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BBC to Put Entire Radio & TV Archive Online
Posted by
CmdrTaco
on Sun Aug 24, 2003 11:39 AM
from the a-helluva-lotta-bytes dept.
from the a-helluva-lotta-bytes dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The BBC is to to put it's entire radio and television archive online, free for everyone, as the BBC Creative Archive." The article is a little thin on how far back these archives go, but regardless, this is a gigantic amount of data, and to see it go online, and open to the public is very cool.
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BBC currently uses realmedia (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:BBC currently uses realmedia (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:BBC currently uses realmedia (Score:5, Funny)
Other things we made our friend quite doing:
- Talking to girls
- His Dr. Who scarf was too short. Man, was that a riot.
- He was living in his mom's basement (pretty normal like the rest of us) but he tried to do his own laundry! Quite the ribbing on that one. 35 year olds don't do their own laundry.
- His episode of "Pretty Soldier Sailormoon" is the censored version where Usagi and Mamoru fall off the balcony WITHOUT the umbrella. Man, what a dork.
Oh, there's plenty of others, but don't get me started!
Parent
Re:BBC currently uses realmedia (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm very glad real is still around. The situation might change when Theora has an offcial release, but for the moment the only viable codecs/formats for low bitrate encodes come from Real and Microsoft. And while Real's support for non windows machines isn't perfect, it's far better than Microsoft's. Admitingly real's player is pretty bad, but most techy people are just going to be using real's codecs with another player anyway.
Parent
Re:What and when? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:What and when? (Score:5, Interesting)
That would be a broadcaster with a duty to serve the public, rather than exploit them to make revenue for shareholders, only catering to LCD large-revenue audiences, serving programmes as the carrot-to-get-eyes-watching-adverts in an arse-about-face way. Seems pretty clear to me.
"recently torpedoed by the Kelly affair"
If you read the Times or the Sun, operated by Rupert Murdoch who has an axe to grind against the BBC, because he would like to be the dominant force in British Media (God deliver us all from such a hellish fate.)
"...with the review of the Royal Charter, which provides the conditions under which the BBC operates, due soon (I think in 2005,"
2006
" in any case before Tony the liar gets the boot); it looks like pre-emptive defensive action thus..."
The BBC's internet arm is being reviewed currently. They've been making quite a push with their interactive TV services, and are constantly innovating.
I think you're being cynical in suggesting the only reason that the Beeb is planning this is to defend against hostile forces in the government, though it will surely help.
BBC Radio 7 [bbc.co.uk] currently available on DAB in the UK, and over the internet to the entire world, for free, makes the BBC radio archives available to everyone, in much the same way as this proposal (though a "listen again" function for the station is not, because of diverse licensing conditions.)
What Greg Dyke announced is simply a bigger and broader development of things like BBC online Radio [bbc.co.uk], Radio 7, and many of it's news-themed programmes which are already available.
I don't know what went on with the teletext thing you mention, maybe licensing/copyright issues, but it's a fact that you can listen to BBC radio for nothing, so it would seem unusual if this were being done to prevent anyone from outside "Little England" from getting BBC produced culture (see... I avoided "content.")
In short they're not really known for their meanness in this regard. :)
Your misting of the fire-logs seems a little unnecessary.
Parent
Re:What and when? (Score:4, Interesting)
Personally I think that the BBC's approach to interactive TV, digital TV and internet content is a salutory lesson to all those that believe that there is no place for publically funded media organisations like the BBC. I think they are actually innovating and their TV/Web/participation programs (and no I don't mean Fame Fscking Academy) are truly extraordinary. And whether they are responding to or prompting some of the work of the other commercial channels in the Uk, there are some _excellent_ (ok mainly educationally focused) programs being produced.
Having access to all the clasic radio programs online is a delightful thought. Comedy alone is reason enought to be excited.
Parent
Re:What and when? (Score:5, Insightful)
Rather a snide remark from some-one who used to get something for free that people in "Little England" have to pay for.
You still get all their web content for free, don't you ?
Parent
Re:BBC currently uses realmedia (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
This would be great! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This would be great! (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:This would be great! (Score:4, Insightful)
Or was that not large scale or legitimate enough for you? :)
(There are other examples, but that's the largest one I can think of off the top of my head.)
