Xbox iPlayer Deal Delayed Indefinitely

[tk1989]

we are required (by law) to pay the BBC £139:50 a year (approx $230), no arguements, that's it.

Its actually gone up to £142.50... so yeah, they have been putting up the price

 

[tehbeard]

tbh this really doesn't affect me as the Pc i am typing on is my capture pc, hooked up to the TV and 360, so this is a null point.

But i do sympathise for those who can't do this. it's unfortunate but then this is the BBC and Microsoft, two of the most rigid policy followers in existance.

 

[SG Xibalba]

Yeah, but my main point was that we shouldn't get too complacent or comfy, as I wouldn't put it past the BBC to try and charge us (read: penalise us) for using the internet next.

You may laugh, but people never thought they'd have the balls to actually try and pass that bill charging a license fee per every TV in a household, yet they did.

 

[Xcelsior]

Sky, Twitter, Facebook, Zune> Iplayer. Everyone has a pc with internet so why not just watch iPlayer on that?

By that judgment if these people have computers with internet, why don't they just do facebook,twitter and sky on their pc's aswell?

Such a lame move from Microsoft.

 

[roekenny]

we are required (by law) to pay the BBC £139:50 a year (approx $230), no arguements, that's it.

Its actually gone up to £142.50... so yeah, they have been putting up the price

Actually can watch bbci without a tv licence as law still outdated as don't include it as need to be able to receive a TV reception or something along them lines. Will never need one so long as bbci player is exempt as only use 4od as nothing worth it on any other channel. But since never use my xbox for anything but gaming (and even that rare) is no loss just use my PC like always have done for the service.

 

[Pendragon9]

Now do you see why everyone spells it Micro$oft? There's plenty of reason.

 

[SG Xibalba]

Actually can watch bbci without a tv licence as law still outdated as don't include it as need to be able to receive a TV reception or something along them lines. Will never need one so long as bbci player is exempt as only use 4od as nothing worth it on any other channel. But since never use my xbox for anything but gaming (and even that rare) is no loss just use my PC like always have done for the service.

Guys, you seem to be missing the big picture here - again, what I'm trying to convey (and you've posted yourself without even realising it) is that I wouldn't put it past them to try their damndest to get more money out of us Brits.

The fact that "the law is still outdated' does not mean it can't be changed, and the fact you use your Xbox for nothing more than gaming will probably not matter much, as that argument was used for a famous case years ago where the BBC took a guy to court for not paying his license fee because he claimed he only used his TV for watching videos. He was able to prove (don't ask me how) that he had disconnected his aerial, and was telling the truth and the BBC lost the case. After that they CHANGED their small print preventing that ever happening again.

So don't get TOO confortable.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Xbox 360 has been and always will be Zune friendly and thank the Gods for that ... I refuse to go over to the ipod

 

[tk1989]

we are required (by law) to pay the BBC £139:50 a year (approx $230), no arguements, that's it.

Its actually gone up to £142.50... so yeah, they have been putting up the price

Actually can watch bbci without a tv licence as law still outdated as don't include it as need to be able to receive a TV reception or something along them lines. Will never need one so long as bbci player is exempt as only use 4od as nothing worth it on any other channel. But since never use my xbox for anything but gaming (and even that rare) is no loss just use my PC like always have done for the service.

The law is that because it isn't being broadcast live then you dont have to pay for a license if you only use iPlayer and have no tv. Because iPlayer is essentially programs which have been previously shown on television it isn't necessary to have a license. However, the money from the TV License funds the iplayer regardless of whether you have to pay for it or not, and what i think the original poster was trying to get at was that this could change in the future and that prices could essentially be raised as more services are being provided.

 

[Pimppeter2]

Meh, not a big deal for me personally. But a bit lame

 

[Pimppeter2]

What the hell is an iPlayer? And [HEADING=2]why should I care[/HEADING], considering that I live in America? You know what, don't answer either question.

There is more to the world than America, and a large number of users are Europeon on this site.
Do you hear the rest us complaining about the vast majority of content on this site being American? No?
Then shut up.

Yup, it appears you "missed" that part of his post. Why should he care if it doesn't affect him?

 

[Ranooth]

Good old Mirco$oft.

