What is Digg?42 Comments
- KMye, on 10/12/2007, -0/+27It's closed :(
- ChrisJP, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16This should be great. And here is a direct link to where you can register your interest in becoming a tester: http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/
- rivostevo, on 10/12/2007, -5/+16The most important part of this article is that iPlayer will work with Macs!
"The BBC's proposed iPlayer service, offering catch-up TV via the web and cable TV, would be re-engineered to work with Apple Macs and would eventually roll out to digital terrestrial TV (DTT) and set-top boxes."
Yay! - insovietrussia, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Hopefully this means that they will finally stop only supporting Real player for their main site content.
Real player = gods unholiest mutant parasitic lifeform - DexDoomsday, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10hours & hours of Top Gear *head explodes*, damn I wished I lived in the UK
- spudnic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8The BBC archive is an incredible, I hope they release some of the older stuff without usage restrictions.
This could also be the push the average person needs to start using their PC as a media centre. - Sc0rian, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8damn its closed!
yes only for us UK people, we rule tbh - tonich03, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Too bad it's closed. I'd have loved to "test" all Monty Python footage.
- sam991, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6More like 50,000 hours of Teletubbies!
- malcam, on 10/12/2007, -8/+12More specifically, they didn't mention Linux, even though that was a key recommendation in the previous report. I don't really understand why they can support a BSD derived OS and not be capable of supporting a Linux one.
- nighttrain2007, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Same here, although I'm thinking of the hours and hours of Horizon documentaries over the years, not to mention all the other documentaries regularly shown on BBC. We get them here sometimes in the US but it's intermittent
- r0bb1e, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3yes. well that seems fair enough to me seeing as it is UK tv owning households who are paying for it with their licence fees.
having said that, i think the public release will be available everywhere, though there may be adverts on the iplayer website (not in the video stream) when viewed from a network outside the uk.
as for the proxy thing: its the sign up thats only available for the uk. the final product wont require that, and yes, a proxy may well get around any adverts or restrictions placed on non-uk servers. - InternetUser, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@mad5
Yeah me too, but I got it to accept me after changing a few of my answers :) Want to know what worked? Changing "male" to "female". Heh. - InternetUser, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2the exciting part about this whole project is that, in the future, the BBC plans to issue hybrid updateable Freeview boxes that will allow you to tap into this archive (and I guess other things too) via the internet. I really like the idea of these new set-top boxes, there are so many possibilities.
- mymate, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2finally i watch all series of robot wars again!
- kitwaites, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The BBC recently signed a deal with YouTube to carry their content - so you can watch it legally, albeit in crappy 10 minute parts.
- r0bb1e, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3no. actually the initial release will not work for macs. this is to do with the decision to use DRM. Currently they cant get it to restrict correctly on the mac.
if you read carefully they are saying that it WILL be re-engineered. they dont say when. I think the current feeling is that they need to release something soon. so windows only is better than nothing.
it may still be quite some time before it will work on mac and even longer for linux. so dont get your hopes up!
Also, I believe the video will be real media at very low bitrates. so its gonna look pretty poor.
Also, there will only be a small sample of content available at first. At current pace its going to take many years to encode everything.
more interesting for me is the collaboration with virgin media that will hopefully lead to reasonable quality for a selection of on demand bbc video via uk cable tv networks in the near future. - iamdegenatron, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Thank you for your interest
Registration for this phase of the trial is now closed.
We hope to make some archive material available for all UK residents later this year so do keep checking the BBC website for more information. - ElbridgeGerry, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4I'm not sure why you were dugg down, rivostevo, that was some important information.
- msikma, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2It's too bad you can't pay them to use their archive [to compensate for not paying viewer's fees when you're outside of the UK]. I've never been able to use any of the BBC's archives.
- Boeing, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I tried this morning but was told I didn't qualify? All they asked was my age range, post code and how I connected to the internet? Somehow this disqualified me.
I guess they have waaaaay more young professionals living in the south east than they need. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I tried to register yesterday and got rejected. Not sure why though.
