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What's On BBC Red Button 30th August - 12th September 2011

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Lisa Dawson Lisa Dawson | 17:16 UK time, Tuesday, 30 August 2011

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First Click

BBC One’s smash hit genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are? is encouraging computer novices to go online and research their own genealogy as part of the BBC’s First Click campaign.

The series delves deep into celebrity family ancestry, uncovering a host of hidden pasts and shock revelations. 

Larry Lamb presents three fascinating films, available on the BBC’s Red Button, in which experts explain how viewers new to computers can use some of the key resources available to the amateur family historian.

Each film features examples and stories from the current series highlighting how passenger lists, birth, marriage and death certificates; census returns, Army Service records, foreign records and Poor Law records can all be accessed online.

A special family history guide for new computer users offering advice, tips and encouragement to get online is available at bbc.kongjiang.org/www.bbc.co.uk/firstclick and at venues running the popular First Click beginners courses.

Available on all platforms

Sky/Freesat/Virgin Media:
Wed 31st August, 9:55pm-4:00am

Freeview:
Wed 31st August, 9:55pm-10:50pm

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Changes to BBC services on satellite and cable this autumn

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Alix Pryde Alix Pryde | 16:08 UK time, Friday, 26 August 2011

satellite dishes on flats

Satellite dishes in Tower Hamlets, London

We're planning to make some changes to our satellite transponder line-up in about a month’s time. I wanted to tell you about them in advance in case you find that you have to take some action. For the vast majority of viewers, these changes should occur seamlessly and require no intervention.

However, a few of you may need to switch your receiver off and on again or retune it in order to continue to receive all of the BBC services available to you.

In terms of content, no TV channels or radio services are closing as a result of these changes, although we will be closing a few of the least watched video streams accessed via the BBC Red Button, but most viewers will probably not notice much difference.

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Where has BBC iPlayer gone on the PS3?

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Gideon Summerfield Gideon Summerfield | 09:05 UK time, Friday, 26 August 2011

With the army of loyal followers we have amassed for the original BBC iPlayer on the Playstation 3, it’s no surprise some have been reluctant to let the old design go. But we have been blown away by overwhelmingly positive feedback to the new version of BBC iPlayer on TV — initially available on the PS3.

The outpouring is typified by reviews like those from Trusted Reviews, PS3 Attitude and WebWire TV and compliments we’ve seen posted from users like: “huge improvement,” “swanky,” “rather tidy,” “really slick,” ”it rocks,” and “looks gorgeous”. These really are the greatest reward for the immense efforts of the team who put it together. So thank you all!

However, some of you have struggled to find the new BBC iPlayer on the PS3, which may have recently disappeared from the TV / Video menu. The reason it has disappeared is that since Sony updated the PS3 firmware to v3.7 a couple of weeks ago, TV services like BBC iPlayer have required users to install a small app to launch them.

While you don’t need to be signed in to the Playstation Network (PSN) to use BBC iPlayer, you do in order to install the link to it in the first place. So, if you’re not signed in already, select the PSN icon – second from the right on the XMB - and select “Sign In” to start the process.

Once you’ve completed this, you’ll find a new rainbow coloured folder under the newly renamed TV/Video Services section of the XMB, called My Channels.

screengrab showing large iPlayer icon amongst others

Select this and you should see a massive BBC iPlayer button alongside those of other TV services. If you don’t see it immediately, give it a minute or so to update. Selecting the BBC iPlayer button will re-install our icon in the TV/Services section. Choose it to launch the new BBC iPlayer from now on.

Finding BBC iPlayer is one challenge; quitting is also causing some confusion. Unfortunately the Sony framework required to deliver this improved version of BBC iPlayer on the PS3 relies on the old way of closing apps. Rather than tapping on the PS button to pull up the XMB, you'll need to hold down the PS button for a couple of seconds, then choose "Quit."

Unsurprisingly, like every major launch, this one has not been without its teething problems. But we believe we have now shored up the video distribution network servicing the new HD-capable BBC iPlayer on the PS3, which briefly buckled a little under the strain of the product’s success.

If you’re still experiencing any playback issues, you should check the performance of your own network and ISP via your PS3. Make sure you are signed into the PSN and go to “Network Settings” under the “Settings” section on the XMB. Select “Internet Connection Test” and leave it a minute to run. The figure you’re interested in is “Connection Speed (Download).”

