back to article BBC Trust to hear open sourcers' iPlayer gripes

The BBC Trust has asked to meet open source advocates to discuss their complaints over the corporation's Windows-only on demand broadband TV service, iPlayer. The development came less than 48 hours after a meeting between the Open Source Consortium (OSC) and regulators at Ofcom on Tuesday. Officials agreed to press the trust …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Boo bloody hoo

    I don't own a computer, but I do have a fridge. I demand that iPlayer will work on that. And on my sofa. And while we're at it, I drive a Vauxhall Astra, and I demand that the East Coast main line electric power system be modified so that it becomes compatible to MY vehicle of choice. I shop at Tesco, but Sainsbury's don't give me loyalty points - that's fundamentally wrong too. And why are lottery wins only paid out to people who've bought the right ticket? Bleat! Baaaa! Bleat!!!

  2. Stu

    BBC last on the episode streaming front?!

    I'm really surprised at how the BBC, known for their award winning online web presence, has been so sloooow on the delivery of their full-on streaming media services.

    We're still waiting for a public beta, and Channel 4s 4OD service has been going strong for some time now and is a good benchmark to meet. Channel 5 even has rights to present US drama series for download, albeit paid for.

    Does the common as muck ITV have episode downloads available? I wouldn't know.

    The BBC are clearly delusional if they think they can get DRM protected Windows Media Video working in Linux or Mac.

    Even crappy Sky One has episode downloads available.

    The BBC are currently only capable of delivering individual sports and music festival bits, and individual news articles. I wish to hell they are going to drop Real Media - spyware infested nag-ware with popups appearing all over the place. RealAlternative isn't going to keep them alive. DIE RealMedia!!

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Title

    "I don't own a computer, but I do have a fridge. I demand that iPlayer will work on that. And on my sofa. And while we're at it, I drive a Vauxhall Astra, and I demand that the East Coast main line electric power system be modified so that it becomes compatible to MY vehicle of choice. I shop at Tesco, but Sainsbury's don't give me loyalty points - that's fundamentally wrong too. And why are lottery wins only paid out to people who've bought the right ticket? Bleat! Baaaa! Bleat!!!"

    Reality check, going with alternatives would allow it to run on ALL computers capable of media playback, not just provide an additional alternative for those who use 'fringe' computing devices. Inconveniencing no one, lowering costs, and improving compatibility across the board.

    Further more, due to the way the BBC is licensed here, WE ARE PAYING FOR THIS SERVICE, so it'd be quite nice for it to work properly, no?

    Errata: If you don't own a computer, you at least have access to one, otherwise you wouldn't be reading el reg.

    Your car is compatible with roads which follow the same general route as the rail line, so at least you can still get where you are going.

    If you shop at tesco, take out a tesco reward card - you have that option.

    And as for the lottery, if everyone won it, you'd get less than a quid back for your winning lottery numbers.

  4. /\/\j17

    Let's Not Forget Who Pays For the Beeb

    Umm, that would be all of us with a TV.

    Unlike all the examples in the Boo blody hoo post we aren't talking about making a product or service supplied by one manufacturer working with the product of another. We are talking about a paid for service only being made available to a percentage of the people who pay for it, and up-yours if your one of the others.

    If you own a TV you pay to fund the BBC. If you don't watch, that's your choice but with iPlayer they are taking licence funds (of funds that could be used to subsidise the licence fee) to provide a service that ISN'T available to all licence fee payers.

    The BBC is a special case (you don't directly pay for the TV service from Channel 4/5 - they are both funded by advertising) and should be treated as such. The decision to limit iPlayer to only Windows users is the same as the BBC making a change to terrestrial broadcasts so they only work Sony TVs (but still charging everyone else the licence fee).

  5. Giles Jones Gold badge

    DRM

    This is what is wrong with DRM, it's called Digital Rights but unless you use the technology they specify then you don't have the right to watch the content.

    It would be like the BBC only letting you watch their programming if you use a Sony television. Just because it's a popular brand doesn't mean it is fair.

  6. James

    Not that slow

    The BBC have been trialing streaming TV services for ages, but when it comes to actual rollout they are beholden to the trust bureaucracy to let them do it. I was on the last two private betas - alas now I've bought a Mac I'm unsupported in bbc-land.

