³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer on Wii: new BigScreen interface
Post categories: iPlayer
| 09:00 UK time, Friday, 24 October 2008
Six months ago, we made ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer available on Nintendo Wii.
This was our first foray into TV-connected gaming devices. We didn't know what the uptake would be, so we adopted a "keep it simple, get it out fast" approach. This meant encoding our content in a format compatible with the Wii's Flash 7 video playback capabilities, but playing back within the standard ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer website, which is really too big for the Wii screen.
In other words, we made a new video stream for Wii, but we didn't optimise the user interface for the Wii's screen resolution or Wiimote remote control.
Strategically, this Wii release was extremely important, signalling the arrival of internet-delivered on-demand services direct to your TV set rather than to your computer.
However, as a user proposition, it was very much a first-pass product, something we knew and recognised at the time. In fact, one of the reasons why we didn't create a custom Wii interface was because our user interface team was hard at work on the new-look ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer 2.0 site, which was to launch in June.
Back then, people also wondered why we made ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer available on Wii but not PS3. The reason is simple: there are twice as many Wii units in the UK than PS3s, plus the PS3 browser had some odd quirks which have increased development time.
Good news: we have an all-new ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer user interface designed for the Nintendo Wii.
This release is important for us because it adds to our list of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer user interfaces, which now comprises:
- a mobile version, as used on iPhone, Nokia N96 and other mobile devices
- a regular version, as used on your PC, Mac and Linux computer
- a set-top box version, available through Virgin Media
- and a big screen version, now for Wii.
We hope, in time, to make suitable modifications which enable users of other gaming consoles and set-top boxes to use this user interface.
The new Wii version has a simplified user interface that presents just a few options on screen at a time and nice big chunky controls - easy to aim at with a Wiimote.
The new interface gives access to both TV and radio programmes:
Our users told us that, when playing back ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer programmes on Wii, they always wanted to play back in full-screen mode, not in a window within the browser as is often done on PCs, so the big screen interface is designed with that in mind:
Choosing the most appropriate version of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer for your device is taken care of automatically by our servers. Head over to www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer and our server will take care of the rest.
If you don't have a Wii or run the Opera browser, you can still have a look to see what it's like: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/bigscreen (no guarantees that it will work with your browser if you're not on a Wii, though).
Finally, it must be noted that while we're providing an all-new user interface for Wii, the video stream is still the same video quality that we've been using since we went live back in March.
That's not ideal - but, alas, the Wii ships with Flash 7 which uses the older that gives lower video compression and poorer quality than the more recent and codecs used in later versions of Flash found on your PC. We're very much looking forward to better quality video options on these devices - stay tuned for possible further developments on this front over the coming months.
So, if you have a Wii, why not try it out? Simply connect your Wii to the internet (you may need to also install the Internet Channel) then head over to www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer, then let us know your thoughts and ideas - we always welcome ideas and we try to take them into account when designing future ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer releases.
PS: We're also working on bringing ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer to Sony PS3, but we're not quite there yet as the PS3 uses a slightly older version of Flash which doesn't support some of the features used in our media player, and the very promising Flash 9 update now available on PS3 has some compatibility issues. Our Flash developers are working on it - stay tuned for updates.
Anthony Rose is Head of Online Media Group, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Future Media & Technology
Comment number 1.
At 24th Oct 2008, djwhisky wrote:It would be great to get this officially supported on Windows and with the higher resolution video. We have our computer hooked up to our wide-screen TV to use as a media player and this would mean we could stop squinting when sitting on the sofa!
Complain about this comment (Comment number 1)
Comment number 2.
At 24th Oct 2008, Chris_huh wrote:That's good to know.
What are the compatibility problems with the flash 9 on the PS3? Are you planning on just having the interface like the full computer version or build a PS3 specific one? I'm guessing it will have to be used through the browser though (Sony doesn't let you build your own apps for the PS3 does it?).
Complain about this comment (Comment number 2)
Comment number 3.
At 24th Oct 2008, Alex wrote:I hope you go the Flash 9 route so you can use the latest codecs. Of course in the meantime there is which wraps around your Wii iplayer site and works pretty well (assuming it's not just broken with the latest updates for the Wii)
Complain about this comment (Comment number 3)
Comment number 4.
At 24th Oct 2008, _Ewan_ wrote:The quality limitations on the Wii are due to its browser only coming with Flash 7 as standard, but that needn't be an end to it. The Wii supports downloadable software, so would it be possible, technically or politically, to make a dedicated iPlayer application for the Wii, distributed over WiiWare, that could include a higher quality codec?
