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BBC Open Source launched

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the welcome-to-the-party-beeb dept.

Elphin writes "The BBC today launched their BBC Open Source website, providing a home for projects such as their video codec dirac , TV-Anytime Java API and Kamaelia network testbed."

3 of 181 comments (clear)

  1. Basically by Lifewish · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They're pissed off at having to pay ripoff prices to the people (such as Microsoft and Real) whose audio codecs they use, and they're sure as hell not keen to start paying licensing fees for video codecs as well.

    Additionally, they think they can get better performance out of Dirac than is being got out of current codecs, which will save them bandwidth.

    --
    For the love of God, please learn to spell "ridiculous"!!!
  2. Re:Three cheers! by AKAImBatman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What inspired the British Broadcasting Corporation to suddenly leap into the software programming foray? Are they hoping to build some sort of new service out of all of this, or is it just going to end up as a bunch of disconnected apps?

    Q: What inspired Bell Labs to create Multics/Unix?
    A: Because they needed it.

    BBC has been pushing more and more toward internet-based content. While they've been struggling with legal issues, it is becoming more and more clear that they are extremely serious about this and not just blowing smoke up everyone's hind quarters.

    Put this stuff together:

    1. A highly competitive streaming video codec.
    2. A TV Listings lookup API.
    3. A distributed/P2P sharing API.

    While these could go together into a few different gizmos, it seems that they are all targetting the concept of showing television over the internet. Oh, that will be a happy day. I might even pay the British TV Tax just to get Dr. Who! ;-)

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    Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
  3. Re:Three cheers! by ettlz · · Score: 4, Insightful
    What inspired the British Broadcasting Corporation to suddenly leap into the software programming foray? Are they hoping to build some sort of new service out of all of this, or is it just going to end up as a bunch of disconnected apps?

    Hopefully, the BBC will be able to forge some open standards through this approach. In the past, BBC developments have shaped (or at least steered) the adoption of technology in the UK, and I think Open Source is probably the most compatible with their remit as a public service provider.

    It appears that broadcasting today is driven by information technology --- and this means software. The two are inextricably linked. As the BBC is funded by the public (rightly or wrongly), it is good that it should release as much IP related to its technology back to a public domain, and not rely on proprietary technology (hence Dirac). I don't want my license fee going to Microsoft or Real, I paid the BBC!