SVT HD
Encyclopedia
SVT HD is a high-definition
television channel
from Swedish public broadcaster Sveriges Television
(SVT). The channel broadcasts high-definition simulcast
s of programmes from the other SVT channels, where available.
to broadcast the 2006 FIFA World Cup
. The channel was transmitted by satellite on Canal Digital
and from terrestrial transmitters. When the World Cup ended, the terrestrial frequencies were shut down. HD-kanalen continued on satellite, mostly broadcasting test films and promos from SVT HD and an experimental simulcast of The Marriage of Figaro
in August 2006.
In October 2006, HD-kanalen became SVT HD and started simulcasting programmes from the other SVT channels. Its first programme was the feature film Lost in Translation
, broadcast on October 20, followed by SVT's 50th anniversary show Välkommen på 50-årsfest which was the first live high-definition programme produced by SVT.
In late 2006 SVT HD broadcast the Swedish dramas En uppstoppad hund, Mästerverket, Snapphanar and AK3 and the movies Girl with a Pearl Earring
, 21 Grams
and House of Sand and Fog. Its first children's programme was the Christmas calendar LasseMajas Detektivbyrå, its first current affairs programme was Böglobbyn and its first documentary was The Planet
.
SVT HD's first live sports broadcast after the 2006 World Cup was the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007. In early 2007, SVT HD broadcast the BBC series Planet Earth
, the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
and dramas.
Programmes broadcast in summer 2007 included Bleak House; Live Earth
; the 2007 World Championships in Athletics
; and Allsång på Skansen
, the first live entertainment programme since the October anniversary show.
In the autumn of 2007, SVT HD started simulcasting upscaled programmes from SVT24
in the evening when no high-definition programmes were available. From June 16, 2008, this was changed so SVT HD would simulcast upscaled SVT1 instead.
SVT1 HD was launched as a simulcast of SVT1 on September 20, 2010, replacing SVT HD on all platforms. SVT2 HD was launched first of November, 2010.
, will be the first region to film all productions in high definition. SVT Väst moved their headquarters from Synvillan in Örgryte
to the former Hasselblad
headquarters (now coined Kanalhuset) in central Gothenburg. At the same time, new equipment was acquired for high definition productions.
In September 2008 the SVT studio in Umeå was equipped with HD cameras and started to produce the early evening show Go'kväll http://www.svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=45917&lid=Gokvall&from=menu and the consumer information show Plushttp://www.svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=35426&lid=Plus&from=menu in high definition.
During 2009 the main television studios in Stockholm will be equipped with high definition cameras.
launched its high-definition service consisting of four channels, including SVT HD.
On May 26, 2007 the channel started broadcasting over the Swedish digital terrestrial television network
using MPEG-4 compression. It was only available from the Nacka
, Västerås, Uppsala and Södertälje transmitters that also carried TV Finland
.
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
television channel
Television channel
A television channel is a physical or virtual channel over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the broadcast or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video and...
from Swedish public broadcaster Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
(SVT). The channel broadcasts high-definition simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
s of programmes from the other SVT channels, where available.
History
The channel has its origins in HD-kanalen, a channel set up jointly by SVT and TV4 ABTV4 AB
TV4 Group is a Swedish media company that owns the largest commercial television channel in Sweden, TV4.Since 2007, the company is fully owned by Bonnier through Nordic Broadcasting Oy...
to broadcast the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
. The channel was transmitted by satellite on Canal Digital
Canal Digital
Canal Digital is a Scandinavian television distributor and internet service provider that was founded in March 1997 as a joint venture between the French pay-TV company Canal+ and the Norwegian telecommunications operator Telenor...
and from terrestrial transmitters. When the World Cup ended, the terrestrial frequencies were shut down. HD-kanalen continued on satellite, mostly broadcasting test films and promos from SVT HD and an experimental simulcast of The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
in August 2006.
In October 2006, HD-kanalen became SVT HD and started simulcasting programmes from the other SVT channels. Its first programme was the feature film Lost in Translation
Lost in Translation (film)
Lost in Translation is a 2003 American film written and directed by Sofia Coppola; her second feature film after The Virgin Suicides and it stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson...
, broadcast on October 20, followed by SVT's 50th anniversary show Välkommen på 50-årsfest which was the first live high-definition programme produced by SVT.
In late 2006 SVT HD broadcast the Swedish dramas En uppstoppad hund, Mästerverket, Snapphanar and AK3 and the movies Girl with a Pearl Earring
Girl with a Pearl Earring (film)
Girl with a Pearl Earring is a 2003 drama film directed by Peter Webber. The screenplay was adapted by screenwriter Olivia Hetreed based on the novel by Tracy Chevalier. The film stars Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, and Cillian Murphy. The film is named after a painting of the same...
