BBC Opens TV Archive to Remixers

megla writes "The BBC has opened its Creative Archive to the public, allowing users to be VJs and remix BBC content. The BBC's "current music" radio station, Radio 1, is running a competition in conjunction with the release. Unfortunately, the license the content is released under requires that you are a UK resident to use it." For British residents, however, this is well worth the television license.

The Beeb

You know, I never used to be a big fan of the BBC and its licence for UK viewers. However, the great content it's made available via its website, complete lack of advertisements and new shows (recently) have really changed my view. The news service is largely unbiased, far less biased than any US channel/website I've visited. Also, since it's non-commercial it allows them to experiment more, and include news articles and pieces that aren't totally focussed on bringing in page hits.

I did subscribe to Sky a while back, but dropped it after finding the 5 minute ad breaks every 15 minutes extremely annoying (the channels all seem to display adverts at the same time too, to stop channel hopping I guess), and constant repeats. Sky make a huge deal out of any show they're airing for the first time, instead of the 5001st - and pepper them with even more adverts.

So basically, the short version of this comment is: "Fuck Sky, Go Beeb".

Re:The Beeb

Having moved from the UK to Canada a few years back, let me just say that I yearn with nostalgic longing for the time when I could watch TV with five-minute ad breaks only every fifteen minutes.

Re:The Beeb

How much is this license?

I'd be willing to pay money to the BBC for access to this and othe r content.

Heck, I'd be willing to pay a TV tax of some reasonable pittance just to replace our CBC up here with a much expanded and comercial reduced BBC Canada.

It's not like that's where CBC is getting it's news from anyway due to the strike...

JC

Re:The Beeb

Hey, I don't mind if they stay on strike at the moment since at least we are getting BBC news instead. Much more international content, and not just that which is rating oriented.

We really need the CBC/Radio Canada to be sorted out - this needs to be a channel for the citizens, not for the advertisers.

Re:The Beeb

As I understand the UK licensing (licencing) law, you would not have to pay a licence fee if you do not have a device capable of receiving or recording TV programming. If you have a DVD player with no recording capability and a monitor without a tuner you may be exempt from licencing requirements.
See http://www.kevinboone.com/tv_licence.html [kevinboone.com] for a but more information.
Also see http://www.tvlicensing.biz/info_on_tvlicensing/ [tvlicensing.biz]
IANAL.

Re:The Beeb

Sure I'm listening to their radio station, and watching their website - but so are thousands of other people in foreign countries (with things like the BBC World Service) who don't have to pay this tax.

So you're doing your own small part to make something valuable available to people all over the Earth - including third World countries who couldn't hope to run a news service of that standard. What's wrong with that?

Re:The Beeb

Despite this I have to pay the mandatory BBC-tax every year, just because I own a television.

No you dont. Detune your TV, unplug your aeriel, and you dont need to pay. You do need to pay if your watch Corronation Street.

Sure I'm listening to their radio station, and watching their website

You don't need a TV license for either of those things.

with things like the BBC World Service) who don't have to pay this tax.

The World Service (radio) is funded by the foreign office, not the TV license. World TV is funded by advertisers and is not available in the UK (theoretically).

From the agreement.

Unfortunately, the license the content is released under requires that you are a UK resident to use it.

From the license agreement:

Furthermore, and hence all licensees must have no greater than three complete teeth in the mouth of the primary licensor and shall use the term "get your knickers in a twist" no less than thrice a day. Finally, all licensees shall hereinforth have a full understanding of the term cockup.

Re:From the agreement.

I was just looking at the photo on your web site. Is that your real forehead, or did you have some sort of extension fitted?

I can tell that you're an American, because you've A) "found Jesus" and can't shut the fuck up about it, B) you're hideously foul, fat, stupid and ugly and yet can't stop drawing attention to yourself and C) you've only got one joke (British teeth) and you can't even make it sound funny.

You're from the bible belt - statistically you're far more likely to have dental issues than any British citizen. Is there a reason why you don't open your mouth in that foul photograph of yourself you so foolishly make available to the general public?

UK residents only? Who cares.

Yeah, like they can stop me from remixing the Dr. Who theme song with dogs barking.

Re:UK residents only? Who cares.

Bark-bark bark, bark-bark bark, bark-bark bark, BARK BARK BARK
Bark-bark bark, bark-bark bark, bark-bark bark, BARK BARK BARK

Damn, boy. I think you got a winner here.

Screw the license restriction

If its been broadcast, its in public domain as far as I'm concerned.

I could care less about any 'restrictions', once I've seen/heard it i can/will do what i want.

Dont like that? Then dont broadcast it.

Re:Screw the license restriction

You seem to lack a fundamental understanding of copyright law, or law in general. Just because you believe that you have a right to do something doesn't mean you have said right, especially if the law explicitly states that you do NOT. There is a certain amount of fair-use that applies to broadcasted content, but it is by no means public domain.

Dont like that? Then dont broadcast it.

I believe that all of the media corporations (and their lawyers) would strongly disagree with that statement. The laws at the moment also contradict you.

