Friday 17 October 2008
BBC works towards IPTV
Natalie Apostolou
The BBC is actively working with the broadcast industry and set top box manufacturers in a bid to create and adopt an open IPTV platform.
Speaking at the Mipcom conference on Wednesday, BBC future media and technology director Erik Huggers, confirmed the existence of the rumoured Project Canvas, adding that the group was pushing for the development of an open industry standard that would get internet TV in the living room.
“You could talk to Philips, Pioneer or Sony, who are adding internet to television sets to provide a coherent platform in the country. It’s the last bastion; it’s about getting into the living room with the richness and community features that the web offers with the viewing quality from a larger device. Because it’s an open service, any company could build an app for the platform.”
Huggers said while something could emerge on this front within a year, it had yet to get approval from the BBC Trust.
“The notion of the internet reaching PCs, Macs, Linux devices and increasingly mobile devices is fantastic news for all rights owners,” he said.
“The same thing is happening in the living room. The question is: Can there be an open IPTV standard that device makers adopt to enable a direct-to-consumer delivery of on-demand content in the living room?”
Huggers said that the project needed the buy in of hardware manufacturers and all broadcasters to ensure there was a single player for all online content. He also revealed that the BBC was working on a children's iPlayer, which could be offering junior content on demand by the end of next year.
“When exactly that will launch, I can’t tell you, but we’re working toward that.”
Meanwhile the BBC announced that it has signed a set of agreements to allow users to download television programs from BBC iPlayer direct to their mobile handsets, via a wireless internet connection or over the air. The agreements were signed with technology and licensing companies CMLA, CoreMedia and Intertrust. The system, which debuted on the Nokia N96, will be compatibility tested with other mobile devices with the intention to roll out on more devices in the future.
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