BBC iPlayer Welcomes Linux (and Macs) 259
h4rm0ny writes "After previously limiting their iPlayer to only the Windows platform (as we discussed earlier here and here), the BBC's content is now available to UK-based users of Linux and Mac OS X. From their site: 'From today we are pleased to announce that streaming is now available on BBC iPlayer. This means that Windows, Mac and Linux users can stream programs on iPlayer as long as their computer has the latest version of Flash. Another change is that you do not have to register or sign in any more to download programs ...' It seems that the BBC have listened to people who petitioned them for broader support and an open format. Well, Flash isn't exactly open, but its a lot more ubiquitous than Windows Media and Real Player formats."
An Improvement (Score:5, Insightful)
Even if there were a Mac/Linux version available, I think I'd still lean more towards the Flash service for the odd times I need it since the downloadable version will get torpedoed after seven days anyway.
hear, hear! (Score:2, Insightful)
Yes, this is sarcasm. There's going to be some place where they have to draw the line, and currently that line lays with whatever support Flash (sorry to hear the FLOSS coders haven't gotten to 64bit yet for Flash - maybe if somebody paid them to do the work, I wonder) and without any registration needs (which is funny, because now every British license payer is paying for Ngomo over there in Nigeria watching that show. Awesome!)... which is a line drawn quite a bit further than I would have expected, myself.
Re:Well, that's great... (Score:5, Insightful)
can you suggest an open source solution that the BBC can use instead of iPlayer that is not proprietary and works on Windows/Mac and Linux???
Re:Well, that's great... (Score:5, Insightful)
Exactly. Flash is probably on at least 95% of PC's, and probably 99% of the people who don't have flash can install it with a few clicks. The BBC could have used something like Ogg Theora, but then 95% of users would have had to download and install something to play it.
The thing that always gets me about open source zealots who complain "Flash is proprietary" is that they offer no solution. There's Gnash, which is a re-implementation of Flash, but people complain about disseminating documents in MS Office formats even though they can read them with open source suites, so I can't imagine Gnash being full featured would stop the complaints about Flash. If people in the open source community want to complain about websites using flash for various reasons, they need to offer up an alternative that would be acceptable to them.
For what it's worth, I'm a Linux user and avoid proprietary software wherever possible, but I've been taught not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and not to complain when you can't offer an alternative.
Dear BBC and other Tv netowrks or entities. (Score:5, Insightful)
If you must have DRM in it, then have your crap in iTunes. if you are one of the few smart companies and dont care about DRM, then a podcast with a format that plays on an iPod will do nicely.
This will get the largest possible market for your video. and 320X240 is acceptable on a ipod and not desired o be traded by pirates (yarr! It's low res, off to greener lands me matyes! yarr!)
As a consumer that is interested in actually watching TV the way it should be here in 2007/2008 I dont want your website, I want it in a way I can download it and play it on my ipod or phone, not your crappy website.
Re:Well, that's great... (Score:3, Insightful)
can you suggest an open source solution that the BBC can use instead of iPlayer that is not proprietary and works on Windows/Mac and Linux???
There are 3 issues here:
1) Allergy to Real Networks who produces a media player down to AIX. Even after they opened entire source excluding codecs.l
2) Apple's Allergy to Linux/BSD and not producing Quicktime for those platforms.
3) Open Source Linux users allergy to closed source since Apple will want to keep Quicktime closed source binary.
So it is Flash. Flash container became standard and now people want Plan 9 support
Re:Dear BBC and other Tv netowrks or entities. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Dear BBC and other Tv netowrks or entities. (Score:5, Insightful)
Or even accept that trying to use "DRM" is rather daft after you have broadcast it.
I am sick of having to go to random websites and having to use the half-assed players you guys think are acceptable.
It really disn't make any sense if these are harder to use than the "pirate option".
Re:Well, that's great... (Score:2, Insightful)
>download and install something to play it.
>The thing that always gets me about open source zealots who complain "Flash is proprietary"
>is that they offer no solution.
Theora (or something like it) was indeed the right solution, or at least the foundation for one. If anyone could make that happen, the BBC could. They certainly had the budget and the staff. The BBC could then have made a browser plugin available, much like the plugin one must download to play Flash media.
This would have been a quite viable approach, and so meets your demand for a "solution".
But, instead of an open solution the BBC intend to deliver content using at least two proprietary formats. The owners of those formats must be jumping for joy having received such a gift (a billion dollar value!) from the BBC - at licence payers expense.
Re:Well, that's great... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Well, that's great... (Score:3, Insightful)
You DO NOT need to have solutions to see the shortcomings of something. It is valid and very necessary that people complain when something is less than perfect. They do NOT need to offer solutions. I don't need to be an engineer to know something isn't working, but I probably do need to be one to fix the problem. Raising quality or performance or defect issues is essential, this opens debate which in turn leads to the search for the best solution.
Flash sucks, this is a common opinion. I cannot build a better version. But until enough people complain no-one will. People need to complain. People need to complain more. Things can be better than they are if the right people try harder.
Obligatory Spinal Tap Quote (Score:2, Insightful)
Nigel: You see, most blokes will be playing at 10. Youre on 10, all the way up, all the way up...Where can you go from there? Nowhere. What we do, is if we need that extra push over the cliff...Eleven. One louder.
DiBergi: Why dont you just make 10 louder and make 10 be the top number, and make that a little louder?
(small pause)
Nigel: These go to 11.