BBC must do more for iPlayer

OSC says live streaming is only partial solution

18 December 2007 14:56 GMT / By Katie Scott

The BBC has promised the Open Source Consortium that it will make its iPlayer as friendly for Mac users as it is for PC owners.

The OSC has released a statement in which it praised the latest iPlayer Beta (launched on 13 December), which offers Mac users the same live streaming service as PC users had already.

However, said the consortium, this must be an "interim solution".

Mark Taylor, President of the OSC said: "We are pleased that the BBC Trust continues to engage with us and take our concerns seriously. The seven-day streaming service is elegant and attractive, and most importantly, can be used on any computer and most mobile devices without unnecessary concern with technology. Instead consumers can choose on the more important criteria of price and performance.

"However we remain concerned that the 30 day catch-up service is exclusively provided only for newer versions of Microsoft operating systems and are pleased that the BBC Trust continues to share our concern that iPlayer be made technology agnostic at the earliest opportunity."

The consortium has now had a meeting with the BBC management, set up the BBC Trust, in which it stated its belief that "it would be easily possible to use the BBC's existing, free software solutions in an open iPlayer".

It also pointed to a ruling in September this year by the European Court of First Instance which stated that Microsoft "had illegally tied Windows Media Player to its Windows operating system and that it should not to use its dominant position in operating systems to leverage parallel markets, including circumventing this requirement though commercial arrangements".

The OSC warned that the iPlayer's current bias towards Windows users "has the effect of undermining that decision".

The BBC Trust has responded stating it is "committed to a platform agnostic solution for the TV catch-up service on BBC iPlayer - as specified in the On-demand Services PVT".

It says it is satisified that progress is being made but does agree with the consortium that the current streaming service on offer is only "a partial solution to the issues".

The BBC management will present its next report on this issue to the Trust in the Spring.