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BBC Begins Open-Source Streaming Challenge

Posted by michael on from the fear-factor dept.

bus_stopper copies and pastes: "The BBC is quietly preparing a challenge to Microsoft and other companies jostling to reap revenues from video streams. It is developing code-decode (codec) software called Dirac in an open-source project aimed at providing a royalty-free way to distribute video. The sums at stake are potentially huge because the software industry insists on payment per viewer, per hour of encoded content. This contrasts with TV technology, for which viewers and broadcasters alike make a one-off royalties payment when they buy their equipment." We've mentioned this project before but this story goes into a bit more depth about the goals and motivations of the developers.

8 of 373 comments (clear)

  1. Re:From the article by jimicus · · Score: 4, Funny

    I would imagine that the British Broadcasting Corporation doesn't much care about the feds.

  2. BBC by 5m477m4n · · Score: 2, Funny

    Did anyone else think it was funny that the BBC wants to provide something royalty-free? Me thinks that's grounds for a hanging.

    --

    ---
    Those who can, do
    Those who can't, teach
    Those who don't know how, supervise
  3. Re:From the article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny
    Oh yeah, says a resident of the 51st state

    Tut-tut, the Aussie government bent over first - the UK will have to be the 52nd state.

  4. Re:Good old Auntie! by REBloomfield · · Score: 2, Funny

    Except they have just as many sodding adverts as the other channels. Yeah, you don't get 10 seconds of "This show sponsored by Creamsicles", but who cares about that? They're much less annoying than the tripe that gets served up every ten minutes just after you've sat down with you're cup of tea....

  5. Dirac? by NiceGuyUK · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think the BBC is using the name Dirac in the wrong document - shouldn't it be the name of a villain in their new series of Doctor Who?

  6. Re:Good old Auntie! by FireFury03 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Since I moved to the US I have 20 times as many channels, and the best thing on is still British comedy reruns on public access TV.

    The only stuff in the UK worth watching these days are the British comedy reruns...

    --
    http://blog.nexusuk.org
  7. "Dirac"? by mikeee · · Score: 2, Funny

    Sure, the compression is really good, but the problem is that it makes everybody look like they have really bad hair...

    (Only physics geeks will get this. Why am I bothering?)

  8. Re:3GHz by $rtbl_this · · Score: 2, Funny

    Could be worse. :)

    C:\>egrep '(processor|Hz)' /proc/cpuinfo
    The name specified is not recognized as an
    internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

    --
    "Are you being weird, or sarcastic?" said Emma. I said I didn't know because I get the two feelings mixed up.