While I was recently reminded of, and amused by the success of the BBC’s video-on-demand iPlayer service in the UK, it did get me thinking about the ABC’s digital ambitions, in particular the National Broadcaster’s recently beta launched iPlayer-like service ABC Playback.
What follows is my take on the ABC’s latest step into the future…
Download the whole H264 bunch in one swoop here (104mb *.zip).
> Quicktime H.264
(4.2mb)
> iPod Compatible
(1.2mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2.3mb progressive)
> Quicktime H.264
(3.7mb)
> iPod Compatible
(1mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2.3mb progressive)
> Quicktime H.264
(3.3mb)
> iPod Compatible
(1.7mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2.4mb progressive)
> Quicktime H.264
(3.2mb)
> iPod Compatible
(1.2mb)
> Watch in Flash
(1.9mb progressive)
> Quicktime H.264
(3mb)
> iPod Compatible
(1.4mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2mb progressive)
> Quicktime H.264
(3.8mb)
> iPod Compatible
(2.6mb)
> Watch in Flash
(2.3mb progressive)
BBC Three got a complete rebrand in February, dumping the old logo and the beloved and iconic blobs. The new look was developed by Red Bee, and although on first glance the whole feel could be mistaken for an SMS ad, on further viewings a depth begins to appear, and you kind of start to like it.
The £380,000 rebrand is part of the channels repositioning to take itself beyond being just a television broadcaster. Red Bee say the idents are meant to “make it feel a more populated and alive place”, basically a visual representation of Facebook-like communities, including their own Sims like characters.
And while the idea of big media embracing user-generated content, and saying stuff like “web 2.0” usually drives me crazy, BBC Three seem to be pulling off a nice balance, and at least their taking a risk, and in the process appearing incredibly progressive.
The six new idents are above, but ten more videos await you after the jump, including promos, the 60 second news and viewer uploaded intros.
> Quicktime H.264
(22mb)
> iPod Compatible
(11.5mb)
> Watch in Flash
(8.3mb progressive)
> Quicktime H.264
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> iPod Compatible
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> Watch in Flash
(11mb progressive)
UPDATE: Added the “making of” video above.
While the ABC is still busy getting its Playback service off the ground, the BBC’s iPlayer is already a huge success with over 17 million downloads and streams since its Christmas day launch.
To celebrate April Fools Day and further promote the iPlayer platform the BBC produced this very funny and creative promotion that ran yesterday across BBC television, and generated the kind of 1st of April newspaper stories we’ve all come to expect, with the Mirror reporting: First-ever images of the world’s only flying penguins.
The Guardian has reported that the spot was likely well worth the money for the coverage it received, and while the BBC is certainly raising the bar on the digital future, I can’t wait to see what the ABC delivers.
– Thanks to Craig for the video.
This is admittedly a very small and fairly simple new feature of the site, but since its a fairly small and simple blog I figured it probably warranted a mention.
Try clicking on an image from the last few posts, and a full size screenshot will appear in one of those fancy lightboxes. Enjoy!