Complain about this comment (Comment number 4)
Comment number 5.
At 24th Oct 2008, Josh wrote:@_Ewan_ - Back in the original iPlayer on Wii announcement, Anthony said:
"As iPlayer usage on Wii takes off, we'll consider creating an optimised version of the iPlayer for Wii. Hopefully, this won't require people to shell out for the Internet Channel, and which will provide an optimized browsing and playback experience, perhaps even as a dedicated ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer channel on Wii.
Stay tuned for more on this."
So it looks like that could be a possibility.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 5)
Comment number 6.
At 24th Oct 2008, Darren wrote:Fingers crossed that with the recent 2.50 version of PS3 and Flash player 9, that iPlayer on PS3 is not too far away...
Sony should really be pushing this themselves, they want it to be a real media device, and with playTV on the PS3, users are already watching TV on it, so iPlayer would be a good way to add 'on demand' content to the PS3 as well.
Sony should get sorted before all the other devices can support it.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 6)
Comment number 7.
At 24th Oct 2008, Tiggs wrote:And what about the Xbox 360?
It's been said before (by me, too) that it makes sense as the platform supports DRM, WMV and time-restricted content.
It also natively plays stuff that can be "acquired elsewhere". So please give us a legit/legal method of watching shows on a device connected to our TVs instead of making us disconnect computers that live elsewhere.
You'll gain viewers. Me, for one. I tend not to torrent homegrown shows. I also won't use the iPlayer. As a result, I'm missing lots of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ content. I'd really like to be able to catchup on shows I've missed, and preferably legally.
Thanks.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 7)
Comment number 8.
At 24th Oct 2008, Darren wrote:I originally heard that ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ contacted both Sony and Microsoft, but that Microsoft would not allow the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ to use thier own design and interface, so they could not proceed, as the iPlayer branding would need to be applied.
Not sure if this is still the case, maybe an official reply from Anthony Rose?
Complain about this comment (Comment number 8)
Comment number 9.
At 24th Oct 2008, LumpyCustard wrote:Are there any plans for the new Flash 10? Does that give you any extra capabilities that you didn't have before?
Complain about this comment (Comment number 9)
Comment number 10.
At 24th Oct 2008, Ed Lyons wrote:I've asked elsewhere, but had no answer, but I'd really like to know when iPlayer will support keyboard controls - space to pause/resume etc?
chrisbloe: I don't think Flash 10 really adds much benefit as far as video is concerned. It adds various features like 3D effects and filters/shaders, but that's really just eye candy, it won't improve the video quality. Flash will support HD video even, but iPlayer will need to provide the bandwidth if they want that. I imagine the new iPlayer downloader based on AIR will be the only way to get HD (assuming it's P2P'd)...
Darrenj1: I heard the same thing, though I've no idea where. It might have been when I heard Anthony talk a few months back...
Complain about this comment (Comment number 10)
Comment number 11.
At 25th Oct 2008, cping500 wrote:I've been trying to work out why there is no '³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ box' to watch the iPlayer on TV or even a "advice" frame on the iPlayer site about the five or six "easy' ways to do it without having a grey box in the living room. Do none gamers have to buy game players to do this?
Complain about this comment (Comment number 11)
Comment number 12.
At 25th Oct 2008, Ed Lyons wrote:cping500, I use my iPhone with a video-out cable and can watch on TVs or Projectors... Works very well. The same would work for an iPod Touch.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 12)
Comment number 13.
At 25th Oct 2008, fritz wrote:Hi Anthony,
This morning I tried the iPlayer on the Wii and noticed a couple of issues.
First of all each program I tried to watch crashed out after, approximately, 5 minutes. I tried The Streets at the Electric Proms and Never Mind the Buzzcocks and they both did the same.
Secondly, when I navigated back to the home page the program selection changed and was displaying programs to watch from last week rather than this week which it was initially displaying. This also happened with the TV Date selection. There were no programs available form yesterday on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ1 where there should have been Eastenders, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, etc.
However, when I tried listening again to the radio it did not suffer from either of these issues.
Lastly, a couple of questions...
Is it possible for the time bar, at the bottom of the display, to disappear, in the same way that it does on the web?
Also can the zoom fill the whole screen rather than have a border around the left, bottom and right of the screen.
Other than that it's great!