Congratulations! You worked out that the dollar sign looks like an "S"! You are the first person ever to realise that! You're so witty!

OT - I do feel bad for 360 gamers. The optimised iPlayer on the PS3 has got me watching TV again. Of course, it's only CBBC and the occasional round of Lazy Town when I wanna yell at things. It's not fucking Sports Candy! It's called fucking fruit!

YAY!!

Do i win a cookie?

 

[metza]

What the hell is an iPlayer? And [HEADING=2]why should I care[/HEADING], considering that I live in America? You know what, don't answer either question.

There is more to the world than America, and a large number of users are Europeon on this site.
Do you hear the rest us complaining about the vast majority of content on this site being American? No?
Then shut up.

Yup, it appears you "missed" that part of his post. Why should he care if it doesn't affect him?

Why bother posting if it doesn't. Think what it would be like if everyone went around posting about how little bearing this, that or the other has on their lives.

 

[asinann]

And who pays for the bandwidth used by this service? Microsoft doesn't charge the companies to put content on XBL so Microsoft has to get the money to pay for the bandwidth somehow. I'm betting that the BBC isn't willing to even cover the costs of this service and just expects Microsoft to pony up the cash while the BBC gets free publicity, hell, they're probably wanting to charge Microsoft to put the content on the XBox.

 

[Vlane]

Good old Mirco$oft.

Congratulations! You worked out that the dollar sign looks like an "S"! You are the first person ever to realise that! You're so witty!

Calm down tiger.


I don't see the problem here. Everyone has a PC anyway, why not just watch it on that?

My arguemnt for pro PC gaming, everyone has one, why not have it do everything?

Yeah and while you are at it why not build a microwave into your car?

 

[Pimppeter2]

What the hell is an iPlayer? And [HEADING=2]why should I care[/HEADING], considering that I live in America? You know what, don't answer either question.

There is more to the world than America, and a large number of users are Europeon on this site.
Do you hear the rest us complaining about the vast majority of content on this site being American? No?
Then shut up.

Yup, it appears you "missed" that part of his post. Why should he care if it doesn't affect him?

Why bother posting if it doesn't. Think what it would be like if everyone went around posting about how little bearing this, that or the other has on their lives.

This is the internet, hear it roar.

I'm not saying his isn't a douchey post, but there's no reason to get riled up over it

 

[Sampler]

Why on earth would people pay for something you can get elsewhere.

What - you mean like online gaming via PC/PS3 for identical titles that MS charge Gold for?

And who pays for the bandwidth used by this service? Microsoft doesn't charge the companies to put content on XBL so Microsoft has to get the money to pay for the bandwidth somehow. I'm betting that the BBC isn't willing to even cover the costs of this service and just expects Microsoft to pony up the cash while the BBC gets free publicity, hell, they're probably wanting to charge Microsoft to put the content on the XBox.

BBC will be paying for the bandwidth, there will be an app to install to the xbox that will simply pick-up the BBC's feed so no extra bandwidth require on MS's behalf - they're simply wanting to make Gold appeal to more users. Personally not affected as I have SkyHD which has SkyAnytime which hooks into the iPlayer, a Wii, a PS3 and a PC all hooked up to the same telly my xBox is on so I have sufficient platforms to not watch the cack the beeb make.

Thank you the voice of reason - Shifty89.

You know, whilst I certainly don't begrudge anyone having this service if it's made available, what people outside of the UK (yes, we're looking at you America), don't seem to realise is that all that good stuff you got on XBL last year? We've only just got it (ie: watching a movie with your friends for instance). Whilst you were able to utilize Netflicks, we weren't and were stuck with crappy downloads that you could only watch on your own. I could go on.


Ok, I will.

The iPlayer service does concern me however, as I am convinced that this is nothing more than the BBC's way of clandestinely placing their services in any and every possible way into UK households and then increasing the License Fee because 'well, you have it on your house, it's not our fault you don't watch it' - because THAT my friends is how it works over here.

