I want a shed

When I was younger so much younger than today - I had a shed. When living at my parents house in my mid teens I had a large space at the bottom of the garden I could call my own.

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An oath of allegiance

I’ll kick off by saying that I’m not a massive fan of the idea of monachy - I’m not overly bothered by the current Monachy itself, the Queen seems allright - it’s the principle of an unelected head of state that bothers me.

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Width and Colour

I was having a discussion with a friend earlier today about newspaper websites, she was basically asking why they’ve all become so big and fill up so much of the screen.

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AppleTV tips for Podcasters

I, and I’m sure everybody else with a Apple podcaster account have just received a series of Tips on making my Video Podcast more usable on the new Apple TV.

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New Guardian

I’ve long been a fan of the Guardian website as it’s always been refreshingly open - the Guardian was one of the first newspapers to get their stuff online and then one of the first to get it online before it went to print.

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iPlayer Downloads on a Mac?

BBC New Media head, Ashley Highfield, has hinted in a blog post that we may soon see iPlayer downloads made available on the AppleTV using their new rental model.

The post was a follow up to one he made asking users for tips on how to get content from his PC to the television - so he could watch downloads on the big screen. The follow up post was a response to comments on the original - but also included a small throwaway line in the middle.

He was talking about the AppleTV and its improvements and how this could be the idea solution for getting downloaded video content on to a TV without having to mess about with wires and software.

He then went on to say that “This, coupled with Apple’s (long anticipated) move to a rental model, means that we can look to getting BBC iPlayer onto this platform too, as we should be able to use the rental functionality to allow our programmes to be downloaded, free, but retained for a time window, and then erased, as our rightsholders currently insist.”

Exciting stuff and as the rental model also works on Desktop and laptop machines - it could be a way for the BBC to offer iPlayer downloads for the Mac as well as Windows - I wonder whether this would be through a BBC iPlayer section of iTunes or whether the Beeb would be able to get permission to use Fairplay Rental on iPlayer files.

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The missing link

I’ve written quite a lot recently about the iPlayer and the other related catch-up services offered by ITV, Channel 4 and to a MUCH lesser extend five and SKY.

These are all great concepts, giving me the chance to watch almost any show broadcast on that channel for up to a week after broadcast - I’ve used the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 offerings quite a lot - mainly when I forget to Sky+ something or when my wife already has two shows lined up for that time.

But these solutions are never really going to hit mainstream - ok so they’re getting really good numbers - more than a million viewers since Christmas watching around 3.5 million shows - but that doesn’t mean it will hit mainstream.

I’ve spoken to a number of people who have said they’ll never use the iPlayer because they don’t want to sit in front of a small screen watching TV when they’ve got a big screen in their living room for doing that on.

I know a number of people that HAVE already used the service - mainly people bored in an office needing a lunchtime fix - after all it is pretty easy to use - select a show and press play! But I think there are more people out there that would like to use a catch-up service but can’t get their head around it.

These people might have WiFi at home (after all most ISPs offer it as a default set-up option now) but don’t have the computer skills to get the streaming services working OR don’t want to watch on a small screen.

Enter the set-top-box idea.

Basically for the iPlayer and all related products to reach mass appeal it needs to be as easy to use as Freeview or Sky+ - it really needs to be on a set-top-box that plugs into the scart socket of the TV and just works when you turn it on.

But I don’t think for a second the BBC, ITV or any broadcaster should think about building their own box - but if BBC, ITV and Channel 4 released an SDK or similar for their catch-up services to hardware manufacturers it would mean we could start to see boxes with iPlayer streaming built in.

On such box is the newly revamped Apple TV - it would fit the bill (even if it is a bit costly) as it already plays streamed video from You Tube, lets you download directly from the iTunes store and has podcast download support.

An iPlayer menu on the Apple TV could give you access to the iPlayer streaming service, could eventually include the iPlayer download service (maybe with Fairplay DRM) and give you access to all the BBC audio podcasts (and video podcasts when they re-launch them).

