The arrival of ONE HD tonight is a big, bold step by Network TEN in the switch to digital television.
A 24 hour sports channel will provide many armchair sports fans with oodles of events, some of them big, many that are obscure, for TEN viewers in 5 capital cities. Regional viewers now know, somewhat belatedly, they are struggling to be heard in an issue TEN has handballed to Southern Cross.
Yesterday TEN announced its sponsors for ONE including Harvey Norman, Hungry Jacks, Mars, Panasonic, Pokerstars.net and Sportsbet.
But the arrival also marks the end of TEN HD and with it a swathe of programming that was available to viewers in high definition.
In the race to corner the advertising market in sports, TEN will leave behind viewers who were enjoying dramas, light entertainment and other programming in glorious high definition sound and pictures.
From today they are no longer available. There are no immediate plans to address this.
Staggeringly, in 2009 shows that will no longer air in HD include Neighbours, So You Think You Can Dance Australia, Australian Idol, House, Rove and more.
Recently, TEN even upgraded its facilities to allow shows like Neighbours to shift to the digital age. Now, viewers in other countries will enjoy the superior quality over those in Australia.
What an astounding outcome.
So as the industry and Freeview screams at us to upgrade to digital, you could be forgiven for asking “what for?”
Wasn’t the whole point of upgrading to see our favourite shows in superior sound and image?
TEN was brief in response to the problem when the point was raised by TV Tonight.
“Whilst we had the opportunity we provided viewers with programs in HD, however this is a brand new offering and a brand new channel – ONE launching on Thursday at 7:30pm,” said a spokesperson.
TEN also diminished its alternative drama programming on TEN HD this year. Shows that had moved from TEN to TEN HD such as Monk, Smallville, Psych and Friday Night Lights are now a slim chance at finding new timeslots.
This is a race for revenue and branding with viewers, and drama, left out of the picture.
I feel the government should switch to H.264 MPEG-4 so they can have at least 2 HD channels so Ten can have both ONE HD and TEN HD. So we don’t have to put up with standard defaholics. The old equipment not supporting H.264 will break or get a firmware upgrade eventually.
Rob-
What proof do I need? I am simply giving my views over. I feel that ONE HD is a waste as it caters to a limited amount of people (those who like sport), as opposed to TEN HD, which appeals to a much wider group of people (drama viewers, comedy viewers, children, reality buffs and yes, sports nuts).
And no, I don’t have any proof, nor am I an “insider”, I was simply making a correlation between the amount of negative comments on this board and from many others, and the fact that they have gone ahead with ONEHD. I am simply assuming that Ten didn’t bother to do any market research. Logically, if they had, they would have known many people are against it. And most likely, not gone ahead with those plans as they have.
It really is a huge step back for HD in Australia. A FTA network does not have an HD channel for their main station is just ludicrous.
Just tuned into ONE “HD” – they were playing some very SD-looking swimming…. If it’s gonna be 24/7 sports on a HD channel, then is it too much to ask that all of that programming is actually in HD? FFS!!
What a complete waste of a channel. At least have 11 as Normal Ten HD, I don’t mind having ONE HD, but sheesh, why must we suffer normal definition (*giggles*). What about all the other shows Channel 10 offers, which are filmed in HD, what a waste… all the overseas shows, what a waste… they film it in HD for a reason. How else will I be able to see the skin condition of David and Kim, or the make-up line on Sandra Sulley??…. Also, when The Simpsons HD episodes make it over here, will they even mention that they’re HD??…. seems like a big waste to me
did they really reduce the PQ neon? they really like doing sneaky stuff don’t they, they slowly and silently disappeared all the HD exclusive shows, then they silently disappeared the HD picture quality to gradually ease us into not complaining. all so they can have a lovely launch filled with praise. but now i just sit back and laugh because now 10 has to contend with the sports fans. the sports fans who judging by the 10 forums are never happy. they get a whole channel just for sport, and in HD, so now they complain that it isn’t live or the right sports aren’t showing for their own personal tastes, or they are not showing the particular game with the team that person loves. there is just so much they have to do to keep the sports lovers happy. they are going to miss the days of the easy to please eternally loyal sci-fi fans, all they had to do to keep us happy was air it in the same timeslot each week, they weren’t even fast-tracked, although it would have been awesome if they were, all it took to make us happy was not not axe them and leave them on the shelf gathering dust. 10 got heaps of praise from 10HD viewers the only problem was that regional people couldn’t get it which is still not fixed and that some people were too broke to buy an STB. so now i just sit back and laugh at 10 for abandoning a fan base that i am a part of and instead trying to please the ever complaining sports fans. serves ‘em right.