    First poster, I can't believe you're actually that naiive. This is more like only being able to receive TV broadcasts on a Sony TV. What's that, you've got a Panasonic? Tough titties. It's anticompetitive, plain and simple. That would be bad enough from a commercial broadcaster, but from a public service broadcaster - and one with auntie's history of real innovation, at that - it's inexcusable.

  7. A J Stiles

    Re: Boo bloody hoo

    Oh dear, another anonymous coward looking like another paid Microsoft shill.

    The problem is that by using a proprietary technology, the BBC are excluding people from their service.

    In the MW/LW days, anyone with the requisite knowledge could build a crystal set and listen in to the BBC's output. (When broadcasts first began, there were no ready-made sets for sale: you *had* to build your own.) Nowadays, you need to build a more complicated FM receiver; but nonetheless, all the parts you need are available to members of the general public. Likewise, anyone is free to build a TV set from scratch if they so desire. Not many people do, but nobody is actively preventing them from doing so.

    The point with iPlayer is that the BBC effectively are deliberately withholding a critical component (the Source Code for the iPlayer decryption routine) which someone would need if they wished to build a "receiver" from scratch. This is the unacceptable part -- it smacks of the former Soviet Union restricting the possession of radio valves.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    RE:Boo bloody hoo

    Smoking much recently? How about all garages refuse to service Vauxhall trash, and only service Fiats? I reckon that all the food middlemen should refuse to stock Tesco Asda and Morrisons and force you to use Sainsbury.

    Bit of a muppet who has completely missed the point aren't you. Well, if you ever do get a PC hope you enjoy spending an extra few hundred quid on Vista trash.

    I for one will not be renewing my license fee unless they start being a bit more open and decent. Runs out this month luckily.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Bleat?

    To the bleater - the comparison would be more apt if your local garage only had pumps that could fill Fords, but not Vauxhalls.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Stop bleating.

    > Your car is compatible with roads which follow the same general route as the rail line, so at least you can still get where you are going.

    Record the programme on a video recorder, then watch it back. That's almost the same as iPlayer. At least you get to see the programme. Or get a igital TV card foryour precious Linux box, and record from that. You have the option.

    > If you shop at tesco, take out a tesco reward card - you have that option.

    Buy a Windows box - you have that option

    > And as for the lottery, if everyone won it, you'd get less than a quid back for your winning lottery numbers.

    But I don't WANT that. I want millions. I want it for MEMEME!!!! I want things for MYSELF, even though they're not currently feasible.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    re: reply to Boo bloody hoo

    Does you Vauxhall Astra only run on Vauxhall fuel? Can it only have Vauxhall tires and generic parts? Is your electric only provide at the companies own choice of frequency and voltage. Can you only use electrical goods sold by the a certain company?

    Is Tesco the only place you can buy your food (troll bait) from? Do you need something only from Tescos to allow you to consume your product?

    I think I've made the point.

    We have already paid for the content, by TV licence, it should be made available to us using open standards that are not dependent on any one product.

    If BBC started to broadcast TV transmissions using a MS only protocol/format, where you had to buy an MS TV to view them instead of some other brand, would you still find that acceptable?

  12. Adam

    Is open source a right?

    I still don't quite understand... why do some see it as a right that consumers should be able to do whatever they want with whatever platform they choose? I'm sure there's stuff on Linux and on Mac that I can't get on my Wintel box, but I don't complain. I have an old Commodore CDTV in the loft, should I be able to run BBC iPlayer on that too (in the old CDXL video format perhaps!).

    I have bought niche technology in the past, fully in the knowledge that there won't be as much support. But, I bought it because it offered benefits the mainstream offerings didn't.

    Few would argue that Windows is the more popular operating system, so why isn't it accepted that "more popular" leads to wider support?

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    paid for

    "Channel 5 even has rights to present US drama series for download, albeit paid for."

    Key point here though. Paid for. What we 'pay for' with our licence fees only legally covers broadcast TV. Internet downloads aren't broadcast TV and they don't have the rights to just give the stuff away free (even some of their own shows, depending on the rights of the artists, writers, music, etc).