To me this would be the real missing link - it would mean I could comfortably sit on the sofa and watch anything from the iPlayer without having to get up to my computer and click on a new video everytime one finishes (I already have video from my computer displayed on the TV but it isn’t ideal).

It’s also probably the only thing that would cause me to spend £200 on the device. But it doesn’t have to be limited to the Apple TV - there’s no reason why the XBox 360 shouldn’t support iPlayer streaming or any other third party device that might come out in future.

In fact there’s no reason why a Freeview box manufacturer couldn’t add WiFi and build in an on-demand menu.

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Where are the British shows?

DoctorVee had yet another interesting post, the last non-F1 post about television - specifically the new channels that are popping up and leaving every couple of days.

ABC1 has left and in its place we have DAVE (UKTVG2) and Virgin1 (FTN on steroids). The point Duncan made was that, although its nice to have these new high profile channels - why are they much of the same.

Dave is basically BBC TWO 2 - or what BBC THREE should really be - the best of the best BBC blokes content. It has everything from Top Gear to QI with a bit of Question of Sport (unfortunately) and Who’s line is it anyway.

UKTVG2 was by far one of my most favourite digital channels and Dave is an extension of that - apart from Question of Bollocks the channel is as good if not better than before.

But it IS just a repeats channel - it shows things that have been on before - I personally love this as I enjoy watching my favourite shows again - but it isn’t contributing to the British Media Industry in terms of new productions and commissions.

So Virgin1 - new channel from a major company, the owner of the UKs main Cable Television network and other major TV channels showing US imports (Living, Bravo) and part owner of the UKTV Channels (including Dave).

I had high hopes that a Channel with that calibre and with such a British Brand behind it - might contribute to British production levels - but no.

It’s full of American imports - its a Sky One clone - it’s basically what Sky Two would be with a bigger budget and more of an independent emphasis (not just a throw off channel for Sky One).

Which brings me to Sky One - I don’t expect much from Sky - it’s a multinational company that has always positioned itself as the place for big American shows - but they could do better.

They are making an effort but the UK shows they commission tend to be in the realm of reality television - which isn’t really contributing to the whole - drama/comedy/creative production industry is it.

I don’t expect anything to be done - we have the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 for commissioning and spending on original British drama, comedy and scripted shows - but it doesn’t change the fact that it would be good for Britain if channels broadcasting in Britain spent money on British talent and productions.

Sky have done it before - things like Mile High and Time Gentlemen Please have both come from Sky One originally - why can’t that carry on - why can’t it happen all the time.

If Sky or Virgin spent some of the money they would have given to American production companies on new British productions - say four big shows a season - then that would make the world of difference.

Of all the British networks there seems to be no more than about 8 or 9 shows per season (autumn, winter, summer, spring) that are worth their salt.

We’re a creative nation - we should be doing better than this.

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I am cult

OK boys and girls this is more of an announcement than a regular post - I won’t be screaming opinions about the latest piece of media news to grace the airways - or at least blogoways - no it’s about a new podcast I’m getting ready to launch - very soon.

As you can probably guess from the graphic on the right the podcast is called ‘I am cult’ and is the audio version of Up Your Ego - can you guess the theme?

Basically it’s another look at new media this week but with a massive emphasis on me - well a fictional me - well a semi-fictional me.

I am Cult is a semi-scripted podcast - it will have new media news, interviews with well known new media people and scripted inserts from the news room of fictional A-list multi-author blog - as well as inserts from the diary of Mr A Blogger - the creator of all things blog.

To make this work though I need your help - I need multiple voices - people up for recording parts (reading a script), contributing news (sending me an mp3 of you wittering away) and talking about themselves and promoting their blog/podcast.

I’m hoping to get I am Cult up and running by the end of November - with the first episode going out on Friday 7 December and every Friday after that.

So if you’re up for getting involved and joining the Cult of Me then send an e-mail to ryan@upyourego.com with I am Cult in the subject bar.

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