBC One. The 3D show will also be available shortly after on iPlayer also, for 7 days. In my opinion the production team have done a lovely job. Scenes to look out for obviously include the great ‘stink’ and ‘burp’ effects, but there are other marvellous moments which really enhance in 3D too. Look out for the Party Political Broadcast recording by the wanna-be-MP Mum Mrs Crumb, where the strongly geometric 3D increases the sense that she sees her world as a set to perform on, boxed in and apart from her own family as a result of her political ambitions. It’s a lovely sequence, and just one of many examples of an intelligent and creative use of 3D.

We’ve learnt a great deal of value for the Trial, but in the end as ever it’s most important to hear what the audience think, so please feel free to post any comments here after you’ve seen it. And a reminder that this Christmas there’s also an outing for the dramatic Planet Dinosaur CG-fest, made by BBC Science, on 25 December 2.10pm, and The Queen's Speech will be broadcast in 3D for the first time, at 3pm on Christmas Day, both will be available on the BBC HD Channel. Don’t forget to set your TV to "Side by Side" mode!

Kim Shillinglaw, Commissioning Editor, Science and Natural History and Head of 3D

Read a post from Andy Quested, chief technologist HD & 3D, BBC Technology about the technology of Mr Stink in the BBC Internet Blog.

Making Planet Dinosaur - Ultimate Killers in 3D

2012-08-23T15:11:05+00:00

Almost immediately we were faced with the sheer scale and size of the challenge, it turned out to be one of the (if not the) most ambitious animated programmes ever attempted for broadcast TV. But to work on something with the scale and ambition normally reserved for Hollywood features made it genuinely exciting.

We had a team of 60 animators, compositors, modellers and background artists working on the project. Animation is extraordinarily labour intensive; it's one of the commonly held myths that, because it's made in a computer, the computer does all the work. Another aspect of 3D is that the detail required is considerably greater than that which can pass off in 2D; so the details of the animals and the backgrounds need that much more work. Every facet of the digital world had to be created in forensic detail; from the largest dinosaur to the smallest fern, all have to stand up to the scrutiny of this new form of television broadcast. Trees, plants and rocks had to be researched, analysed and modelled by the animators to give each environment the character and validity needed to produce a properly visceral experience.

The learning curve for what works and doesn't work in 3D was also a steep one, for instance the dynamic, documentary style of camerawork, and the quick cutting, so essential for the immersive impact of the original series, came with its own technical challenges. Fortunately, because we were making it in a computer, we could test, control and tweak the images, and to this end a specialist team of stereographers hand crafted individual frames and sequences to ensure that the 3D experience has maximum impact while leaving the audience fully immersed, without feeling queasy. The big difference for us, was having the 2D series which we had already made for BBC1 to work from. Thinking about 2D and 3D together is a pragmatic way of sweating your assets. It's something Hollywood has been doing for a while, and whilst TV is a different beast of course, the principle means you can do quite ambitious things in a much more cost effective way.

Ultimately what we have produced is, I believe, a thrilling journey into a lost world, an opportunity to properly experience these incredible animals in all their magnificent wonder. Have a look this Sunday 19th August at 17:35 on the BBC HD Channel or on Monday 27th August (Bank Holiday) at 15.40, when it is on again. It will also be available for catch-up in 3D via BBC iPlayer More information about how you can watch BBC's 3D programmes can be found on the BBC's FAQ website.

I'm really excited about this, and hope you enjoy it too. I would love to hear your thoughts below.

Nigel Paterson is series producer for Planet Dinosaur

Planet Dinosaur 3D - Ultimate Killers will be broadcast on the BBC HD channel on Bank Holiday Monday 27th August at 3.40pm.

The 3D Wimbledon experiment - your reactions

2011-08-30T09:00:00+00:00

Earlier in the Summer, I led a team which delivered our first live 3D broadcasts to homes around the UK. We wanted to get this year's Wimbledon finals out to everyone who has so far bought a 3D set (and the glasses that go with it) and so we used the BBC HD channel to show the matches - free of charge - on Freesat, Freeview, Sky and Virgin. As well as testing to see if what seemed possible in the lab could be delivered in practice, and trying to ensure that we could offer really high quality 3D in production terms, we also wanted to understand what people really think about seeing television content that they are familiar with in 2D in 3D. By doing so we hoped that we could make better-educated guesses about where 3D and television might go in future, and plan what the BBC's response to developments should be.

It seems obvious that in the end it is you - television viewers - who will decide whether 3D TV sinks or swims. There's a long history of technology innovations that haven't made it, because the public just hasn't wanted them. 3D may or may not be one of them. But there's been little if any research so far to understand how people relate to 3D pictures, so we wanted to start to fill that gap in understanding.