    If the BBC offered a lot of their stuff for paid download then they'd have got their iPlayer out much earlier and been able to do it cross platform as the rights holders wouldn't have kicked up so much of a fuss demanding that for "free" downloads they require DRM controls that requires essentially Windows Media Player (as the only player/format that allows DRM with 7 day expiry).

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    re: Boo bloody hoo

    Idiot!

    So its ok for the govement to stop roads working with your choosen car?

    For tescos to stop food from being able to chill in your fridge.

    The point is that they are trying to get the BBC to recognise it has a duty to provide the service in such away that ALL license fee payers can use the service if they decided to do so.

  15. Ian

    Market share

    I'm sure I read on the Reg somewhere that Mac/Linux versions will be coming out...just not yet. Given that Windows has such a dominant market share it's only right that the Windows version be available first. Unless you're suggesting that the Windows release be held back until Mac/Linux versions are available.

    I speak as a Mac owner.

  16. Lloyd

    Choice, you fool

    "I don't own a computer, but I do have a fridge. I demand that iPlayer will work on that. And on my sofa. And while we're at it, I drive a Vauxhall Astra, and I demand that the East Coast main line electric power system be modified so that it becomes compatible to MY vehicle of choice. I shop at Tesco, but Sainsbury's don't give me loyalty points - that's fundamentally wrong too. And why are lottery wins only paid out to people who've bought the right ticket? Bleat! Baaaa! Bleat!!!"

    It's all about choice. You chose to purchase a fridge that isn't compatible with the iPlayer and a car that's not compatible with the East Coast main line electric power system (!). You choose to shop at Sainsburys and not get a Nectar card rather than Tesco and their Clubcard.

    Yes, I choose to run Linux, but the fact that it's free and to run Windows instead I would have to pay an extortionate amount of money plays a large part in this saga: as a first year CS student, I can barely afford to rub two pennies together, let alone find a couple of hundred pounds for a copy of Windows. I sure as hell am not going to do that just to watch BBC programmes, no matter how much I would like to, because I've already had to pay over a hundred pounds to them just so that I can watch DVDs on my TV in my room!

  17. Phil Endecott

    Just a spec wanted, not an implementation

    > I demand that iPlayer will work on [my fridge]

    I don't demand that it work on my fridge.

    I just demand that they tell me enough about how it works so that I can try to make it work on my fridge myself, if I want to. I.e., the same situation as analogue and digital radio and television and (most of) their website content.

    "Freedom to tinker" is what I'm after.

    Their argument is that they can't tell me how it works because they rely on secret DRM mechanisms to prevent piracy. But this is nonsense, since by definition the content that they're protecting is already available over-the-air in an open format.

    I think they also need to be told that Linux (and Mac) users (and pirates) will inevitably get access to this stuff in due course by reverse-engineering their DRM - I can't think of any example of non-cracked consumer DRM. I'd place a (smallish) bet that it's cracked by Christmas.

  18. djwhisky

    Bang for your buck...

    As a BBC license fee payer I want to see the money I pay used in the most efficient way and for the benefit of the most people. The fact is that most computers run Windows and therefore this is the platform that the BBC should concentrate on the most - if they had spent the money on just a Linux variant everybody would be saying it was a waste of license fee payers money as only a small minority could use the system.

    Although the BBC isn't a commercial organisation it has to use the money it's got to satisfy the most people - not everybody will ever be 100% happy with that, but it's life so get over it and wait patiently as you're using a minority system.

  19. alex dekker

    re: Is open source a right?

    No-one is asking the BBC to support Linux or Mac, just like they're not asking the BBC to support Windows. All we're asking for is the information necessary to write a client that can view the video streams on platforms other than the BBC can be bothered to write clients for. Who knows, a community-written player could end up being better than the official one, benefiting *everyone* who uses the BBC, regardless of OS.

  20. AndyB

    RE:Is open source a right?

    The problem isn't that the BBC iPlayer doesn't support certain, very rare, systems. The problem is that is supports only one, single system, Windows.

    To use the car analogy. Requiring iPlayer support for a CDTV (I've got one in the loft, too) is like expecting garages to supply coal for steam powered vehicles. What the BBC have done is like all garages in the UK only supplying fuel for Ford cars.

