Tomorrow BBC will change broadcasting forever

T

TurnerGTX

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Tomorrow, the BBC will change the way that broadcasting works in Britain for ever. When the much-touted iPlayer is launched to the public, albeit in a "beta" test form, no viewer need ever worry about missing a programme again, because a few clicks of mouse will bring it up on a computer screen, exactly as it was when it was transmitted live.

What is the iPlayer and how can I get it?

The BBC iPlayer enters public beta tomorrow, and will allow licence holders to download most BBC programmes, and keep them on a computer for up to 30 days.

However, once you start watching them, you only have a seven-day period to view them, as many times as you like. You can register for the BBC iPlayer tomorrow at www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer. The site will not go live until then.

What can I watch?

The process of making TV available online is complicated by who owns the rights to what versions of which shows. The Chase, Jekyll, and EastEnders, to name but a few, are all available to download because the BBC has the legal right to give them to licence fee payers.

But the hit American drama Heroes, for instance, will not be available, because the online broadcast rights don't belong to the BBC. In future versions of iPlayer, you'll be able to "stack" up to 15 per cent of episodes in a series and your computer will automatically download episodes in a series you select to stack (it's similar to the "series link" function on Sky+).

The BBC is aiming to put more than 80 per cent of its entire schedule online by 2010; it's possible that, between now and then, the seven-day window will be increased, and you'll be able to keep shows on your computer for longer.

What do I need?

Only people with PCs running Windows XP can take part initially; Macs, Windows Vista and other platforms will be supported later on.

Can I watch the iPlayer on my TV?

The BBC is aiming to provide programmes in a quality that's good enough to watch at full computer screen resolution, although not in high definition.

That means that even if you have the necessary cables and kit, or, say, an Apple TV, to connect your computer to your TV, the resolution will be slightly disappointing. But it won't be long until TVs connect directly to the internet, via an iPlayer box like Sky's similar Sky+ personal video recorder.

Can I keep programmes, or send them to other people?

No - each programme is digitally encrypted using Microsoft's "digital rights management" (DRM) technology. Realistically though, it's only a matter of time before the hacking community works out how to exploit DRM loopholes.

In addition, many music tracks are now being sold through online stores without DRM encryption, and it's entirely possible that as iPlayer evolves, the BBC may yet follow suit.

What about older programmes?

Alongside the private iPlayer trial that's been going on over the past few months, the BBC has also been trialling an Archive Player. In time, that service is likely to let you purchase older programmes from the archives.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml;jsessionid=JI21D1J0FRJMHQFIQMFCFFWAVCBQYIV0?xml=/connected/2007/07/26/dlbbc126.xml
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Does this mean people will download TG direct from the iPlayer from now on? Surely a proxy will allow non-Brits to watch?
 
Low-quality, DRM-laden files? Oh, joy!
 
DRM sucks. I won't even rent movies. I want to be able to buy and own.

At least I get to watch every episode of Heroes on NBC.com whenever I feel like it. Now that is smart.
 
Low-quality, DRM-laden files? Oh, joy!
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My sentiments exactly.

Yes, that's brilliant. I can watch the show from BBC's iPlayer in crappy resolution, while giving you control over my computer. Or I can hit UKNova and watch high-quality rips on whatever player I want and keep them for as long as I please.

Gee, I wonder which I will choose. Way to take a page from Hollywood's book.
 
TomCat said:
DRM sucks. I won't even rent movies. I want to be able to buy and own.

At least I get to watch every episode of Heroes on NBC.com whenever I feel like it. Now that is smart.
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I loved that about NBC. It worked in linux, mac os, windows, firefox or IE. And I only had to put up with 1 or 2 short commercials (a lot less than on tv) and I did a marathon of the first 11 when I got into the show.

I'd be inclined to dump my PVR if every company did it that way.
 
Due to copyright laws, it probably won't even work outside of the UK. Those who will have the ability to watch it get to enjoy video at low, streaming quality. Joy of joys.