8-)
Complain about this comment (Comment number 13)
Comment number 14.
At 26th Oct 2008, brilliantjonesy wrote:Great idea guys but having major problems,
I navigate to the iplayer page with the wii but unless I watch the homepage favouraites It does not work... ie if I click > TV> ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ1 > And then click any of the days it comes up with a Error Page can not be found!! - anyone else getting this...??
Cheers
Complain about this comment (Comment number 14)
Comment number 15.
At 27th Oct 2008, Tiggs wrote:@darrenj1:
"I originally heard that ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ contacted both Sony and Microsoft, but that Microsoft would not allow the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ to use their own design and interface, so they could not proceed, as the iPlayer branding would need to be applied."
This sounds like yet another one of those corporate decisions that do more harm than good.
As a viewer I care very little about branding. I do (oddly?) prefer to get my content through legitimate means wherever possible. Yet the idea of it being branded apparently is more important than giving a legitimate alternative to the P2P methods?
The reasons behind avoiding a platform matter very little to end-users. All I see is that I can either avoid missed content altogether (current choice: but you're losing my mindshare here), faff around moving a computer to the TV (not gonna happen) or go the torrent route (copyright infringement).
Why should the only method to get the content to the machine already attached to my TV be via P2P?
I'd really love a legal option. It just makes sense to make sure that iPlayer beats out dodgy downloads in terms of convenience. That really should be a matter of urgency.
Until then, I'll mostly avoid programs I miss. But that means I'll be far less likely to buy the DVD box set, as I tend to mainly purchase stuff I've seen before.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 15)
Comment number 16.
At 27th Oct 2008, MarkG wrote:"Back then, people also wondered why we made ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer available on Wii but not PS3. The reason is simple: there are twice as many Wii units in the UK than PS3s"
What a total crock..
How about this statistic: The vast majority of Wii's are not connected to the net, wheras the vast majority of PS3's ARE connected.
The likelihood is that the console userbase is:
Wii 20%
PS3 80%
X360 0% (no browser)
Talk about having your head where the sun don't shine...
Complain about this comment (Comment number 16)
Comment number 17.
At 27th Oct 2008, Tiggs wrote:@mgillespie
What has "no browser" got to do with it?
I have an Xbox 360 connected to my TV. So I'd say that the userbase cannot be 0%. As that would imply no users whatsoever.
There may be no browser, but there is online content and online gaming. And a definite need for iPlayer content on it.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 17)
Comment number 18.
At 28th Oct 2008, MarkG wrote:@TiggsPanther
Clearly by userbase, I don't mean console userbase, I mean potential iPlayer userbase.
The fact remains no Xbox owner can take advantage of iPlayer, most Wii's are not connected to the net (due to almost total absense of any online games), and the PS3 is the only real viable iPlayer platform right now, with a very large online connected community, and it's the only one actually with a browser than supports Flash9...
For Anthony Rose to simply use numbers of consoles sold, as the basis for what platforms they support is meaningless, when you actually:
a) need to be online with the console.
b) in the case of the Wii, actually buy Opera Browser for it (it now costs on the Wii)
Complain about this comment (Comment number 18)
Comment number 19.
At 28th Oct 2008, Tiggs wrote:You seem to be implying that only consoles with browsers are a viable method of using iPlayer. Actually, I'd hope that any (all?) console versions would eventually support direct download.
I'm not sure about the Wii, but as both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 have hard drives then it makes far more sense to actually provide proper downloadable content.
I've never been a fan of streaming media. I'd much prefer to download a file overnight (where it's either cheaper or it's not competing with other online usage) and then play it later knowing full well that it's not going to suddenly need to buffer up at an inoportune moment.
That and the Xbox 360 natively supports WMV, so it really makes a prime candidate for being able to use iPlayer, as it already supports the default file format used. And even with the apparent move towards H.264, the Xbox supports that already, too.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 19)
Comment number 20.
At 28th Oct 2008, mwjburton wrote:Please, please help bring iPlayer to the Boxee media player software. Its currently in alpha, but its incredibly good at this stage. There is an unofficial iPlayer plugin pack for the XBMC software, which Boxee is based on, but it needs more work and could surely use valuable insight from the iPlayer team.
Please take a look at Boxee:
...and please get in contact with the them about integrating iPlayer. They have a similar setup with Hulu now which is proving very popular, is paid off well for Hulu.
Thanks.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 20)
Comment number 21.
