BBC iPlayer fans are set to receive two free upgrades that will make sure your favourite shows are more accessible.
The tech powers that be at the BBC have rolled out new technology to make sure you can watch the shows you want as soon as possible, and that there is minimal lag from the live stream.
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They have introduced so-called pseudo VOD technology, which makes programmes are available to watch on demand on iPlayer much more quickly than they were before.
“Anyone who has tried and failed to catch the end of Strictly Come Dancing or Match of the Day so they can restart it knows the frustration of having to wait for them to become available on iPlayer,” Henry Webster, head of product in media services, explained in a recent blog post.
“Previously, there was a significant delay before a programme became available after it was broadcast.
“This was because it takes time for us to process programmes into a high quality on demand video after they’ve been broadcast.
“What we’ve done now is sped this up significantly.”
The pseudo VOD system reuses the live segments of video you see when you’re watching live on iPlayer to “plug the gap” while folks behind the scene process the high quality on demand video.
Once the higher quality video is ready, it will replace the temporary recording.
The second upgrade BBC iPlayer has made is reducing latency.
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In layman’s terms, this will reduce the lag viewers experience between something being broadcast in real-time and the time it takes to get to the viewer.
It happens to all streamers doing live content, but is particularly noticeable with live sport, according Webster.
“If England manage to get through to the semi-final of the Women’s World Cup, viewers streaming the match live on iPlayer will be seeing it closer to real-time, after we’ve been able to cut latency by about 20 seconds,” he wrote.
“Typically, viewers will still be about 60 seconds behind the TV broadcast, but it’s progress, and we’re working on lots of other things to bring it down even further in the future to get it much closer to that of TV broadcast.”
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