> Quicktime H.264
(12.2mb)
> iPod Compatible
(2.9mb)
> Watch in Flash
(3.2mb progressive)

The smartest, funniest, most talked about show on Australian television returns to ABC1 this Wednesday night at 9pm for its third season after 17 months off air.

Catch up on season two, from all the way back in 2007 here.

> Quicktime H.264
(42.4mb)
> iPod Compatible
(11.8mb)
> Watch in Flash
(7.6mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(13.5mb)
> iPod Compatible
(3.2mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(21.8mb)
> iPod Compatible
(4.1mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2.6mb progressive)

Australia Network, the international television service of the ABC has refreshed its identity and introduced a new slogan ‘From our world to yours’.

With the channel available in over 44 countries throughout the Asia Pacific region, the refresh needed cross cultural appeal, while also standing out in an already saturated television market.

The end result is a very fresh and contemporary on air look that perhaps our local ABC1 could learn a little from..

Credits: Saatchi Design / Motion Foundry / Sopheric.

> Quicktime H.264
(2.4mb)
> iPod Compatible
(1.2mb)
> Watch in Flash
(534kb progressive)

The ABC has been teasing its viewers lately with the tagline “TV out of the box”. Well, this evening the ABC announced that its BBC iPlayer-esque service initally dubbed ABC Playback is now open to the public, and has been rebranded as ABC iView.

The BBC have been very succesful in establishing iPlayer as a brand despite its ordinary name, but really, iView was the best they could come up with?

Anyway, derivative name aside, the just launched ABC iView service is fairly similar to the beta version of the ABC Playback service that I reviewed earlier this year. And while the video quality is fine, and the content has increased to include news among other things, the interface still bugs me badly, and the whole thing doesn’t come close to the user experience of the newly launched BBC iPlayer 2.0.

> Quicktime H.264
(7mb)
> iPod Compatible
(3.6mb)
> Watch in Flash
(1.8mb progressive)

The Hollowmen is a new political comedy/drama coming to ABC1 from July 9th. With this being the first on-air promo for the new show. The use of photographs in the video is a possible allusion to a 2004 election campaign commercial that adopted a similar style, or perhaps I’m just reading too much into it.

Produced by the Working Dog, the team behind Frontline and The Castle, the show is about “the workings of an internal think tank, set up by the Prime Minister, whose responsibility is long-term policy vision”.

> Quicktime H.264
(26.6mb)
> iPod Compatible
(13.8mb)
> Watch in Flash
(8mb progressive)

“You may love May”.. Are they suggesting there’s a chance we won’t? That’s the ABC’s confidence lacking tagline being used in this otherwise resplendent promo.

And while its obviously in reference to the month its the kind of thing your unlikely to see on another network. The ABC received some bad press over a recent Logies promo that went to air, so this deliberately low key outing is probably welcome.

Outside of the ABC however, May should be an interesting month for Australian television with a new look SBS set to launch, and Arena’s Bravo-style rebranding.

While I was recently reminded of, and amused by the success of the BBC’s video-on-demand iPlayer service in the UK, it did get me thinking about the ABC’s digital ambitions, in particular the National Broadcaster’s recently beta launched iPlayer-like service ABC Playback.

What follows is my take on the ABC’s latest step into the future…

While there currently isn’t much content to play with on the ABC’s beta of Playback, thats really secondary to the usability, design and quality of the service, as no doubt the videos available will jump sharply when the service is running at full steam. That said however, the BBC has revealed that the greatest expense in running the iPlayer service has been creating a back end “that’s able to crank out 400 hours of content each week”, although perhaps the ABC won’t be quite that ambitious in its output.

The quality of the video on Playback is absolutely acceptable by todays standards, high definition would be a waste of resources and bandwidth, and for the average consumer it will be more than enough, and for me watching At The Movies on a 24″ display was comparable to a regular television experience. The use of Flash video means the content is easily available across platforms and for most people won’t even require installing any new software.

Where I think the greatest flaws exist in the service however are in the layout and design of site. The ABC has some great web properties including the recently revamped ABC News site, which I honestly believe is one the best news websites in the world, so why couldn’t the Playback interface take some cues from it?

