[ubuntu-uk] The BBC Launches Wiiplayer??? WHAT!?

[Tony Arnold]

Rob,

Rob Beard wrote:

> See I don't understand what the third parties get so fussed about.  The 
> programmes can be recorded off air onto DVD and duplicated in much 
> better quality than what you get on the iPlayer.

It is a little odd. The BBC have to pay these third parties, i.e., the
copyright owners a fee every time they broadcast their work (have you
heard the podcast of the New Quiz, for example? They cut out any music
excerpts that are played on the broadcast version!)

I'm fairly sure that technically, anyone who records a TV programme is
in breach of copyright as they are if they rip a CD to their MP3 player,
and yet TV recording gear is sold in the millions and recording seems to
be actively encouraged by some parties.

The whole model is just wrong in my view. But I don't know how to ensure
artists get a fair fee for their work but consumers also have the
freedom to copy stuff as they wish.

> Just tried the ITV catchup service, didn't seem to want to work on Hardy 
> Beta with Firefox 3 Beta 5 and Flash on AMD64.  Still I'm not fussed, 
> I'll just watch the corrie omnibus at the weekend.

The ITV service only works on IE as it needs an Active X control
installed for it to work. They've been quite up front from the start
that this is a limitation.

What gets me, though, is that whole load of fuss has been made about the
iPlayer limitations from the BBC (including the ISPs wanting the BBC to
contribute to the cost of upgrading their networks) and yet very little
is said about the ITV service, which is even more restrictive than iPlayer.

Regards,
Tony.
-- 
Tony Arnold, IT Security Coordinator, University of Manchester,
IT Services Division, Kilburn Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL.
T: +44 (0)161 275 6093, F: +44 (0)870 136 1004, M: +44 (0)773 330 0039
E: tony.arnold at manchester.ac.uk, H: http://www.man.ac.uk/Tony.Arnold