The problem is that with Freeview each of the networks are allow 2 SD channels and 1 HD channel. If the networks were allowed 1 SD & 2 HD channels, I’m sure they would have kept Ten HD and added One HD as a second HD channel.
The only thing I can say is: Thank God for Blu-ray, Internet and Rental. Who cares about Freeview now.
Neighbours is only made for export anyway. Most Australians can’t stand its bad acting and cultural stereotyping. Neighbours is Neighbours, no matter the picture quality.
Ultimately – who cares?
Poor programming decisions by the networks have plagued viewers for years, those who can have been downloading programs as a result.
None of the networks are interested in their viewers – they are money making businesses focused on their paying advertisers and in getting as much advertising on to the airwaves as possible.
Anyway, One HD will be dead in 3 to 5 years, you can’t sustain viewers on a diet of American Collage sports, lack of interest will run its course.
So, it’s back to normal programming – all in glorious Standard Definition…
And for those who do not look at websites like this, can you imagine how many confused people there now are in SC10′s northern viewing area (and maybe others) where I just watched on SC10 Newcastle’s news – which is Sydneys’ news – the news about ONE HD starting from tonight with absolutely no mention of the fact the regionals will not be receiving it. Furthermore, they made reference to digital ch 1 which can be received on a digtial TV or set top box – which in regional areas, does not exist. A quick flick over to SC10 HD in case a last minute miracle happened revealed the usual scenery and music as opposed to the countdown currently airing on ONE.
Yes it sad that tenHD has stopped. But look at the bright side, Ten is the first, and only, network to actually care about multi-channeling. Sure sport 24hours isn’t the most interesting choice for the most amount of people, but it’s a start, and i believe it will get better as time goes on. TenSd’s bitrate isnt too bad either. Most HDtvs have the ability to upscale the sd signal. Not only that, but i’d say most people only own recorders that record in sd. I do, and i mainly watch recorded programs because 4 minute ad breaks really ruin shows like Lost. I’ve found the quality on a sony bravia 100hz tv to look almost as good as HD (not quite, but quite near).
Ellis,
Mind showing some proof. I’m not against opinion but you’re giving absolutes here as if you have some inside knowledge. Come out if that’s the case
I mean ONE is a sport chanbnel and Ten is the light entertainment channel to pigeon hole it. If your upset with ONE being HD in place of Ten then say that in place of venting a view which is hardly backed up by facts or just produce some proof. If your right and there was no researtch to support a ONE channel or something contradicted it then we all like to know
I know that Neon Kitten but I did not care one way or the other, just because it was SD (upscaled or not) did not make a difference to my enjoyment or dislike of the show. I appreciate there are some who are so entrenched in having only HD content at the expense of the SD equivalent but it’s like saying a new Ferrari is crap because it needs a wash. It’s still a Ferrari. Anyway there will be a time when most channels are HD as we move to MPEG 4 and extra bandwidth allocation after 2013. I fthis was a movie and not sport channel the howls of discontent would be far less. There is a bit and superiroity complex going on here as sport (and it’s veiwers) are seen as less deserving because US drama or australian drama is culturallly and intellectually superior.
Thank you David for addressing this very important issue. Ten could have easily used it’s second SD channel for One, freeing up Ten HD.
