Danielle Nagler, BBC’s head of HD, noted that at the moment, many are interested in 3D but the BBC was still cautious about what it really brings.

“We are excited about the developments of 3D but we need to see what the long term benefits of 3D to broadcasters is, before we commit”, Nagler explained. “We are not clear on what makes good 3D and are certainly not clear on what makes good 3D television. The trials we are doing are a bit like early colour – it looks interesting but there is a long way to go”.

She added that the approach of BBC was more pragmatic compared to other broadcasters, saying that 3D for them is a distraction from HD and there is still a lot of things to do to explain HD to consumers and convince them to make investments in it.

“The focus on 3D technology in that sense is not helpful”, she continued.

When asked about a 3D channel to be put up in BBC, Nagler explained that they are not planning to have one, but they will show various 3D contents for the next few years. BBC aims at delivering proper grown-up 3D that will not take short cuts or cheat.

A number of companies, including the Daily Telegraph, Sky and the Guardian already offer applications similar to BBC’s proposals, some being free whilst others require a small one-off fee. As the news industry continues to try and find modern ways to create revenue, the Guardian’s director of digital content Emily Bell exclaimed “Whilst the BBC’s impulse to enter an already crowded news and sport apps market place is understandable, the move belies the fundamentally competitive nature of the Corporation’s approach to new services. Applications are a long way away from being ‘broadcast’ media, and, unlike the web, they form a market which the BBC is seeking to disrupt.”

However, director of future media and technology at the BBC Erik Huggers disagreed, explaining that their modern audience “want to access the digital services that they have paid for at a time and place that suits them. Today’s announcement means that we are catching up with our audiences.”

Including written, audio and video stories from the BBC’s news website, the application will be released in April. As well as offering versions for the Android system and Blackberry in coming months, they expressed that a specific iPlayer app may also be released later this year.

Expected to be released next year for an approximate £200, the set-top boxes involved would provide viewers with a comprehensive guide to on-demand services such as ITVplayer and the BBC’s iPlayer. After considering the scheme, named project Canvas, for some time, the Trust said “After careful consideration, the Trust has provisionally concluded that Canvas is likely to benefit licence fee payers.” Chair of the Strategic Approvals Committee for the trust Diane Coyle added “We believe Canvas could be an important part of the way in which the BBC delivers its services in the future.”

With the BBC Trust having debated the issue since March, the green light will now allow for viewers to access services such as YouTube, Flickr and Facebook through their TVs in addition to the on-demand services. However, strong opposition has been encountered from both BSkyB and Virgin Media, the former of whom said “The key concern with Canvas is the leading role that the BBC wants to take in the project.” Graham McWilliam, director of Corporate Affairs for Sky added “This is nothing short of BBC mission creep.”

Renamed “Should Uganda debate gay execution” the information line for the forum wrote “Should homosexuals face execution? Yes, we accept it is a stark and disturbing question. But this is the reality behind an Anti-Homosexuality Bill being debated on Friday by the Ugandan Parliament which would see some homosexual offences punishable by death.” Whilst a host of comments expressed extreme shock that the topic was even for debate, a large number of individuals wrote for the move with Freetown resident Aaron writing “Bravo to the Ugandans for this wise decision, a bright step in eliminating this menace from your society. We hope other African nations will also follow your bold step.”

Meanwhile a host of MPs expressed extreme concern that the BBC had though the forum was justified. Eric Joyce, Labour MP said “We should be looking at what is going on in Uganda with abhorrence. We should be condemning it, and the BBC should be condemning it, just as we do sexual violence in the Congo or genocide in Rwanda or Darfur.” Meanwhile Wellingborough Tory MP Peter Bone explained “If I hadn’t heard it from (Mr Joyce) I would have doubted it was true.”

However, David Stead, the editor of upcoming ‘Africa Have Your Say’ defended the decision saying that the BBC had thought “long and hard” about the issue and “We agree that it is a stark and challenging question, but think that it accurately focuses on and illustrates the real issue at stake.”

In August 2009, the encoders which process HD pictures were altered. Working at a lower bitrate than their predecessors 16Mbps, many believe that the new 9.7Mpbs components are at fault. Responding to these views a spokesperson from the BBC stressed “We did extensive testing on the new encoders which showed that they could produce pictures at the same or even better quality than the old encoders at the higher bitrate.”

Meanwhile Ms Nagler wrote on the BBC’s blog that production techniques and different camera’s all affected final quality of programming. She said that HD content differed and not all had the “bright, crisp look which for some is synonymous with HD.” She explained further that the HD channel’s setup had been specifically created to work for “typical viewing set ups”, before adding that user groups using normal equipment had no qualms with the service. Responding directly to the criticism she stressed that only one formal complaint had been received and that “there is not a major issue with picture quality.”

However, as comments built up on her blog, one particular customer criticised “Even my wife can see a reduction in picture quality and she’s got cataracts.”

