BBC submits iPlayer for Public Value Test

8th September 2006

The BBC has submitted its iPlayer video-on-demand and simulcasting service to the BBC Governors for them to carry out a Public Value Test.

The iPlayer, which is the third different name used for the project, with previous names for it being the iMP (interactive media player) and the MyBBCPlayer, will consist initially of a ' catch-up' service for TV and radio programmes that people have missed or want to watch or listen to again, where users download the programmes to their PCs for up to 7 days after they were broadcast. Also included in the iPlayer will be the simulcasting of BBC TV channels, and apparently audio downloads with no time limit (it's unclear what these audio downloads will consist of). The BBC Radio Player will also be included in the iPlayer at a later date.

In trials, when it was called the iMP, the Windows Media Video (WMV) and Windows Media Audio (WMA) formats were used with, for example, a bit rate of 128 kbps used for the radio shows that could be downloaded, and because WMA performs well at 128 kbps, it's expected that the audio quality of the radio shows that can be downloaded will be good, and far better than via DAB.

The BBC, in conjunction with ITV, is currently carrying out a 12-month trial of Internet multicasting for live streamed TV and radio as well, where the video and audio streams are using the Real, Windows Media and MPEG-4 H.264 video and MPEG-4 AAC audio formats, but unfortunately, you have to be on one of a handful of ISPs to take part in the trial. The point being, however, is that hopefully the iPlayer will provide programmes in the MPEG-4 video and audio formats, and not be limited to using Windows Media formats, because radio streams using 128 kbps AAC, as they are on the multicast trial, should sound excellent.

You have to question why — if the Mediaguardian article is correct about this — simulcasts of the TV channels are being made available in the iPlayer but simulcasts of the BBC radio stations are not. Radio streams consume far less bandwidth than a TV channel (radio streams consume about a tenth or less bandwidth than a TV channel), so it's hard to understand why the radio stations haven't been included. Live streams of the radio stations are obviously already available, but the quality is terrible due to the use of ultra-low bit rate levels, such as 32 kbps for Radios 1, 2 and 3, using the Real Audio 8 format, which uses Sony's ATRAC3 audio codec.

This is the first time a Public Value Test — a test that gauges how much the service will benefit licence-fee payers — will have been carried out on a new BBC service. If the Governors approve the service, Ofcom will then carry out a market impact assessment to see whether, and by how much, the service will negatively affect the BBC's competitors.

Ashley Highfield, the BBC's Director of New Media & Technology, is confident that the iPlayer will get approval, and he expects it to launch in spring or summer next year.