  21. Steve Anderson

    Re: is open source a right

    It's not a right, but being treated equally should be. And since when is a Mac 'niche technology'? It's not just us Linux users who're being shafted, it's anyone other than Microsoft users - there's the difference. If they charged for the iPlayer thing, it'd be less of an issue because I could choose not to fund it seeing as it would be useless on my two Linux boxes or Mac. But no, the BBC have decided to do all this great new stuff with my money that I can only benefit from if I agree to use one form of buggy malware or other.

    Our anonymous troll has missed something as well, with this comment: "get a igital TV card foryour precious Linux box". Stuff that's going to be offered on iPlayer is archive stuff as well. Maybe an igital card is a special sort of card that can record through time...

    And on top of all this, DRM doesn't work, ever. FairUse4WM, anybody?

    AND! (I'm on a roll now.) DRM is bad for the planet. Increased CPU cycles to deal with it takes more power. The BBC's DRMed content will be responsible for climate change. (Erm, perhaps.)

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    All bad examples

    I didnt read all the responses... but a good example would be:

    If the Beeb brought out an on demand service that only works on Sony TVs.

  23. Chris Williams (Written by Reg staff)

    Browser Incompatability

    While desktop Linux is a niche product, the issue goes beyond operating system tribalism.

    iPlayer is Internet Explorer-only too, even though Firefox now has about a third of the browser market.

    http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

    Chris Williams

    El Reg

  24. AndyB

    RE:Market share

    I could agree with that if the upcoming Linux and Mac versions were compatible with the existing Windows version. What is likely to happen is that, because MS's DRM won't be available on Mac/Linux a different DRM 'solution'will need to be used. This could mean that files shared by Mac/Linux users won't be compatible with those shared by Windows, and vice-versa.

    So though the BBC MAY make an iPlayer for Mac/Linux, the chances are it will be completely pointless as its users won't be able to access most of the content.

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    As a Win, Mac, Linux, Solaris and AIX user...

    First off: The software that is being rolled out is a BETA, this is to test that the Beeb's systems can handle large volumes of users, with relatively little problems. Some projects like this you'd kick off your beta with all OSes, others you wouldn't, the Beeb have chosen to use Windows here, it makes sense, there are far more Windows users than any other OS.

    2nd: The BBC have committed to supporting Mac OS.

    3rd: Linux is not as popular as the other OSes, AFAIK the software doesn't exist (yet) for the DRM that the BBC must use. (Yes, they must use DRM because they can't give their product away to anyone outside the UK, as they won't be licence payers.)

    4th: What about Solaris and AIX, should these be supported, even though they are rather specialist and used by a tiny amount of people - where is the cutoff point, how many users must an OS have before it is supported?

    A few other thoughts: Not everyone in the UK can get terrestrial TV to their houses, they some areas have to run cables up cliffs and install aireals there, do they have a right to have a special transmitter put in just for them, or should they supply their own equipment to get the reception? (They way I'm going here is: if you have a computer and you want the Beeb on it, should you supply compatible hardware/software if the beeb make all reasnoble efforts to get the data to you. If so, what is a reasnoble effort)

  26. Hayden Clark Silver badge

    Use the BBC version of RealPlayer

    ... if you don't want the ads. Because the the public service remit, the BBC aren't allowed to feed you ads.

  27. alex dekker

    re: Is open source a right?

    No-one is asking the BBC to support Linux or Mac, just like they're not asking the BBC to support Windows. All we're asking for is the information necessary to write a client that can view the video streams on platforms other than the BBC can be bothered to write clients for. Who knows, a community-written player could end up being better than the official one, benefiting *everyone* who uses the BBC, regardless of OS.

  28. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Choice ?

    "Yes, I choose to run Linux, but the fact that it's free and to run Windows instead I would have to pay an extortionate amount of money plays a large part in this saga:"

    So you chose to Run Linux knowing that there were potential limitations to it. As a 'minority OS*' (in terms of installed user base) you should expect that there will be things that cannot be done on it.

    Why should additional money be wasted on 'niche*' markets that could be spent on say, better programming, more services for minority groups.

    This looks to me like another tired excuse for the Linux / Mac brigade to stop trainspotting for 10 minutes and have another bash at "The Evil Empire"

    You dont have a choice when it comes to paying for the license fee, so why would you expect a choice when it comes to the Media player?

    *Minority and niche in terms of installed uk user base.