As it currently exists the ABC Playback site is in Flash overload, and while Flash is great for delivering videos, as a tool for creating successful interfaces it is not. The arbitrary use of channels to break up the programming is unnecessary, and the cute but ultimately pointless carousel that presents a spinning selection of programs will become unbearable when an expanded selection comes online.

YouTube couldn’t possibly of become the success it is if it had implemented a similar all-Flash design, complete with superfluous animations, and a green and black colour scheme.

ABC Playback has the potential to be incredibly successful, and I have no doubt it will be. However I think part of that success will come from ABC Playback becoming a destination in itself for users to not only catch up on their favourite shows, but to also discover new ones, and currently there is no motivation for the visitor to explore beyond a few clicks.

A ready-for-primetime Playback service needs to look to the simpler designs, and fresher looks of Hulu, iTunes, iPlayer, and even YouTube. A lot more functionality could be achieved by adopting a new look that doesn’t rely so heavily on Flash, things like: direct links, podcast subscribing, for keeps downloads, cast details, comments, recommendations, specific program sites, most watched lists, and a raft of other features that are limited by the current look.

While I’m sure this sounds like a lot of criticism, the ABC has a high standard to maintain in its online endeavors, as one of the largest podcasters in the world the National Broadcaster has proven how effective it can be at delivering content over the internet. The launch of Playback will be a first for an Australian television network, and will be important for the ABC to get right.

> Quicktime H.264
(12.8mb)
> iPod Compatible
(5.9mb)
> Watch in Flash
(3mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(13.1mb)
> iPod Compatible
(5.8mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2.7mb progressive)

It’s just been reported that the Australian mockumentary Summer Heights High has been sold for international broadcast to BBC Three in the UK, and none other than HBO in the United States.

Chris Lilley won a Rose d’Or for his previous show, We Can Be Heroes, and will no doubt garner even greater attention with these new distribution deals. And while various other Australian productions have made their way onto American television, this will certainly be one of the most high profile.

PRESS RELEASE:

“Top-rating Australian comedy smash-hit, Summer Heights High has been acquired by HBO for North America and the BBC in the UK, in two landmark deals.

HBO, America’s premium pay television channel, plans to add Summer Heights High to its 2008 comedy line up.

In a separate deal, ABC Commercial has licensed the series to BBC 3 for the UK.

Courtney Gibson, ABC TV’s Executive Head Content Creation, “We’re over the moon that HBO and the BBC3 have picked up Summer Heights High.

“Mr G, Ja’mie and Jonah have been welcomed into the home of such immortals as Tony Soprano and Deadwood’s Al Swearingen in the US, and the home of groundbreaking comedy in the UK. In terms of transatlantic TV sales, it just doesn’t get any classier than this.”

Laura Waters, Executive Producer Princess Pictures, said “It’s exciting to be the first Australian program to sell to a major network like HBO. It shows that it doesn’t matter where you live, funny is funny! And everyone’s been to school.”

“Summer Heights High also broke records in the its DVD sales – in less than five months it became the biggest selling TV series DVD in Australian history.”

Summer Heights High was a hit with Australian audiences when it screened on ABC TV in late 2007. Its peak episode captured over 40% of the television audience under 40 years old. (Oz TAM data).”

> Quicktime H.264
(19.4mb)
> iPod Compatible
(13.6mb)
> Watch in Flash
(16mb progressive)

The ABC made some big announcements about its digital future today, including the launch of an iPlayer-esque service called ABC Playback, a for-pay download store, and the groundwork for the long anticipated 24 hour news channel.

And while theres plenty of time to talk about the need for platform agnosticism and critique the interface and branding, the one thing that is entirely clear is that the national broadcaster is leading the way among Australian broadcasters, and further demonstrating its relevance during this digital revolution.

Read all the details here or check out some of the action in the video above.

