iPlayer Air

According to an interview the BBC Backstage team did with BBC Directory of Future Media, Ashley Highfield, the new version of the iPlayer will be cross platform and will use Adobe Air - something I’m sure is already widely known.

What’s more interesting is that it’s going to be a streaming solution - like the way ITV went with ITV.com and personally I think this is a MUCH better idea.

Several reasons for this. First it means I can watch a show straight away without having to wait for the download and secondly it will clear things up in peoples minds.

You see iPlayer really is supposed to be a catch up service - it isn’t a download to keep solution - the rights holders would never allow it. That’s the reason for the DRM and we all know DRM just makes life a lot harder.

So if you make it a streaming solution instead of download then people realise that this works like television, it’s a chance to watch a show again in your own time, without having to record it - but you don’t get to keep it.

The download iPlayer, despite the millions spend on it should just be dropped, feed it to the wolves and let it die a slow and painful death - it’s bloaty and pointless if a workable, high quality streaming service can be implemented instead.

This will then open the door for the BBC and rights holders to offer the shows as permanent, to keep, limited drm downloads through iTunes or other services.

Or in the case of shows the BBC owns all the rights for, or at least enough to be able to negotiate the rest of the rights, to be able to offer them as podcast, DRM free video downloads.

Listen to the interview here.

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