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Government

    "Buy a Windows box - you have that option"

    Does 'One Laptop Per Child' use Windows? They had the option, you think.

    There's plenty of people living in poverty in the UK, lots of schools, lots of charities, and lots of people who could benefit from cheap open-source machines.

    The government is not showing leadership. There's no support for Open Document Format and other standards and nobody's pressurising the BBC to do the right thing.

    I'm sure our government's IT vision is entirely based on a few free lunches, some scare tactics from the likes of Microsoft and the promise of a job or two. It's no wonder the BBC get themselves into such a mess.

  30. Cris Page

    Title

    The best idea would be for the BBC to invest in programs rather than all this bandwidth hogging video streaming!

    Jeeze.. watch TV on tv! leave the web for those of us who DONT want to watch the drivel!

    Oh and Im a Linux user so please dont dismiss this as an anti tux rant... Im just sick of seeing bandwith sucked up by this b/s

  31. Iain

    Why do the BBC need Microsoft...

    The BBC seem to have some good engineers and intellectual property in this area …for example the Dirac video codec: http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/projects/dirac/

    I think the BBC would be an ideal candidate to build an Open Source version of Joost... this would make the BBC relevant as broadcaster in the 21st century, allow them to cheaply reach a global audience (...which is probably the national interest... well, I'm sure we could sneak some subliminal "freedom + democracy" propaganda into Eastenders), and encourage innovation in this area (like the BBC Microcomputer did way back).

    But then I’m biased – I live in Germany and just want an easy way to watch UK tv!

  32. Matthew Brown

    They really should've spent more time working on Dirac

    Or at least spent more time working on their own DRM to add to it. Screw using other people's DRM when you can implement your own on top of your own codecs.

    Not that I like the idea of DRM in the first place, but it's not like the old media is going to give up that easily...

  33. neil

    works for me

    i haven't been contributing to beeb tax for years now and couldn't honestly say that i miss them. the licence fee i save covers the dvds of the very occasional programmes that i would enjoy. RSS feeds and conversations keep me informed in greater detail and diversity than i could manage with a tv.

    we have a globally connected communications network at our disposal, and free (as in speech) software from projects like Dyne:bolic (http://dynebolic.org) to play, record, edit, remix and broadcast for ourselves.

    the revolution might not be televised, but it'll probably be streamed live from mobiles.

  34. Law

    RE:Boo bloody hoo

    Obviously a thick & rich Windows user then!! ;)

    Thats mean, I use windows sometimes... we're not all thick! :)

    But, like all the other Open Source advocates on here - it's not that we want the BBC to spend years making this compatible with EVERYTHING... we just want it to be open enough to be ported to other platforms.

    I pay a TV license... granted, just because I have a license it don't mean I own the content, but I want to be able to at least view the content!!

    If they are forcing people into one operating system or the other just because they couldn't be bothered picking a standard and sticking to it then they should reduce what everybody pays for the TV license to the tune of a Windows Vista license each I think... i.e - they pay us!! ;)

  35. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hello. reality check

    "This could mean that files shared by Mac/Linux users won't be compatible with those shared by Windows, and vice-versa"

    eerr hello, think you'll find your not allowed to copy and share, that's the idea of DRM !

    Windows is by far the market leader, therefore it makes sense to roll it out first to this and then to other O/S's later. It's called Business.

  36. Steve McKinty

    Public services

    The BBC is a public service broadcaster, funded by a levy on the ownership of TV receiving equipment. It has a duty to ensure that its services are available to all members of the public it serves. It should, of course, be free to use any of the *public* standards for multimedia broadcasting, whichever it feels is technically superior. This is no different to its choice of PAL (versus SECAM or NTSC) for analogue TV transmissions, or AM/FM/DAB for analogue/digital radio.

    It should *not* be allowed to choose a closed, proprietary digital system which works only on equipment from one commercial manufacturer. To do so is a violation of the fundamental principles of its charter.

  37. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

    To Boohoo-ist

    As a proud owner of a fridge - tell me, will you be happy if it only accepted tomatoes from Tesco and would eject Waitrose or Sainsbury's varieties back in your face?

    Besides, BBC must have got a kickback from MS for locking into their tech (and if they haven't - they are schmucks). As I pay my TV licence to finance BBC I want my rebate too!