Oh and Ryano, put down the koolaid. You’ve sipped too much.
Ryano,
I assume these are the same Execs that wiped millions off the networks value a few weeks back with their doomed capital raising exercise.
“Ten a viable tv company well into the future”
Are you a comedian?
Rob: “Watched House for a few minutes last night, compared 1, 5 and 10 for PQ and just about the same.”
Ten quietly stopped running true HD content on their HD channel a few weeks ago, instead up-converting the shows from an SD source. This was clearly a sneaky move designed to lessen the impact of a sudden loss of picture quality.
I have a couple of episodes of “Life” aired on TenHD last year which I kept for comparison purposes. The difference between these and what’s aired the past couple of weeks is night and day.
Dan, glad you know some girls who like sport. So do I. But they don’t obsess about it en masse like the boys do. Hence all the male-targeted advertising on One.
And Ryano – “a fantastic contribution to Australian society and culture”? A couch-potato channel showing niche sports mainly from overseas? Yes, I think he does indeed work for Ten.
Ryano I think you went OTT with your praise. It’s not possible you could work for TEN, surely.
as i have said before while not everyone will be happy with a sports channel, ten have by far done the best job in terms of multi channelling, ONE will have 24hrs a day of exclusive HD content, compare this to seven which show only a few hours a day of breakaway shows which consists of daily B&W movies from 1940s and reruns of shows no one cares about anymore, while nine shows almost no breakaway programming, yet they call themselves HD multi channels.
100% Kudos to the executives at Ten for future proofing their company.
It took guts to create a real and entirely new network for the Australian people showcasing our favourite past time, sport…and in the best form possible, High Definition.
Not only has the Ten Network made a fantastic contribution to Australian society and culture by deciding on a dedicated 24/7 sports channel for all Australians; they have made Ten a viable TV company well into the future.
I much rather watch sport in HD than just normal tv shows. In the end it really doesn’t matter if it’s SD and HD, just if the show is good or not.
Most of the people are just whinging about losing their precious PQ when at least Ten have taken a chance for their secondary channel unlike the lazy morons at Seven and Nine
I think it will last, i think the general viewer won’t care about their shows being in HD ro SD, knowing most Australians, they probably won’t even know the difference
As I have said in the past, Ten have just shot themselves in the foot. They have given up their main viewers, for a minimal amount of viewers. Rather than having Ten in HD, which appeals to everyone who watches the channel, they are now simply catering to sport fans. Despite what many think, not every Australian is a sports nut. The slogan is also correct- “sharing one passion. Sport”, yep, that’s right, one passion, not multiple passions like Ten HD has done.
Why they couldn’t have just shown it on their second SD channel is beyond me. I think looking at the majority of comments on this blog alone shows the amount of people who are against this move. The lack of market research they did on this issue is obvious. Let’s hope Nine and Seven learn from Ten’s mistakes!
When I set my PVR to skip OneHD and OneSD tonight, there will be two less channels I have to scroll though now, Yay!!
Currently there is only one show I watched on TEN, and now I am stuck with it in SD when it is an HD show.
ryan
it’s called ONE HD not Eleven HD, probably makes sense using LCN 1 not just 11 don’t you think?
Everyone appears to an amateur expert going by the comments thus far.
Neighbours in SD only is some sort of deal breaker?
Watched House for a few minutes last night, compared 1, 5 and 10 for PQ and just about the same. Not sure for Sound (don’t have home theatre equip)
If downloading for TV via questionable means is your only option, then sounds like a narrow view on the world. Just come out and say you want it all for free and instantly – this would be atleast honest rather than bash Ten for doing something different.
9 will have basically more of the same 7 will have something at some point and that’s hardly groundbreaking or exciting. I hope ONE does well, it’s something that I like the look of and without discounting the lack of HD for other Ten programs, seems like a good content mix. If 9 or 7 were doing ONE then I’d be more concerned but Ten, I think it will be well done.