You’ll need this to be consistently over 1Mbit/sec to be sure video can play in BBC iPlayer. Over 3Mbit/sec is required for HD. If you struggle to get over 2Mbit/sec, you may need to go to the “Video Quality” area of the “Settings” section of BBC iPlayer and select “Lower Quality” as the preferred video quality to ensure reliable playback.

Gideon Summerfield is the Executive Product Manager, BBC iPlayer TV.

His team is part of Dave Price' s TV & iPlayer department within Daniel Danker 's Future Media Programmes & On-Demand group.

July 2011 BBC iPlayer Performance Pack

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Nick Reynolds Nick Reynolds | 12:55 UK time, Monday, 22 August 2011

Graph of rising iPlayer usage

Average daily BBC iPlayer requests

July's performance pack for BBC iPlayer is now available (as a PDF to download).

Highlights as always selected by my colleagues in the Communications team here in BBC Future Media:

July 2011 saw BBC iPlayer receive 153 million requests for TV and radio programmes in total, with continuation of new devices growing in usage. Mobile devices, tablets and games consoles delivering more requests than in June, and IPTV requests specifically rose from 1.8m in June to 3.2m in July.

 Nick Reynolds is Accountability Executive, BBC Online

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5 Most Interesting Stories from the Fortnight

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Ian McDonald Ian McDonald | 13:18 UK time, Friday, 19 August 2011

Burnt-out car

A burnt-out car in Tottenham. Picture sent to the BBC's UGC hub by Malcolm Tyndall.

  1. On Monday 8th, the TV iPlayer team launched the first version of iPlayer for connected TVs - on the Playstation 3. It was widely discussed. Gideon Summerfield blogged about the thinking behind the new design, and members of his team answered questions. Coverleeds was first with the most common problem:

    Jut downloaded this onto my Playstation. I much prefer the new user interface. Except for one humungous bug:

    YOU CAN'T EXIT IPLAYER WITHOUT SWITCHING OFF THE WHOLE CONSOLE!

    The answer is to hold down the PS button and choose quit. Because the new iPlayer is a native application, it quits the same way as other native applications. Press reaction was positive, with Playstation Attitude listing Five Ways BBC iPlayer is now Better on PS3.

  2. Also on Monday 8th, someone in the BBC forwarded a joke email to Andrew Bowden about how designers, developers and project managers see each other. (Similar infographics appeared this week on how scientists see each other as well as the relationship between types of journalist.) This prompted Andrew to write a thoughtful post about the role the graph forgot - Product Manager - a discipline BBC online now champions.

  3. Monday 8th was also the day that the English riots spread to Birmingham and other English cities. Jamillah Knowles (also of Radio 5 Live's Outriders) was on duty during the riots verifying the accuracy and the contributor's consent on the BBC's User-Generated Content hub. She told the blog:

    There was a high volume of material and people to talk to during the riots, mostly sourced from sites like Twitter. Getting permissions for material and finding the truth in the rumours was a priority. Many people on the team worked longer hours but it was satisfying work being able to bring people's first hand accounts to the news coverage.

    As anyone who has been through the BBC's internet research training knows, content on the internet is subject to the same copyright rules as anywhere else. Unfortunately,  the BBC's first response to Andrew Mabbet's complaint about pictures attributed "from Twitter" claimed they were in the public domain.

    Chris Hamilton, News Social Media Executive, swiftly left a correction on Andrew's blog post and blogged about the BBC's approach to copyright on Monday 15th. Although he assured Andrew that the BBC tried hard to contact contributors, he did say that the BBC would occasionally, in extremis, use a picture without permission:

    We don't make this decision lightly - a senior editor has to judge that there is indeed a strong public interest in making a photo available to a wide audience.

    This is still one of the most talked-about BBC topics on the internet. The practice of using a picture in exceptional circumstances attracted criticism from e-Consultancy on the basis of validation and from the NUJ on the basis of copyright.

  4. Also on Saturday 13th, classical music blogger and podcaster "Overgrown Path" spotted that the Buzztracker had stopped on BBC Proms pages. David Thair of the relevant BBC team told us:

    There have been a number of problems, initially with our data supplier and now at our end (although likely related) which mean that the system was not picking up any new buzz last week, and after an initial fix, only a very limited amount this week. The technical team who manage the project has been working very hard to fully recover the service - it isn't only the Proms page that has been affected.

  5. On Monday 15th, Paul Sawyers at the Next Web blogged about the sucessors to the 5Live 606 messageboards. The BBC's DQF strategy for social media has meant several BBC messageboards shutting down in favour of more integrated social media. Some have been vocally against the closures.

