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BBC Offers iPhone Version of iPlayer, Accessible to Linux Users Too
smallfries writes "After a long battle with Linux users in the UK, the BBC was forced into releasing a flash version of the iPlayer streaming service to fulfill their obligations to license-fee payers. After claiming that development of Linux and Mac versions of the iPlayer would take two years, Auntie Beeb has rushed to support the iPhone. iPhone users 'can be trusted' because their platform is locked down ... so the beeb opened a non-DRM hole in the iPlayer to support them. This was guarded by the extreme security of User Agent strings! Long story short, Linux and Mac users have made their own non-DRM, non-Microsoft platform from firebug and wget. UK users can now watch (and keep) their favorite BBC shows."
The BBC is much more than a (relatively reputable IMO) news organization -- they've produced some of the best fiction and non-fiction to ever hit the boob tube.
You know that Windows users can fake a user agent string and download the DRM-less movies too, right?
I hope that the UK DMCA doesn't apply to me...
How are sites slashdotted when nobody reads TFAs?
It doesn't weaken their position. The BBC have always been very up front in saying that they are having difficulty allowing Linux users to download tv shows in the same way that they allow Windows users because only on Windows are they able to ensure that the video is not redistributed. They have done their best in allowing streaming of the shows which is as good in many circumstances and have stated that they are trying to find ways of offering the full service to Linux users. Given the tiny fraction of computer users that use Linux, it's pretty inclusive of them.
The article summary is hopelessly inflammatory. But that's no surprise given recent Slashdot editorial policy. The aim seems to be to drive up the number of posts at any cost including accuracy.
Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
It's actually easier to do in konq than firefox, put the user agent string in ~/.kde/share/config/kio_httprc against bbc.co.uk and it asks you what to do with the file when you click play.
I'm off to download a weeks worth of In The Night Garden....
It's actually easier to 'exploit' on the Mac. Just go to Safari's debug menu (Developer if you are using the 3.1 betas), set the user agent to 'Mobile Safari 1.0' and you get the iPhone version of the site. Then you can just right click on the videos and select save. Another nice benefit is that the H.264 version uses about 25% of the CPU of the flash version so you won't have fan noise in the background when you're watching videos on a laptop.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Yes. The BBC is commonly known as "Auntie Beeb" after a 1980's comedian made the term popular.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6944830.stm
Various tools have been created to strip files of the DRM, such as FairUse4WM, a program released in August 2006 by a hacker named Viodentia. Nine days after the crack first appeared, Microsoft released a new version to prevent FairUse4WM from working. Within three days hackers released a new version of the tool. The tool can be used to strip DRM from programmes with the BBC iPlayer.
Come as you are, do what you must, be who you will.
Flash is not a standard, it just has a lot of implementations. H.264, in contrast is a real, documented, standard. Having tried the H.264 and flash versions on the same machine, it's quite obvious why Apple wanted to use it. The H.264 version takes about a quarter as much CPU power to decode. On the iPhone, which has a hardware decoder chip for the format (as do quite a few mobile devices), the difference will be more pronounced.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Not really - it is known as "Aunty' or 'The Beeb'.
Because for each tv owning household in the UK pays the BBC over 100 pounds a year.
No, it supports Flash 9, just as regular desktop Linux (32-bit, that is). That doesn't mean that some flash sites wouldn't be too heavy for it, but that's hardly surprising - some flash sites seem to completely hog the processor on my desktop computer as well.
You can have a computer screen without a television licence. From the TV Licensing website (emphasis mine):
Currently, you only need a TV licence for a PC if it has a TV tuner in it, which enables you to receive a live broadcast.
It's already been "closed", apparently - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7293988.stm
Obviously the BBC's take on the issue is slightly biased, but that's unsurprising.
Currently, you only need a TV licence for a PC if it has a TV tuner in it, which enables you to receive a live broadcast.
No, you need a TV license if you own a device which you use to receive live broadcasts on. A PC with a capture card (for say CCTV) is fine if you don't hook it up to the aerial. Likewise a TV with a DVD player out the back.It only becomes an offence when you use that PC or TV to receive live television. That includes streaming live TV from the BBC or Sky News over the internet. It doesn't include downloading an episode of Torchwood from iplayer.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7293988.stm
So, according to bbc news, they have stopped it working.
It works fine still on the iPod..
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