The BBC iPlayer and uploading

[Theodoric]

I read in today's TechnologyGuardian that the BBC iPlayer users a P2P application called Kontiki, so that you are allowing others to upload from your PC. Now, I'm probably unique in never having used any P2P applications so I've no experience of them. What I was wondering was whether there is anything to be worried about in allowing others to use my PC as a server. I'm guessing not.

[nicke261192]

I use BBC iPlayer a lot and i dont think i have that program :S i cant see the BBC making our computers vunerable can you?

[Nikesh]

Originally Posted by nicke261192

I use BBC iPlayer a lot and i dont think i have that program :S

Check in your Program Files. I have a folder called Kontiki and the KService.exe runs on startup unless you've disabled it.

[evilmonkey]

if you check your services list in administration you will see a service called kservices I had to disable this as the iplayer kept using all my upstream even after I had closed the iplayer down! BBC support is useless and they dont want to know.

Originally Posted by nicke261192

I use BBC iPlayer a lot and i dont think i have that program :S i cant see the BBC making our computers vunerable can you?

I couldn't see Blue Peter rigging a competition, but there you go.

Originally Posted by evilmonkey

if you check your services list in administration you will see a service called kservices I had to disable this as the iplayer kept using all my upstream even after I had closed the iplayer down! BBC support is useless and they dont want to know.

Don't want to know, or simply don't know? For once I'm glad the BBC hasn't supported Mac from day one with this, hopefully by the time the BBC Trust manages to force them to support other platforms they will have refined the iPlayer so that it doesn't do this.

[evilmonkey]

Originally Posted by Chris T

I couldn't see Blue Peter rigging a competition, but there you go.



Don't want to know, or simply don't know? For once I'm glad the BBC hasn't supported Mac from day one with this, hopefully by the time the BBC Trust manages to force them to support other platforms they will have refined the iPlayer so that it doesn't do this.

It seemed more a case of we dont really care. They just pointed me towards their terms. I dont think they will ever support Mac though same as a lot of stuff user base is too small to justify the investment.

Originally Posted by evilmonkey

It seemed more a case of we dont really care. They just pointed me towards their terms. I dont think they will ever support Mac though same as a lot of stuff user base is too small to justify the investment.

They will support Mac, because the BBC Trust (effectively their governing body) has told them that they have to. Linux as well.

The BBC is not a commercial organisation. It has a public service obligation. It doesn't have the luxury of simply directing its output at the largest audience. If they did, then most of their digital channels wouldn't exist (the audiences are miniscule compared with BBCs 1 and 2).

At the moment there simply doesn't exist the kind of DRM on Mac necessary to protect the BBC's copyright, except Apple's Fairplay software, as used in iTunes, and Apple isn't interested in licencing it. This means they have to find someone to develop it for them, which will take time and money.

Once this development is made, then it can be licenced to other content providers. The BBC gets some of its licence fee back, and the consumer gains a wider choice of ways to receive content (i.e. not tied in to a single, proprietory, computer operating system). This is a key benefit of the licence-fee-funded, public service broadcast model that we have in the UK. It has always allowed innovation that eventually even the commercial broadcasters benefit from.

[Theodoric]

Thanks. So, if I download iPlayer then I need to keep an eye on this kservices service if I think there's any problems. I've got a shortcut to MS Services for ease of access - I presumably would find it listed there; I take it that it wouldn't be accessible in msconfig?

[evilmonkey]

Originally Posted by Theodoric

Thanks. So, if I download iPlayer then I need to keep an eye on this kservices service if I think there's any problems. I've got a shortcut to MS Services for ease of access - I presumably would find it listed there; I take it that it wouldn't be accessible in msconfig?

The player it self may show up in the msconfig but you would need to find the service called kservices in the services list and right click and choose "stop".

[Theodoric]

Originally Posted by evilmonkey

The player it self may show up in the msconfig but you would need to find the service called kservices in the services list and right click and choose "stop".

Thanks again. I suppose the question now is whether it's worth bothering. I've just read an article in it which said that American content such as Heroes wasn't included.

[Toto]

That Kontiki program is also used by Sky for their movies over PC connections if memory serves me correctly.

---------- Post added at 16:05 ---------- Previous post was at 16:04 ----------

Originally Posted by Theodoric

Thanks again. I suppose the question now is whether it's worth bothering. I've just read an article in it which said that American content such as Heroes wasn't included.

Yes, I think the BBC iplayer is used for home grown content only.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Chris T

Don't want to know, or simply don't know? For once I'm glad the BBC hasn't supported Mac from day one with this, hopefully by the time the BBC Trust manages to force them to support other platforms they will have refined the iPlayer so that it doesn't do this.

That may be sooner than you think. The BBC is apparently looking at using Microsoft's own-brand-version-of-flash called "Silverlight", which is cross platform (although the linux version is being developed by the people behind Mono, the Linux .net clone) and includes DRM.