BBC iPlayer login will be required from 2017

[Alan Milewczyk]

On 27/09/16 10:09, RS wrote:
>> From: Mark Goodge Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2016 09:25
>
>>> Of course this change may result in a lot of unhappy "Smart" TV
>>> owners whose iPlayer apps don't get updated any more.
>
>> I would imagine that the BBC has a separate system for those, 
>> possibly based on the API.
>
> At present the BBC's attitude seems to be that if your Smart TV is 
> more than 2 years old that's tough; they can't be bothered to support 
> it.  Who changes large televisions every two years?
>
>
Such is technology, just think of the changes we've had over the years 
with TV - 405, 625, digital etc etc. What's happening is that the speed 
of change is increasing.

The answer has always been not to tie yourself too tightly to a 
technology in a way that limits upgrading. Another good example was the 
introduction of DAB radio and the inability of DAB radios to be upgraded 
to DAB+.

I've felt for a while that it's madness to spend megabucks on a smart-TV 
- it's far easier (and cheaper) to get the best TV you can afford for 
your needs and do the "upgrades" using a "smart" set top box. Obviously 
this isn't as neat a solution for those who have the "music centre" 
approach to it all, but I was always a "separates" guy. My "hi-fi" 
attitude hasn't changed in 40+ years. Ditto for computers - since 1992 
I've built virtually every PC I've used (with the exception of a few 
laptops). I build them with upgradeability in mind, starting off with a 
big enough case and enough expansion slots, adding hard drives and extra 
RAM as necessary. I'm using some PCs that firstly saw the light of day 
well over 5 years ago but have been expanded/modified significantly over 
the years.

The other thing is not to get seduced by the latest "fad of the day". 
The consumer electronics industry needs to sell us hardware to keep the 
wheels of commerce turning, but it shouldn't force us to follow these 
fads blindly. We've had dead ends before, Betamax and 3D to name just 
two! When I joined the computer industry in 1970 we had an expression: 
"pioneers end up with arrows in their backs"!! Still valid after all 
these years.

A