BBC Integrated Media Player (iMP) trial [Archive]

08-09-2005, 11:44

I received mine yesterday

Dear ,

We are delighted to inform you that you have been selected to participate in the Integrated Media Player (iMP) trial. The Integrated Media player offers you the chance to catch up on TV and radio programmes you may have missed for up to 7 days after they have been broadcast, using the internet to legally download programmes to your computer.

As part of this trial you will be required to take part in our research programme. During the next 3 months, while you test the iMP we will ask you to fill in a diary for one week during each month.

Before you are able to access the Integrated Media Player, we need to collect some information from you, to help us analyse your responses. This survey about your TV habits, about you and your household will only take about 15 minutes.

Please click on the link below to access the survey.

DJBenson

15-09-2005, 13:58

I've just received the email to say I've been accepted. Filled in the survey and I'm just waiting for the final link to access the service now.

ShakeyJake

15-09-2005, 14:24

Oh so they are still sending them out then, guess I still have a chance.

matt186

15-09-2005, 14:34

What email address did the mail come from? Spamfilter might be working overtime

snowball

15-09-2005, 21:36

hmm does this mean non license payers e.g. those outside the UK can watch these programmes for free?

Also, does this mean those without a TV but with broadband,and access to this service will have to buy a tv license?

Dodgy

19-09-2005, 21:05

Dodgy

19-09-2005, 21:06

What email address did the mail come from? Spamfilter might be working overtime

impATgfkmedia.com

Dave.

gertrude

20-09-2005, 19:38

I managed to get on the trial, but I've not been able to participate in the survey yet, I hope that isn't a prerequisite in order to continue. I've disabled all pop up blockers and even used IE6, but still can't get it to work. I can't be the only one having the problem because an email was sent out to all the triallists today explaining to be patient whilst they sort out the problems.

Dave.

I have been able to get on the site and complete my weeks worth of diary using firefox with no problems. It did not seem to use a pop up window if that is any help.
An I think that before you are allowed to use the player you have to have a weeks worth of diary completed and then complete one at least once in a month, but have a read on the site or e-mail.

G

ShakeyJake

20-09-2005, 19:40

So what kind of quality is the streaming video? Is it like the streaming Mighty Boosh episodes, or more along the lines of XviD quality?

DJBenson

20-09-2005, 21:33

An I think that before you are allowed to use the player you have to have a weeks worth of diary completed and then complete one at least once in a month, but have a read on the site or e-mail.

G

I hope this is the case because I have not received a link to download the player from yet. I can't see anything in the FAQ about where to download the player or about any minimum period of questionnaires before you are allowed to download the player.

Dodgy

20-09-2005, 21:47

I managed to complete the survey today, they sent me a new link that seemed to work properly. I suppose I need to wait for the link to the online diary now?

Dave.

DJBenson

25-09-2005, 23:05

Well completed the 1 week diary but still no link!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/imp/index.shtml is the official BBC link but I cannot login.

gertrude

25-09-2005, 23:37

It said in the e-mail I got after my week that we would be sent a username and password at the end of september. Be patient, Eastenders and Aunties Bloomers will still be there for you ;)

G

30-09-2005, 18:32

Dodgy

04-10-2005, 18:54

Still no link, I've completed all the (tiresome) diaries.
Dave.

gertrude

04-10-2005, 19:22

Got the link sent today and have downloaded the software. It killed Firefox and then XP almost went tits up. Apart from that, well actually, apart from that it does sod all else. This is a promising start.

G

05-10-2005, 07:22

Still no link for me yet.

Dodgy

05-10-2005, 17:04

Anyone else think this trial has been really poorly organised? It's not making the BBC look very professional, is it?

Dave.

gertrude

05-10-2005, 17:53

It's possible that they are working geographicaly to test certain aspects of the program or simply that they are working slowly in chronological order of trial applications. They did say it was a three month process, so you have a little while yet to test it.
Incidently, I think it only took about 15 minutes to download Dead Ringers last night. No idea how long it actually took, or the speed as it does not tell you. And then Media Player has a fight with the licences for a bit, but it's going to be good if that speed continues!!

G

14-10-2005, 19:19

Dear **************,

Thank you for your participation in the trial of the iMP and your patience as triallists are admitted to the system.

