High definition television

High definition television

As we see it, this is the same as the move from black and white to colour. This will completely change the classical experience,' says Hans Petri, managing director of the arts and music DVD label Opus Arte.

The thing that has Petri so excited is high-definition television (HDTV), a technology that both the BBC and its satellite rival Sky are to trial this summer.

'Since the invention of recording technology, classical music has been defined by the audio experience,' says Petri. 'But it doesn't have to be that way. In my view, classical music is a visual form - after all, a composer would always have written with a certain church or palace in mind; there was no possibility of just hearing music.'

Unlike audio and video - which have been developed into DVD and MP3s - TV was largely left behind when digital technology appeared in the early 1980s. But now, the technology can handle a far higher quality digital picture - and by the same brush, higher quality sound.

The HDTV version of the Last Night of the Proms - which will be broadcast as part of this summer's trial - reveals 'every face in the orchestra and choir' according to a BBC spokesperson. It also allows far richer and more intricate recording: every instrumentalist or singer can be recorded separately, for example, using matchhead-sized microphones concealed in a performer's hair. The sound quality is equivalent to DVD audio and super-audio compact discs - the highest standards currently available. Dolby Surround Sound 5.1 mixes are also possible - the format popularised by cinemas, allowing producers to replicate the physical arrangement of an orchestra.

'You can get bad seats at an opera, remember,' Petri argues. 'This could even be better than being there.' John Cassy, station manager at Artsworld - Sky's high-end cultural channel - agrees: 'Dolby sound brings classical music truly alive.

It really transforms the way music can be listened to and viewed. Proportionally, more is being shot in HDTV than news or comedy - that's fantastic for anyone into classical music.'

Currently in Europe, only the Euro 1080 satellite service delivers HDTV. But Artsworld promises to launch its service 'by mid 2006'. Cassy has already confirmed screenings of Prokofiev's The Love of Three Oranges, Mahler's Symphony No 9 (with Claudio Abbado conducting the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester) and a programme of opera from Versailles.

Classical music is also tipped to become a 'key genre' in a longer 12-month HDTV trial at the BBC - along with nature programming and drama. Initial tests will be limited to BBC 1 and BBC 2 broadcasts that will run into 2007, but by 2010 we will all be offered free-to-air HDTV services (akin to Freeview), says BBC director general Mark Thompson - 'depending on practicalities'.

Broadcasters are confident that the popularity HDTV has already enjoyed in Japan, Canada, Australia, South Korea and the US will be replicated in the UK and across Europe. The format is rapidly changing the way TV programmes are produced, and the pace of change is even faster in the filming of classical productions.

'Classical programmes have a much longer life than other types of programmes,' points out Hazel Wright, executive manager at BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm that sells programmes and DVDs overseas. 'Opera, ballet and concerts need to be future-proofed because they could still sell in 20 years. I've found it impossible to sell classical performances internationally if they're not in HD.'

Petri describes similar developments at Opus Arte: 'Opera companies are not producing CDs anymore. To give someone a CD will be equivalent to giving someone a soundtrack of a film and saying, "There you go, that's all you need to understand the story."'

Web links

Sky Artsworld
www.artsworld.com
BBC Proms
www.bbc.co.uk/proms
Opus Arte
www.opusarte.com
Sky's HDTV website
www.sky.com/hd

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