Parent
Re:This would be great! (Score:5, Informative)
This [bbc.co.uk] is a set of graphs of their current RealMedia throughput usage.
This [bbc.co.uk] is a set of graphs of their current overall Internet throughput.
Parent
I must ask the obvious. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:I must ask the obvious. (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Re:I must ask the obvious. (Score:4, Funny)
Doctor Who
The Prisoner
Hitchhikers Guide (Radio. Didn't care much for the TV.)
Blake's 7
Red Dwarf
Faulty Towers
Monty Python
Etc... Etc...
The real wonderful thing to think about here is not all the free video and audio, but the way having all this free video and audio around will inspire new writers to create stories like these.
Parent
YeeeeHAH! (Score:5, Funny)
Does this mean... (Score:4, Interesting)
Great! Who's going too pay for the bandwidth (Score:5, Interesting)
This also means that international folks can't access it. Which is good since I pay my TV License...
Meanwhile, in the good old USA . . . (Score:4, Insightful)
P.S.: Those things that sound like commercials in the NPR broadcast can't be commercials, because public radio doesn't have commercials by definition. They must be "sponsorship acknowledgements."
Re:Meanwhile, in the good old USA . . . (Score:4, Insightful)
So, yeah, you can write letters to them to make your displeasure known, and to try to convince them to use a more free-software-friendly format. But to characterise the use of RM/WM as a misuse of taxpayer money is just wrong. The fact is that NPR is not directly government funded, nor has it been for years. From the 2000 NPR annual report:
(source - NPR Annual Report [npr.org] - page 21. Yes, it's a pdf, STFU). The report goes on to put the amount of money coming from those organizations at less than 2% of NPR's revenues.
Parent
This is so cool (Score:5, Funny)
This news absolutely makes my day. Week! If they manage to do this just a little, this just made my year.
Quotes like this:
"I believe that we are about to move into a second phase of the digital revolution, a phase which will be more about public than private value; about free, not pay services; about inclusivity, not exclusion.
Doesn't that single quote look more exciting than a whole porn site? :-)
The whole BBC library! All the documentaries and stuff... all the Monty Pythons, all the Young Ones, all the Bottoms, all the AbFab, all the Men Behaving Badly, all the Blackadders!
All the cricket Test matches they used to broadcast!!
Oh... Excuse me, I think I just wet my pants.
Will this actually include *entertainment*? (Score:5, Interesting)
Wouldn't 'free, legal TV entertainment downloads' result in absoloute outrage from the MPAA and friends? I can't see it ever happenning....
Re:Will this actually include *entertainment*? (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, since they have the copyrights over loads of stuff, and they are a public organization, not a company, I think they'll just have to shut up. They're simply serving the public like they're supposed to :-)
Parent
Re:Will this actually include *entertainment*? (Score:3, Interesting)
Remember who's paying for this! (Score:5, Interesting)
But don't get me wrong, I'd like to add how happy I am with the BBC; they offer fantastic services and I'm proud that they're available to everyone in the world. Without much doubt the quality of radio and TV in the UK is far better because of the BBC. Not to mention Brits won't put up with frequent or long advert breaks because the BBC channels have none!
Also, it's refreshing to see a company be happier to let people enjoy it's IP than to be obsessed with milking the consumer for every penny it can.
Re:Remember who's paying for this! (Score:4, Interesting)
Parent
Re:Remember who's paying for this! (Score:5, Insightful)
On an unrelated note, Global Business [bbc.co.uk] just started airing (and webcasting) the first episode of the 3-series programme about Russian business that I helped to make.
Parent
Bravo, BBC! (Score:5, Interesting)
What really pissed me off a couple of months ago was that they CHARGED ME MONEY (4 USD) for watching a 5-minute part rerun on the web. I sent them a big fuck you-mail and asked what the hell was going on with the property of the people. The broadcaster is owned by the state, ergo the public. No reply.
So kudos to the BBC, crap to NRK.
How far back the archives go (Score:5, Informative)
The BBC was founded in 1922. They broadcast radio only until 1936 when they started their first TV channel. A lot of cool stuff.
Just reading the short history article... (Score:5, Interesting)
Newsreader Bruce Belfrage was on air when 500lbs of explosives hit Broadcasting House in October 1940. He paused as he heard the bomb go off during his nine o'clock bulletin - but continued as normal, as he was not allowed to react on air because of security reasons. Seven people were killed.
