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BBC iPlayer coming to Freesat this month

Published: Wednesday 4th November, 2009 | Author: Parm Mann
Products: iPlayer
Companies: BBC (All BBC content), Freesat (All Freesat content)
External reviews: iPlayer

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In a blog post detailing how it plans to make iPlayer available to audiences on other platforms and devices, the BBC has revealed that its on-demand service will be launched on Freesat later this month.

The long-awaited arrival of iPlayer on the free-to-air satellite service will be welcomed by viewers, with the BBC expected to increase the quantity of high-definition content available on Freesat by offering HD streams of selected iPlayer programming.

Speaking on the BBC's Internet Blog, Rahul Chakkara, controller of TV platforms at BBC Future Media and Technology, states that he expects a beta of BBC iPlayer to be made available to capable Freesat devices "by the end of November".

BBC iPlayer will be delivered to Freesat viewers using the MHEG-5 standard that has helped broadcast interactive services for a number of years. The BBC adds that its R&D team, working together with the Digital Television Group, has extended the MHEG-5 standard to use an interaction channel for handling internet video - the resulting standard has been dubbed MHEG-IC (MHEG-5 Interaction Channel) and is used in both Freesat and Freeview HD set-top boxes.

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Re: News - BBC iPlayer coming to Freesat this month

Posted by Funkstar - Wed 4th Nov 2009, 12:13pm

Any ideas as to how this will be handled?

Will the content actually be delivered over the air on demand? Or will the data be pulled over the internet? a Freesat box is required to have an ethernet connection after all.Quote

Re: News - BBC iPlayer coming to Freesat this month

Posted by Fatboy40 - Wed 4th Nov 2009, 12:38pm

You'll access the data, on demand, over the Internet via the ethernet port on the back of the STB.Quote

Re: News - BBC iPlayer coming to Freesat this month

Posted by handscombmp - Wed 4th Nov 2009, 4:17pm

Quote: Fatboy40
You'll access the data, on demand, over the Internet via the ethernet port on the back of the STB.

Then what is it saying about red button services.

I'm confused :O_o1::confused:Quote

Re: News - BBC iPlayer coming to Freesat this month

Posted by Funkstar - Wed 4th Nov 2009, 4:52pm

Sound like the Red Button functionality will be extended to include video and audio feeds from over the air (as it works just now) as well as data feeds from the internet. I would suspect there will also be provision for caching data on the hard drive of Freesat PVRs as well. At least I hope so.

I'll go out on a limb here and suggest that the new HD Freeview boxes will also include this functionality when they are finally spec'ed out and released.Quote