BBC To Create Internet Protocol TV Standard 128
Robadob sends word that the BBC has been granted approval for Project Canvas, "a partnership between the BBC, ITV, BT, Five, Channel 4, and TalkTalk to develop a so-called Internet Protocol Television standard." The approval came with several interesting requirements: "Project Canvas must always remain free-to-air but users 'may be charged for additional pay services that third parties might choose to provide via the Canvas platform, for example video on demand services, as well as the broadband subscription fees.' Access to Project Canvas must not be 'bundled with other products or services' and 'listing on the electronic program guide will be awarded in a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory manner." In addition, a preliminary draft of the tech specs for the project must be published within 20 working days, in order to allow broadcasters and manufacturers of set-top boxes to adopt the new standards. Significantly, "Other broadcasters and content providers must have access to the platform."
Note to BBC (Score:3, Insightful)
You might want to consider this very thing was done with the likes of MPEGII-TS, ISDB-T, DVB-H etc... more than 5 years ago. You don't need to invent a new standard, but merely use the ones already in existence. And these standards are already open, implemented, and well understood.
Nobody wants a BBC-only internet tv.
Waste (Score:4, Insightful)
So the BBC have found a new way to waste my BBC tax money. This is not their business.
As it's the "British Broadcasting Corp" (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:set-top boxes available to access iPlayer and I (Score:3, Insightful)
As a U.S. BBC fan this doesn't sound good AT ALL, actually. You can almost guarantee that somewhere in there is region control... the exact same problem U.S. fans have with iPlayer.
Region control on the Internet is a step BACKWARDS.
Re:Standards must be open. (Score:3, Insightful)
Makes a whole lot more sense if you read it as:
"Any changes to the standard must be published in a preliminary draft within 20 working days, in order to allow broadcasters and manufacturers to adjust to the new changes."
And yet, I see zero evidence that they intended anything other than what they wrote. Oh well, Just a thought I had reading your post.
Re:Standards must be open. (Score:3, Insightful)
Standards need to be COMPLETELY open, even to those who don't want to follow your rules, if you want them to do well.
How about HDCP? Getting the stuff needed to implement the standard requires you to agree to enforce thier rules. That hasn't stopped nearly all HDTVs and a lot of monitors from supporting it.
BBC, ITV, C4 and Five are the main free to air broadcasters in the UK and all of them have ondemand services on computers. For a TV or STB vendor selling in the UK access to ondemand TV from all the major free channels is a pretty attractive feature and one i'm sure they would be prepared to sign a fairly restrictive agreement to get.
And once the installed base of hardware starts supporting the system I'd expect it to spread to broadcasters in other countries.
Note to TV Show Producers. (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm not ever paying for anything you produce.
Just thought you should know.