Did this man have balls of steel or what?
Parent
Hitchhiker's guide!? (Score:5, Informative)
Everybody I know who heard those broadcasts agrees that it was the best HHGTG of all. I don't believe they've ever been released exactly as originally broadcast. Transcripts are available of those shows, but these miss the subtle music and audio effects that made the show really wonderful. I know I was disappointed with some audio tapes I purchased years later.
I've never been interested in ripping off Douglas Adams, or his family, by downloading mp3s that purport to be copies of the original show.
Re:Hitchhiker's guide!? (Score:5, Informative)
[fx: glances over at CD box sets of the two series, (c) BBC Worldwide 1996]
Er... excuse me?
Well, technically, you're right; I believe that there were some very minor changes; especially to the last couple of episodes which were recorded and mixed in a terrible hurry. But they are substantially as broadcast, and certainly what the original producers intended.
And if these CDs really aren't available where you are (which I suspect they are), I expect that at least some of the MP3s out there are from them. (Not that I'm condoning that kind of thing, of course...)
Parent
Ai super cluster to do archive! (Score:5, Funny)
How will it work? (Score:5, Interesting)
The BBC appear to have sold the rights to many of their successful programs to other channels such as UK Gold. For more recent programs, they might not own the Internet rights to them if they have been made for the BBC by third party companies (I think this has stopped them from including some radio programs in thier existing (and very good) radio archive site. Also, what about international rights - I would guess there are many cases were the BBC have sold rights for brodcast in other contries to other broadcasters.
While I think this good be very good, I wouldn't be suprised if it is limited to clips that are more useful for research purposes (like news footage and small budget documenteries) than the big money programs.
This is a smackdown on Murdoch (Score:5, Interesting)
* Forced auction of any good programs the BBC makes to Sky and ITV (Honestly!! Anything good should be reaped from where it was produced, and interrupted with reams of shite car adverts.)
* Enforced licence fee reductions
* Banned from buying US imports (24, Buffy, etc)
* All kinds of other random restrictions to make life easier for the bottom feeders at Newscorp.
The Sun and Times, Murdochs bought rags, have also been consistently ragging on about the bullshit Iraq dossier affair, in which a BBC journalist is accused of actually telling the truth.
This is the ultimate reply.
" Fuck with us, we'll bury your "Footballers Wives" and "Sex in trashy Greek holiday resorts" crap in 70 years of quality broadcasting!"
This is almost too good to be true. Have to see if Tony gets a call from Rupert, and poor old Greg Dyke gets his marching orders.
Great! (Score:5, Interesting)
The amount of historical material is mind boggling! I'll be eager to support once it is available. We should have more broadcast companies trying to give "public value." Heh. I honestly can't imagine a company in the U.S. doing something like this.
However, just to ponder, I remember reading that the BBC was getting a lot of flak for the suicide of David Kelly. I hope it's not too cynical to suggest that perhaps in some way, they are doing this to restore some of their image that may have been tarnished?
At any rate, this is definately a very magnanimous thing for the BBC to do, and I am glad to see it.
How will the BBC deal with RIAA artists. (Score:5, Interesting)
Will the RIAA go after the BBC for distributing their own recordings of someone else's material? Will they have to get permission from every artist they want to feature in their archive?
If an artist knows I am recording their performance and chooses to perform anyway, do they own the rights to distribution or do I?
I know they are dumb questions, but the mechanics of the ownership seem really confusing to me in an archive or library format.
Re:How will the BBC deal with RIAA artists. (Score:3)
Over the past couple of years, all new contracts for radio work have included explicit agreements for Internet distribution. The Beebs internet radio services are being heavily promoted in the UK.
The real problem is the use of Real formats
AWESOME, yet so many questions...? (Score:5, Interesting)
- How can it be determined whether the use is commercial or not? I assume they mean you can't re-distribute the content for profit, but what about using the material as research for books or other for-sale works?
- What will the RIAA say? Surely they won't just lie down while Beatles performances, John Peel Sessions [bbc.co.uk], and other huge cash cows are available for free.
- What will the MPAA say? Apologies for not having done my research, but surely there are DVDs for sale at Best Buy of content distributed by members of the MPAA?
- Will it only be material the BBC explicitly produced? Surely they, like other networks, have broadcast shows or footage that they didn't create.