I don’t mind it.
They took a risk with an ambitious concept for their second channel and were willing to invest in it.
If sports channel was SD only, then in the future you would have had viewers complaining that sport is not shown in HD.
They had to make a choice and they were inevitably going to annoy a group of viewers.
why dont ten just use channel 11 for ten hd?? considering its the same as 12 hd and 1 hd
This is complete bullsh*t Channel 10. I officially hate you now.
This is probably one of the biggest cons of digital TV, As tax payers we paid for the conversion for each of the licensed channels, we then paid for the upgraded TVs and set top boxs (for some there have been two upgrades) Then the networks have effectively taken away the service. In fact the better approach would have been to put sport on another standard definition channel but the combination of 2 std and one HD is too much for the bandwidth available.
Retirement of the old analog service does not guarantee any better result either. Could I also point out in the regional areas of QLD and NSW they are still waiting to see any of their programs in HD because the lazy regional broadcasters leave the old HD test signal rolling all night showing hot airballoons rising and people picking bunches of flowers in a loop !
All of Tens programming & financial decisions in the last 2 years have reduced the share price by 2/3 ! They have failed as a business . Their transmission licence is their only asset. I predict FOX of USA wil bail them out .ONE in HD is a mistake, again. Until Digital tv is the only transmission they must put their programs out in analogue & SD digital. Particularly in country areas.
mac, read some of the comments in the post ‘afl live in melbourne’ where you will find out why the AFL isn’t being shown live across the country. Also, ONE HD is the first real new fta commercial channel to launch in 40 years because it is stand alone whereas the HD channels on 7 & 9 only breakaway from their main channels at certain times and are simulcast at other times.
ONE really would’ve worked better as a secondary SD channel rather than both SD and HD, I believe the second SD channel should be the alternate channel whilst HD remains for seeing the main channel in better quality, it makes sense to me. Its a shame for sure.
according to the newspapers there has been the first new fta channel in 40 years 3 time since October: 7HD, TENHD and ONE lol
I swear to god Neon Kitten you really need to do some research. You claim you have but you obviously haven’t.
There is a group of females I know who are looking forward to the One HD, for particular sports, just as well as the males.
Neighbours was great in HD, I have the screencaps and the videos to proove it but I hardly watch TEN anymore so this doesn’t really affect me.
Rush is a crap program, wasn’t looking that good in HD in the first place.
4. More people will rely on illegal downloads to watch their favourite shows on HD
For me this comment does not apply to me. Why waste 8-12 gigs on HD file when it will be released on dvd eventually . I rather not waste my bandwith on these such things. I rather have a standard dvd copy that I bought legally.
Honestly I think they did the right thing by canning TEN HD and making away for Sports.
Agree with Neon Kitten that 10′s HD channel should have been a combination of both ONE and 10 programs thus allowing 10′s HD shows to be shown in HD.
My understanding is current bandwidth allows 1 HD and 4 SD channels or 2 HD channels only. Obviously they cannot have 2 HD’s as they must provide at least one SD channel.
When analogue switches off in 2013, there will be more bandwidth allowing for another 2 HD channels or extra SD’s obviously subject to licensing rules then.
I’ll put my 2cents in for the regional viewer, we have never seen TenHD (alternate programming) and for the last couple of months have only had the demo loop 24 hours a day 7 days a week. We missed the last series of programs that did show on TenHD such as Torchwood S2, Smallville, Battlestar Galactica etc etc.
ONE’s website says “Thanks to the introduction of ONE, Network Ten’s new 24-hour free-to-air sports channel, we now have the opportunity to play sport live – whatever time of the day or night the event occurs”
well the first program on ONE is AFL which will only be shown live in Melbourne, i guess there saying they have the opportunity but they wont take it. isnt the swimming being shown in other states from days ago, im sure more people in none afl states would watch this highly anticipated afl match than days old swimming.