At 28th Oct 2008, mwjburton wrote:P.S - I should add that I am not afiliated with Boxee in any way, I'm simply someone who uses it and loves iPlayer!
Complain about this comment (Comment number 21)
Comment number 22.
At 28th Oct 2008, beemoh wrote:@TiggsPanther: If you download Orb for your PC, you can use that to stream video- including that downloaded from iPlayer- you your xBox over your network.
You'll still have to download to your PC, but you won't have to do quite so much in the way of unplugging.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 22)
Comment number 23.
At 28th Oct 2008, Tiggs wrote:Orb sounds cool, up to a point. But it still requires the PC being switched on at the time?
What I like about my Xbox 360 is that (when used with an external USB drive, or uPnP software - or even the Live Marketplace downloads...) I can watch video files without having to have an actual computer switched on at all.
Which is better for the environment (and my electricity bill...).
Complain about this comment (Comment number 23)
Comment number 24.
At 30th Oct 2008, Darren wrote:"I'm not sure about the Wii, but as both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 have hard drives then it makes far more sense to actually provide proper downloadable content."
Dont forget, the PS3 comes with hard drive as standard, on all models, XBOX360 does not.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 24)
Comment number 25.
At 31st Oct 2008, sascott wrote:I agree with #14, I'm finding that the new iplayer doesn't work on my Wii, content doesn't appear, and if I click on a channel, then click a day down the left side, I get a page not found.
Hope you can fix this soon!
Complain about this comment (Comment number 25)
Comment number 26.
At 3rd Nov 2008, David wrote:Still holding out for a non-browser based solution for the Wii. The recently launched Nintendo Channel shows just how good quality and intuitive streaming video playback can be on the Wii; hopefully the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ can hook into whatever they're doing.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 26)
Comment number 27.
At 5th Nov 2008, hdc1826 wrote:Great development! I, like the topmost poster use a media PC (running linux and mythtv) to access iplayer content. I've been pleased to finally be able to do this effectively in my browser using flash 10 which actually works unlike its predecessor.
This large interface suits remote control based usage very well and opens up doors on other platforms as well as the wii. I know there are willing mythtv contributors who could make this a great portal for using iplayer in the prescribed browser based manner rather than using iphone streams which I believe has previously been attempted.
Having the high quality flash stream here would make iplayer a step closer to having much wider linux adoption where it could be easily integrated (with your lovely new interface) into a mythtv browser plugin and using the known safe flash distribution rather than people trying to pick apart iphone streams.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 27)
Comment number 28.
At 7th Nov 2008, eldisturbio wrote:I am using it on the Wii without any technical problems. The only problem I have is a usability and aesthetic one. Anybody know if it is possible to minimise the large menu bar at the bottom of the TV while a program is playing?
Complain about this comment (Comment number 28)
Comment number 29.
At 15th Nov 2008, Chris Balfour wrote:I have the same issue as post 14 and 25, not much about the new version of iPlayer works on the Wii. Generally anything from the "most popular" section works but any search or any time I try to click on a particular day of the week results in a "page not found" message!
Is anyone looking at these comments and seeing that people are having these issues? There must be a reason why it doesn't work for some people??
Complain about this comment (Comment number 29)
Comment number 30.
At 16th Nov 2008, spugmeistress wrote:I must confess that I haven't been using iplayer through my wii much recently since I got Sky+ and just record everything instead, but on the odd occasion that I forget to tape something or Sky+ fails, it's an absolute godsend for me as I like to use my laptop for other stuff while I'm watching the telly on the big screen.
However, not a fan of the new setup - I'm sure the quality has gone down or something since the 'optimisations' since now the video frame appears tiny and you have to zoom to almost 200% to get it full screen (and my TV isn't even that huge) and everything ends up pixellated.
On the plus side, I can say that I haven't encountered any of the problems that the other commenters have come across, technically everything seems to be fixed/working, just not at the quality I remember it to be last time I used it, and compared to what I can get on my laptop screen.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 30)
Comment number 31.
At 18th Nov 2008, fergusmoroney wrote:any plan to make iPlayer available on Apple TV? There was a posting earlier this year on here about that but since then nothing seems to have happened.
It would be a real KILLER application that's for sure!!
Complain about this comment (Comment number 31)
Comment number 32.
