The channel featured a mix of programming including new episodes of Top Gear, Doctor Who and Hustle, repeats of HD programmes including Planet Earth, Bleak House and Torchwood as well as live coverage of large events such as The Proms, Wimbledon, the Eurovision Song Contest and the FIFA World Cup.

The result of the test, announced on 19 November, was that they had approved the BBC Executive's high definition television proposals to allow the launch of UK's first free-to-air, mixed-genre public service HD channel.

This channel, as recommended by the BBC Trust's Public Value Test, broadcast only for around nine hours a day during prime time and only showed programmes made specifically for HD.

2010 had been the BBC's internal deadline for the majority of new content to be produced in HD and as a result the broadcast space was fast running out.

[12] 2012 saw one of the most ambitious levels of 3D coverage with the BBC screening the opening and closing ceremonies and the men's 100m final of the 2012 Summer Olympics including a daily highlights programme in 3D.

[13] In addition to this, the channel also broadcast in 3D the men's and women's finals of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships,[14] the natural history programme Planet Dinosaur Ultimate Killers in August,[15] the second half of the Last Night of the Proms on 8 September 2012,[16] the adaptation of Mr Stink on 23 December 2012 and Killer Dinosaurs and the Royal Christmas Message on 25 December.

The review sought cost-cutting measures following the government settlement that froze the license fee, reducing the BBC's income, and saw the corporation take on additional responsibility for funding some services.

[2][23] The "BBC HD" name remains in use for a channel available to the maritime industry, including on select cruise ships.

The service was also carried on digital terrestrial television in London, from Crystal Palace, until May 2007 as part of the channel's trial and gradually made available nationwide on a region-by-region basis from 2 December 2009.

A side effect of this change was a drop in bitrate from 16 megabits per second (Mb/s) to 9.7 Mbit/s, leading to a large number of complaints to the BBC.

[39] Further anger ensued that the new satellite bitrate fell below the recommendations set out by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), of which the BBC is a member.

[43] Meanwhile, the international version of BBC HD continued to broadcast on satellite at the higher bitrate and screen resolution.

[44] The following year, on 30 April 2010, a delegation of viewers who had complained met with Andy Quested and Danielle Nagler[45] to argue that BBC HD was failing to "deliver a very high quality technical service to viewers, by adhering to, or seeking to exceed, industry standards for picture resolution".

The issue was resolved when, on 3 June 2010, the BBC introduced variable bitrate encoding and fixed previous problems with mixing, fading and noise in pictures.

When off air, the channel would broadcast a looped series of clips identified as the BBC HD Preview.

[51] These were used until 2009 when the presentation changed to a style featuring an ordinary scene which would become extraordinary when viewed through a rotating diamond shape.

In 2008, BBC Sport officials indicated that they hoped to offer all of their output in HD by 2012, based on the availability of global feeds and planned new studios or HD-friendly renovations in London and Manchester.