, 21 Grams
21 Grams
21 Grams is a 2003 American drama film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga. It stars Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Danny Huston, and Benicio del Toro....
and House of Sand and Fog. Its first children's programme was the Christmas calendar LasseMajas Detektivbyrå, its first current affairs programme was Böglobbyn and its first documentary was The Planet
The Planet
The Planet is a Swedish documentary film on environmental issues, released in 2006. The film was made by Michael Stenberg, Johan Söderberg and Linus Torell for the big screen and was shot in the English language to reach an international audience. It includes interviews with 29 environmental...
.
SVT HD's first live sports broadcast after the 2006 World Cup was the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007. In early 2007, SVT HD broadcast the BBC series Planet Earth
Planet Earth (TV series)
Planet Earth is a 2006 television series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. Five years in the making, it was the most expensive nature documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC, and also the first to be filmed in high definition...
, the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...
and dramas.
Programmes broadcast in summer 2007 included Bleak House; Live Earth
Live Earth
-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...
; the 2007 World Championships in Athletics
2007 World Championships in Athletics
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...
; and Allsång på Skansen
Allsång på Skansen
Allsång på Skansen is a Swedish show held at Skansen, Stockholm, every summer on Tuesdays between 8pm and 9pm. The audience is supposed to sing along with musical guests, to well-known Swedish songs. The show started in 1935 on a small scale - about fifty people in the audience...
, the first live entertainment programme since the October anniversary show.
In the autumn of 2007, SVT HD started simulcasting upscaled programmes from SVT24
SVT24
SVT24 or 24 is a Swedish language TV channel broadcast by Sveriges Television . It started broadcasting in 1999 as a dedicated news channel. In 2003 extended its scope to include other current events-related programmes and sports in the weekends...
in the evening when no high-definition programmes were available. From June 16, 2008, this was changed so SVT HD would simulcast upscaled SVT1 instead.
SVT1 HD and SVT2 HD
On June 17, 2010, the Swedish government gave SVT the rights to broadcast two high-definition channels in the terrestrial network. These will be used for full time simulcasts of SVT1 and SVT2.SVT1 HD was launched as a simulcast of SVT1 on September 20, 2010, replacing SVT HD on all platforms. SVT2 HD was launched first of November, 2010.
Production
SVT Väst, located in GothenburgGothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, will be the first region to film all productions in high definition. SVT Väst moved their headquarters from Synvillan in Örgryte
Örgryte
Örgryte is one of the 21 stadsdelsnämndsområden of Gothenburg Municipality, Sweden. It is a largely upper middle class to upper class residential area, just to the east of the city centre...
to the former Hasselblad
Hasselblad
Victor Hasselblad AB is a Swedish manufacturer of medium-format cameras and photographic equipment based in Gothenburg, Sweden.The company is best known for the medium-format cameras it has produced since World War II....
headquarters (now coined Kanalhuset) in central Gothenburg. At the same time, new equipment was acquired for high definition productions.
In September 2008 the SVT studio in Umeå was equipped with HD cameras and started to produce the early evening show Go'kväll http://www.svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=45917&lid=Gokvall&from=menu and the consumer information show Plushttp://www.svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=35426&lid=Plus&from=menu in high definition.
During 2009 the main television studios in Stockholm will be equipped with high definition cameras.
Distribution
Initially the channel was only available on satellite from Canal Digital, but on December 12, 2006, the cable network Com HemCom Hem
Com Hem AB of Sweden, supplies triple play services that include cable tv, digital television, broadband, telephony and HDTV.Founded in 1983 as Televerket Kabel-TV as part of the former state-owned Televerket, the company has been successively named Svenska Kabel-TV AB and Telia InfoMedia...
launched its high-definition service consisting of four channels, including SVT HD.
On May 26, 2007 the channel started broadcasting over the Swedish digital terrestrial television network
Digital terrestrial television in Sweden
Digital terrestrial television was launched in Sweden in 1999. The shutdown of the analogue equivalent started on September 19, 2005, and was finalized on October 29, 2007....
using MPEG-4 compression. It was only available from the Nacka
Nackasändaren
Nackasändaren is a facility for FM and TV-transmission at Nacka in Metropolitan Stockholm. It used from 1956 to 1983 two 160 metre high guyed masts, which were designed as mast radiators for mediumwave transmission and therefore insulated against ground. In 1965 a further mast, a 299 metres tall...
, Västerås, Uppsala and Södertälje transmitters that also carried TV Finland
TV Finland
TV Finland is a Finnish television channel available in Europe via satellite and on some cable television networks in Sweden, Norway and Estonia...
.