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BFI to digitise 100,000 old TV shows before they disappear
The British Film Institute (BFI) has a plan in motion to save old, at-risk TV programmes stored on obsolete video formats. As part of a new five-year strategy, the organisation has vowed to digitise and preserve "at least 100,000" shows for future generations. These include children's TV programmes Rubovia, the Basil Brush Show and How, and comedy series Do Not Adjust Your Set and At Last the 1948 Show, which featured Monty Python duo John Cleese and Graham Chapman. Regional dramas such as Second City Firsts and Rainbow City have also been earmarked.
BBC opens up iPlayer to outside content for the first time
Last September, the BBC put forward a number of proposals to make iPlayer and the rest of its broadcasting services more "open" and distinctive. One of these was a pledge to allow other people and broadcasters to distribute their programming through iPlayer. On April 23rd, the BBC will be kickstarting this initiative with Shakespeare Lives, a six-month celebration of the famous playwright. Recordings from the British Film Institute (BFI), the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Shakespeare's Globe and the Royal Opera House will all be made available on iPlayer for the first time.
BFI focuses on movie classics with £5 streaming service
If you're a serious movie buff, it doesn't take long to burn through Netflix and Amazon Prime Video's best titles. Within a couple of months, many of us are left mindlessly scrolling through the app, just waiting for either company to add something new. Instead of heading to the cinema, the British Film Institute (BFI) hopes you'll consider a subscription to its new BFI Player+ streaming service. With it, you get access to 300 movies -- BFI says more are being added all the time -- which include classics and contemporary hits from around the world. The organisation is hand-curating its library into useful collections, like Japanese classics, "award-winning" and "unavailable on DVD." English film critic Mark Kermode will also pick a movie every week and do a video piece explaining its significance. The streaming service is designed to supplement, rather than replace, the existing BFI Player which lets you buy and rent individual titles. Its biggest flaw? Device support. BFI Player+ is only available on desktop, tablet and phones, which could make TV viewing a little tricky.
Watch thousands of unseen British films released by the BFI
For decades now, Brits have been shooting amateur movies about their holidays, personal celebrations and experiences at huge, historic events. They're valuable snippets of UK history, but often they're never seen by the wider public. Today, the British Film Institute (BFI) is launching a project called "Britain on Film," which offers free online access to thousands of archived videos. Some were shot by amateurs, while others, such as this tour of Edinburgh by Sean Connery, were commissioned for professional projects. Roughly 2,500 film and TV titles are being released today, with 90 percent of them being free to watch. Many have never been seen before, or not since their first showing, and reveal unique, personal perspectives of how British life has changed over the years.
BFI updates its movie streaming service with more films and a new look
As video streaming increases in popularity, providers need to do all they can to stand out from their rivals. Now just over a year old, the British Film Institute (BFI) has decided to give BFI Player, its own movie offering, a little spring clean. The new version sports a flat, streamlined design with large movie stills across the homepage. The BFI has also added a raft of new movies from Universal Pictures, including E.T and Back to the Future, bringing its total catalog to 1,400 titles (up from just over 1,000 at launch). The on-demand service doesn't require a monthly subscription, instead offering a mixture of free and paid-for movies with a 30-day viewing window. To help you get more from its growing library, the Institute has introduced curated collections, which currently cover sci-fi and cult cinema hits. You'll also be able to create your own in the near future, if making lists is your thing.
British Film Institute to launch streaming video service on October 9th
The British Film Institute promised that it would put 10,000 movies online as part of the Film Forever initiative, and it's now making good on its word -- if slowly. The Institute will launch the first phase of its BFI Player streaming service on October 9th with a library of more than 1,000 videos, including movies, behind-the-scenes clips and archival footage. About 60 percent of the content will be free, with the rest available as pay-per-view. As for those remaining 9,000 videos? The BFI expects those to appear in the months ahead, and it's launching BFI Player's second phase in early 2014.
Upcoming Sony LCDs opt for cheaper motion, backlighting tech
Waiting on the next generation of Sony LED-backlit LCDs? FlatpanelsHD has some information on the next edition of Sony's BRAVIA sets, dubbed in the UK as the X5500. The key difference here is instead of the company's current Motionflow tech and Triluminos LED backlighting, these sets will opt for Black Frame Insertion technology to up the Hz rate, and while it's still a local dimming LED set, white LEDs will come inside instead of the previous three color setup, reducing cost, but also image quality. Of course, DLNA and AppliCast widget support will all be part of the package, so if you, like us, were looking for a cheaper alternative to Sony's high end sets you'll also be keeping an eye out for these to debut around IFA 2009 in September.
