[_] BBC is threatened with reporting to the EC
Mike Prudence
mjp at filmsat59.com
Wed Jun 27 22:06:41 BST 2007
Hi guys, Sorry for jumping in late - I'm a bit locationally challenged at the momemt.. As far as the BBC proper goes, I think their hands are tied by the BBC Trust, which was set up to replace the governors, IIRC. The Trust has obviously been having too many swanky dinners with the wrong people, and their 'Public Value Test' for the iPlayer says that there should be rights restrictions (which in the current marketplace means DRM, which means Microsoft). Quite how restricting me from doing what I can do today with a VHS tape (or recorded off-air DVD) enhances the value of BBC services to me (the public who's value they are testing)... I do not know. The Open Source chaps have basically run into a brickwall (the BBC Trust consultation has been and gone and they ignored the arguments for consumer rights)... so going to Europe is about the only thing left. Personally I hope that this lands on the right desk at the right time, and someone in Brussels sees this as a way of inflicting some collateral damage on Microsoft in the media server arena. As a side note, the few people I've met from various technical areas in the BBC understand and agree with the viewpoints of other techies... but as usual, politics ties their hands. -- Cheers, Mike mjp at filmsat59.com http://www.filmsat59.com Films at 59 Ltd, 59 Cotham Hill, Bristol. BS6 6JR ENGLAND +44 117 906 4300