I just don’t understand why they can’t keep the 4 going like they have now. Make preset 1 ONE HD [sport], 10 10HD [HD transmission of regular broadcasting], 11 as 10SD and 12 as ONE-SD.
It’s a massive step back in terms of giving viewers HD content which is readily available in so many countries. It is incredible that the USA can go fully digital in about 1/3 of the time we have to come this tiny far!
TEN: “Whilst we had the opportunity we provided viewers with programs in HD, however this is a brand new offering and a brand new channel – ONE launching on Thursday at 7:30pm.”
Umm. How does that answer the question about HD programming, Ten?
am I the only one suspicious/paranoid enough to think that the whole reason behind ONEHD is so that the FTA broadcasters can point to it and claim that they still require anti-siphoning laws for sport content as they really DO play out all the sport they hold rights to?
I’m sure TEN have done their research and it all makes sense to them, but as a consumer it makes no sense to me. Why take away an HD channel with broad appeal and replace it with one that only speaks to one, albeit significant, market segment?
Ultimately, I don’t really care. Most of what I watch is on Foxtel as the FTA broadcasters screw around with their programming so much that now I just wait for it to be run on cable.
Johnson, this has already started. eg The Tudors, Damages.
I also bought Blu-ray Cranford from the UK and of course it is infinitely better than what was shown on the ABC.
This was my major concern when I first heard of ONE’s inception. They seriously don’t care if viewers are not seeing their shows (that aren’t sport) in the best possible format available. There are still lots of viewers out there that won’t be bothered with ONE.
Does not affect me very much as over the past 2 years, there has only been 3 shows on Ten that I have watched.
Two of them are no longer being produced and the other one is Lie to Me.
Goes I will get it from somewhere else now.
Its a shame for the loyal viewers that Ten just treats them like dirt.
There are no immediate plans to address this because they can’t. There is only room in Ten’s digital bandwidth for a single HD channel. What they should have done is make the new SD channel 24/7 sport and made the HD channel a combination of prime-time normal shows and rest-of-the-time sport. It was the logical thing to do (indeed, it’s pretty much what they were doing already last year), but logic doesn’t come into any of this – Ten, it seems, is desperately clutching at straws as they slowly go broke.
One show not mentioned is Rush. Imagine how the producers of that show feel about their hit show, produced in HD with 5.1 surround sound, being reduced to VHS quality in the very city it’s made. Ironically, it’ll probably be pirated in HD – from New Zealand!
Freeview is a joke, really. It’s being sabotaged by the same old “advertisers are everything” bollocks that’s been killing FTA TV here for the past half-decade or more. And a channel devoting its entire HD capacity to 24-hour niche sports that will be of interest only to a narrow male demographic that’s so lazy they’ll never get off the couch to actually go and buy anything… that’s just insane.
Apart from the loss of those great shows, (unless 9 buys them for their 2nd SD channel) Why can’t all SD channels be simulcast in HD or is there regulations blocking that at the moment for FTA?
Don’t like watching sport much do you David? I hardly think it is a race for revenue…if that is what it was about they wouldn’t have launched a new channel yet…just kept putting it off like 7 & 9.
To this day I still think Ten has not planned properly what to do with Australian and overseas programs produced in HD after ONE debuts tonight. I think there could be several outcomes:
1. Ten stops producing shows like Neighbours in HD and switches all its production equipment to ONE
2. The Australian Communications and Media Authority allocates more spectrum so that Ten can start another HD channel (highly unlikely, as the quality may decrease and can Ten afford another new channel?)
3. US studios that produces programs such as House and NCIS in HD begin to sell TV series in Blu-ray in retail stores
4. More people will rely on illegal downloads to watch their favourite shows on HD
TEN has just pushed television back TEN years. What a sorry state of affairs. Freeview is in danger of becoming a dinosaur at this rate.
Would I be mean to say I hope the whole 1HD venture is a total failure?
This is a pity because I watched Neighbours in HD a few months back and it was fantastic! It was almost as if Susan and Karl were standing right in front of me!