Re:Screw the license restriction

I could care less about any 'restrictions

How much less could you care? We need to know!

Kosh would say...

irrelevant.
And Sinclair would add as far as 0.009376 of every human being vill care.

Proxies with UK servers?

Hmmph, I would love to download the ant video clip [bbc.co.uk] but I am not from U.K. I wonder if you can use an UK server as a proxy. Has anyone tried it? :)

definitely not a free-as-in-speech license either

4. No Endorsement and No derogatory use The Creative Archive content is provided to allow you to get creative with content, not for campaigning, soapboxing or to defame others! So don't use it to promote political, charitable, or other campaigning purposes and remember to treat others and their work in the way that you'd expect them to treat you and your work...with respect!

licence - it's not a joke

For British residents, however, this is well worth the television license.

I thought that caper ended in the 70's, but a quick googling reveals that "Each household's colour TV licence cost £10.08 every month in 2004/2005".

Do they still have black vans driving around with tv-detector dishes sticking out the roof?

Fan Fiction fun :)

Maybe Ford Prefect can fight off the Daleks and The Doctor can visit Milliways.

Bean there done that...

Finally, now those British Beaniacs can release their 8-year-in-the-making Mr. Bean tributes remixed to include *words*.

As happy as I am...

As happy as I am with all of the interesting stuff the BBC is doing via the web, I really wish they hadn't had to kill their shortwave bradcasts to North America to do it. And though I can listen online when I'm around a computer and can even catch their broadcasts to other regions, I miss being able to hear them clearly almost any evening hour without shelling out for a satellite radio. I'd even trade all of the whizzy web crap for that.

Shame

It's really a shame you have to be a UK resident, I know the BBC has a lot of good material. I'm especially a fan of BBC America, it's quite nice to watch some of the classics on TV sometimes and get news that is sourced outside of the US.

It's kind of like getting a 2nd opinion when watching the World News on BBC

Realplayer?

It's a pity most of the video clips and audio clips on BBC (atleast the Doctor Who stuff) are in rm/ram format. Is there a VLC codec/plugin/gizmo for those formats yet? I installed realplayer a while ago (unfortunately), but now it 'expired' and I can't play/view anything with it.

One size fits all... AGAIN!

Typical. We have a house in London, pay a TV license (because we have a TV there, although it is never watched), but we spend an awful lot of time living in Switzerland. Because right now I am in Switzerland I cannot download content. Oh well, at least I am getting better weather. oct.

This is only part of wider digi media strategy

Disclaimer: I don't work for beeb, but I know some people who do including one of the architect's for this initiative

The idea is that everyone will be able to access any BBC programming (TV and radio) for 7 days after broadcast, you watch what you want, when you want.
Its a great concept, perhaps a bit restrictive. It's a BBC branded player incorporating DRM (to keep the 7 day limit) and distributed via P2P
There is also an interesting piece in today's Times, p68 (UK)

"BBC New Media announced in May the next phase in the development of the BBC's integrated Media Player (iMP): an extensive three month content trial that will begin in September 2005.

iMP offers UK viewers the chance to catch up on TV and radio programmes they may have missed for up to seven days after they have been broadcast, using the internet to legally download programmes to their home computers." taken from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/sto ries/2005/05_may/16/imp.shtml [bbc.co.uk]

Propaganda

The BBC is not worth the license fee. It is Tony Bliar's multi-cultural propaganda division.

Re:UK's IP law in other nations?

Interesting idea.

If a remixer in the UK takes a britney spears album and uses it, WTF can the US do? Their laws don't apply here any more than our laws apply to them.

See the logical fallacy?

International law (and *especially* copyright law) simply doesn't work like that.

Re:UK's IP law in other nations?

What a naive view of the world you have. There are of course international treaties which govern copyright and have been since the 19th century.

Wikipedia has a list [wikipedia.org]

Re:I've known about this for a while now.

But which genes are involved when you post a comment to an unrelated story?

Re:UK's IP law in other nations?

They could possibly block by IP address, which I believe they did until recently for access to the Radio broadcasts, but I don't know if they will or not. Personally I support the BBC keeping it for British residents, as we have paid for the content to be produced. It's a shame that America seems to believe it has an unwavering right to every other country's content sometimes.

Re:UK's IP law in other nations?

Uh, so what? If a remixer in the U.S. takes BBC content and uses it, WTF can the U.K. do?

This remarkably naive view point ignores the fact that the rights for BBC IP are assigned to BBC Worldwide incorporated in the US.

There wouldn't be any need to extradite you. Instead you could be sued in the good 'ol US of A. And the great thing about that? In the US they can afford better lawyers than you can.

Re:UK's IP law in other nations?

I can't understand why these 'Insightful' postings continue. The BBC's license agreement is there to protect the BBC.

The BBC don't really care if you use the content - the company that brought the rights to the material in your country, i.e. the owner of the IP will. The BBC is trying to stop getting itself sued!

Oxymoron

Ha ha ha! You said rap "artist".