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Sony and Microsoft wanted too much control over iPlayer on their consoles

11 April 2008 21:13 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 6 comments

The recent decision to add iPlayer support to the Nintendo Wii console left many wondering why Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) or Microsoft's Xbox 360 didn't get a similar announcement before. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the reason for it has to do with the manufacturers of the consoles themselves, who were apparently excessively demanding on details about iPlayer's implementation into their hardware.

Erik Huggers of the BBC said that both companies have expressed interest in bringing the iPlayer software to their consoles. BBC's iPlayer allows TV viewers in the UK to catch up on programmes they missed on television for free. Huggers said that with the PS3's build-in web browser, upcoming iPlayer support is almost inevitable for it.

"If you want to get [iPlayer] on the PlayStation or Xbox, they want control of the look, the feel and the experience. They want it done within their shop, and their shop only," Huggers claimed.

The Xbox 360 does not have an Internet browser, meaning its implementation would be more difficult. The traffic levels to and from the iPlayer have been significant enough to spark a row between the BBC and many of the ISPs in the territory about who should pay for much needed upgrades.

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Permalink to this article | Topic: Consoles

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iPlayer comes to the Wii (9 April 2008)

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BBC iPlayer is costing ISPs a hefty sum (23 February 2008)

iPlayer coming to revamped Apple TV? (20 January 2008)

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nobrainer (Member) 12 April 2008 0:02
Beat you to it but there was a hack around to make it availible on the ps3: http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/651160 *Quote:* *Originally posted by nobrainer:* here you go ppl: PS3 owners game iPlayer *Originally posted by fta above link:* Less than 24 hours after the BBC gave great fanfare to its new iPlayer streaming service for Nintendo Wii at a media conference in France, jealous Playstation enthusiasts had used it to cobble together a version of their own. An enterprising coder known as Ixalon has created an unofficial site that spoofs the Wii's user agent and manipulates the iPlayer site's JavaScript and CSS so UK owners of the PS3 can get in on the catch-up action. It uses the Flash 7 streams direct link to iPlayer PS3 page: http://www.ps3iplayer.com/problem/browser.html use it while you can, because there is no telling how long it eill be before the site is closed/blocked! The BPI Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI. The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI. The IFPI Are: The same anti consumer lot as listed above! The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX. How do you stop anti consumer = its easy purchase only second hand media and avoid their propertarian hobbled by DRM hardware! http://www.boycott-riaa.com/ [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 12 April 2008 0:03
DjDanio (Newbie) 12 April 2008 15:21
thanks for the link!although it can't got full screen, its good, but i dont fancy having the iplayer burnt into my screen [ + quote]
nobrainer (Member) 12 April 2008 15:37
*Originally posted by DjDanio:* thanks for the link!although it can't got full screen, its good, but i dont fancy having the iplayer burnt into my screen nope, i cant seem to get it full screen either, maybe there was a glitch as "fullscreen" was even mentioned on the bbc news about this, anyhows downloading and playing through a pc gives you far better quality but its a start for the consoles. all good news. The BPI Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI. The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI. The IFPI Are: The same anti consumer lot as listed above! The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX. How do you stop anti consumer = its easy purchase only second hand media and avoid their propertarian hobbled by DRM hardware! http://www.boycott-riaa.com/ [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 12 April 2008 15:47
Hardwyre (Newbie) 15 April 2008 17:13
pssh. If BBC wants on Xbox, they should just purchase a distribution license for XBLive like anyone else. Microsoft is integrating the Xbox dashboard into Windows Vista Ultimate computers (optional), to enable additional PC/Xbox cross compatibility. Microsoft's take on the whole BBC iPlayer was to have it able to be viewed/used by Windows Media Center while still retaining full functionality of the features available IN Windows Media Center in the first place. The BBC didn't like the idea of the iPlayer integrated with WMC and its recording abilities0, so they backed out. (They were afraid of people using it to steal their media) They wanted Microsoft to pay them additional money for WMC compatibility. I guess the tables turn when you're trying to get the largest digital media distributor in the world to pay YOU for content, huh? Microsoft F T W. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15 April 2008 17:15
nobrainer (Member) 16 April 2008 5:04
*Originally posted by Hardwyre:* pssh. If BBC wants on Xbox, they should just purchase a distribution license for XBLive like anyone else. Microsoft is integrating the Xbox dashboard into Windows Vista Ultimate computers (optional), to enable additional PC/Xbox cross compatibility. Microsoft's take on the whole BBC iPlayer was to have it able to be viewed/used by Windows Media Center while still retaining full functionality of the features available IN Windows Media Center in the first place. The BBC didn't like the idea of the iPlayer integrated with WMC and its recording abilities0, so they backed out. (They were afraid of people using it to steal their media) They wanted Microsoft to pay them additional money for WMC compatibility. I guess the tables turn when you're trying to get the largest digital media distributor in the world to pay YOU for content, huh? Microsoft F T W. please supply some evidence to support this from a reputable web site if there is any. this seems a little far fetched to me as the iplayer is using m$ drm that can be downloaded to your pc and streamed via the 360 without anyblocks. the problem with the 360 is that it does not have a built in browser. FairUse4WM strips iplayer drm. The BPI Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI. The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI. The IFPI Are: The same anti consumer lot as listed above! The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX. How do you stop anti consumer = its easy purchase only second hand media and avoid their propertarian hobbled by DRM hardware! http://www.boycott-riaa.com/ [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 16 April 2008 5:06
Hardwyre (Newbie) 16 April 2008 10:03
No, it's NOT using the Microsoft DRM, but Microsoft wants them to, so it's cross-compatible across Media Center Extenders. BBC wants more money to do that. Microsoft has been saying it's not worth it, and may decide to pay less so it's only on the UK xboxes, but they REALLY do not want to implement a browser in the xbox. If there's any progress on this front you'll probably see it in the usual tech news channels in about 3 weeks. [ + quote]