    In the case of Ouch, members of the community set up Ouch Too. Paul charted the new range of football websites:

    We’ve seen a wave of copycat forum-style websites pop up, not to mention more dynamic social network style sites, some inspired by 606, others not.

 

Ian McDonald is the Content Producer, BBC Internet Blog

The last word on Laura K's Twitter account?

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Ian McDonald Ian McDonald | 16:06 UK time, Monday, 15 August 2011

Chris Hamilton, BBC News Social Media executive, has blogged about Laura K keeping her twitter account while she moves from the BBC to ITV:

Since the move was announced there has been a wide range of comment and speculation about what would happen to her Twitter account. Would she re-label it, taking it and her 60,000 followers with her? Or would she leave it, to be effectively closed, or handed over to her successor?

For almost two months, discussion has moved across twitter, the blogosphere, and newspapers. Tom Callow said the BBC had "lost 60,000 twitter followers to ITV". Martin Belam looked at 41 of those followers, and found that all but five followed another BBC Twitter account.

Read and discuss at Chris Hamilton's post on The Editor's blog.

What's On BBC Red Button 16th - 30th August 2011

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Lisa Dawson Lisa Dawson | 15:44 UK time, Monday, 15 August 2011

 

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Reading and Leeds Festival

Over the August bank holiday weekend, music lovers can press the red button on digital TV to watch coverage of the Reading and Leeds Festival. Viewers will be able to watch more than 40 bands, including headliners My Chemical Romance, The Stokes, Pulp and Muse, from across the Main, NME/Radio 1 and BBC Introducing stages.

Sky/Freesat/Virgin Media:
Fri 26th August, 7:00pm-2:00am
Sat 27th August, 7:00pm-2:00am
Sun 28th August, 7:00pm-2:00am

Freeview:
Fri 26th August, 7:00pm-2:00am
Sat 27th August, 9:00pm-2:00am
Sun 28th August, 7:00pm-2:00am

And, following the weekend, press RED each day for further highlights from the festival. A different band will feature each day so don't forget to keep coming back to check out the action.

Find out more about the Reading and Leeds festival at bbc.co.uk/readingandleeds

Sky/Freesat/Virgin Media:
Mon 29th August, 6:00am-6:00am
Tue 30th August, 6:00am-6:00am*
Wed 31st August, 6:00am-6:00am*
Thu 1st September, 6:00am-6:00am*
Fri 2nd September, 6:00am-4:00am*

Freeview:
Mon 29th August, 6:00am-6:20pm & 7:40pm-10:45pm
Tue 30th August, 4:10am-6:00am
Wed 31st August*
Thu 1st September*
Fri 2nd September*

*Exact times TBC

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New BBC iPlayer for TV

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Gideon Summerfield Gideon Summerfield | 10:00 UK time, Monday, 8 August 2011

 

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash Installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.Back in April I explained how the BBC was shifting up a gear to get BBC iPlayer onto more TV screens, taking our popular on demand product beyond the PC and back to TV’s natural home. Today I’m delighted to return to tell you about the launch of a completely new version of BBC iPlayer for TV that’s much more fitting for this increasingly important audience. This one feels more like TV, is easier to use and is more personal.

Gideon Summerfield demonstrates the new iPlayer on connected TVs in the BBC's Blue Room

Soon after we launched the BBC iPlayer website, we recognised an opportunity to bring the full richness of our on demand service directly to the TV, initially via the Web browsers that were being introduced on the Nintendo Wii and Sony Playstation3 games consoles. Believe it or not, it was nearly three years ago we first launched what we then called the “Big Screen” version of BBC iPlayer, adapting the website at the time to work on a TV screen.

Since then we have been working closely with the consumer electronics industry to get this product onto what is now a staggering 300 different models of TV device, including BluRay disc players; set-top boxes, media streamers and Smart TVs (what we used to call Connected TVs). With the popularity of connected TV devices soaring, the time is right to introduce a new version with a simpler, more TV-like experience.

You can tell, just by looking at it, that this is a TV product. We have returned to the BBC’s long TV design heritage to create a visually rich user interface that delivers a high impact from the sofa. Every piece of content and function can be easily reached using just the four direction and Enter keys found on any TV remote.

As well as eliminate the sort of complicated page navigation that often comes with services that originate on the Web, we have minimised other limitations of TV devices. One example is how we’re bundling up episodes of the same programme to cut down lists and avoid scrolling. We’ve also improved availability messaging. No longer will you waste time hunting for a programme which, for one reason or another, will not be coming to BBC iPlayer. We’ll flag up if content is expiring soon so you’ll never again have to miss a great BBC show.