- What formats will be used? This seems like a thorny issue. Many of the most popular formats have strings attached. With the hoo-ha surrounding proprietary image and sound recording formats, what's the best set of technologies to use?
- How long will it take to get the material online? It seems like this will be a never-ending project, with new content being created 24/7.
- What will the order of precedence be? Will it be FIFO, FILO, by popularity, by media type?
This is terribly exciting... I hope other media outlets follow suit.Re:AWESOME, yet so many questions...? (Score:3, Insightful)
What will the MPAA say?
Who gives a crap?
Hint: The last A stands for America. No matter what they may have you believe, neither of these organisations mean a thing outside of the USA.
Thankfully!!
Re:AWESOME, yet so many questions...? (Score:3, Insightful)
The UK is not in america so the RIAA and MPAA have very little say there . Plus its the BBC , they are the british broadcastin service . You f with them and you can bet if your company does any shady business practices everyone will know (not just the UK , thats the miracle of syndication
As for BBC produced , those will probably happen first and then any witch
I think I speak for all of us when I say (Score:5, Insightful)
I love the BBC (Score:5, Interesting)
Others have mentioned Dr Who, Black Adder and Monty Python's Flying Circus. Here are some other BBC classics, just a few favourites that spring to mind:
Period Drama: Elizabeth I; I, Claudius
Drama: Casualty
Comedy: Fawlty Towers; Steptoe and Son; Only Fools and Horses; One Foot in the Grave; Red Dwarf; Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The BBC is paid for by British taxes... (Score:5, Insightful)
Let's be fair: the cost of these fine productions (and let's not get into the nit-picks about cardboard sets and cheesy sci-fi aliens) has already been borne by the TV-tax paying British public. They got to see ad-free television produced by people who were willing to take artistic risks because the they weren't subject to the tyranny of the marketing department.
If this is your style, I suspect you'd like to support them in producing more of the like. I like the sci-fi and the some of the comedy the BBC produces. If I could have access to new productions, even if it was a year or so after the first run in England, I'd would be willing to pay for it.
I think this archive of older radio and TV is a fantastic idea, even if it's not in a portable format right now. Fair enough: if you getting it for free, you can't complain how you're getting it. If the BBC would like an extra revenue stream, earmarked to support risk-taking entertainment that might not be universally popular, but still take direct feedback from the public, rather than markerters, I'll find a way to convert a few US dollars to pounds sterling to support it.
So, a question for anyone who wants to take it on: What would be a good business model for the BBC to take, understanding that their mandate is to produce entertainment for the British public, to enable foreigners to have access, provide support and feedback without jeopardizing that mandate?
Re:The BBC is paid for by British taxes... (Score:3, Insightful)
So long as it doesn't cost extra to entertain non-brits it's not a problem for them. Also, one might argue that broadcasting british TV around the world is in the british interest, the more exposure you have to a culture the more likely it is you will visit / do business etc. etc.
Ponxx
Re:The BBC is paid for by British taxes... (Score:4, Insightful)
The BBC isn't (and never was) just for UK residents. It's always had a mandate to bring culture (as opposed to ignorance) to everyone in the world. Yeah, the Beeb has priorities, and maybe they'll throttle the bandwidth to non-UK clients, but charging? Nah. And as a license payer I wouldn't want them to.
While this idea might generate quite a bit of funding from the developed nations, it'd also block access from the developing nations, and it's the developing nations that would need this stuff the most. It's not just Blackadder and Dr. Who, there's a ton of educational material in the archives, including the Open University, that should be free to anyone with an internet connection (and a lot of patience).
Parent
Slashdotted from day one. (Score:3, Insightful)
But I guess we'll just have to see. If it hasn't been done already, we should write them and recommend Bittorrent, or perhaps find good mirroring sites.
Canadian Broadcast Corp. (CBC) archives online (Score:5, Informative)
Califorinia's worst nightmare. (Score:5, Funny)
"In particular, it will be about how public money can be combined with new digital technologies to transform everyone's lives."
Everywhere in hollywood, stars and middlemen, flunkies and directors, aging rockers and CEOs woke up screaming.
"No.. no, not the Internet! Don't put it ON the INTERNET AAAAHHHHHH, OUR CONTROL, OUR MARGINS! NO PEOPLE NEED USSSSSSSSSSSS!!"
You heartless British bastards.