BBC
The BBC’s Ceefax text service closed down yesterday after 38 years on the air. The world’s first teletext information service, Ceefax began broadcasting in 1974 and provided everyone from insomniacs to prime ministers with the latest headlines and sports scores at a time when the alternative was waiting for the next news broadcast. Now, as the BBC switches from analog to digital broadcasting, the low-resolution service has been retired for good. Read More
The BBC has released its own media player that allows for playback of its iPlayer catch-up service on Android mobile devices. Users of Google's mobile OS have previously been forced to rely upon Adobe's previously ubiquitous Flash platform to watch content from the broadcasting and entertainment provider. Read More
At noon today, the very last BBC World Service broadcast was aired from London's Bush House, ending a residency lasting over 70 years. The whole of the Corporation's famous international service has now moved to new state-of-the-art offices at Broadcasting House in Portland Place, near Oxford Circus. All of the equipment, furniture, fixtures and fittings, however, have been left behind and are being sold off to the highest online bidder. The first of two sales is already open for bidding and includes complete mono and stereo mixing studios, a TV studio, a mind-boggling catalog of studio equipment, BBC memorabilia, office furniture and a Steinway grand piano. Read More
Although computers and the Internet have eaten away at the dominance of television, it remains the most popular form of entertainment and source of information in the world. And with the line between TV and computers blurring with the advent of Home Theater PCs (HTPCs) and devices like Apple TV it’s likely that television in one form or another will retain its crown for some time to come. Television is no longer limited to a big box sitting in the corner of the living room. It can be accessed on sexy, slim panels hung on a wall or on mobile phones while sitting on a train. In fact television is so pervasive today it can be hard to imagine life before it existed – but there was such a time, and it wasn’t even that long ago. Read More
BBC to sell 'Project Canvas' web-based TV concept around the world
Those outside of the UK may not be overly familiar with the BBC iPlayer, a streaming web-based TV service for the British institution’s range of channels that has seen burgeoning success and spawned a number of terrestrial and satellite-based rivals. It’s also worth summarising the aim of Project Canvas, a venture by the broadcasting giant that looks to bring a similar streaming service to the home and will notably look to incorporate other channels, on-demand services and web-based content from sites such as YouTube, Flickr and Facebook, as well as built-in PVR functionality though a set-top box connected to a TV. Read More