> Quicktime H.264
(15.6mb)
> iPod Compatible
(8.1mb)
> Watch in Flash
(4.3mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(12.8mb)
> iPod Compatible
(6.6mb)
> Watch in Flash
(3.9mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(2.8mb)
> iPod Compatible
(1.3mb)
> Watch in Flash
(912kb progressive)

While the new idents make up just part of the ABC1 look, another major factor is the on-air branding of promos and other broadcast materials. The task of developing a new look was left up to Tactic who came up with “a ‘toolkit’ of over 200 channel branding elements including colour palette selection, font selection, on-air promo packaging, supers and menus… The new branding provides the foundations for the ABC to create and produce their own promos and on-air elements.”

Tactic didn’t come up with the new logos, they were supplied by the ABC, but they did do the rest, and while the red, white and blue initially confused me a bit, its beginning to sink in. It’s certainly distinctive and very clean, qualities I tend to find appealing.

Check out the new on-air branding from Tactic for ABC2 here.

UPDATE: It turns out the ABC has never had a unifying channel brand like they’ve just adopted, and as mentioned in comments earlier whats on-air right now isn’t the gold standard that was intended, so while whats on-air catches up with what was intended, check out the screenshots below for an idea of what we should expect soon.

> Quicktime H.264
(11.4mb)
> iPod Compatible
(5.8mb)
> Watch in Flash
(3.1mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(12.5mb)
> iPod Compatible
(6.3mb)
> Watch in Flash
(3.4mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(11.3mb)
> iPod Compatible
(5.9mb)
> Watch in Flash
(3.1mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(8.8mb)
> iPod Compatible
(4.2mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2.5mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(7.1mb)
> iPod Compatible
(3.6mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(14mb)
> iPod Compatible
(7.4mb)
> Watch in Flash
(4.3mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(6.2mb)
> iPod Compatible
(3.1mb)
> Watch in Flash
(1.8mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(17.7mb)
> iPod Compatible
(9mb)
> Watch in Flash
(1.1mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(6.9mb)
> iPod Compatible
(3.5mb)
> Watch in Flash
(1.9mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(8.7mb)
> iPod Compatible
(4.5mb)
> Watch in Flash
(3.6mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(8.2mb)
> iPod Compatible
(4.1mb)
> Watch in Flash
(4mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(17.3mb)
> iPod Compatible
(8.9mb)
> Watch in Flash
(5.4mb progressive)

I was desperate for the ABC to do something exciting when they relaunched their on-air brand today, but as yet I’m not sure if they’ve done it. While its a no-brainer that the national broadcaster needed to bring its channels into line with each other through a name change, the actual substance of the new look is where I am slightly less convinced.

From a technical and production standpoint the idents for ABC1 are on par or better than the rest of free to air to Australia, and while conceptually anything is deeper and more meaningful than ‘We Heart TV’, I guess I was expecting something grander and more profound than what I saw when I turned on the television at noon.

Visually the idents share a couple of characteristics with a series Channel Five in the UK ran early last year to celebrate its ten years of existence. In a similar style to what ABC1 has done they mixed live action with animation and in the case of Five contrasted the realities of life working in television against an evolving backdrop of child like imagination. And while the Five series cleverly aligned a networks tenth birthday to that of a child’s birthday through the animation, I’m unclear as to what the ABC is trying to achieve with a similar concept.

With all that said however, any criticism of the collection so far is from a perspective of international comparison, a comparison the average viewer will not be making, and when compared solely to local competition these idents and the new look in general is simply stunning, and will strike a chord as uniquely ABC.

I couldn’t agree more with Kim Dalton’s assertion that the national broadcaster is “embracing true multi-channelling”, and by taking an alternative path to that of other Australian networks is truly building a future and extending the longevity and purpose of the ABC in a landscape where other media organisations are looking downhill towards their own demise and irrelevance.

(The idents were produced by zspace, who have previously worked with the ABC to produce this earlier set of idents as well.)

Check out the new look ABC1 and ABC2 above, they’re taken from the national broadcasters new TV website here. Also on the site, check out Kim Dalton’s video introducing a “redefined” ABC.

Broadcast quality versions of all of the new ABC1 idents are now available here.

Broadcast quality versions of all of the new ABC2 idents are now available here.

