New BBC iPlayer launches today

A new and improved version of the BBC’s catch-up television service, iPlayer, will go live later today

The new-look BBC iPlayer features more personalisation options and better integration with social networks

The revamped iPlayer features a new design that makes it easier to find television programmes, personalisation tools, so that users can tailor-make their viewing experience, and social networking integration, to enable people to share their favourite shows on sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The new-look iPlayer, which goes live later today, is the first major upgrade to the catch-up TV service since it launched in December 2007. More than 1.1 billion minutes of video are watched on iPlayer every month. The service is available on a variety of platforms, including through television sets, on-demand TV services, online, through games consoles and on mobile devices

The BBC said that it had always intended to continually improve iPlayer to meet the changing needs of users.
“A main theme here is personalisation,” wrote James Hewines, iPlayer product lead, on the BBC blog. “Simply put, that means a way to get the programmes you love with less clicking.
“And we wanted to connect BBC iPlayer up with the users' online interactions with friends – to bring a social dimension to watching and listening.”
The new version of iPlayer features a ‘pop-out’ TV player, so shows play in a separate window, and the process of integrating Facebook and Twitter accounts with iPlayer profiles has been streamlined.
Users can now download a television show before it is broadcast, so that it can be watched immediately after transmission ends without any delay, and can also create a list of ‘favourite’ shows.
Over the coming months, other features will be rolled out to users, including integration with Windows Messenger, which will enable users to chat to their friends online while watching the same television show.
The BBC admitted that there had been some teething problems during beta trials of the new iPlayer, including additional buffering during playback, and downloaded shows sometimes going ‘missing’ from a user’s iPlayer profile, but said it was confident these issues would be ironed out by launch.
“Until now, the focus has been on getting programmes to users packaged in a coherent experience,” wrote Hewines. “This next step is about allowing users to interact with the service and each other around our programmes. Together, we hope these features represent a crucial evolutionary step in the enjoyment of TV and radio online.”


this post from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/7984053/New-BBC-iPlayer-launches-today.html