  38. Ed

    As someone in the beta...

    I'd emphasise the fact that the iPlayer doesn't actually really work as being a fairly major issue. Sure it works some of the time, but the amount of effort I had to put in (about 2 hours of deleting hidden system files and registry entries) to get it to work was ridiculous.

    I think the issue is that the BBC choosing to go with Windows Media DRM will make people think twice about 'switching to mac'. I don't think this this is a role that the BBC should be in...

    Equally, I can currently download any program I want from the BBC, ITV or Channel 4 (or any US network) over the internet in superior quality - what is the DRM actually for?

  39. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    TV Licence

    "3rd: Linux is not as popular as the other OSes, AFAIK the software doesn't exist (yet) for the DRM that the BBC must use. (Yes, they must use DRM because they can't give their product away to anyone outside the UK, as they won't be licence payers.)"

    Err - I've got a TV licence with a huge long set of number on it which change each time I get a licence. Why can't the BBC use that and some sort of on-line confirmation (handshaking) to limit who can get access to the material?.

    DRM doesn't work - we know it, Apple know it, the big record labels are starting to realise it. its only Microsoft and Hollywood who still seem to believe that it is the way to go.

  40. Matt

    Re: As a Win, Mac, Linux, Solaris and AIX user...

    Frazer, you dolt: at least the people who have bad reception are not prevented by the BBC from actually putting up an aerial on their cliff or hilltop.

    The problem is not that the BBC are saying they will only support and provide software for Windows and Internet Explorer users, but that they are saying that no-one else is permitted to even attempt to "put up their own aerial" (or write their own software, or engage someone to write it for them), despite the fact they must still contribute to the licensing costs to MS for the software they cannot use.

    If the BBC insist on make this service so that the only people permitted to access it are Windows/Internet Explorer users, then in my opinion it should not be funded by the license fee, but should be funded by pay to use.

  41. Paul

    The real problem here...

    Is that DRM is NEEDED, it's a contractual obligation for them to provide DRM on the content. They CAN'T just give it away DRM free as it'd make it avaliable to everyone worldwide and that would piss off their content providers and lead to no iPlayer for anyone. Yes, as all know DRM is bad blah blah doesn't work blah blah blah, but as long as the content providers demand it it has to be done or there's no content.

    The only platform where the DRM exists to do what is being asked of the BBC to provide this content is windows. It's simple comman sense then that the only platform they CAN offer the service on at the moment is windows.

    You want iPlayer on linux/mac/whatever go write a DRM system that can be used on all platforms that has the required features (such as 7 day expiry) or stop complaining and expecting the BBC to do the impossible and somehow magic it to work within the constraints of their agreements.

  42. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Can someone find out how much this costs the licence payer

    Under the freedom of information act we should be able to request how much of the license fee has funded (and will the development, deployment and ongoing support for the iPlayer.

    Once this has been done, those of us who cannot access this paid-for content can withhold that proportion of the license fee.

    I suppose that the people who cannot receive digital broadcasts could do the same - Without a TV you don't need a license. Therefore without a digital TV receiver you don't need to pay the digital tv portion of the license (because you need to buy additional specialist equipment to receive it).

  43. Steve

    Choice/Bohoo

    "So you chose to Run Linux knowing that there were potential limitations to it. As a 'minority OS*' (in terms of installed user base) you should expect that there will be things that cannot be done on it."

    Are you actually this thick ? I doubt it somehow, or you'd be unable to breathe, but you have missed the point entirely weather on purpose or because of some serious mental defect (like being a Daily Mail reader, for instance)

    The point is not that OSs other than wndows are limited or that there are things that cannot be implemented on them, in fact it's quite the opposite, there are *no* technological barriers to providing cross platform compatibility. And that's why the Beeb ought to be supporting more than just wndows. They've got the talent, and there are plenty of cross platform libraries around, especially now that Apple have drunk the unix kool-aid.

    If this was ITV or C4, no one would give a toss, but we expect more from the Beeb, and we are entitled to since the Corporation was established for our benefit.

  44. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

    Re: The real problem here...

    "Is that DRM is NEEDED..."