We focussed work on the Men's Final, and having invited people in to watch our 3D coverage at a number of cinemas around the UK, we asked them for their thoughts. We also provided people who came to our London screening with the opportunity to watch on the most up-to-date 3D televisions which you can find for sale at electronics shops now. And of course we looked for ways to find out what people who were watching in the comfort of their own homes thought.

People found the 3D very different from watching in 2D - and it provoked a mixed response: a lot of them loved it, and some loathed it. On Twitter, people said "it's like you are there as a line judge", "much better lower angle dynamic shots", "looks awesome... probably as close to courtside view as I can get", but there were also reports that "my head went fuzzy", and a certain frustration that because the cameras offered a courtside seat, it wasn't always possible to track the ball right across the court and see exactly where it landed. 60% of people said that their expectations were either met or exceeded, and a third of those who had never seen 3D before gave the experience 10 out of 10.

Most people we surveyed wanted to watch Wimbledon in 3D because they love Wimbledon, and they hoped that seeing it in 3D would make them feel more a part of the action. Of those who attended the screenings we held, 76% said that the 3D view did make them feel as if they were more involved in the match and many of the cinema screenings had people applauding, hushing others, and gasping at individual points as if they were really sitting in SW19.

Quite a few people told us that they had been sceptical about 3D television, and thought it was a bit of a gimmick, but that our coverage of Wimbledon had persuaded them otherwise - but another important message to emerge was that even for those who enjoyed the 3D, it's "good old-fashioned HD" (as one viewer put it) that really matters and adds to the television experience. We will be doing more - not least the final of this year's Strictly Come Dancing in December. And we'll be using these further experiments to try to understand more about the potential extra value that 3D can add for you as viewers. We want to understand the part 3D should play in the future of what we offer to licence payers, and my conclusion from our analysis of Wimbledon is that at the moment the jury is still out.

If you are interested in understanding more about how we filmed Wimbledon in 3D, the film tells the story of the production and the partnership behind it.

Danielle Nagler is head of HD and 3D at the BBC

You'll find a number of interesting blog posts about 3D TV on the BBC Internet blog - mostly of a more technical nature.
Danielle is also a regular contributor to the BBC Internet blog. Read all of her posts here.

3D for Wimbledon - the future of TV?

2011-06-08T07:24:34+00:00

The first time I visited Wimbledon I expected it to look and feel exactly like it does on television. After years of sitting in front of the screen watching the balls, and spectators' heads, swinging backwards and forwards I thought I knew what sitting on Centre Court would be like. I realised that I didn't, and that while TV can do a great job it can't capture the magic of actually being there.

Like most of us I've never been lucky enough to sit and watch a finals match on Centre Court. But this year - the Wimbledon Championships' 125th anniversary - I've been working with others inside and outside the BBC to try to bring you the next best thing - the Wimbledon Singles' Finals, in 3D.

Wimbledon always feels timeless - but actually it has been home to successive TV sport innovations from an early appearance in colour, through to Hawk Eye technology.

We know that tennis can look thrilling in 3D - it can really bring the power players put into shots to life. I've been lucky to see some of the incredible test shoots we've been running, as the team are busy working behind the scenes to get everything in place for the broadcast, but I can't wait to see what a real match played by two of the world's finest will look like.

The broadcasts will be available to everyone with access to an HD service and a 3D TV set, via BBC HD, whether you get your TV from Freesat, Freeview, Sky or Virgin Media. And if you don't have a 3D TV, there are some opportunities to watch the broadcast in the cinema.

The BBC's been experimenting with 3D for decades - but as we all know the latest developments in 3D technology have made it much, much more sophisticated as a viewing experience, and we've been working with the All-England Club and Sony Professional for this BBC first. It will also be the first time that 3D broadcasting has been tried out across all the different TV providers so that it's accessible without subscription.

For all of us who don't have a 3D set at home, or a Centre Court ticket, the finals will of course be shown on BBC One and in HD on BBC One HD, as well as all the BBC's regular Wimbledon coverage - on TV, radio, and online.

I don't know yet whether 3D will be the future of television, or the future of Wimbledon: that's why we're doing this experimental trial. But I am really excited to experience the finals this year in 3D. And if you are able to watch in 3D I'd love to know what you think.

Danielle Nagler is the Head of BBC HD and 3D

Danielle made a speech about the BBC's plans for 3D at the 3D World Forum in May.
BBC Sport covered the news that Wimbledon will be the first 3D programming on the BBC.