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BBC iPlayer Update

Rob — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 11:27:49 +0000

I am a bit behind on postings lately, but I have been meaning to post about another iPlayer development. Its now available through a streaming service, based on flash. This helps people on non-microsoft platforms access the content. It is also quick and easy to use, if you have a quick ish connection (Its ok on my 1mb ADSL). Good Work BBC.

See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

BBC User?

Rob — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 19:52:17 +0000

If your a user of the BBC’s Web Services and you run Linux, now is the time to stand up and be counted. I use linux every day as do I use the BBC’s Website.

In a recent statement, it was said that out of the 17.1 million users, only 400 to 600 of them run linux. I can’t beleive this is true, nor can many others.

It could be any number of things, including someone getting the wrong number of zeros or a mistake when running the report. Of these 17.1 million users, 5% are Mac and 400 to 600 are Linux. I wonder, how many are windows, and how many are “other”… This could well be where some of the linux users are. The asumption is made that the rest are all Windows users, but that may not be true.

You can read the article here, and sign the petition to say you run linux and visit the bbc website here.

Stand up and be counted as a BBC Linux User, and help enable access to new streaming and download services (like iPlayer) under linux.

BBC iPlayer: Update!

Rob — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 12:58:13 +0000

BBC iPlayer has only been available for users of Windows to date, and currently that is still the case. However, with a number of movements since the launch of iPlayer beta, we may soon see a change. There is no promise of delivering iPlayer to non-Windows users, but according to the BBC Trust, there is a need for iPlayer “platform neutrality”.

There is are moves to offer streaming video services to mulitpul platforms. The adoption & usage of these streaming services by users running non-Windows operating systems, may well decide the future of iPlayer. Streaming serivces being available on Linux and Mac would be great, but you would have to be online and streaming at the time. For a number of people this is a great adition but not a replacement for being able to download the content and watch when ready.

All this talk from the BBC and others is great, but it all comes down to content protection. If there is no DRM system available that meets the needs of the ‘rights holders’, then the BBC will not be able to implement iPlayer on any other platforms. The need to manage what happens to content is the main priority, not access to it.

2000 – VHS Tape, record, keep, watch, Lockin? The fact its on a tape
2007 – iPlayer, download, keep for a restricted amount of time, watch then deleted within a week, Lockin? Format, OS, DRM, Player, and so on…

Lets not get started on DRM now, Just read: DefectiveByDesign: What is DRM?

Who’s rights? Do content authors have the right to protect their content to this degree? Who paid for what? (Licence fees go to the BBC, the BBC make or buy content, who owns what? If your paying the bill shouldn’t you have a say?) Do you still have the right to watch the content?

If viewers lose rights at this rate, who will be allowed to see content in another 7 years? Just the company that made it??? Or maybe we will have a Set Top Box for each content author, that allows us to watch each program once, and then deletes it. Then when their ‘box’ breaks we can pay them to come and look at it, and then buy a new one from them because its beond repair. With a nice monthly fee and the box self distructing when you cancel your contract….

Defective By Design
iPlayer Petition
iPlayer Petition – Responce
BBC News: Government backs Trust on iPlayer
BBC News: BBC ‘must offer iPlayer for all’
BBC News: BBC online to go free over wi-fi