Personalisation is a great tool to bring the most relevant nearer. If you’ve already started watching something, you’ll find it right there at the top level, under Last Played. We know searching is the preferred way to find content for many people and if you’ve successfully searched for something before you don’t need to type it in again: its there under Previous Searches. But even if you haven’t searched for a programme before, the process is now a lot more intuitive. Results start to pop up quickly, based on any part of the title, taking into account factors like popularity and typing errors.

We’ve also brought BBC iPlayer Favourites to the TV. Compiling a list of shows that you like best has proven popular on the PC and we think it will be appreciated even more on TV where getting around is that bit harder.

Wherever we can, we’ve tried to avoid the need to run the entire length of the browsing process, such as the ability to with just one click find related shows and access your Favourites while you’re watching something else. It’s the on-demand equivalent of channel flipping.

While it may not look anything like a website, what we are unveiling today - initially on the PS3 games console - is built using the same technology: HTML and Javascript. The increasing use of standards for playing media, such as HTML5 and CE-HTML (both elements of the the Dbook7 standard for hybrid TV devices in the UK) is making it easier for us to roll this out more widely. So, expect to see it come to other devices in the coming months. We’re also building a variant that will work on new TV devices that are integrating the latest technology from Adobe: Flash 10.x and Air 2.x.

In addition to helping to make development easier we think building standard products on these two widely understood technologies will be able to address the majority of connected TV devices that we see our audience buying for their homes. This way we can bring this new more TV-like, easy and personal BBC iPlayer experience to the TVs of more and more of the UK’s living rooms.

Gideon Summerfield is the Executive Product Manager, BBC iPlayer TV.

His team is part of Dave Price's TV & iPlayer department within Daniel Danker's Future Media Programmes & On-Demand group.

5 Most Interesting Stories from the Fortnight

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Ian McDonald Ian McDonald | 17:27 UK time, Friday, 5 August 2011

Racing car driver lifting helmet

The Hungarian Grand Prix became another test of HTTP HD streaming last weekend. Pic by Infiniti Global, used under CC licence

Some stories you might have missed this fortnight:

1. Back on July 5th, little more than a week after the BBC Online Industry Briefing, BBC Future Media Director Ralph Rivera expanded on his briefing keynote at the Intellect Consumer Electronics Conference. Intellect just put the video of his address on YouTube.

Rory Cellan-Jones quizzed him on World of Warcraft and took audience questions.

Matthew Yates from the World Wide Web Consortium asked Ralph to expand on what he meant by fewer, stronger, standards. Ralph offered News on Connected TVs as an example:

And so when you look at our connected TV news product, it's HTML5 based. And what that does for us, it gives us that ability the distribute our product much more widely.

 

2. On Wednesday 27th July, Audio & Music Interactive held an event for suppliers to meet commissioners. Barbara Greenway blogged about the content and services delivered in partnership with indies:

This year's Glastonbury site, built by Picture, saw a massive 122% increase in peak weekly traffic, and our new Desert Island Discs site, built by Magnetic North, received critical and audience praise.

Meanwhile, the newly-available archive episodes of Desert Island Discs, reformatted by Loftus, attracted 3.3 million downloads in the first two months.

 

3. Also on Wednesday 27th July, the BBC Trust announced that they have approved the use of longer excerpts from performances in the Specialist Classical Music Chart Podcast. Andrew Caspari, Head of Speech Radio and Classical music, posted at the Radio blog on Tuesday 2nd, the day it rejoined the family of BBC podcasts:

Last month listeners successfully put 14.8 million downloads on their PCs or mobile devices.

 

4. Last weekend two members of Andy Armstrong's team, Richard and Kiran, came into the office to run another HTTP HD trial - of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Andy blogged about his gratitude for your help:

It's also given the programmers who are working on this a great incentive to make it work even better; I think a remark I overheard sums that up: "Isn't it amazing that people are taking so much time to write detailed, accurate feedback - makes it all seem worthwhile". It does indeed. Thank you all for taking the time to share your thoughts and comments with us.

So, what next? One of the things that disappointed quite a few people was that we were only able to run the trial during office hours. That was disappointing for us too - we want to know more about how well HTTP adaptive bit rate streaming works on domestic broadband connections. When the trial is run during office hours, unsurprisingly, most of the traffic comes from office networks.

 

5. On Wednesday 3rd August, Daniel Danker, head of Programmes and On-Demand, went on Radio 4's You and Yours to answer questions regarding problems over the iPlayer application on the iPad.

