Originally Posted by DVDfever:
“Just had a reply from the BBC about showing 16:9 versions of Absolute Power and Deja Vu on BBC1 Scotland, which were both broadcast later than the other BBC1s. I don't know why they can't send a copy of the HD print over to BBC1 Scotland, though.
"Thank you for your e-mail. Your comments were passed to the Scheduling Manager, who has asked that I forward his response as follows:
"In both instances, Network BBC One transmitted copies of HD masters of both films - both HD versions had the picture format of 2.35:1 .
Thus, these versions were transmitted on both BBC One HD and BBC One SD, and subsequently any other nation transmitting the same output as network.
The versions transmitted on BBC1 Scotland originated from the SD versions of both films - these versions were in 16:9".
Thank you, once again, for taking the time to contact us."”
Originally Posted by Paddy C:
“In order to avoid any future cock-ups like that for the nations, I now only watch BBC ONE HD no matter what the programme is. Any local programming I want to watch, (and that isn't very often, believe me), will be watched on BBC ONE on Freeview.”
Originally Posted by
mwardy:
“Not much sign of an apology there--more a case of 'so get used to it!'.
”
I finally got a reply, about 3-4 weeks ago but forgot to post it here, about all this:
"Dear Mr Robinson,
I am the BBC Complaints Advisor who handles audience comments about BBC Scheduling and Programme Acquisitions. I am writing with regards to an issue you raised some time ago about the film Absolute Power. I’m sorry for the long delay in responding, we’ve been experiencing somewhat of a backlog with our audience contacts lately but I appreciate this is not the service our audience would or should expect from the BBC.
I’ve had an opportunity to review the previous correspondence and I’m sorry that the crux of your original complaint was misunderstood. Having investigated your concerns and spoken to our Programme Acquisitions department I would like to explain what happened. We generally aim to broadcast our films, and other material, in a 16:9 ratio. However, on this occasion Absolute Power was a late delivery to the BBC on the very day of broadcast in a 21:9 ratio – or as you quite rightly expressed, 2.35:1 format. We therefore didn’t have time to prepare the film for a 16:9 broadcast on network and had to go with it as it was delivered. While the nations and regions will usually use the same feed as network, on this occasion BBC Scotland were able to prepare the film to 16:9 format which is why you noticed a difference in the two broadcasts. I’d like to apologise for any confusion over this matter and thank you for raising this with us. I hope my response goes some way to explaining the situation.
Thanks again for taking the time to contact us and I appreciate your patience in awaiting my response.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Kettle
BBC Audience Services"
So they actively create 16:9 versions when they have the correct version to hand?! That's about as mental as it gets!