> Quicktime H.264
(15.2mb)
> iPod Compatible
(5.4mb)
> Watch in Flash
(6.1mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(23.7mb)
> iPod Compatible
(11.8mb)
> Watch in Flash
(6.5mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(5mb)
> iPod Compatible
(2.6mb)
> Watch in Flash
(1.3mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(6.7mb)
> iPod Compatible
(2.8mb)
> Watch in Flash
(1.7mb progressive)

The ABC launched its current “There’s more to..” campaign on December 21st 2005, and with tomorrows impending shake up and name change it seemed the time was right for a short retrospective.

The above videos are just a selection of the many, many variations on the theme that have been broadcast over the past few years, including the original 60 second video that began the rebrand back in 2005.

While there have certainly been varying levels of quality, some of the stand outs from the series include the “genre collection” released early last year, and of course The Chaser’s directors commentary, noting the series obscurity and pretension.

> Quicktime H.264
(886kb)
> iPod Compatible
(537kb)
> Watch in Flash
(504kb progressive)

The ABC continues to tease us, with the latest promo promising that “Change is Here”, and that its all happening on February 8th. For more from the ABC’s rebranding saga check out my previous coverage here and here.

> Quicktime H.264
(45.4mb)
> iPod Compatible
(24.3mb)
> Watch in Flash
(12.4mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(65.1mb)
> iPod Compatible
(33.5mb)
> Watch in Flash
(17mb progressive)

This morning The Australian was reporting (on page one no less) that the ABC was set to drop the famous lissajous symbol from its on air broadcasts in favour of a new logo. It didn’t take long for the ABC to deny the reports however and assure us all that the new look will include the famous logo.

ABC’s midday and evening news’ covered the story, giving kudos to the blog that leaked it, and clarifying the ABC’s position on the rebrand, which will officially take place on February 8th. They also spoke to ‘media expert’ Harold Mitchell about the impending changes (second video).

Listen to what the director of ABC TV Kim Dalton has to say about the rebrand in the audio below from ABC Radio Melbourne from earlier this morning.

> Quicktime H.264
(14.6mb)
> iPod Compatible
(7.6mb)
> Watch in Flash
(4mb progressive)

I’m pretty excited by all things ABC, and the national broadcaster has been giving us plenty to stew over lately. When they’re not broadcasting confusing promos for ABC2, they’re busy dropping hints about changes to come and leaking blurry photos of new logos on the net. So in the unlikely event we needed anymore proof that a new change was indeed coming, they’ve delivered this new promo bizarrely incorporating what I can only assume is the Pan Slavic Flag with the promise of “New Beginnings”.

The song is ‘Brand New Day’ by the cellist for the Foo Fighters Jessy Greene.

> Quicktime H.264
(7.1mb)
> iPod Compatible
(3.6mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2.1mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(7.4mb)
> iPod Compatible
(3.6mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2.1mb progressive)

Well I’m going to Queensland for the rest of this week, so posting may slow down more than usual. I thought it was about time I shared some of that Australian Christmas cheer, so here is the ABC’s seasons greetings from various people within the broadcaster and around the world.

> Quicktime H.264
(10.9mb)
> iPod Compatible
(5.8mb)
> Watch in Flash
(3mb progressive)

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has just flicked the switch on its new software offering ABC Now. Currently only available on PC (with Mac on the way) the desktop client is an audio/video hub for ABC content that allows you to stream and download programs and listen to live radio. And while comparisions are bound to be made to the BBC’s iPlayer this isn’t quite it, not yet at least.

The software is currently pretty basic, and doesn’t offer anything you can’t already get through the ABC’s website. What I find exciting about this is the potential it has. The fact that the ABC is building its own software is great, and its promise to be cross platform is also nice, what it needs though is much more content, much better quality streams and downloads, an integrated media player and library for your downloads, live streaming of ABC television channels, and a huge video back catalogue of every ABC production they have the rights to give away or sell to us.

And while my wish list is probably a bit of a stretch, I think this very first release is a nice start, with a lot of room to grow. Try it out for yourself here.

