[Juicy Joe]

Yep, still SD..

I'm not really sure what that vertical screen adds to the overall programme, other than covering up half of the studio.

[Lester]

Some of the wide shots looked very crisp picture wise such as the closing shot but some others looked liked someone had smeared vaseline over the lense! Surely they'll be converting to HD soon? It's 2023!!

[Earlie37]

Some of the wide shots looked very crisp picture wise such as the closing shot but some others looked liked someone had smeared vaseline over the lense! Surely they'll be converting to HD soon? It's 2023!!

I would say expect this to be the same situation as was with Pebble Mill and the move to The Mailbox. It could be 2026 until you get full HD.... whilst new cameras could be moved, a lot of the infrastructure and gallery simply couldn't. A lot of spend on a studio and gallery they will be possibly vacating in under three years and is only on screen for approx 1 1/2 hours a day.... a much higher cost than what has been spent on the new set.

[IanJRedman]

Some of the wide shots looked very crisp picture wise such as the closing shot but some others looked liked someone had smeared vaseline over the lense! Surely they'll be converting to HD soon? It's 2023!!

All the remaining SD studios are being upgraded soon.

EDIT, just seen the above post - I thought I heard somewhere that Birmingham is indeed being upgraded soon despite the move? I may have dreamt it...

[Kojak]

You'd think a big region like the Midlands would have been converted years ago, really. If ITV can do it, who are constantly pleading poverty where the regions are concerned, then you'd think the BBC could have done it earlier too.

[Jon]

You'd think a big region like the Midlands would have been converted years ago, really. If ITV can do it, who are constantly pleading poverty where the regions are concerned, then you'd think the BBC could have done it earlier too.

To be fair, if they’d have done it years ago it would have been pretty pointless until today.

[Earlie37]

Just to clarify... there are three separate projects going on in the regions and just because one is taking place, we shouldn't assume that others will happen at the same time too (although there may be the odd business case where some can be actioned simultaneously).

These are:
1. Updating the regional sets to a generic variation on the national set (Currently East Mids and West Mids, Hull soon to follow)

2. Complete overhaul of the galleries to reduce the number of staff required to put the bulletin on air (tested in Southampton and recently installed at Newcastle) and to utilise the new graphics kit. Longer term, there are plans for more template based production of bulletins across the regions which links into the changes made through the gallery upgrades.

3. Where required, upgrading broadcasting kit to HD standard but this won't necessarily be required in all regions - in some cases, this is likely to be done during the gallery upgrade. Most of this will be studio kit - the kit used for reports was upgraded to HD a few years back. Indeed, some reporters now have kit to film in HD on iPhones as the quality has moved on so much. But you won't see that in HD until the gallery work is complete etc.

A lot of this is also taking place during major restructuring of the regions to meet 'digital first' and staff now taking on multiple broadcast roles. This is a huge shift in the methodology and practices used by each region and will also standardise a lot of behind the camera work. Therefore, us TV enthusiasts will have to be patient - this simply isn't something you can do all within three or four weeks. Months are going to be needed to train staff, work with the new kit and approach etc.

I think a lot of people are confusing new set with new cameras and gallery which would be a massive undertaking for staff to have to adjust to in one fell swoop. Although it can take time to rig, light and rehearse angles for the new sets, they are a lot quicker to roll out than the other upgrade work.

So whilst new sets and being in full HD is a wish many of us have... spare a thought for your poor regional BBC staff who are battling a lot of change at the moment. And whilst some of these changes are being made to save costs in the long-term, it's by no means a cheap set of projects when the BBC is having to tighten the purse strings so fingers crossed the money doesn't run out!

[Kojak]

You'd think a big region like the Midlands would have been converted years ago, really. If ITV can do it, who are constantly pleading poverty where the regions are concerned, then you'd think the BBC could have done it earlier too.

To be fair, if they’d have done it years ago it would have been pretty pointless until today.

Good point - though you’d think it might have made good sense to at least have put HD equipment in when the gallery had its last refurb, so as to be future proof. But then I don’t work at the BBC or know anything about their budgets or internal politics. There probably was a good reason why it wasn’t done earlier.

[Stooky Bill]

You'd think a big region like the Midlands would have been converted years ago, really. If ITV can do it, who are constantly pleading poverty where the regions are concerned, then you'd think the BBC could have done it earlier too.

A lot of it is down to the upgrades being done centrally. They aren't able to and don't have the budgets to do them individually (except where there's a major change/refit of bullding that's happening anyway). There's a lot of benefits in everyone having the same - cheaper to buy in bulk, consistency in training, support, spares etc. 

For the last refits in the early 2000s they went out and bought a system by Quantel for every region and there was a big project to refit them all, in a few cases - Leeds, Norwich, Birmingham co-inciding with new premises. Essentially the regions (except London, Salford and Plymouth) still have that installation now, although I'm sure there's a lot of patching up, additions and changes to the original setup.

HD wasn't a thing then, the regions then were upgraded from analogue 4:3 tape based to 16:9 digital SDI server based. A huge leap in workflow

This time round it's being done like that again, the new system has been chosen, tested and people trained and is now being installed around the country, 2 regions have been done so far. All projects get delayed, I don't know why this is happening now but obviously covid has delayed it a bit. 

I think Birmingham will get the upgrade before moving, it's 3-4 years away. Presumably the Tea Factory will get the same system and then the stuff at the Mailbox used as spares. I'd have thought that they'll be fitting it out with IP infrastructure rather than SDI, so it'll be the most modern setup in the regions - only Cardiff is IP currently

[RDJ]

The grainy dull picture does make the new set look pretty unremarkable, especially compared to East Midlands Today. But let's hope the HD upgrade is only around the corner.

The Birmingham skyline is ok, but the positioning could have been thought of a bit better. The main 'landmark' that can be seen in the background at the seated presenter position is Primark. Compared to the shots of the Library and Centenary Square that ITV News Central have, especially at Christmas with the added festive lights and chair swing ride - it's not the best of views they could have gone for.