The future of TV (BBC iPlayer)

Member Name: shopaholicleo

Product:	BBC iPlayer
Date:	22/09/08 (50 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Can be used on Macs, excellent selection, complete control

Disadvantages: Only viewable for 7 days

BBC iPlayer is invaluable to me as I can catch up on programs I've missed due to work and general University life. Before, you had to wait for a repeat to come on at some ridiculous hour or hope that it had been uploaded to some confusing torrent site. Now you can easily browse the past weeks TV and watch it whenever you want. It's quite easy to find a program, as you can search for it or just look for it by day or channel. Anyone could use it with success, though this means that parental controls need to be set up before younger children use it (I'm not totally sure how successful these controls are, and whether they can be worked around by tech-savvy youngsters). It's also handy when your computer crashes or you have to stop watching something, it will remember the last part you were watching so you don't have to fast forward through the whole program.

Due to using a Mac, I find I am often left out of these On-Demand services (4od is but a mere dream) and I'm glad that iPlayer quickly sorted it out so Mac's could join in the fun. Although I can't download the program, I am happy to view programmes when online within the 7 days they're on for. The only problem is that certain international programmes are not on there, such as Greek or Family Guy, so I'd have to resort to other means to watch them. You also cannot view anything when in another country, and I think they're missing a trick here as they could charge international subscribers a small fee to watch certain programmes. You also need to make sure your broadband connection is sufficient, as you'll be forever waiting for your program to load.

I think on Demand is the future of TV, as broadcasters can get more viewers and consumers can have some control over what you watch. It would be could to have a large archive of shows to watch, so that if there's nothing on that evening, you could find a decent series such at The Apprentice to relive or a classic tennis match. Despite this, there is generally something that is worth watching and though you may have to wait a few hours for it to be on the site, it'll be worth it once it's on there.

Summary: The best way to watch tv, other services must catch up

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