BBC iPlayer (beta) for Mac and Linux
The BBC is bringing the download version of the iPlayer (as opposed to the streaming video version) to Mac and Linux users by using Adobe’s AIR cross platform technology. AIR allows flash type content delivery in a standalone executable outside the web browser and will also provide the Digital Rights Management (DRM) required to time-limit the availability of downloaded content. The new version is called the BBC iPlayer Desktop.
Users will need to install AIR then opt-in at BBC iPlayer labs to try out the Beta version from today, with the full release expected in February 2009. Our initial attempts to get the new player failed, but we’ll try harder and update this item in due course.
The BBC News item also discusses work with British company Velocix to test a system which puts servers in ISPs that store, or cache, the most popular iPlayer programmes. This would save on transit bandwidth for both the ISP and the BBC however it fails to address the major cost for BT Wholesale based ISPs of BT Central bandwidth capacity and costs - the current architecture doesn’t have any opportunity for caching at an exchange or regional level but this may change as 21CN and Wholesale Broadband Connect come into service more widely.
Update :- the iPlayer Desktop is only compatible with Intel based Macs, which explains our initial failure. We did get it to run on Ubuntu 8.10 after removing all the Flash software so that the BBC installer could make a clean start with AIR and Flash player modules. The installation is automatic if you have opted in to iPlayer Labs and then try to download something on a compatible setup.
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:45 am
I’ve had no problems using iPlayer Desktop on a PowerPC - actually a PowerBook G4 running Mac OS 10.4.
Also worth noting that the BBC are no longer using the P2P Kontiki software for content delivery with the new iPlayer Desktop. Instead the downloads are direct from BBC servers.