BBC planning iPlayer set-top box

[BGonaSTICK]

The BBC is developing a hybrid set-top box to bring its iPlayer catch-up TV service to TV screens without a PC.

The experimental box is one of many routes the BBC is exploring to open the new service to the widest possible audience when it launches this summer.

Ashley Highfield, director of Future Media and Technology at the BBC, told Wotsat the corporation expects to get approval for iPlayer service on May 2.

iPlayer will provide both a seven-day catch-up service for every BBC TV channel, plus a live feed of every TV and radio channel, and an open archive of BBC radio and podcasts.

Users will be able to store TV catch-up episodes for up to 30 days, and there will be no limit to how long you can keep audio downloads.

The team are already gearing up for the launch, even though they have yet to formally respond to the Trust’s recommendations on what the final service should be like.

The current software is based on Microsoft’s copy protection system and Windows Media Player, but the Trust wants it to be available to as many people, on as many different platforms as possible.

Speaking to the Broadcasting Press Guild, Ashley said iPlayer won’t be married to Microsoft for the long term, but not everyone is compatible.

“We agree that we should try to be as universal as possible and get onto all possible platforms. There are certain platforms I would like to get on to, like iTunes, but their DRM does not support the way iPlayer works, such as making a programme available for seven days and then deleting it.

“We have been running for the last couple of months a test within the BBC to try out the infrastructure required, not just for iPlayer but for programmes on the BBC3 website, which we are allowed to provide under the BBC3 agreement. We will soon roll that out to a closed group of around 20,000, so that when the permission from the Trust is finally granted around May 2, we will be able to push the button and go live straight away."

Ashley also revealed a bit of the technical background to iPlayer, which could also make it challenging to carry onto other systems.

First, the catch-up service is peer-to-peer, based on the same Kontiki software used online for Sky Anytime. But the live TV feeds use multicast, a fairly new technology for which much of BT’s broadband network is not ready. Yet both these innovations are important for reducing the demands of bandwidth on both the BBC and the users.

“We use P2P so our distribution costs and those of the user are minimal, and the quality of the programmes is very high. It also allows us to provide HD.

“We will also be streaming all our channels using multicast. That depends on the BT network, which is being upgraded to allow multicast streaming, but at the time of launch not many people will be able to get channels through multicast. We are also streaming other programmes from our websites in the traditional one-to-one fashion.”

Mac users are scheduled to get something later this year, and beyond that, Ashley is already talking to companies like Slingmedia – makers of the wonderful Slingbox – Sony, and Joost about other ways to get the iPlayer to as many people as possible.

And you might even see it on your PC: beyond the likes of BT and Virgin Media, Ashley revealed his boffins are working on a hybrid Freeview set-top box which would be able to access iPlayer over broadband so you can catch-up on your old-fashioned TV.