First Impressions: The iPlayer Beta
Posted on 7th Jun 2010 at 10:14 by Paul Goodhead with 51 comments
I’m a massive fan of the BBC iPlayer. I’d actually go as far as saying I consider it one of the most important technical innovations of the last five years. So there.
Seriously though, I find the flexibility of the iPlayer liberating, I no longer have to be in a certain place at a certain time to catch my favourite shows and it also allows me to experiment with programs I may not have otherwise tried. I wouldn’t be such an ardent fan of The Thick of It if I hadn’t have chanced upon it when looking for something short to watch with dinner many moons ago.
The fact that the service is ad free is also a boon. OK, so watching one or two unskippable ads at the start of a 4OD program isn’t exactly all that bad, but the lack of ads does make iPlayer feel more immediately fun and responsive.
As a result of all this I greeted the news of the new iPlayer open beta with more than just a degree of trepidation. I know it’s an age-old cliché but if it aint broke; don’t add social networking features to it - right?
To find out if my worst fears were to materialize I’ve been spending the last few nights playing with the shiny, swooshy beta interface and I can happily say that the sky is not falling, though it may be sagging a little under the weight of unnecessary features.
"If you don't go get me some cheese, I'll rip your head off, and give you a spinedectomy"
One new feature which definitely isn’t superfluous though is the Favourites section, which lets you mark specific series as your favourites and then updates you when new episodes are available. This is a killer feature for me, as I tend to have so many series on the go that I struggle to keep up with what I have and haven’t watched. A single section that tells me what is new and what is about to expire is an absolute godsend.
On the other hand I could happily leave the social features that seem to have weedled their way in to every facet of modern life. I’m not sure I need my Facebook page clogged up with people desperate to tell the world they are watching last week’s episode of Total Wipeout. Thanks, but no thanks.
At least the social features can be bypassed by opting not to sign up for what they are calling the BBC iD - a unique login for the iPlayer and other BBC sites. I can see why the BBC has pursued such a scheme as there are obvious benefits, such as allowing favourites and recently watched lists to follow users across multiple platforms (home PC to Smartphone to work PC). I am however sceptical about how many people will want to create a login for something that has until now not required one.
Still, my overall impression has been positive and some of my early pessimism has been assuaged. Conclusion - At least they’ve not borked it.
By the way, now seems like a good time to introduce myself - I’m Paul Goodhead, the new staff writer for Custom PC and bit-tech. I’ve been a PC enthusiast for a number of years now and, as I’m sure you can imagine, am pretty excited about writing for the site and mag. I plan to be contributing to both for many years to come and can be found on the forums under the name 'Material'.
Seriously though, I find the flexibility of the iPlayer liberating, I no longer have to be in a certain place at a certain time to catch my favourite shows and it also allows me to experiment with programs I may not have otherwise tried. I wouldn’t be such an ardent fan of The Thick of It if I hadn’t have chanced upon it when looking for something short to watch with dinner many moons ago.
The fact that the service is ad free is also a boon. OK, so watching one or two unskippable ads at the start of a 4OD program isn’t exactly all that bad, but the lack of ads does make iPlayer feel more immediately fun and responsive.
As a result of all this I greeted the news of the new iPlayer open beta with more than just a degree of trepidation. I know it’s an age-old cliché but if it aint broke; don’t add social networking features to it - right?
To find out if my worst fears were to materialize I’ve been spending the last few nights playing with the shiny, swooshy beta interface and I can happily say that the sky is not falling, though it may be sagging a little under the weight of unnecessary features.
"If you don't go get me some cheese, I'll rip your head off, and give you a spinedectomy"One new feature which definitely isn’t superfluous though is the Favourites section, which lets you mark specific series as your favourites and then updates you when new episodes are available. This is a killer feature for me, as I tend to have so many series on the go that I struggle to keep up with what I have and haven’t watched. A single section that tells me what is new and what is about to expire is an absolute godsend.
On the other hand I could happily leave the social features that seem to have weedled their way in to every facet of modern life. I’m not sure I need my Facebook page clogged up with people desperate to tell the world they are watching last week’s episode of Total Wipeout. Thanks, but no thanks.
At least the social features can be bypassed by opting not to sign up for what they are calling the BBC iD - a unique login for the iPlayer and other BBC sites. I can see why the BBC has pursued such a scheme as there are obvious benefits, such as allowing favourites and recently watched lists to follow users across multiple platforms (home PC to Smartphone to work PC). I am however sceptical about how many people will want to create a login for something that has until now not required one.
Still, my overall impression has been positive and some of my early pessimism has been assuaged. Conclusion - At least they’ve not borked it.
By the way, now seems like a good time to introduce myself - I’m Paul Goodhead, the new staff writer for Custom PC and bit-tech. I’ve been a PC enthusiast for a number of years now and, as I’m sure you can imagine, am pretty excited about writing for the site and mag. I plan to be contributing to both for many years to come and can be found on the forums under the name 'Material'.
51 Comments
Discuss in the forums ReplyAlso, allow me to lower the tone and be the first one on these forums to say the joke you've probably been hearing your entire life:
Paul, do you give Good Head?
