BBC iPlayer now available on Mac
The BBC has created a version of the iPlayer that works with both Mac and Linux computers. The two systems, which have been able 
to stream BBC programmes via the iPlayer for a year, will now be able to handle downloads.
The iPlayer is the BBC’s online media player that lets viewers stream programmes for up to seven days after broadcast or download and watch them for up to 30 days. When iPlayer first launched BBC was criticised for producing versions that only worked with Microsoft’s Windows XP and which used Microsoft’s digital rights management system to enforce viewing restrictions.
The new version of the iPlayer has been written with Adobe’s AIR technology which aims to make it possible to create applications that can be downloaded to your computer, rather than just embedded in browser web pages as is possible with the widely used Flash software.
Those wanting to try the new player must first install Adobe AIR and then get the trial version by signing up to be an iPlayer Labs tester via the iPlayer site.
The cross-platform nature of Adobe AIR means the iPlayer will work with Open Source and Apple Mac computers “out of the box”.
The iPlayer now supports three separate DRM technologies: Microsoft, Adobe, and the OMA standards for mobiles.
Traffic congestion
Net provider Plusnet published figures which suggested the cost of carrying streaming traffic increased from £17,233 to £51,700 per month largely because of the iPlayer.
The BBC has worked with British company Velocix to test a system which puts servers in ISPs that store, or cache, the most popular iPlayer programmes.
The smart software in the iPlayer would check these caches to see if the programme a user wants is loaded locally on a caching device near the user. Streaming from within an ISP’s network cuts the cost of transporting that traffic for both the BBC and the net supplier.
