Nah, it's not quite
ready for your iPhone (or
OS X at all, to be frank), but the BBC iPlayer has officially launched. The online TV service will go head-to-head with rivals
4OD and
ITV, and according to director general Mark Thompson, the launch of iPlayer "is as big a milestone as the arrival of color TV." All exaggeration aside, the service will allow viewers to "download a selection of programs from the last seven days and watch them for up to 30 days afterwards," and of course, all files are not only laced in DRM, but will automatically delete themselves after they are viewed or after 30 days have passed. Currently, a fixed number of people will be able to sign up, with the numbers increasing throughout the year, and while it only operates in Britain on Windows XP systems using IE 6 or later, the
BBC's Ashley Highfield has stated that hopes are for the iPlayer to "become a universal service available not just over the internet, but also on cable and other TV platforms, and eventually on mobiles and smart handheld devices."
[Via
BBC]
posted July 27th 2007 3:02PM
iPlayer?
Apple Legal Team ASSEMBLE!
Funny. I'll admit that.
But the whole "i" branding really shouldn't belong to Apple product. More than anything, "i" just stands for Internet. Like the way "e" stand for electronic. I think Apple's sucess with the iPod, should grant them the only ones to use it to associate their products. I'll admit, the "i" sensation in consumer electronics is hot, but getting annoying. It doesn't even make sense in some products.
Although I've always wondered why e-mail couldn't be i-mail. Considering is it Internet mail. And why the iPod couldn't be called the ePod, because it is really electronic. But things work out I guess.
In fact no; iplayer belongs to a French company called Netgem, who will soon provide a set top box named iplayer in the UK. -> www.iplayer.co.uk
"iplayer" has been used for years in France.
Anyone got a list of good British proxy around?
Typical web-proxy wont work as this is not HTTP based. It is a peer to peer system that I cant remember the name of (starts with K), and which is filtered on registered IP ranges from UK ISPs.
You could setup some sort of forwarding I guess, but sounds like a load of hassle when you can just find it all on the 'bay anyway without the DRM...
Why did they have to choose the gayest screen shot to advertise their product? Was that really necessary?
This is coming from the BBC, that means Europe. Europeans are more in touch with their asspirations.
All nonsense aside though. I think those may be shots from New Zealand warriors/dancers, or perhaps Hawaiian. I really don't know.
Dunno what you are expecting...
For reference the 3 guys are from a show called "last man standing" where a few western "sports men" (e.g. martial arts experts, pro BMX riders etc) go to tribal places in Africa/Asia/South America and see if they can compete with the natives in traditional sports - e.g. mongolian wrestling, running a 50K marathon in sandals in mexico, kick-wrestling somewhere in asia. Its actually pretty interesting show
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/iplayer/
They've already said they're going to make it universal, so theres not much point in this petition anymore!
Yea. Start a petition about osx not working on my pc then also while your at it. Moron.
This will only ever work when all the bloody networks aren't using their own proprietary softwares to aggregate their content. Why do I need to download and install 4-5 clients when I can watch all the content on one TV?
Get together and iron out a standard software for streaming my on/offline content! Better yet, get friendly with Apple and Microsoft's UK offices and have their media players (and others) handle the streams and DRM for us. Then my OS ships with the gear I need to 'go digital'.
Still can't believe it.
"Why do I need to download and install 4-5 clients when I can watch all the content on one TV?"
Say you got your wish and could access all that content with the one client, why would you choose that over watching it on TV? If you're in a position where watching the TV really isn't the best option, then 4-5 clients really isn't that much of hurdle is it.
And as for the standard client, that isn't ever going to happen as far as i can see it. The problem being advertising.
doesnt work with vista. The OS has been out for over 6 months for go sake!
It uses the same engine as 4OD, which can easily (well, kind of easily..) be modified to run on Vista - I'm pretty sure you'll be able to do the same with this.
yeah...ive got 4od working on my comp but i dont think the bbc one uses an installer.
Advertising is hardly a problem. If each channel's content were seperated into tabs within the one app, ad supported networks would display them alongside their content listings and within their programming, the BBC's tabs and programming would not.
As for the inconvenience, this is supposed to complement my TV set, not take it over. Chances are I'd just use my DVR Freeview box and watch the content whenever I wanted without restrictions and limitations anyway. However, when away from home, it would be great if my license fee entitlement included the option to fire up Media Player/iTunes/VLC etc... and dial in to get my latest fix of 'Heroes', 'Top Gear' or 'The Gadget Show'.
www.spammerseatsh*tanddie.com
Two things annoy me about this.
1/ The BBC pride themselves on being cutting edge and full of creative individuals yet they can't come up with a unique original brand for the new service. iPlayer is so clearly stolen from Apples naming that it makes me mad to think someone probably got paid to come up with 'iPlayer'... It shows no imagination or creativity at all. Irony no1 is they probably did it to relate to the young tech-savvy generation.... who will see through it instantly. Which leads on to......
2/ The fact that they have stolen the 'i' branding from Apple yet the player doesn't support the originators operating system.
Its about time the Beeb stood up. Even Americans are making better programs than them now too!!
"is as big a milestone as the arrival of color TV."
Mark could have said "since the creation of Life on Earth" with slightly more, though mischievous, accuracy.
I think we're missing the important question:
Will it be available in America on Mac OS X in time for the Doctor Who Christmas Special "Ship of the Damned" and the second season of Torchwood (though, I would actually like to see the FIRST season of Torchwood....)?
Focus, people, FOCUS!
Has anyone managed to get their conformation email with their log in details?
I tried with a couple of different email addresses as i got no reply to my first.
Looking round a few forums it would seem no one has had a reply.
After all the hype i think they've made a right mess of the launch,everyone i know expected to get home from work hit the link download the software and start using it,they could have made it clear that you had to "apply" to join the beta test and would then be invited at some point in the future.
Woooops that should be "confirmation"
Umm, so as a British TV license payer. I am forking cold, hard cash out of my pockets to put this crap on the internet for any non-license fee paying chumps to view?! I'll be having a refund thanks very much.
No - I have tried several email addys over a couple of days and received nothing - not even a confirmation email to say they have received my application.
This is ridiculous - this isnt a "launch" - this is a semi closed beta test. I too was exepecting that I would just be able to download the app and get going on the 27th like it seemed to promise. In fact I saw the iPlayer pages last week and they were the same as they are now so how is this "launch" on the 27th any different to the service offered last week?
Come on BBC - pull your finger out and give us access to the content we pay for.
Okay, I don't condone this, or even sponser doing this, but if you are sick of BBC adding DRM to the video file, just use Fairuse4WM to just rip the DRM once you download the license, and search for the actual video file once it downloads.....
But seriously, pay your license...
I got my email and login details (29/07/2007) - downloaded 1 program from the library and now the iplayer software refuses to start up.
Its a nice idea make everything available online, but using the client is a painful experience and putting DRM on is the final nail in the coffin. The content is produced using Britsh licence payers money(in the UK if you own a TV you have to pay a licence fee currently £131 approx. $260 a year).
In my opinion the british people who pay their licence fee should get the content free from DRM(i dont think it will ever happpen), or at the very least let us access the content without using their client software.
OK, got it working now - and it's fast! But, considering it's the same program as 4oD, and even the five version, I too would like a combined client - Freeview OnDemand, or something?