What's next? An iPod rival that makes it difficult, if not impossible, to use your old music library on your new portable player? Oh, wait...
 
epp_b said:
My sentiments exactly.

Yes, that's brilliant. I can watch the show from BBC's iPlayer in crappy resolution, while giving you control over my computer. Or I can hit UKNova and watch high-quality rips on whatever player I want and keep them for as long as I please.

Gee, I wonder which I will choose. Way to take a page from Hollywood's book.
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It is not the BBC's choice. They would not be allowed to show 99% of the stuff if they didn't have the DRM.
Also someone on here took part in the trail and says the quality is very good. ~500MB for an episode of Top Gear if I remember correctly.
 
BerserkerCatSplat said:
Low-quality, DRM-laden files? Oh, joy!
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Better than nothing. And fantastic for the kind of BBC programmes that are too low-key to get torrents online.

Now if they'd only hurry up and make an iPlayer version for any system that isn't Windows XP...
 
Brits may be some of the best entertainers, but you guys have to have some of the worst business men ever
 
You have to download the BBC iPlayer files as well. And I've heard others claim the quality is "DVD Quality" before, but the files would have to be very big for that to be true.
 
well i've applied to try out iPlayer so i'll hold my judgement until i've got it. i think it's just giving you access to all the programmes you get through the on demand service through your cable or Sky TV... same as 4OD. whatever it is it will be interesting to see if Fraps records from the player window :D
 
Only people with PCs running Windows XP can take part initially; Macs, Windows Vista and other platforms will be supported later on.
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...why? How hard can it be to stream video in a cross-platform format?
...Not hard at all, considering sites like youtube have been doing it for so long.

If you're a Mac OSX or Linux or Solaris or whatever user, who has paid their license fee in England , this is unfair.
 
...why? How hard can it be to stream video in a cross-platform format?
...Not hard at all, considering sites like youtube have been doing it for so long.
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You're right, it's not difficult at all....if you do it properly, which BBC hasn't. If they weren't in Microsoft's pockets and weren't so stupid about "ZOMGG!! i need too prootect my contentzzz!!!11", they could do something as simple as plain old MPGs or some other universally playable format.
 
well if any of you use Mac OS X and parallels to use xp....iplayer wont work, because it detects that you dont have xp, wmp or internet explorer, even though you actually do.
 
epp_b said:
iPlayer: The Corruption of BBC

I, for one, agree with the author's sentiments. The BBC has gone completely lax on their Public Purposes. iPlayer is not acceptable in its current form.
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Good grief. Everyone seems to have forgotten that this is a public beta. It's not the finished iPlayer; and it's not even the finished Windows-model iPlayer.

The BBC has promised that other formats (other than Windows XP) are coming. Possibly the BBC just want to get the beta out to the most widely-used system first? My theory is that the BBC has subcontracted a small dev team to do this and as such they're only working on one OS at a time.

Nobody's so hugely up in arms when games are released for windows first, then mac (and possibly never for *nux).

If you read the 'defective by design' link, one of their arguments is that the Labour government is tight with Microsoft. Yes, maybe they are. So what? What does that have to do with the BBC, who are not a branch of the government?

Sigh.
 
I personally don't see the point of getting all anal about an episode of any program which has already been aired along with the advert bundle that was contracted out. Viewers need to be given total respect and control over what they want to watch, when, and where. Yes I understand there are nuances surrounding the revenue, the fact that BBC is aired over public airwaves and so forth. But honestly, that can all be worked out. And for everytime a company like Viacom spends time, money and effort taking on another youtube.com there is going to be another site to take its place based out of someone's backyard in Liechtenstein. This whole DRM thing has to be better thought out. Unfortunately lawyers are doing their job in interpreting laws and their concern isn't with the public satisfaction. But we'll see...hopefully common sense will prevail.
 
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