Interesting Stuff 2008-06-03
around Mike Butcher's call for "turning the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ into a platform that UK startup technology companies can work on and with":
the best way the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ can now allay any fears about its market dominance is by building a platform for innovation. Not a policy - a real platform. With APIs even.
That way we'll get our money/value back - and the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ can start to give something back, not just TV and radio programmes, but a real platform for UK startups to become world beaters.
is in matching up Hansard's transcripts of House of Commons debates with video footage from :
It's really easy to help out. We've built a that lets anyone with a few spare minutes match up a randomly-selected speech from Hansard against the correct snippet of video. You just listen out for a certain speech, and when you hear it you hit the big red 'now' button. Your clip will then immediately go live on TheyWorkForYou next to the relevent speech, improving the site for everyone. Yay!
In a feature at Next Generation titled , FM&T Group Controller Erik Huggers talks about the many ways of delivering Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ content to licence fee payers' homes, including the very unofficial that gave "access to the Wii iPlayer by identifying PS3s as Wiis":
'I was flattered,' laughs Huggers, explaining that the iPlayer team is still trying to track down its creator and offer him a job. 'It's not the perfect situation, but this has encouraged us to reach out to Sony and arrange a more formal version on PS3 as soon as possible,' he continues. 'In the meantime it shows us that there's a great hunger and need for people to have iPlayer in the living room.'
On this subject of unofficial iPlayer resources, we've also been taking a keen interest in the , as , and in the lo-res ("making the unmissable, browsable").
There's also more on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ iPlayer in yesterday's Media Guardian. The begins:
In the interest of fairness, it should be pointed out that other catch-up services are available - the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's iPlayer vies for the attention of tardy viewers with , and (try not to snigger) - but it is by some distance the most successful.
Are you getting the broadband service that you pay for? Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ News asks you to , plot it on a map and compare with others'. It's part of an ongoing trial combining user-generated content with maps, and is similar to the Fraudband Britain? project from last December by the iPM team - which is lately working on Mapping The Credit Crunch.
At the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's dot.life technology blog, Darren Waters reports on problems encountered by BT broadband customers when using the streaming version of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ iPlayer:
A number of online forums, including BT's , feature from users that the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔHub router re-boots when the iPlayer is streaming video.
I can wholeheartedly sympathise because I have had this issue for more than a month.
And on My-e-Director 2012, described as a Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ-backed EU-funded project that will allow viewers to "direct" live broadcast events around the 2012 London Olympics:
Graham Thomas, project manager at the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Production Magic research department, said: 'My-e-Director 2012 uses technologies such as facial recognition, radio-frequency identification (RFID), tracking of athletes by shirt number and a whole range of other data to automatically select video feeds based on viewer preference. The idea is to combine a host of information and do intelligent things with it.'
UKTV's Chief Executive Tony Iffland is interviewed in two video posts at Foxtel's HD Blog [ | ] on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD's programming.
why Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ information architects "have to think about the whole rope".
Finally, writes:
I suspected something was up when my mum started downloading podcasts to listen to while she cooks the Sunday roast rather than just turning on Radio 4.
Alan Connor is co-editor, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Internet Blog.
Comment number 1.
At 6th Jun 2008, angrymartin wrote:There's also a Vista Media Center viewer for iPlayer at that brings iPlayer to the living room for all of us Media Center fans.
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