To ensure that the iMP rolled out smoothly, the BBC have decided to make it available to small groups of people gradually. For those of you still awaiting the iMP, we thank you for your patience, and it will be available for you to use by the end of October at the latest.

iMP will allow you to search for programmes across TV and radio, filtering programmes by channel and, in the case of some series, to collect and watch episodes that you would otherwise have missed. You will also be able to watch downloaded programmes with subtitles.

The BBC will be in contact with you soon to confirm your registration details.

Thank you for your understanding.

I still do not have access, filled in all their crap and they do not carry out their end of the deal :(

DJBenson

27-10-2005, 15:59

I got the link on Monday but missed it because it was hidden with the usual email junk. Managed to sign up properly and got the program installed.

Opinions so far:

The interface is pretty well designed as you can probably see from the screenshots below. It does seem a bit slugish in my system (A64/3200).

Being based purely on P2P you will find the download speeds a bit eratic. I've seen it downloading as slow as 20k/sec and then burst upto 400k/sec on my 4meg cable.

The quality of the recordings is decent enough, at roughly 720k/sec VBR using Windows Media encoding. I've only watched a couple of episodes of Eastenders and Funland which are pretty "slow motion" so I can't comment on how good encodings are on high motion encodes.

A typical half hour program clocks in at around 200meg but because of the P2P aspect it's almost impossible to say how long that would take you to download.

On the whole I like the idea and hopefully if the BBC launched it as a service to UK license payers then the speed issues would be reduced as more people used the service.

Here's some screenshots for the unfortunate who were not selected for the trial:

http://www.djbenson.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/iMP/iMP1.jpg
http://www.djbenson.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/iMP/iMP2.jpg
http://www.djbenson.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/iMP/iMP3.jpg
http://www.djbenson.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/iMP/iMP4.jpg

sideshowbob

27-10-2005, 16:04

I haven't got that yet ...???

Filled in a week's worth of diaries (which is a pain in the bum because you have to remember what channel stuff was on) but nothing about the download at all.

DJBenson

27-10-2005, 16:20

The actual invitation comes directly from the BBC not from the research company. Check your junk mail folder if you have one, I was waiting for the link and easily overlooked it.

They also might be sending out the invites staggered so as to avoid overloading the network which is slightly tempermental at present.

Currently downloading episode 1 of "Ideal" at 460k/sec :D

sideshowbob

27-10-2005, 16:24

I don't think we've had anything from BBC either. What a farse.

DJBenson

17-11-2005, 21:53

Well I'm just about ready to uninstall this now. It is a major resources hog. When the iMP is running, the PC is slugish and connections to the internet are affected (4meg cable).

Almost everything that I would watch on iMP is now available on Teleport:Replay on Telewest - and it's on demand to no waiting.

In principle it's a good idea - but it has too many little niggles at present for me to continue using it.

I have not had any questionairre reminders since downloading the application, and the survey site has not been updated. I wonder if the Beeb are getting all the usage stats from the program itself - it's transmitting data all over the show! :eek:

carryonline

17-11-2005, 21:59

I've been getting the questionnaires one week per month since the trial started. I'm halfway through a set at the moment.

I've been using the imp alongside my "other" sources and I'm actually quite liking it. I do find it convenient to set up the season passes and not worry about trying to remember when shows are on. Yes, okay, I have Sky+ too, but I'm looking at the future of the imp more than anything. This is a trial, so there are bound to be teething problems. Once it goes live and they roll out access to the BBC archives it's going to be an absolute goldmine.

Haven't noticed any connection problems or slowdown on my machine, BTW.

warney

17-11-2005, 22:17

DeadKenny

18-11-2005, 00:57

Aren't you on a non-disclosure agreement? If so you shouldn't be posting details here;)

I was on the original trial through NTL and I seem to recall there was an NDA. As said the video quality at the time was good. Was definitely handy to be able to watch shows you've missed and didn't think to get TiVo on the job and TiVo didn't guess you wanted to watch anyway ;). Couldn't work out how to get it playing direct to the TV though, and it did require a fair bit of online time to let it download stuff.

Dodgy

18-11-2005, 21:23

Aren't you on a non-disclosure agreement? If so you shouldn't be posting details here

Yes, so I'll keep quiet about the stuff I was about to post.
Dave.

AWaite

12-04-2007, 15:54

Just got a mail about a new trial:
Some months ago, you took part in the "iMP trial", to help us test out a
potential new service where BBC TV programmes could be made available to
download to a PC.

