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PlayStation Firmware 3.0 released for all not just those going Slim
Adds BBC iPlayer to your games console 1 September 2009 23:44 GMT
Sony has released the 3.0 PS3 firmware into the wild bringing the BBC iPlayer to thousands of new homes in the UK.

The new software update, which was first announced at GamesCom at the same time as the company's PS3 Slim console brings a host of new features...
Freesat to get BBC iPlayer before Christmas
Catchup on last 7 days of TV from the Beeb 27 August 2009 22:40 GMT
The BBC will begin beta testing on Freesat in September with a public launch currently being promised before Christmas.

According to Freesat, "the testing is presently taking place on the entire range of Freesat receivers with the appropriate software levels...
BBC wants your help in making open source documentary
All about the web 19 August 2009 19:28 GMT
The BBC is to embark on an ambitious project to make an open source documentary about the web.

Currently called Digital Revolution, the mini series of four programmes will be a crowdsourced documentary due for transmission on BBC in 2010 that will look at the...
Sony updates PS3 firmware, adds BBC iPlayer
New features inbound 1st September 18 August 2009 19:31 GMT
Sony has confirmed that the PS3 and PS3 Slim will be getting a software update in the coming weeks bringing with it a host of new features including BBC iPlayer support.

Although the BBC's on demand service has been available in a workaround on the console,...
ITV1 going HD before end of year
High-def World Cup 2010 for 50% of population 10 August 2009 15:28 GMT
ITV has announced that its HD service will be available to half the population of the UK by the time that the 2010 World Cup rolls around next year.

The company has reached a distribution deal with the Beeb that'll let it borrow some bandwidth to launch the...
iPlayer gets new marketing campaign
Highlighting features you might have missed 31 July 2009 12:50 GMT
UK ISPs will be delighted to note that the BBC is about to embark on a marketing campaign for its iPlayer service.

The campaign will highlight special features the BBC thinks users are overlooking, in an attempt to encourage audiences "to get even more out...
MusicBore, a talking software DJ, created
Still has a few bugs 13 July 2009 17:59 GMT
Over the weekend, a bunch of enterprising coders and music fans got together in London for Music Hack Day. MusicBore was one of the projects birthed - it's a software DJ that talks all over your favourite records.

Taking information from the BBC, Last.fm and...
BBC Two announces "Digital Revolution" series
"Open source" web documentary with Sir Tim Berners-Lee 13 July 2009 10:15 GMT
BBC Two has announced that to mark the 20th anniversary of the world wide web, it is to team up with Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the web's inventor, to look at the impact it has had on our lives.

"Digital Revolution", the project's working title, is described as a...
BBC reveals interactive Glastonbury stats
Most popular ever Red Button event 9 July 2009 14:17 GMT
As with the recent record-breaking Wimbledon stats revealed by the Beeb, record numbers of people watched this year's Glastonbury Festival on-demand through the BBC Glastonbury website or the BBC Red Button function.

The BBC's festival website, with highlights...
BBC iPlayer to let you link directly to funny moments
It's around the 15 minute bit 6 July 2009 21:38 GMT
The BBC has announced that it has added a new feature to the iPlayer that will let users email bookmarks of their favourite TV shows from the Beeb.

In an attempt to combat the age old problem of trying to tell people where the funny bit is in a TV show, users...
BBC says Wimbledon broke online live video records
Over 16 million requests for streamed content 6 July 2009 17:19 GMT
The BBC has announced that its online coverage of Wimbledon has broken its previous records for the most popular live video streams of a sporting event.

The BBC says during this year's Wimbledon its Sport website has seen more users than ever logging on to follow...
Football League Championship games return to BBC
Four matches confirmed, and to be broadcast live online 1 July 2009 13:26 GMT
The BBC has announced that live Championship football will make a return to the public broadcaster for the first time since 1987.

And, marking the changes in how such events are broadcast, and how we watch them, since the late Eighties, the games will also...
VIDEO: Twittering home automation
Tweets reveals "heart-beat of the house" 25 June 2009 16:31 GMT
We've seen tweeting plants before, but now here's the BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones chatting to Isle of Wight resident and IBM engineer Andy Stanford-Clarke who has set up his entire 16th century thatched cottage to tweet him when various sensors are triggered. Hit play now for...
BBC World Service: "Save Our Sounds" project
Recordings of 56k modems, dot-matrix printers and floppy disk drives sought 15 June 2009 16:46 GMT
The BBC World Service has launched a "Save Our Sounds" project that is looking to archive sounds that may be lost due to the march of progress.

