NEWS: Freeview Play unveils latest Explore TV update

Sorry to be pedantic but I think you'll find it's not "free" as you have to pay your license fee if you want to watch anything relating to the BBC as the tiresome anti BBC zealots are so quick to note.

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Have just had a look at the new Freeview Play and it looks so much tidied and easy to use 👍
 
But the quality of UK's streaming services still lags way behind that available on the likes of Netflix or Amazon Video. Why not improve the backend, rather than tart up the window dressing?
 
But the quality of UK's streaming services still lags way behind that available on the likes of Netflix or Amazon Video. Why not improve the backend, rather than tart up the window dressing?
The difference is that the BBC, ITV, Chan 4 etc are broadcast services, which Netflix and Amazon are not. It is incidental that our broadcasters are able to provide a 'catch up' service which is largely without the bells and whistles that pure streaming can provide like UHD and HDR etc. If the BBC were to provide such a comprehensive streaming service, without advertising, they would have to charge premium prices like Amazon, Disney & Netflix. Many people would resent this especially those who think they are being robbed by having to pay 40p a day for a TV licence.
 
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Sorry to be pedantic but I think you'll find it's not "free" as you have to pay your license fee if you want to watch anything relating to the BBC as the tiresome anti BBC zealots are so quick to note.

G
Sorry to be even more pedantic, but the licence fee is for television reception. It has nothing to do with whether you watch BBC services or not. Obviously the income goes towards funding the BBC. Many other countries squirrel away the cost of their public service broadcasting in national or local taxes so nobody has the option of opting out.
 
Sorry to be even more pedantic, but the licence fee is for television reception. It has nothing to do with whether you watch BBC services or not. Obviously the income goes towards funding the BBC. Many other countries squirrel away the cost of their public service broadcasting in national or local taxes so nobody has the option of opting out.

It's a bit more nuanced than that ;)

In essence you're correct but BBC online services (i.e. iPlayer) are in fact specifically listed.

The criteria is what they define as "live" television. That is ANYTHING that is not catch up or on demand.

So if you watch e-sports live online you need a license. If you watch anything live on Twitch, you need a license. If you watch a live feed of Sky News online, you need a license, you watch a sports event or a concert on Amazon Prime, you need a license and so on. BBC iPlayer in it's entirety is covered even the on-demand parts. It's not limited to TV's, it also covers laptops, phones, desktops or anything else that can view a "live" broadcast on.

What's also interesting is failure to have a license is punishable by an unlimited fine since 2015.

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The difference is that the BBC, ITV, Chan 4 etc are broadcast services, which Netflix and Amazon are not. It is incidental that our broadcasters are able to provide a 'catch up' service which is largely without the bells and whistles that pure streaming can provide like UHD and HDR etc. If the BBC were to provide such a comprehensive streaming service, without advertising, they would have to charge premium prices like Amazon, Disney & Netflix. Many people would resent this especially those who think they are being robbed by having to pay 40p a day for a TV licence.
Except that iPlayer can deliver 1080p picture quality. On certain devices (there’s a list somewhere) it’s available now. From I can make out, there were plans to deliver it universally, but the plans were scuppered by the first Covid lockdown — better to leave things ‘as is’, at the time.

Continuing the picture theme, a number of shows that the BBC has aired have appeared on Netflix in 4K HDR/DV recently, suggesting that they were filmed in that resolution, so why does the BBC only offer them on iPlayer at 720p resolution when the platform can deliver a 4K HLG stream?

As for audio, I’ve seen mention that the BBC did some trials delivering 5.1 audio via iPlayer some time ago. If true, that would suggest (to me) that the capability is there, perhaps with some tweaking.

The BBC pushes iPlayer at every opportunity, yet by and large, the platform fails to match the quality delivered by its linear HD channels. I don’t buy into the argument that the costs of uprating the platform would be significant, given that the framework would already seem to be in place.

The BBC continually moans about the likes of Netflix and Amazon. Streaming platform wise, it needs to put its house in order first.
 
Except that iPlayer can deliver 1080p picture quality. On certain devices (there’s a list somewhere) it’s available now. From I can make out, there were plans to deliver it universally, but the plans were scuppered by the first Covid lockdown — better to leave things ‘as is’, at the time.

Continuing the picture theme, a number of shows that the BBC has aired have appeared on Netflix in 4K HDR/DV recently, suggesting that they were filmed in that resolution, so why does the BBC only offer them on iPlayer at 720p resolution when the platform can deliver a 4K HLG stream?

As for audio, I’ve seen mention that the BBC did some trials delivering 5.1 audio via iPlayer some time ago. If true, that would suggest (to me) that the capability is there, perhaps with some tweaking.

The BBC pushes iPlayer at every opportunity, yet by and large, the platform fails to match the quality delivered by its linear HD channels. I don’t buy into the argument that the costs of uprating the platform would be significant, given that the framework would already seem to be in place.

The BBC continually moans about the likes of Netflix and Amazon. Streaming platform wise, it needs to put its house in order first.
I'm not sure where you go the idea that I had said that iPlayer cannot deliver 1080p. I know it can. I was careful to point out that it can deliver UHD, which is does for a select number of programmes. The fact that they may have access to high quality versions of shows, but apparently not choose to transmit them that way is probably down to economics. Broadcast rights from independent programme producers costs money and that is demanded to ensure transmission in a tariff of formats. If you want the BBC to provide better quality then the money has to come from somewhere. The Beeb are currently being pushed to hold down the licence fee and are making cuts across the board to do so.

I suspect that few consumers would be happy to pay more for technical improvements which very few viewers understand anyway. A substantial amount of people are still happy to watch SD because that is the way the channel listing pops up on their TVs. I'm not aware that the BBC, or C4 or ITV are "continually moaning" about Netflix etc. They are two different mediums. One is predominantly homebrew broadcasts and the other mainly American streamed material. A lot of, predominantly older, viewers don't have Broadband so they don't have a choice. The time will come when the TV licence system, which is certainly out of date, will be removed and revenue will come from general taxation where pretty much everyone will contribute whether they like it or not. It works in many other countries.
 

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