In the UK, the PS3 and Wii boast BBC iPlayer functionality, a very useful little enhancement that has proven to be a popular addition to the system's list of talents. The iPlayer gives users access to the previous week's worth of BBC television and radio shows, making it a valuable tool for British telly fans. The Xbox 360 cannot boast of such a tool, and unless it changes its Xbox Live policies, it never will.
The deal is this: Since the BBC already forces people to pay a TV license fee, it cannot ask people to pay for any of its services. Because Microsoft is greedy and stupid, it wants the iPlayer to only be available to Xbox Live Gold users. To the BBC, this is like asking people to pay for it. Hence, the iPlayer is currently boycotting the Xbox 360.
"Microsoft only wants to offer its users access to platforms it can charge for as this is the model it is pursuing," says a BBC source. "This does not fit with the BBC's model and Microsoft will not budge at the moment. It is really frustrating for those involved on the BBC side who want to make sure iPlayer is rolled out on as many popular entertainment platforms as possible."
This is just another example of how Microsoft tries to manufacture a sense of value in Xbox Live Gold by taking things away from Silver subscribers rather than giving things to Gold. Simply put, you cannot pay for access to a BBC product, ever. Microsoft's silly greed has just screwed all UK 360 users out of the service. Well done, Microsoft! Yet another slam dunk!
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
9:20 AM on 11.30.2009
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Goddammit, i want my money back for my Reeves and Mortimer DVDs.
Good for BBC for obeying the rules and sticking it to Microsoft.
that's all everything amounts to
Wouldn't it be illegal or something for them to actually charge for access to it? It's fucking stupid on MS' behalf regardless.
@Jim could you please explain this? I am not brittish and have never heard of a "tv license fee" or anything of the sort. I have no clue what it is, who has to pay, or what it does.
It's basically a glorified tax. In Britain, you do not have the right to simply own a television. The BBC, one of our networks, has made it law that you have to pay a "license fee" to have the right to own a television. This is how the BBC gets its funding. The "benefit" is a lack of advertising on the network and all its services are free. The downside is that it's not voluntary, and the BBC has managed to steal itself the ability to act like a monopoly when it isn't.
I'm personally very against the license fee and it sickens me that you have to pay for the right to buy something. Still, it's become such an institution (and the government gets a nice little kickback) so nobody does anything about what is, at the end of the day, legal robbery.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC#Revenue
I think you are misrepresenting the license fee thing there, your not paying a license fee" for the right to own a TV" you are paying the fee to use the BBC service, if they didnt charge a license fee then they wouldnt be able to produce the amount of home grown TV that they do, if they didnt charge a fee the BBC as you know it wouldnt exist. We have the same model over here in Ireland, while taxes are crap I can at least see the point of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyeemtS1jII
since i use iplayer through my PC i don't really care about losing out on the service, but this serves as a nice reminder that the beeb isn't so bad, and that microsoft are a bunch of greedy cunts.
@Jim
gotta say i used to agree on the license fee, but since iplayer came along i actually feel like i'm getting something for my money. frankly it shits on everyone elses VOD service, even if the content itself isn't always the best available.
It's my understanding that they can charge the licensing fee to anyone who owns a device that recieves BBC visual broadcasts. So if you don't own a TV but own a computer and watch BBC programming you still have to pay. I'm not sure about proving you don't view the BBC's services and becoming exempt from the fee.
But in fairness, I use the BBC website shitloads, also their news channel.
So like a PBS you pay for? Well that sucks.
Although I gotta say while we have free tv here in the states 50% of those free channels are pure shit.
Shit, you know who your friends are.
I'm loving the Iplayer on my PS3, except rather than watching TV, I want to be playing MAG. What i do want however is for them to PS3-friendly-fi the 4OD player.
I mean it runs in IE / firefox / opera / safari browsers, however when you open it up on your PS3 you get lines of code rather than the video.
Either tweek the 4OD player to fit the Ps3, or update the PS3 browser to be able to handle the 4OD player! PLEASE!
But yeah the Iplayer is cool and all, but you know 4OD is better and it'd be real nice to be able to watch it on my big TV.
"But yeah the Iplayer is cool and all, but you know 4OD is better and it'd be real nice to be able to watch it on my big TV."
are you serious? aside from the fact that the quality of C4 programming has declined massively in the past few years, the quality of the 4OD streams is terrible compared to iplayer. i do like the fact that they keep their content around longer, but that doesn't count for much when it all looks like shit.
