[SWLUG] BBC's "iPlayer"

[Dave Cridland]

On Thu Jun 28 09:27:18 2007, Gerald Davies wrote:
> i can't remember if the beeb was releasing videos in the early 80s,
> but it makes me wonder if they would have supported Betamax as well 
> as
> VHS.  Also, are they releasing content in BlueRay/HD? i'm guessing
> they're not (well not as much) - so it is market share/business.

Or, you could look to earlier parallels. BBC TV started off with the 
30-line Baird system, moving later to alternating between the (then 
240-line) Baird system and the newer EMI/Marconi 405-line system - 
Baird's was dropped in '37, the 405-line apparently continued up 
until '85, before only the 625-line PAL system remained, up until DVB 
started, when once again, multiple systems are deployed and in use. 
And guess what - the old PAL system will, eventually, be dropped too.

Basically, the BBC is, I think, trying to reach the maximum audience 
with the minimum outlay of its public funds, which seems like a 
reasonable start. Given their history with TV broadcasting, I'm quite 
sure they'll get something else for Mac and Linux users, if they 
decide there's sufficient market.

I suspect they've picked the choice of technology here simply to use 
a proven technology - it's the same one that Channel 4 have used for 
their 4oD service, after all. (Both being, of course, publically 
owned channels, with largely similar remits, albeit with different 
funding models).

Dave.
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