Hi folks,

I've got an active complaint running with the beeb about them not making their BBC4 Collections and Archive content available on iPlayer Bigscreen and smart TVs...

Which strikes me as MAD!

Here's what they had said last time around...

Dear Mr Cockell

Reference CAS-1296162-48YCP1

Thank you for contacting the BBC iPlayer Support Team.

I understand you’re unhappy because you believe our initial response didn’t address your concerns.

I do apologise if you felt our previous response didn’t offer a technical explanation. The BBC iPlayer application access via the television set is the same site accessible at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/bigscreen/

This allows viewers to access programmes that have been made available on demand for up to 7 days after their broadcast just like the desktop version of BBC iPlayer.

The URL http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/collections isn’t associated to the BBC iPlayer website or the TV application. The BBC Four Collections section of the website is part the wider BBC online facilities accessed by a browser.

To access the wider range of the BBC’s online services and video content, you would need an up to date internet browser on a supported platform with the latest version flash installed. BBC iPlayer content is separate because the programmes on BBC iPlayer contain on demand rights agreements that mean they’ll expire within 7 days of becoming available. Some of the programme’s own website may be able to offer these for a longer period of time, but these won’t available on the BBC iPlayer website.

I also acknowledge that you feel quite strongly about this issue and I'd like to assure you that I've fully registered your concerns. This will be included on feedback reports that are available to personnel responsible for maintaining and improving the BBC iPlayer service.

These reports are viewed as important documents that can help shape decisions on future aspects of BBC iPlayer.

Once again, thanks for taking the time to contact us.

Kind Regards

Philip Young

BBC Audience Services

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer

Here's my reply...


You stated recently "The URL http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/collections isn’t associated to the BBC iPlayer website or the TV application. The BBC Four Collections section of the website is part the wider BBC online facilities accessed by a browser...." and continued re using Flash etc.

May I suggest that you could work towards making the collections and Archive content available via a Collections category structure within Bigscreen and therefore within iPlayer on devices? Just that from what I understand -

1 - you own programmes like The Great Egg Race (on Archive), The paras etc (on BBC4 Army Collection) in their entirety
2 - You use iPlayer infrastructure to play them out.
3- they ARE searchable within the iPlayer client from Wintel/Mac/Linux Flash, but not on Bigscreen.

I just tested Bigscreen on my netbook - and was able to locate The Paras... as an example - and WAS able to see it. This is ridiculous...

Does strike me as crazy that there is this artificial distinction between iplayer running on a media-centre PC of some kind connected to my TV (which I haven't got yet) and an iPlayer client running *on* the TV itself.. both riding the same Ethernet router and DSL line back to your servers.

But I suppose you have this mad device-specific rights thing to sort out. Please could you liaise with the BBC Trust so that this permanent archive stuff could be made available to the TV clients (I'm also taking receipt of a Humax recorder soon)...

Just that with the imminent launch of Youview - it's still an illogical position to find yourselves and ourselves in. We pay out £500 on a Smart telly - would be nice at some point to be able to be able to watch, say, Mad and Bad on catchup, then drill back and watch old episodes of Tomorrow's World, Egg Race, and In At the Deep End, say - but all from the app on my telly with the one remote.

It behooves you to get this sorted ASAP... I don't REALLY want to have to buy *yet another device* to just watch the content I want to watch, on the display I want to watch it on...

---

We'll see what they have to say - this is getting STUPID!

This is mainly a regulatory problem not technical.- Liek Red Button interactive is Not a channel
Iplayer was set up to be solely a catch up TV systems as to do more would be anti competitive
or have a too great impact on the market.
This is why Kangaroo was shot down by the Competition commission ( and you may say that BBC Jam was also shot - in this case by the Governors/trust)
.
I think that we can expect the archives etc to be available on youview as this is an open platform - but again I can see some people wanting to regulate that as well.

Oh - even though the Trust allowed them to start presenting the permanent BBC4 Collections - via computers.

My points stand re their being played out from iPlayer infrastructure...and would make sense to present them to other devices... like TVs...

A matter for the Lord Patten of Barnes BBC Trust 180 Great Portland Street London W1W 5QZ
read the service license http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets...line_jul11.pdf at page 10

If it is SOLELY a catch up Tv System then how have they managed to move BBC THREE onto the i player from Feb

Read my text " was set up"
And look at the changes that have been made to the service licenses ...

I also suggest you read the "governance frame work " and "tools we use "
On the BBC trust website http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/governance

The market impact of catch up being forcing the BBC to offer only 7 days has also been changed ......

I also can't get any radio content on my TV.

That's because they removed the radio element a while ago.

I believe they found so few people switched on a television to listen to radio so they didn't include it in the current version. (The iPlayer was radically changed in that update).

Radio was separated on other platforms such as mobile devices where it has a vastly superior UI than when it was tacked to a VOD app.

Personally, I am absolutely fine with this. I never listen to radio on a TV because the TV speakers are crap, and there is a huge waste of energy to have a screen on all the time. I use my iPad or iPhone and either airplay it to my HiFi via an Apple TV3 (which has the audio out going directly into my HiFi) or via Chromecast which is also plugged into my HiFi.

The UI on an iPad is also so much better than what was on a TV, it would be impossible to go back.