At 23rd Nov 2008, Test_Card_F wrote:Re Post 2828
"At 8:42pm on 07 Nov 2008, eldisturbio wrote:
Anybody know if it is possible to minimise the large menu bar at the bottom of the TV while a program is playing? "
If you go into the 'settings' menu in the start page of the Wii internet channel you can set the menu bar to auto-hide. Sorry for a late reply but only just enabled our Wii for the iplayer.
Incidentally, does anyone know how to enable the Wii parental controls for the internet channel so that our children cannot access the iplayer or anyother internet conentn without us being there? We have this on all PCs and other Tvs and Freeview boxes but the Wii does not seem to have this.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 32)
Comment number 33.
At 5th Dec 2008, womble88 wrote:Any news on the iplayer for Apple TV? There were some noises from the Beeb about this back in January but not a lot since...
Complain about this comment (Comment number 33)
Comment number 34.
At 24th Dec 2008, planetf1 wrote:Ref WII vs PS3 etc.
In our house, with teenage kids we have an xbox, but it's in a kids playroom - somewhere for the teenagers to hang out.
In the living room would be a WII as it's a family oriented console. That's why (for me) it's an excellent platform for iPlayer.
The WII's success has been phenomenal. It also comes with wifi built in ..
We have PCs, N96s, xbox, PS2 also, but having iplayer in the living room will be super.
Still be good to have it on xbox, ps3 of course.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 34)
Comment number 35.
At 3rd Jan 2009, djtomkelly wrote:The only issue that I have with iplayer on the Wii is that the screen 'freezes' approx every 15 seconds during playback - this happens for about 5 seconds - but basically makes watching programmes very frustrating!
Can anybody suggest why this might be? - I dont have any similar problems with youtube etc.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 35)
Comment number 36.
At 5th Jan 2009, matt in france wrote:Any chance of iPlayer on the PSP?
Complain about this comment (Comment number 36)
Comment number 37.
At 25th Feb 2009, mahutchinson wrote:Just got iplayer up on my wii browser and am disappointed. The resolution of the Yahoo home page is terrible and the text almost unreadable and yet the iplayer home page is extremely sharp and clear. The programmes however, come out with vertical lines down the screen, like a frosted bathroom window. Was hoping to give up the cable TV on the back of this but it's just not watchable at the moment and the method of making it full screen is clumsy with zooming and moving the screen rather than one click.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 37)
Comment number 38.
At 26th Feb 2009, Nick Reynolds wrote:mahutchisson - you might want to try discussing this on the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer message board
Complain about this comment (Comment number 38)
Comment number 39.
At 2nd Sep 2009, Shahzaddddd wrote:I have heard the latest update to the Wii Internet browser stops the IPlayer from working. Apparently this is due to a flash update. Are the IPlayer team looking into this?
Complain about this comment (Comment number 39)
Comment number 40.
At 2nd Sep 2009, pokealex wrote:The Wii update has certainly broken iplayer. I'm hoping that once its fixed the quality of the live stream will be improved, the question is, how long will the fix take?
Complain about this comment (Comment number 40)
Comment number 41.
At 4th Sep 2009, Ant Smith wrote:First I'd like to say how much I appreciated the bbc providing iplayer for wii - it was the only reason I got the internet channel. Now it's knackered. It sounds like there could be a simple fix. How about if the beeb gave wii users a choice of linking to the flash 9 version instead of going straight to the f7 version?
Complain about this comment (Comment number 41)
Comment number 42.
At 5th Sep 2009, HD wrote:Is it possible for the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ to specify/design their own hardware video player - a bit like Blu-ray players but better? And if so, will they be doing that ever?
Complain about this comment (Comment number 42)
Comment number 43.
At 9th Sep 2009, felicioo wrote:Thank you.. sesli sohbet
Complain about this comment (Comment number 43)
Comment number 44.
At 19th Sep 2009, Andy wrote:My Wii played iPlayer fine for several days after the browser update, then unexpectedly, up comes the message about iPlayer being currently unavailable for Wii. Humph! Then I thought - I kept the old browser on SD card. I'll just use that. Still no joy - as the iPlayer system detects the Wii browser and bumps to the unavailable page. Bother bother bother! Really grumpy now. The worry I have is with the push for higher quality in the stream my ratty broadband won't have the speed to stream anything from iPlayer. I've been mostly ok with watching the low resolution streams, except from obviously peak times, when the feed just chokes and dies. The hi-res feed to the pc breaks up so much it's not worth trying. I'd rather have a pixellated images than nothing at all. What I've got now is NOTHING AT ALL.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 44)