The BBC has formally announced it will roll out a high definition version of its TV catch up service iPlayer.
The announcement follows comments by Jana Bennett, director of BBC Vision, at the Financial Times' Digital Media conference in London last month, which revealed the broadcaster's plans for iPlayer HD. The BBC said popular shows Doctor Who and Dragons Den would be among the programmes available to watch in high definition.
Head of digital media technology at the BBC, Anthony Rose, told BBC News: "Introducing HD streams allows users to enjoy BBC programmes in HD without a set-top box".
According to the BBC, the new-look iPlayer will identify the speed of a web user's internet connection and automatically adjust the streaming quality to suit as well as letting viewers customise the size of viewing window.
"The new adaptive bitrate technology and speed diagnostics page help optimise the viewing experience, while the resizable window gives users flexibility to switch between different quality streams, hopefully leading to a more satisfying experience overall," added Rose.
See also: BBC brings TV to mobiles
Comments
Manoj Solanki, seekbroadband.c said: This is great news for consumers but they need to be wary of the usage allowance on their current broadband package Especially if it is below 5GB Gigabytes per month The original iPlayer can take up significant amounts of a broadband usage allowance but the High Definition content will increase that possibility Those on unlimited usage packages may also need be wary if the ISP utilises traffic management on the network which may slow down the Internet connection if they download a lot of programmes through the iPlayer If youre concerned you should contact the ISPs technical support for adviceSome ISPs offer a usage monitor that may alert users if they are getting close to their limits and help them keep a tab on their usage for the month If your ISP doesnt provide a way to check usage some third party programs are also available that can be installed on the users computer