Iplay - shows available for about a week.
4OD - massive backlist catalogue of entire series' of old shows, some quite good.
Mrs choco loves a bit of Holyoaks and the IT crowd, both 4OD shows, would save my Play TV and PS3 HDD some space if she could just watch them on the player.
Although, saying that, she watches them on the laptop while I play MAG, keeps her quiet, stops her whinging, so scratch that, I don't want any TV on my PS3!!!
Why should anyone own an xbox again? Their exclusives? What, the handful they have that are just as good as the handful the competition's sporting? I mean, most of the AAA games are on -both- consoles. It plays DVDs? Oh, wait, the PS3 does that, too...Blu-R--whoops, sorry, they'd have to PAY the competition to use it.
Microsoft's was selling because it was more affordable, came out of the gate a whole year earlier, and boasted a larger library. Now that the system's virtually the same price, both systems have been out long enough for launch not to matter, and most of it's library has been forgotten...they're going to continue charging for something the other guy is giving away? I could sell more PS3's at my store if I simply made a chart of these things.
FYI, I don't even have a PS3 yet, I have an XBOX Pro60g...bought it back when it was slightly cheaper, and I don't play multiplayer anyway. So don't call me an f'in fan boy. Anyone who doesn't have one, unless their friends want em to multiplay on a 360, is going to jump on the PS3.
But kudos to the Beeb for standing their ground on this issue.
Also, with government supervision.
Also also, this means that in the UK, the Wii offers online functionality that xBox doesn't?
Whilst having the i-player on the PS3 and Wii is a nice little feature, it's not a massive system seller in reality, seeing as i-player is available to anybody with a PC/laptop, or anybody with a set-top box, which has to pretty much include everyone who can afford the top-end gaming systems. I don't think I'm missing out by not having the i-player on live as it simply means I have to put down my Xbox controller, and pick up my TV remote (oh, the pain, the pain...)
On that note i know a guy who was fined by the licensing board because they claimed his toaster gave him the ability to receive signals as it could be MODIFIED into an aeriel.
Hilarious.
I've already had to deal with the TV Gestapo because one of my housemates decided to watch X Factor live on t'internet, they have no legal powers whatsoever so we just tell them to fuck off.
But I don't care since it was still hilarious. And considering my PC is rigged up to my HDTV, this doesn't really affect me anyway.
So why I'm commenting I have no idea.
Just add up all the hours you watch BBC programmes, and compare that to how much Xbox Live you use, and see if it is worth £142 compared to £39.99.
Also I'm with you @matbas, there should be a browser on the 360, just not IE.
@Zantetsuken
3 people on my course (Law, Beds uni) are due in court this week over not buying a TV license and watching iPlayer on a Laptop. They've been told that not only do you need a TV license to watch TV on a laptop, you need a TV license for a computer monitor/laptop with a screen/and other peripheral that can be used to watch TV, whether you are using it for this purpose or not. They spoke to a solicitor, and were told they don't have a leg to stand on so they should accept the fine. I'd just get your housemates to band together and buy a License, because they will eventually catch you, and they will fine you shitless when they do.
I suggest that you read the FAQ on the licensing website. We have a license for a communal TV, the reason my housemate got in trouble was because he was watching LIVE TV in his room. As all our rooms have a lock on them they are classed as flats so if we all want to watch live TV in our rooms we need a individual licence.
Thanks for your concern and I hope that your housemates are OK, but I know how the law stands and I am not afraid bullies.
It has since turned into the redheaded stepchild of my gaming family:/ Not in the sense that I'm fickle... more along the lines of I'm tired of feeling like I have to make calculated decisions in how I use the equipment/service when the value of it just seems to be nosediving.
I did a double take when reading this article.. It plays out in my mind like:
BBC: "Certainly we would love to offer our service on your console"
MS: "Great. Here's the price we expect for something we had no hand in creating."
BBC: "Excellent, I.. what?"
Now if you folks want to be pissy cunts for Microsoft having made it exclusive to Gold members, then by all means feel free. That sort of thing actually is fucked up, and better yet, it's a complaint that has roots in reality, so you won't sound like a bunch of silly dip-shits for bitching about it
Oh, you mean I can't?
Peep Show.
That is all.