The BBC is finding many problems with its launch of iPlayer, a service where users catch-up on the last 7 days of BBC Television on their computers. Sound nice, except it is causing quite a stir in the UK in regard to the Microsoft DRM (digital rights management) and bandwidth it will use. Many people are protesting calling the “BBC Corrupted” due to the BBC deciding to use secretive and proprietary standards (DRM) provided by Microsoft, that would restrict what you can use to watch BBC programming.

They are claiming that the BBC, one of the most beloved institutions, should not team up just ONE company, especially Microsoft, a several times convicted abusive monopolist, forcing users to buy their products just to watch TV online. Wow, wish we were as vocal against DRM and proprietary standards in the U.S. I think we yankees can learn something here. Especially after watching Google cancel Google Video and all the persons who bought videos, end up with a mostly useless coupon and NO more videos that play. Let’s face it DRM sucks!

Microsoft has “bet” much of their future on DRM. They have embedded it into Vista and have tried to use it to hold-on to the desktop operating system market share by NOT making the latest versions of Windows Media Player available to Mac OS X or Linux. It is clear to me that Microsoft is using DRM to MAKE users HAVE to use Windows. Let me point out, that Microsoft OWNS and SELLS proprietary DRM (actually they have multiple versions) to several companies. We customers, should stand against these practices by protesting with our wallets.

Sure Apple uses their own DRM scheme wrapped around iTunes purchases, but at least they make iTunes available to Windows users free, and as seamless as possible to its users. iTunes Store is now selling content from EMI without DRM at a higher bit rate and slightly higher price. This seems the way to go. Apple’s ease of use with the iPod/iTunes has killed ALL of Microsoft’s DRM solutions in the marketplace in the U.S. so far for music. But video is what Microsoft is betting heavily on.

The BBC is being threatened with an anti-trust challenge in Europe over its use of the Windows Media format in its on demand service, iPlayer, which is in the final stages of testing. The Open Source Consortium (OSC), an advocacy group, has threatened legal action against the BBC, comparing the situation to the European Commission’s prosecution of Microsoft over its bundling of Windows Media Player with Windows. Also see the Free The BBC Blog.

ISP’s in the UK, as I posted about are threatening to “throttle” iPlayer unless the BBC pays up. Net Neutrality issue at its best. Not a great start for the BBC’s iPlayer, which looked like a nice service otherwise. This is when free is not free, I guess.

From Slashdot:
“The future of iPlayer, the BBC’s new online on-demand system for delivering content, is continuing to look bleaker. With ISPs threatening to throttle the content delivered through the iPlayer, consumers petitioning the UK government and the BBC to drop the DRM and Microsoft-only technology, and threatened legal action from the OSC (Open Source Consortium), the last thing the BBC wanted to see today was street protests at their office and at the BBC Media Complex accompanied by a report issued by DefectiveByDesign about their association with Microsoft.”

What do you think? Is Microsoft using “DRM as a weapon” against rivals? What do you think about DRM?

    |