Since then, we have been developing this potential new service further,
and we would now like to invite you to help us with testing its new
design - at a fairly early stage - while work progresses.

At the moment, the amount of hours of TV available are more limited than
for the iMP trial, and some functionality is still awaiting release, but
if you join this trial then over time you will be able to help us test
out new versions as we expand the service.

Your participation will help us to test the technical resilience of the
digital infrastructure that supports all the BBC's on-demand services,
including BBC iPlayer, pending approval by the BBC Trust.

The BBC TV Test is currently only open to BBC staff but, as someone who
has helped us test our services before, we would welcome your
participation in the test.

It offers a range of TV programmes for download to a PC. The number of
programmes available for download will increase over the course of the
test as will the functionality available.

To take part in the BBC TV Test you must have access to a PC with
broadband at home. It must be a PC as the technology is not currently
compatible with an Apple Macintosh.

If you are a customer of Sky's broadband service you should not join the
TV Test at this stage as the two are not yet compatible. The same
restriction does not apply to 4oD.

Please bear in mind this is a technical test with limited functionality.
There may be times when it is necessary for the system to be temporarily
suspended.

Many thanks,
BBC TV Test

DeadKenny

13-04-2007, 00:58

How many more trials are they going to do? :eek:

When I was on the trial years ago it was using the exact same system that both Sky and 4oD are using now, and they're both rolled out. Quite why the BBC need to continue trialling for years I don't know.

snoopstah

13-04-2007, 10:58

Agreed - the BBC seemed to have the jump on everyone when they started trialling this, but they've gone from being the first in the field with a trial to the last in the field with a finished product. Very strange.

AndyH

13-04-2007, 11:00

Is it not to do with them having to tread a very thin line when it comes to offering free services which could impact competitive services which cost money?

ShaneC

27-07-2007, 09:08

BUMP - anyone got in today, just applied at www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer but no email yet.

Ricinus

27-07-2007, 14:24

BUMP - anyone got in today, just applied at www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer but no email yet.

Nope.
So much for the way this was reported a couple of weeks ago - BBC's iPlayer launced for all.

AndyH

27-07-2007, 14:35

Disappointing.

ShaneC

27-07-2007, 14:42

Seems their open beta is less open than initially thought. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbiplayer/F7331803?thread=4409426

I like how they say they are not actively marketing it yet it's been on the news and tech sites for a week.

Drysolder

27-07-2007, 16:27

Sounds like they're taking the Joost rollout model.

NiROE

27-07-2007, 18:08

Just got my invite, I signed up for the beta this morning.

We'd like you to join the BBC iPlayer Beta . This email contains everything you need to get started. Please keep it for reference. Also please double-check the BBC iPlayer Terms and Conditions you agreed to when you signed up.

Your BBC iPlayer Beta log in
As well as the log in details below, you need to be a bbc.co.uk member (you may already be a member if you're using other services on the bbc.co.uk site). If you haven't registered with bbc.co.uk, we show you how to do this later on.

First step: logging on to the BBC iPlayer Beta website
Please wait an hour after the receipt of this email

Go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
On the homepage follow the link that says Log in if you have BBC iPlayer Beta log in details

You'll then be prompted to enter your BBC iPlayer Beta log in details

We recommend that you tick the Remember my password check box so you don't have to type in these details each time you want to use BBC iPlayer Beta.

It then details how to install the software which I wont bore you with. :doh:

RonnyJ

27-07-2007, 19:20

Darn, I looked this morning and saw a beta signup page, but didn't fill it in since I just assumed it was a leftover from the last trial and would be updated today. There was no obvious mention of it being a limited signup in the coverage over it in the last weeks :(

ShaneC

27-07-2007, 19:23

Got mine as well, silly software doesn't run on XP 64 bit so having to use it via a virtual PC :D

DeadKenny

27-07-2007, 19:42

From the beeb's article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6916164.stm)...
The iPlayer began life in 2003 as the iMP (Integrated Media Player), and some believe it should have been launched in that format.

"At the time, it was remarkably innovative. For the BBC to use peer-to-peer technology was revolutionary," said Simon Perry, editor of online magazine Digital Lifestyles.

