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I just recieved a response from the BBC about an email
I sent them suggesting that the Real Audio Codec (as a
closed format) was unsuitable for public service
broadcasting - in particular, for webcasting of the
various BBC radio stations.
Although the response wasn't everything I could have
hoped, I was nevertheless pleasantly surprised. The
BBC seem to be much better informed than I was
expecting and the reply reveals a good understanding
of the issues. I'm convinced they are genuine in their
desire to consider these matters in future development
of their services.
I sent the message from an OpenBSD system but did not
state this and was very surprised that they picked up
it (presumably from the email headers) - quite savvy
really.
The only major area of concern I have is the passage
where he mentions Windows Media Player as an
alternative to Real Player (yuck).
Admittedly it doesn't change the situation now but
overall it seems very positive. Anyway, I thought some
people on this list might be interested and include
the reply below.
Trewornan
>
> Thank you for your e-mail.
>
> I understand you feel the BBC should not use
> RealPlayer for its audio streams and note that you
> did not receive a response to your previous
> correspondence.
>
> For your reference, all complaints can be sent via:
>
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/
>
> All comments, suggestions, praise and questions can
> be sent at:
>
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/contactus/form.shtml
>
> I acknowledge that you use BSD Unix at home and are
> therefore unable to install RealPlayer. However, I
> am sure that you can appreciate that this applies to
> a very limited number of bbc.co.uk users.
>
> When the BBC first wanted to launch audio and video
> on its website, 'streaming' technology was fairly
> new and, at the time, RealPlayer was predominantly
> used. Consequently we entered into an agreement with
> Real to provide the software (for free) to users of
> the BBC site. This free download and help is
> available at:
>
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/audiohelp_install.shtml.
>
> Since that time, streaming has become more popular
> and the number of applications using streaming has
> increased, including video streaming on our
> www.bbc.co.uk/broadband site. As a result, you and
> other users have asked that we consider supporting
> other software. The issue faced by the BBC is that
> we must add infrastructure for each type of software
> supported, and increasing the number of software
> applications means an increased cost to license fee
> payers. We are constantly looking to strike a
> balance between what our viewers and listeners would
> like and spending the licence fee wisely.
>
> Having said that, we appreciate that the current
> situation is not ideal. Indeed, we are currently
> offering the content of our 'Digital Only' radio
> channels, and most of our News and Sport clips and
> streams on both Real and Windows Media Player
>
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/digitalradio/index.shtml?digitalradio).
> Regrettably, due to the considerable amount of
> content we offer, we currently cannot offer this
> across the board.
>
> We have ensured that versions of Real player are
> available as free downloads for virtually all types
> of hardware and operating system (Windows, Mac,
> Linux and more), so that everyone can have access to
> our content regardless of the equipment that they
> choose to use.
>
> For your information, we conduct ongoing feedback
> reviews into what software and applications we use
> across the BBC site. Doing so ensures that we
> listen to what our audience wants and your feedback
> will be used as part of this process.
>
> Whilst I realise this is not very helpful in the
> short-term, I hope it goes some way to assuring you
> that we are taking your feedback seriously. We ask
> that you bear with us, as we hope to offer more
> content across more platforms in the not-too-distant
> future.
>
> We do find that the opinions of our website users
> are an invaluable source of feedback. Styles and
> policies are continually being assessed and changed
> based on feedback from the general public.
>
> Please be assured that your views have been made
> available to senior BBC management as well as the
> website owners.
>
> Thank you again for taking the time to contact the
> BBC.
>
> Regards
>
> Gary Sullivan
> BBC Information
> ______________________________________
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/ - World Wide Wonderland
>
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