[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!