BBC iPlayer login will be required from 2017

[Jim web]

In article <57EFB2D5.6000109 at cantrell.org.uk>, David Cantrell
<david at cantrell.org.uk> wrote:

> Maintaining and running a a large number of versions of a piece of
> software and everything that surrounds it for long periods of time while
> also upgrading it to provide new features for new users is just not
> practical.

In addition there are a number of quite significant differences here.

'Over air' transmission systems and standards have to be agreed with and
planned via people like the WRC, EBU, OfCom, etc. They are regulated and
defined in various was to make them 'standards' which broadcasters use and
set-makers then adopt.

The net simply has not been like that. In effect, the BBC have been
continuously developing the iplayer because they decided is was a neat
idea. As it clearly *has* become. But it has evolved and is still
developing. The methods here have been developed as people tried to improve
the way things worked. None of the above has applied. And, indeed, only now
has it even come within the license fee. Until now the iplayer is
essentially an experiment that grew and became almost overwhelmingly
successful. To the point that people now take it for granted without having
any awareness of what the BBC has had to do to cope with the rise in use as
well as quality. Sadly, the public treat all engineering like 'magic'.

The BBC get nothing from you buying a 'smart TV' in a shop. if you can use
it to pick up TV 'over the air' and paid your license fee, they then should
provide the 'over air' broadcasts as agreed with others as per above.

My comments were really just prompted by wishing people would have realised
all this ages ago and stopped complaining about the BBC when any
responsibility was elsewhere. The large international set makers know the
above perfectly well.

I also have sympathy with retailers *provided* they warn purchasers of this
problem. The retailers can't deal with it when they sell closed boxes, but,
legally, *they* have any responsibility so far as the retail purchaser is
concerned. Piggy in the middle. As I've said in the past, the law needs
changing to deal with this.

Jim

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