The BBC plans this week to start the United Kingdom's first free-to-air HD broadcasts, launching the start of a one-year trial for a select group of households in and around London. According to its own research, the BBC said an overwhelming majority of people who know about HD expect the BBC to broadcast in HD

BBC HD, the first free-to-air HD channel from the BBC in the United Kingdom, was launched on Dec. 1—but ironically it’s only available for now on the pay platforms of cable and DBS.

The BBC and ITV teamed up to launch a free terrestrial HD service known as Freesat on May 6 that will be accessible to consumers with HD sets and set-top boxes.

Broadcaster tests hi-def waters, while stateside coverage remains in SD

The goal is to test transmission and reception of high definition on a variety of television platforms

The UK hybrid TV field is hotting up quickly as the two main free-to-air platforms move to add Internet connectivity shortly after the launch of the YouView connected TV platform. Freesat, the UK’s free-to-air (FTA) satellite service, last week unveiled its hybrid platform, adding catch up and on-demand content via the Internet. On the same day, digital terrestrial infrastructure provider Arqiva announced the purchase for an undisclosed sum of Connect TV, which is already a provider of OTT services on the country’s hugely successful DTT service ‘Freeview’.

The four major broadcasters in the United Kingdom have called for HD programming to be run on terrestrial TV well ahead of the planned analog turnoff in 2012. Trials of uncompressed, over-the-air HD by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel Five recently concluded in London, and most of the consumer "trialists" say they