In related news: The ABC have announced that vodcasts are being downloaded at a rate of 327,000 per week, with over 14 million video downloads so far this year.

> Quicktime H.264
(187mb)
> iPod Compatible
(84.6mb)
> Watch in Flash
(60mb progressive)

> Qucktime H.264
(37.6mb)
> iPod Compatible
(21.9mb)
>Watch in Flash
(11mb progressive)

Its almost too exhausting to have to defend, but after the Chaser filmed a sketch involving Today Tonight host Anna Coren at Seven’s studios in Sydney.. “there was a bit of a Mexican stand-off with cameras for about an hour and all these Today Tonight executives went berserk and ran off to the Supreme Court” explained executive producer of the Chaser Julian Morrow.

Long story short Channel Seven have obtained an injunction to prevent the footage being aired on tonights episode of The Chaser’s War on Everything. Today Tonight led with this story tonight (first video) in a piece running for 16 minutes (topping an earlier Chaser story they did for 11 minutes). The story is basically one long interaction between Chas and TT reporter Bryan Seymour where he tries to be as offended as possible by the whole thing, while Chas waits to hear from the ABC’s lawyers and continues to point out the enormous irony of the whole situation.

Whatever comes out of this, the fact is that Today Tonight masquerades as a serious news program while doing nothing more then chipping away at our society and culture with the garbage its broadcasts five nights a week. Its understandable then that a show like Today Tonight, the complete antithesis of the Chaser would be so upset by the success of this amazing satire, that so publicly tears apart the role and significance of tabloid television on a weekly basis.

For more on my admiration of this show check out The Simpson’s War on Everything, or download entire episodes right here.

Update: Read the official response from The Chaser and ABC here.

Update 2: Read the interim injuction granted by the NSW Supreme Court here.

> Quicktime H.264
(9.4mb)
> iPod Compatible
(5.2mb)
> Watch in Flash
(4mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(9.9mb)
> iPod Compatible
(4.4mb)
> Watch in Flash
(4mb progressive)

The Australia Network (formerly ABC Asia Pacific) is a free to air satellite television station operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Its available to over 20 million homes across Asia, the Pacific, and India, and although technically not broadcast in Australia, some of its programming is available on ABC2.

The above video comparison shows the opening sequences of ABC News as broadcast locally, and ABC News Asia Pacific produced for the Australia Network.

> Quicktime H.264
(52.4mb)
> iPod Compatible
(24.2mb)
> Watch in Flash
(9.2mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(20.2mb)
> iPod Compatible
(10mb)
> Watch in Flash
(3.9mb progressive)

Update: The ABC explains everything slightly more eloquently here.

The fight for the next Prime Minister of Australia is well underway, and this evening the current PM John Howard faced his rival Kevin Rudd in the first (and possibly only) debate of this election campaign.

The debate was telecast on the ABC, as well as commercial network Channel Nine and news channel Sky. And while the debate was largely an exchange of speeches between the two men, there was some drama behind the scenes. Basically the event was being recorded by the ABC (for the first time since 1993), under an agreement with the organisers of the event, the National Press Club. The ABC agreed to supply a clean feed of the debate to any broadcaster that wanted it, however when Channel Nine included the worm in its broadcasts against the wishes of National Press Club there feed was pulled, forcing Nine to “pirate” a feed from Sky News.

Unfortunately that technical back and fourth (further explained in the videos above) was about the most interesting thing about the evening, for a slightly more interesting, if only fictional election debate, check out The West Wing’s live debate from the shows final season after the jump..

From: Episode “The Debate” Source: blip.tv

> Quicktime H.264
(10.1mb)
> iPod Compatible
(4.8mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2.2mb progressive)

Tonight could very well be the biggest night The Chaser’s War has seen, as the story behind the prank that made international news last week during APEC is explained.

This video is a promo showing the coverage the prank received on CNN. Hear what Chas had to say about the criticism today on 2UE in the audio below;

Download tonights episode from official vodcast here, or download it off me here.

