Today I received an invite to a service the BBC is trialling which allows users to watch various shows from the archives of the BBC. This differs from their iMP initiative which only allows users to watch newer programmes.
The site doesn’t have that many episodes yet – they total about 370 – which means you have a limited choice. The BBC promises to release 1000 pieces of archived material by the end of trial, though.
Many of these archived tapes which are currently available have historical or cultural importance. For example, you could use the site to watch original, full-length news broadcasting of the Falklands War or even watching an original Basil Brush show (how many children will have seen one of those today?!).
The site does have a few entertaining shows but because it is an archive the site seems to be mainly geared for nostalgia and historical research.
The site hosts both radio and TV shows which are streamed to the user, in true BBC fashion, as a Windows Media streaming or Real stream. I am disappointed that you can’t download a show nor are they streamed in a more cross-platform format such as Flash video.
You have the ability to rate archived media in addition to stating why you chose to watch it. As it is still in trial stages, the latter will be for BBC to understand what they must include in the future.
Unfortunately, if you’re not currently part of the trial you can’t expect join as registration is closed. The BBC hope to open it up to all British residents by the end of 2007.
Tags: bbc, bbc archive, tv, web2.0, web2, web 2.0, web 2, media, free tv, television
Never mind flash cross platform! All of these programmes have been produced with licence fee payers money, they should be available in open formats so we can all access them, without having to use proprietary codecs.
True, but how many average Joe’s know how to use those?
Don’t forget that the BBC has already invested heavily over the years in the infrastructure to stream in the Real and Windows formats. It wouldn’t make sense to put in a whole new raft of streaming infrastructure just for a trial which is going to be switched off after a few months so that it can go through the BBC Trust’s Public Value Test. There are moves afoot within the BBC to stream more video in Flash though – the BBC Two site was certainly moving in that direction.