- qwertydvorak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1once this thing goes fully live, it would be nice to find a good high bandwith british proxy server.
- Stonekeeper, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1the news release by adobe about flash movies containing DRM should mean that DRM is multiplatform! I think this would be awesome (as much as I hate DRM) because us linux users could be involved in trials like this.
- coolbru, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The register commented on this too, including this quote: "Highfield complained that Apple's "proprietary and closed framework for digital rights management gives us headaches".": http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/19/bbc_archive_trial/
That's a bit of an odd thing to say, let alone quote. AFAIK, Apple doesn't have a DRM system other than FairPlay (whose mechanism is standard MPEG-4, though the particular implementation is proprietary), which is not available for license. So, unless Apple has licensed FairPlay (which would be a big story in itself), what on earth is he on about?? "Apple's lack of DRM support" might be a headache, but as it's a simple case of non-availability, it's not as if they are having a problem with implementation...
Unless it was an article in the old-school style and he just forgot to say 'beleaguered'. - rivostevo, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Looks like we'll be getting access in a couple of weeks!
"Hello and thanks for signing up for the BBC archive trial.
We thought you'd like to know that we're in the final stages of preparations for the trial. We'll e-mail you your account details in just a few weeks and then you’ll have access to hundreds of hours of programmes.
We'll be bringing you a range of radio and television programmes from the 1930s right up to the 21st Century, including dramas, comedies, variety shows and some stunning documentaries. You'll also be able to witness key moments in history, discover the lives and stories of incredible people, and see well-known faces in their first TV appearances.
We'll be back in touch with more information very soon, but for now we'd just like to thank you for registering and let you know how much we're looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the trial.
The BBC archive trial team" - rheaume, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Uk only? Buried as lame
- bjtitus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Joost has got quite a bit of Top Gear
- Niz1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1this is great, it shouldnt be a problem too pull off since there no need to worry about advertising since its all being paid for by tv licence.
- kubrick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Also, picking up on the point about Mac compatibility... BSkyB also have a solution to allow customers to download Movies and Sport, but currently only works for Windows users. However, the CEO of BSkyB (Rupert Murdoch's son I believe) has said that all BSkyB offerings should be Mac compatible - as he is a Mac user himself. No word on when this will come to fruition though.
- kubrick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I was able to complete the registration form a few hours ago, but at the end of the form it told me that I did not meet the requirements for the trial. :S
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I registered yesterday and it accepted my information. Too bad you guys didn't digg this quicker - maybe this will teach you to go in the "Upcoming" section once in a while :)
- snowball69, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Nice to have - but a bit worrying in the UK since this could easily lead to a "wedge effect" which would then lead to licensing and subsequent criminalisation of ownership of PCs. The biggest mistake perhaps made in the UK by the state (from their POV not mine) was not licensing PC ownership or requiring a permit to own/operate one. The internet and almost every aspect of Personal Computing offers up a very real threat to the state, witness the constant slurs and bogus attacks on the internet from all governments of the globe. Those in the US may not understand that TV ownership is (effectively) mandatory in the UK, licensing compulsory with stiff penlties and thoroughly documented harrassment and ultimately imprisonment for those who do not either own a TV or TV licence (around $300 p/a). Seeding the public with the broad concepts was introduced via projects such as the ECDL (European Compter Driving Licence) which, whilst not a permit, it "grooms" the public ready to accept the concept should it be required in the future. This would also be useful re: speculative/proposed new EU constitution which is claimed to offer the ability to "crack down" on those troublesome bloggers. Remember, certification precedes regulation and regulation requires enforcement. ;)
- sspirit, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1damn it closed already
- ipodman715, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Damn, it's only for people in the UK!
- DangerMouse9, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0can't a proxy get you around that?
- kitwaites, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2@msikma
You can use Real Alternative instead of teh evilz RealPlayer - http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/codecs_and_filters/real_alternative.cfm
Edit: Sorry, I'm a retard and replied to the wrong thread. - chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2for all you know they may use Flash video in which case Linux is supported. They probably didn't mention Linux by name because (shock) most people don't know/don't care what it is.
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