    DRM is not NEEDED, it is DESIRED by content providers because they see it as the weapon which will finally enable them pull all the blanket on their own side and make sure that noone can play anything anywhere unless it is first authorised by them (for a fee). Changing PLAY button to PAY button, iin other words.

    They don't care about piracy or about home taping or file sharing. These things are just excuses for them to put more pressure on the lawmakers (bless them) to make anything without DRM illegal. It's what WMD were for the "War on Terror", no more.

    That BBC bit the bait is disgusting and disturbing. That's why there won't be any iPlayers on any of my computers. The can take their content and stuff it where "the sun will never shine (C)".

  45. Bill Alsbury

    Re: Title

    I'm with you Cris, when the Internet is totally unusable because of all the video, TV and other crap on it everyone will be bitching as to how the new extra bandwidth will be funded.

  46. Matt

    Re: The real problem here...

    "... is that DRM is NEEDED"

    I I agree that's a real problem. The BBC should stop wasting our money (both in

    Lawyers fees and in fees to MS for the DRM software) on trying to make available

    via iPlayer things it does not have full rights to, and just put things it does have the full rights to (or for which copyright has expired, e.g. anything more than 75 yars old) on t'internet, with no DRM, in a openly defined standard format. That way everyone will be able to get access regardless of their OS choice, without anyone, including the BBC having to pony up a load of cash

    Note there are so called "Open Source" DRM systems available, which will run on any operating system (there's one from Sun I believe), and there's always Flex/LM from MacroVision which runs on absolutely everything.

    Actually the real problem is that the BBC has forgotten it's prime mission is as a public service broadcaster to all citizens of the UK, and seems to think it is a coomercial entity hch should turn a profit. Oh and someone must have taken a massive back-hander to saddle us with a restrictive, closed, expensive solution.

  47. Sean Ellis

    Phil Endecott is right

    It's not about supporting it on every platform under the sun, but _allowing_ anyone sufficiently motivated to support it on any platform they wish.

    The "open saucers" will quite happily cruft up an iPlayer version for Linux, BSD, iFridge or their mum's cat if it takes their fancy, as long as they have the info to do it.

  48. Nev

    Time for another pop at the Beeb!

    Wow, amazing how little it takes for people to start having a pop at the BBC.

    All this moaning about licence fees.

    It's the same everywhere else! I pay The French TV licence and never watch their TV or listen to their radio. (Because it really is shite!) Stop moaning for once, open your eyes and see one of the only remaining truely great UK assets.

    The BBC do a great job. Both TV and Radio news, current affairs and drama is miles ahead of anything other countries have to offer.

    I assume the reason they aren't supporting an in-house developed piece of kit for VOD is because the budget has been spent doing the government's job of upgrading to digital. As is so often the case these days this was probably the quickest and (in the short, but no long-term) cheapest solution.

    Why isn't it BBC Micro based, anyway?!

    Funny how most of the Beeb bashing seems to be led by Murdoch controlled media. Hmmmmm.....

  49. John

    Sign the 10 Downing St ePetition please! see below...

    Sign the 10 Downing St ePetition please! see below...

    http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/bbcmicrosoft/

  50. Tim

    Public service broadcaster

    I'll say it again. Internet downloads (iPlayer included) are NOT broadcast TV.

    Problem is everyone is assuming it's their god given right to get this service, but legally internet TV is not broadcast TV in the UK. The BBC are not required to provide this service at all, let alone for any particular platform. The licence fee pays for it, but then it pays for the cleaners at the BBC but that doesn't give me the right to have the BBC cleaners clean my house!

    The restrictions are there because of the content providers (this includes individual artists/actors, musicians, etc) who are not keen on allowing *downloads* for free. However they do agree to "free"* broadcasting under the UK legal definition of broadcasting.

    * - remembering it's not actually free, we pay licence fees, and this is another issue... the Internet isn't restricted to just the UK.

    It's not just the BBC. Ask Sky why they charge subscribers to download shows on Sky Anytime for PC. I did and their answer is simple: the content providers will not allow them to do it any other way and they don't have a licence to provide the shows like they would for broadcast TV. Therefore they have no choice.

    Oh and where's the fuss about Sky Anytime and 4oD which are also Windows services (in fact use the same system as the BBC's)? Okay Sky are a subscription service, but aren't Channel 4 also a public service?

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