"If it had just launched it then it could have blown the whole broadcast world away. Who knows what the impact would have been if it had come out before the rise of YouTube," he said.
Have agree there. I trialled it back when it was iMP and they did a trial through NTL and have to say it was ready back then. It was no different technically back then to what Sky and 4oD were doing (as it was Kontiki based), but had the advantage of carrying all current BBC shows just with an expiry. Worked great. Baffled me at the time why they dragged it on so long.

NiROE

27-07-2007, 19:53

Fantastic bit of software

Sorry you need the following to run iPlayer

Windows XP
Internet Explorer
Windows Media Player

It detects I have all three and then says it cant run :cuckoo:

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/9606/loopyst2.jpg

ShaneC

27-07-2007, 20:02

Fantastic bit of software

It detects I have all three and then says it cant run :cuckoo:

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/9606/loopyst2.jpg

Not sure if that pic means you need the following instead of saying you have it. You need

Windows XP 32 bit
Internet Explorer 6 or 7
Windows media player 10 or 11

Ricinus

27-07-2007, 20:29

So is this a file sharing application like 4oD or a straight download.

NiROE

27-07-2007, 20:31

Not sure if that pic means you need the following instead of saying you have it. You need

Windows XP 32 bit
Internet Explorer 6 or 7
Windows media player 10 or 11
It means I have them, I tried it in firefox and you get x's inplace of the ticks.

Running 32bit XP, IE7, WMP10.. I cant be chewed with too much effort in getting it running.

DeadKenny

27-07-2007, 20:37

So is this a file sharing application like 4oD or a straight download.
File sharing. It uses the same Kontiki system as 4oD and Sky Anytime.

ianmb

28-07-2007, 22:38

Has anyone got this working with Sky Anytime and 4oD?

I can get Sky Anytime working by itself or iPlayer and 4oD working together but not all three at the same time. After using Sky Anytime I have to remove the Kontiki software and then reinstall iPlayer and 4oD.

It's not much good having all of these if they can't be used on the same PC without having to install and reinstall software each time.

Drysolder

29-07-2007, 14:10

Just had an invite pop through this very moment. :)

ShakeyJake

29-07-2007, 14:14

I got mine too but it won't work in Vista :(

TimJBart

29-07-2007, 15:00

Just had an invite pop through this very moment. :)

When did you sign up for beta? I signed up about a week ago so not holding much hope for an invite.

Drysolder

29-07-2007, 17:49

When did you sign up for beta? I signed up about a week ago so not holding much hope for an invite.

Erm, the day it was announced last week m8.

It doesn't work in Vista, so I'm running it on XP in Virtual PC - it's not very intuitive, and that's being polite.

TimJBart

29-07-2007, 19:59

Ah come on BBC, where's my invite?!

smiller

30-07-2007, 23:08

Ricinus

31-07-2007, 00:52

Got invited and installed the software, not had a chance to really play with it yet but I noticed when playing on my Xbox that it was very laggy. Couldn't work out why but then noticed the laptop was running something called Kservice.exe. Killing this killed the lag.

A quick Google shows this is the P2P bit, and even though I'd killed the BBC app it didn't stop this. A quick look around showed that people have had similar problems with Sky and 4OD.

I've just got my invite but I'm probably not going to bother with it.
I don't like the idea of handing over my uploading capacity to something I have no control over. With torrents I can see how much I've uploaded and can terminate if I think I'm going to breach my ISPs "fair usage" policy.

Drysolder

31-07-2007, 06:15

Got invited and installed the software, not had a chance to really play with it yet but I noticed when playing on my Xbox that it was very laggy. Couldn't work out why but then noticed the laptop was running something called Kservice.exe. Killing this killed the lag.

A quick Google shows this is the P2P bit, and even though I'd killed the BBC app it didn't stop this. A quick look around showed that people have had similar problems with Sky and 4OD.

Well, it took me about 3-4 attempts to even get it to start downloading an episode (the Jekyll one), and after 20 minutes it hadn't moved from 0%.

They really should take pointers from other players in the market, because if they launch like this it's going to be a disaster.

ianmb

31-07-2007, 07:16

Got invited and installed the software, not had a chance to really play with it yet but I noticed when playing on my Xbox that it was very laggy. Couldn't work out why but then noticed the laptop was running something called Kservice.exe. Killing this killed the lag.

A quick Google shows this is the P2P bit, and even though I'd killed the BBC app it didn't stop this. A quick look around showed that people have had similar problems with Sky and 4OD.