> Quicktime H.264
(10mb)
> iPod Compatible
(4.6mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2.3mb progressive)

The Chaser’s War on Everything returns tomorrow night to the ABC. With 13 episodes left in the season, and a Federal election due sometime during the filming, it should make for a very interesting end of season two. That is, unless Howard holds off calling the election just to avoid getting Chaser’d (although I doubt that would stop them).

Subscribe to the Chaser’s official vodcast here, or download them off me here.

Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues music video gets the Taylor/Hansen treatment in the above promo. Watch the original Dylan video after the jump…

UPDATE 2: The ratings are in.. Wednesday’s rock the ABC.

> Quicktime H.264
(12.8mb)
> iPod Compatible
(5.9mb)
> Watch in Flash
(3mb progressive)

> Quicktime H.264
(13.1mb)
> iPod Compatible
(5.8mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2.7mb progressive)

In May last year Chris Lilley became the first Australian ever to win at the prestigious television awards, the Rose d’Or. He won for best male comedy performance in his show, We Can Be Heroes, which introduced us to among others, his character Ja’mie.

Ja’mie is back this week, with Summer Heights High starting Wednesday on the ABC.

> Quicktime H.264
(7.2mb)
> iPod Compatible
(4.5mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2.6mb progressive)

When you’ve got one of the best online news services around, the least you can do is promote it. So check out the video above thats been running on the ABC lately, or just start reading, listening and watching the news here.

> Quicktime H.264
(4.9mb)
> iPod Compatible
(2.8mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2mb progressive)

Its been over a year since the ABC began their trial of video podcasting, and what started out with just two shows has now expanded to over a dozen of the national broadcasters news and entertainment programs.

And while the video is far from DVD or DivX quality, at 8-cents a day I’d say their doing a pretty good job. While the BBC has taken the iPlayer route allowing you to download a DRM protected version of videos that automatically deletes itself, I hope the ABC keep on with the podcasting, keep far away from DRM, improve the video quality and keep adding shows.

The ABC’s enormous archive would probably make for a pretty good for-pay download store, amd I’m sure the ABC are already looking at something like that. For now though, no other network in Australia comes close to the video download offerings of the ABC and I look forward to seeing what they do next.

> Quicktime H.264
(3.5mb)
> iPod Compatible
(1.9mb)
> Watch in Flash
(1.4mb progressive)

Music, the arts, science, kids, news, and now books. The ABC continues to remind us of all that “cultural stuff” they do so well. Check out the whole collection here.

> Quicktime H.264
(48.3mb)
> iPod Compatible
(27.7mb)
> Watch in Flash
(14.6mb progressive)

For someone who makes quite as big a deal about The Simpsons as me, I have to admit.. I still haven’t seen the movie, although not through lack of trying.

Watch David and Margaret’s review above (and David’s virginity admission), or check out what Triple J’s resident critic thought about it here.

> Quicktime H.264
(6.9mb)
> iPod Compatible
(2.6mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2.2mb progressive)

Sydney isn’t the capital of Australia?! No, its actually my home town Canberra. And feeling good about where you live is a nice thing. That is probably part of the motivation behind this “Melbourne Lives” campaign running on the ABC in Victoria.

Melbourne, always playing second fiddle to Sydney must get tiring, but the ABC isn’t having a bar of it, instead promoting all the great stuff that Melbourne does for the national broadcaster.

The song is “Light My Way” by Al Harding, which you can read all about here.

- Thanks for the video Tim.

> Quicktime H.264
(3.5mb)
> iPod Compatible
(1.5mb)
> Watch in Flash
(1.2mb progressive)

The ABC has you covered when it comes to new music. With Rage, JTV, and Triple J coming at you online, over the airwaves, and in your downloads.

Music joins the rest of the zspace created “Cross Platform” idents here.

> Quicktime H.264
(21.7mb)
> iPod Compatible
(10.9mb)
> Watch in Flash
(5.7mb progressive)

Enough Rope with Andrew Denton has been on the ABC since 2003, and with every new season comes a new opening sequence. Produced by Hackett Films the newspaper-cartoon-bobble-head titles distill down a year of pop culture, news and politics into 45 seconds. Check out the 2005 and 2006 openers here.