He told Shari Vahl that audience members were helping test a potential fix:

Our audiences have been using a version of the product that we believe addresses this problem and validating for us whether it does in fact solve the problem ... My hope is that a fix is right around the corner.

 

(This blog is about BBC Online, the internet services of the domestic BBC. So if you are wondering why I'm not mentioning BBC Worldwide's Global iPlayer, or the comments on BBC Sport's rights agreement with Formula 1, it's because those are off-topic, and if I mentioned them I'd have to moderate myself.)

Ian McDonald is the Content Producer, BBC Internet Blog

 

 

BBC Trust permanently allows longer clips on Specialist Classical Chart Podcast

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Ian McDonald Ian McDonald | 15:06 UK time, Thursday, 4 August 2011

Joseph Calleja singing opera.

Joseph Calleja is the top of this week's Specialist Classical Music Chart podcast, where he can now sing at length. Picture from Andrew Marr show.

If you have missed out on Mitch Benn's ballads in the Radio 4 Friday Night Comedy podcast, or listened to the Radio One Chart podcast and heard only snippets of songs, you will know that BBC podcasts can only include short clips of commercial music.

The limit is usually thirty seconds for popular music and sixty seconds for classical. Because you can keep the MP3 of the podcast, the music rights are more restricted than in broadcasting or on Radioplayer.

Even where the BBC has arranged the music rights, the service licences granted by the BBC Trust also limits music in podcasts:

[BBC Online] may also offer broadcast radio content for download for an unlimited period of time after broadcast, although this must not include unabridged readings of published works nor full track commercial music nor classical music (even if recorded by the BBC)

The BBC Trust has now made a permanent exception to that, after a six-month trial and a consultation, for the Specialist Classical Music Chart podcast. The Trust will now allow this podcast to include excerpts up to nine minutes long. This ruling changes two service licences - for Radio 3 and BBC Online.

Andrew Caspari, BBC Head of Speech Radio & Classical Music, blogged that the Specialist Classical Music Chart podcast was back for good. He said it was good for both the British audience and the British music industry:

In fact nearly 25% of those who listened to the podcast said they were inspired to listen to more live radio, whilst 70% said they were listening to the same amount (eDigital Research for the BBC). 80% of listeners said the podcast had introduced them to music they had not heard before. Good news for the music industry came with the finding that 25% of listeners to the chart podcast had purchased classical music as a result. The BPI's classical committee is pleased with the outcome, saying the podcast supports the work to "...obtain a wider audience for the specialist classical chart and for serious classical music in general". So, all in all the trial was a success.

Changing the Service Licences under which BBC channels operate would usually trigger a formal assessment called a "Public Value Test". 

But for several reasons, the Trust concluded that the introduction of this podcast does not represent a significant change and should get an immediate green light. These reasons included the expected limited or positive impact on other listening including record buying, the potential to help Radio 3 reach young people, and the backing of the music industry:

OFCOM did not raise any concerns given the limited scope of the proposal, noting support from industry stakeholders and little crossover in audience terms with commercial alternatives.

You can read more and comment at Andrew Caspari's blog post. Or you can download the podcast, sit back, and enjoy the best new classical recordings.

Ian McDonald is the Content Producer, BBC Internet Blog

Post updated Aug 5 with more information about the changes to the service licences.

June 2011 iPlayer Performance Pack

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Ian McDonald Ian McDonald | 17:42 UK time, Tuesday, 2 August 2011

Which shows did people watch and listen to most often on TV iPlayer? Find out in the June performance pack for BBC iPlayer (PDF).

Ian McDonald is the Content Producer, BBC Internet Blog

(Document updated Wed 3 to fix mistake on p13. Thank you @kennyliza.)

What's On BBC Red Button 1st - 15th August

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Lisa Dawson Lisa Dawson | 15:58 UK time, Monday, 1 August 2011

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Dragons’ Den

It’s a new series and there’s a new Dragon in the Den – logistics tycoon Hilary Devey.  A new raft of keen entrepreneurs are about to enter the Den and make a pitch for an investment that could make their business – and change their lives.
 
Here on the Red Button we get to peek behind the scenes and get the inside story on the investments made in the Den each week.  What attracted the Dragons to the business?  What did the other Dragons make of the deals? And why did the entrepreneurs take the deal they did in the Den?
 
Available on all platforms
Tue 2nd August, 7:55pm-4:00am
Sun 7th August, 9:55pm-4:00am
Tue 9th August, 7:55pm-4:00am
Sun 14th August, 9:55pm-4:00am

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