Making the announcement on the BBC’s official internet blog, BBC’s head of TV platforms, Rahul Chakkara, revealed alongside news of the upcoming beta trial, that watching iPlayer through Virgin Media now accounted for almost a quarter of all use. Becoming available on the Virgin Media platform in June 2008 he said that 200 million programmes had now been watched since the service launched.

Whilst plans were unveiled for the roll-out through HD ready Freesat boxes Mr Chakkra also responded to problems that have been seen through games console systems. Whilst iPlayer is available for viewing through both Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii games consoles, the latter has experienced a number of problems. Adapting the iPlayer code for viewing through TV across a range of platforms had been “a challenge” he explained. “This is a fast changing and evolving industry. Many of our assumptions will be challenged with time. We will keep coming back to the products and update them where appropriate,” he wrote on the blog.

After plans for an iPlayer conglomerate including ITV, Channel 4 and Five was rejected last week, the BBC have announced plans to take their iPlayer global to allow the sharing of content and to create revenue streams. The BBC’s division in charge of creating profit, BBC Worldwide, revealed that the proposed iPlayer would allow prices to be charged in respect to a show’s popularity. BBC.com’s managing director Luke Bradley-Jones, who also heads US digital operations for BBC Worldwide, said “Millions of people love Torchwood and would probably pay 10 bucks an episode rather than two bucks.”

Currently since its launch in 2007, the UK based iPlayer has received half a billion hits. Whilst current content would not be available on the global iPlayer due to clearance for worldwide rights, the new prototype player is said to be six months into the development stage. Requiring authorisation from BBC governing regulator BBC Trust, the international site would contain specifically created or altered content to allow viewers from all over the world.

Meanwhile, Mr Bradley-Jones also said that from next month BBC mobile apps will start to appear. Costing approximately $2 he explained the software had been developed due to “a much higher willingness to pay for content.”

Called “open iPlayer”, the BBC’s scheme had been to encompass ITV and Channel 4 into a new “federation” to allow joint playing of content from the BBC’s iPlayer and the Channel4.co.uk, ITV.com and five.tv websites. A new Radio Times website would have also been created to allow consumers to browse through exactly what programmes were available for viewing.

BBC Trust member Diane Coyle said “we concluded that the open iPlayer plans in their proposed form, combining both commercial and public service elements, were too complicated.” She added that the scheme had not convinced trustee’s “that there was enough potential value to licence fee payers.”

However, whilst the Trust turned down proposals, it is also believed that the other broadcasters involved were not overly excited by the scheme. Channel 4, who recently confirmed that their content would be available through YouTube, indicated that they would have little benefit from the proposition as it gave them little financial increase and denied them access to BBC’s iPlayer technology. Meanwhile, the BBC Trust recommended that BBC used a “commercial licensing” process to share the technology with competitors.

Explaining they wanted to prevent piracy, they said “We are committed to ensuring that public service content remains free to air i.e. unencrypted. However, HD content holders have begun to expect a degree of content management on the Freeview HD platform and therefore broadcasters have recognised that a form of copy protection is needed.” Set top boxes work by decoding data which is passed through the TV listings guide. If the BBC was allowed to encrypt this data and only pass it onto specific box manufacturers, any product without the encryption code could not provide the BBC channels.

Arguing the move by the BBC would limit consumer choice, Labour MP Tom Watson said “In an attempt to satisfy the fears of powerful rights holders, the BBC will prohibit millions of people from programming their existing set top boxes. If implemented this will make it difficult to view or record HDTV broadcasts with free software. Where’s the consumer interest in that settlement?”

With a number of set top box manufacturers using different operating systems, and open source code, there is distinct variation in the cost of digital platforms. However, if BBC encrypted data, only specific boxes would work for their HD channels.

Mr Watson added that it wouldn’t affect piracy. “If you’re a hardcore pirate, you’ll still be able to continue doing what you do but if you want to watch the latest EastEnders, you’ll have to purchase new stuff,” he said.

Featuring future technologies, Tomorrow’s World wasn’t always correct in its predictions. However, a variety of future forecasts were proved true with Teletext, CD Players and camcorders all making their way into the consumer market. Along with other clips from the BBC’s 70 years of broadcasting, clips ranging from only a few minutes to an hour’s content can now be viewed at www.bbc.co.uk/archive/collection.

Previous presenter of the famous show, Maggie Philbin wrote about the newly available content of Tomorrow’s World. “The home computer, the mobile telephone and the compact disc all made their debut on the show,” she said, adding “I would love to say I recognised their significance immediately but often the technology was fragile or incomplete – a mixture of space age and Stone Age – and the real potential was hidden.”

Meanwhile the BBC said that the content that they had uploaded would show viewers how technological predictions were proved, and also came to nothing. In particular they mentioned the every day modern computer saying “In this collection, we witness a change in how people thought of the future and chart the rise and rise of the computer.”