Welcome ;)
I to am a huge fan of the iPlayer and whilst I was a little unsure about the need for changes, these changes haven't killed off the idea of using the iPlayer.
I know people who are permenantly on social networking sites and will be thrilled at this addition to the iPlayer. Me, I'd rather watch in peace and relaxed without the disruptions.
Oh, and welcome to bit-tech and Custom PC I guess. Ask Joe to show you that inside his slipper is the perfect indentation of his foot - it's thrilling!
I'm sure there's a decent argument for using your Licence number for use of their HD content.
ITVPlayer, 4oD and Demand5 are still playing catch-up.
IT...LIVES!
At least you don't have to cover costs as part of your TV Licence fee though....
This has been mentioned in the office. Alex is building a race of super soldier journalists, all fashioned in his image...or something like that.
That's the funny thing about it... I can watch it on Sat perfectly fine without paying the fees, just like the rest of the european television, still I'm getting blocked in the net.
Additionally, if I use a british proxy, then I can watch the BBC-stuff :facepalm:
Limitations to countries is the worst thing people came up with imho....
Think how tall that staff would be!
Meh, we have to pay our own licence fee (not too shabby) and DON'T get a killer feature like an IPlayer...
From Finland you need quite a big dish for sattelitebased-BBC, no? More than 60cm?
Last time I ask Alex for some tea then, he'll be spiking it with growth hormones... :S
Boxee is doing it as well. It will show you what your friends have been watching and if there is a (legal) download/stream available, it will take you right to it.
For a HTPC, I think it's a really cool idea.
=Win.
Tell me about it, I love Virgin's VoD feature but the iPlayer section is pants. I find using the search facilty to be a far easier way of finding BBC content on there.
Can't wait for them to integrate TiVo into the Virgin boxes, should make the experience a whole lot better!
Oh no you didn't....
XBMC
but there are ways to make it work so i can live with it for the time being. As for the social side of things, i dont see the need so i never played with Boxee.
(i do know that Boxee's implimentation of iPlayer isnt as smooth).
Oh, and welcome to Bit-Tech. We won't hassle you too much.
Yes hopefully, as long as I'm in the office when we decide to record it.
I'm not doing any singing tho....
We'll see.
Barbershop quartet this time maybe?
The content... not so much.
+1 rep
Consider that my mother is called Mrs Goodhead.
Same, My HP Mini can't barely with even the SD stuff under win 7 any more :'(
And welcome new guy ;) One Question, What happens if you have a massive disagreement about something fundamental like Bit-Tech's View of SLI? Does a Nuclear War ensue?
Also, what happened to the "Last Played" feature? I often listen to long radio broadcasts and will dip in and out throghout the day, so it was great to carry on listening where you left off having shutdown or closed the browser. While the resume feature still works, I first have to find the program rather than having a direct link from the home page.
I very much hope they don't ditch the old version yet.
They haven't ditched the old one yet, just go to bbc.co.uk/iplayer rather than beta.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Also, there's a feedback button, so you could tell them that you want the Last Played feature and they might show you where it's hidden, or take your opinion into account before they un-beta it.
I shouldn't think so, at the end of the day bit-tech's stance on subjects such as SLI, RAID & Crossfire are based in fact and empirical testing, so they are pretty difficult to argue against (though I'm sure that doesn't stop people trying).
I'm almost sure I'm allowed my own opinion in more subjective areas such as games and the like. As long as I don't start slagging off Monkey Island and Deus Ex that is...
Tread carefully, Padawan... ;)
No, we're all allowed our own opinions, obviously. It's merely that, in reviews, we rely on certainties as far as possible.
To be honest, I didn't even know we 'had a stance on SLI' (or even what the others think of it), which probably tells you as much as you need to know about how advanced my PC is and how rigidly our views are made to follow a company line. We prefer to be fair and right and varied, rather than consistent across the board.
Does alerting us to this fact constitute self harming?
I think its more like me trying to get it all out of the way early
DON'T LISTEN TO THE DARK SIDE!
iv been using tvtorrents for 5+ year and haven't found eney thing more reliabul or beter quality , and its had favourites for time ,never delets old stuff , dusent care wer u live
Then I remembered that iPlayer isn't available to foreigners.
So.....
Is this a new language
There's never a grammar nazi when you need one :(
There, I fixed it for you.
I don't usually do this, but since you asked nicely... :D
+1 rep good sir, that's a fine bit of wit. These young language abusers need to be kept in line.
y
is the point of these fourms not to sher thorts related to the artecal
or is it to make shore every ones spelling/ grammer is up to sratch
if u can understand wot sum ones triying to say wot more do u need from a fourm post
Your very own friendly neighbourhood translator strikes again!
On a serious note, though, it is actually difficult to read and understand what it is you are trying to say. That is why the forum rules ask everyone to make an effort with their grammar and spelling.
If I remember correctly, the rules even suggest using the in-line spell-checker in Firefox. I'm sure someone on these forums would happily help you get that feature up and running, if you are having trouble with it.