Back in January the BBC was given a provisional approval for the BBC iPlayer that would allow BBC TV shows to be distributed online using peer to peer technology for up to 30 days.
Now the BBC has been given the full and complete approval after working out the concerns and details of the iPlayer service. The service will appear later this year bringing BBC shows such as EastEnders and Doctor Who online.
BBC iPlayer features
- iPlayer will make TV programs available online for up to 7 days
- Within these 7 days some TV shows can be downloaded and stored but will expire after 30 days.
- In addition to downloads shows can be streamed instantly online
The downside of the iPlayer
- Users will not be able to download programs from other broadcasters
- In fact only 15% of all content will be offered on the iPlayer
- It will only be initially available to those with Windows PCs in the UK due to Windows DRM being used.
- The BBC has said it can’t commit to a 2 year deadline to make the iPlayer available on different operating systems saying was up to the third parties concerned.
Should we just stick to a DVR
When I first heard that BBC shows will be available online for 7 days it sounded great. But then when I realized its only 15% of content and that it will only work on Windows my excitement faded away.
Looking back this was pretty obvious given all the different rights holders involved who would want to keep control over their content, but all these restrictions make the service a lot less attractive.
We’ve been able to use a tape recorder to record programs and keep them forever for a long time and we now have DVRs that make recording TV even easier. When it comes down to it I think most people will be sticking to these traditional methods rather than the restricted BBC iPlayer.
But all this is still a step in the right direction.
Other channels in the UK
The BBC has created a round-up of what all the other channels in the UK are doing when it comes to on-demand internet TV.
[Via BBC]