A global project, a blogger for the BBC World Service says: "There are so many photographs and words to capture the...
VIDEO: BBC shows off its "Blue Room" full of gadgets
Staff tech training facility exposed 12 June 2009 13:40 GMT
We're feeling jealous. Although the Pocket-lint stronghold is full of gadgets, it's not as packed-to-the-brim with tech toys as the BBC's incredible "Blue Room" facility, which it uses for staff training.

The Blue Room exists so that BBC personnel can test out...
VIDEO: BBC demos iPlayer on Nokia N95
"Really excited" 11 June 2009 15:44 GMT
The BBC has released a video giving a quick walk-through tour of how its catch-up-on-demand service, the iPlayer, works on the popular Nokia N95.

Mark Kortekaas, the recently appointed future media controller of audio and music and mobile and David Madden,...
BT calls for BBC to contribute to ISP iPlayer costs
Says BBC "can't expect to continue to get a free ride" 10 June 2009 14:54 GMT
Phone company and ISP BT has called on the BBC to contribute to the costs that ISPs incur due to its iPlayer, saying that the Beeb "can't expect to continue to get a free ride".

Many ISPs have complained in the past about the bandwidth that iPlayer uses. Streaming...
BBC reveals summer high def line-up
What are you going to be watching in glorious HD this year? 4 June 2009 17:10 GMT
The BBC's HD channel has announced what it says is a summer "packed with sport and music".

The Beeb's high definition summer starts next week with the tennis tourno that is Queens and goes through to the World Athletics Championship in August, taking in a little...
BT Broadband throttling iPlayer streaming?
Accused of limiting bandwidth at peak times 2 June 2009 15:22 GMT
BT, Britain's biggest broadband supplier, has been accused of limiting streaming video speeds at peak times, which is having a negative effect on iPlayer viewing for its customers.

A customer on BT's Option 1 deal with an 8Mbps line could have their speed cut...
BBC in talks for international iPlayer via YouTube
Google negotiations ongoing 2 June 2009 14:02 GMT
The BBC is planning to roll out an international version of the iPlayer with the help of Google, sources close to the negotiations say.

The Telegraph reports that Mark Thompson, the BBC director general, is in talks with Eric Schmidt, Google’s chief executive...
BBC Earth YouTube channel launches
Bringing the Beeb's natural history content to an international audience 1 June 2009 10:27 GMT
The BBC has launched a dedicated channel on YouTube under the name BBC Earth, which is the BBC Worldwide's new international brand for all the BBC's natural history content.

The BBC Earth channel will initially launch with 50 clips including, for the first time...
UK "NotSpots" revealed
3 million homes on less than 2Mbps 27 May 2009 11:51 GMT
BBC research has revealed that 3 million homes in the UK have access to broadband speeds of less than 2Mbps and that many of those, rather than being in rural areas, are in suburban locations and even streets in major towns.

As part of its "Digital Britain"...
BBC Worldwide and YouTube renew partnership
New channels incoming 21 May 2009 12:54 GMT
Rather than news about content being pulled from YouTube, we're pleased to report that BBC Worldwide and YouTube have announced they have renewed their global partnership for BBC Worldwide YouTube channels and short videos.

This extension means that the BBC's...
Hulu launching in the UK in September
American TV streaming service could rival iPlayer 21 May 2009 10:12 GMT
TV streaming service Hulu has proved very popular in the USA, but many Brits are frustrated by its unavailability this side of the Atlantic. Luckily, that seems to be about to change.

Senior sources quoted by the Telegraph claim that Hulu is attempting to sign...
BBC tech chief: license fee should cover iPlayer
Former Microsoft exec doesn't "believe in a free ride" 18 May 2009 10:07 GMT
The BBC's technology chief, and former Microsoft executive, Erik Huggers, has suggested that the TV license fee be extended to viewing of the BBC's video-streaming application - the iPlayer.

"My view is that if you are using the iPlayer you have to be a television...