The link below should help you remove Kontiki from your laptop:

http://www.pcdoctor-guide.com/wordpress/?p=2487

I've been unable to get iPlayer working with Sky Anytime. It's a known problem and about time BBC and Sky got together so their systems didn't clash with each other.

DeadKenny

31-07-2007, 18:59

They really should take pointers from other players in the market, because if they launch like this it's going to be a disaster.
Well it's the same system as Sky Anytime and 4oD.

I haven't got onto this release yet, but I have to say that back when it was iMP and trialled on NTL it was flawless. It downloaded very quick and quality was good. As mentioned in the Beeb article, if they'd released it back then they'd have made a killing (well kind of, they don't make money from it unlike Sky and 4oD).

That was several years ago now so what on earth they've done with it since I don't know but I believe the content delivery system (Kontiki) is essentially the same.

All that said, the problem can quite easily be with your ISP. In the past year or two most ISPs have been jumping onto the throttling bandwagon and for some this can utterly kill P2P traffic (at any time despite what ISPs claim about peak and off-peak). Joost for example is completely destroyed by the likes of PlusNet, even though Plus claim otherwise about the way they prioritise the traffic (problem is they struggle to get their throttling system correctly flagging data packets).

TimJBart

31-07-2007, 19:46

Err...well done BBC. Got my invite tonight, downloaded a few things then I played them.

Said I didn't have the correct rights management to view the files. What a load of rubbish!! I'll try it tomorrow or something, not that impressed really, seeing as this is basically the service they had a few years ago. Not worth the wait :(

amit.t

01-08-2007, 17:16

Is there anyway to subscribe to a series or do i have to go to the website each time to find programs???

TimJBart

01-08-2007, 20:12

Is there anyway to subscribe to a series or do i have to go to the website each time to find programs???

Don't think there is a series watch yet. You have to download the shows one by one

johnsy

01-08-2007, 20:18

Thanks to ianmb I've now removed kservice.exe from my PC and a lot happier I am about it now. Seriously underwhelmed by the BBC trial, but then I thought the 4OD thing was far worse, to be honest.

smiller

03-08-2007, 22:28

The link below should help you remove Kontiki from your laptop:

http://www.pcdoctor-guide.com/wordpress/?p=2487

I've been unable to get iPlayer working with Sky Anytime. It's a known problem and about time BBC and Sky got together so their systems didn't clash with each other.

Cheers mate :thumbs: I've set the service to Manual for now as I might yet play with this a bit. Not very impressed though.

DeadKenny

03-08-2007, 23:01

Yeah, just set the service to manual and shut it down is enough to stop it running. Then it will only start up when you start one of iPlayer, Sky Anytime or 4oD and you can kill it after.

Got my invite anyway and had a quick go. Download was super fast surprisingly for PlusNet and a P2P app. Similar to what I experienced on the trial years ago.

However the UI is a major downgrade to what they used to have. Using the browser (and tying it to IE) is crazy. It' slow as hell to navigate listings and they've not got the nice whizzy planner to navigate around that they used to have under iMP years ago.

I'll be interested to see how it works (if at all) hooked up to my 40" LCD :nuts:.

Though with TiVo I can't see much use for this.

What I'm really interested in is their proposed 'archive' download facility where you can download any old shows. Now that will be pretty fantastic. I don't even mind paying for the downloads if it just means decent quality downloads of old shows that's better than the poor quality versions UK Gold have or worse the shockingly bad dodgy rips knocking around the net, especially of stuff not on DVD.

T4V

04-08-2007, 01:39

I know its not meant to work under vista but has anyone tried?

Drysolder

04-08-2007, 07:56

I know its not meant to work under vista but has anyone tried?

Yes, and no, it doesn't work.

allan

04-08-2007, 10:31

I had a dabble with this and thought it was pretty terrible. Again it's making it hard for people to do things legally. Why would anyone want to use this when they can probably download a better quality version for free that won't have any restrictions?

Refrenz

04-08-2007, 11:08

I've jumped through all the hoops, installed the player, signed up for a bbc.c.ouk account as well as an iPlayer account (whey are 2 logins required, exactly?) just to download a documentary called Ganges, which couldn't actually be downloaded due to technical difficulties with the website.

Its easier to just use bit torrent.

allan

04-08-2007, 11:24