You see, until about 3 months ago before the national switchover to digital, we had 5 'terrestrial' broadcast channels available to all:
'BBC1'
'BBC2'
'ITV'*
'Channel 4'*
and 'Five'*
*These last three are not publicly funded, and raise their revenue like most American tv stations via advertising. Regardless of whether you ever watched one of those BBC channels during those 365 days, we are required (by law) to pay the BBC £139:50 a year (approx $230), no arguements, that's it. This is on top of any seperate plan you may have taken out (ie: satelitte or cable services with other companies due to most of the BBC's programming being sh*t or repeats).

You should also be aware that the BBC has such a hold (due to it's 'Royal Charter', that they only managed to renew a few years ago by the skin of their very teeth), that if you ever purchase a new TV here in the UK you are required by Law to register your address and have it confirmed before it leaves the store - this is for their infamous 'TV Detector DataBase'.

The BBC's greed knows no bounds - about 2 years ago the BBC even tried to push thru a new bill that would ensure that rather than charging an annual £139:50 ($230) per houshold, it would begin charging PER TV SET. The British public were of course up in arms about this (not helped either by the fact that the BBC squanders much of these publicly raised funds on crap every year - something that happened to come to light around that time, giving them major bad press), and it never came into law, but it was close - such is their sheer arrogance.

So you see, my issue is the fact that America inparticular never gives a stuff when the British or any other country starts complaining that they can't obtain a certain service that Americans have (Hulu is another good example that we couldn't access, along with youtube starting to follow the trend of late to a ridiculous extreme) - yet as soon as you see someone else with something shiny that you don't have, you kick off.

My fear is that because the BBC's iPlayer is available online should people want it, and because it may very well end up on gaming consoles (like the PS3 for example), that WE will be paying for it.

So hey, kick back, enjoy.

Don't worry about us.

Recently a BBC head was reported as saying that now they stream live via iPlayer and you could use the internet to watch BBC programming* that anyone with a internet connection must also pay a TV licence - it was later back tracked and painfully pointed out that this isn't something they're planning which it so obviously was and the report was used to soundboard public opinion on the matter.

These people not heard of pay for sites? Think it's how the Adult industry has been managing it's online video content for a few years now - why simply not "Welcome to the BBC iPlayer service, please enter you TV Licence code to proceed" - job done.

Whilst we're at it - you know the first thing the BBC did when they picked up the failed Freeview system? Removed the content protection mechanisms. The BBC charge a blanket licence to anyone with a TV (as mentioned above) and send very threatening letters to those who don't have a licence - I didn't for a few years and every few months would get a threat of court action and a major fine if I was found by the detection vans operating in the area to be watching BBC.

We're at the position now with the move to digital to simply encode the channels to require a detune card/code - which could be issued with every licence. The BBC though at every point have manipulated the situation so this can't happen though, so they can keep there blanket licence fee and charge folk who don't want it - it's absolutely outrageous and really grinds my gears that nothing's been done about it.

*with the appropriate UK registered IP.

 

[Plinglebob]

This sounds like Microsoft are simply trying to limit how much extra people get out of their Xboxs without paying for Gold and so want to avoid Silver subs having access to anything other then the basics. On the otherhand, the BBC provide this service as part of the license fee and so think people should be forced to pay for it again. I'm definitely with the BBC on this.

In regards to the license fee, you are only required to pay it if you have a TV (or PC) hooked up to an arial and personally, in a choice between paying an annual fee or having as many ads as the US do, I'd pay a lot more then £142.

 

[Wayte]

Good old Mirco$oft.

Congratulations! You worked out that the dollar sign looks like an "S"! You are the first person ever to realise that! You're so witty!

OT - I do feel bad for 360 gamers. The optimised iPlayer on the PS3 has got me watching TV again. Of course, it's only CBBC and the occasional round of Lazy Town when I wanna yell at things. It's not fucking Sports Candy! It's called fucking fruit!

I'm probably really late, but that was so pretentious I just have to point out that...well, it was pretentious.


OT: In hindsight I shouldn't be surprised. But I still am. does that make me naive?

 

[mikecoulter]

I really used to love Live and Microsoft, but since my Gold membership ran out... I cannot see why I would pay for the service I once had. I've got my beloved PS3 Slim for online, and personally I even prefer it. Microsoft seem to want to apply an extra charge, just because they can. As if they really need it.