[Sussex] BBC a part of Microsoft

[Steve 'Dobbo' Dobson]

Andrew

On Thu, Sep 13, 2007 at 02:56:42PM +0100, Andrew Guard wrote:
> First BBC iPlayer issue and now the next stage in this corruption at
> BBC with Microsoft.
> 
> BBC is going to give content on to XBox Live.

Is that such a surprise?  Because of the dominance of Windows on the
desk top VoD services are more likely to target that platform, and
the XBox must have been designed my Microsoft to be a very small hop
from it's desktop platform.  So I am in no way surprised by this move.

The BBC is required by it's charter to investigate and lead into new
technologies and VoD is definitely a new technology.  Having read the
report (from Ofcom IIRC) the point was made that if the BBC was to 
dump it's content on to the British market without restriction, then 
it would likely have a severe negative impact on this developing
market.  And I have to say I can see their point.

The BBC, being financed as it is from the License Fee, does not have
the same finance pressures to make a new service pay.  So lets use
that fact.  The BBC's charter also requires it to develop appropriate 
technology where none exists, and there is no platform agnostic DRM
systems.  The BBC, their governors and the Government has committed to
giving the BBC two years to provide iPlayer for non-Microsoft platforms,
with six monthly reviews of their progress.

I like the idea of using public money to develop a competitor to a
Microsoft product, especially if the BBC is then required license that
technology under an open license, which it must do by it's charter.
So for now I say let the BBC pursue VoD as it is doing.  If they can
develop an alternative to Microsoft's DRM that I can use on Linux then
that's a win for me.  

If the BBC can't develop a system that I can install on my Linux box
then there is likely to be some kind set top box that I can purchase 
cheaply and I can then plug the output of that box into my PVR, just
like I do with the output from my Sky set top box.  And that is also
a kind of a win for me.

I'm not sure what the future will bring in terms of entertainment,
but I doubt that it will be anything like what is currently being
proposed by the big players in the market.  I can't see Microsoft's
platforms as being the only way to gain access to VoD services long
term because there are more people that don't use Windows than do.
I don't just mean Linux, *BSD and OSX users, but all those that don't
have a computer at all.

Steve
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