This morning Anthony Rose posted the massive feature shopping list of the new BBC iPlayer.
For people who aren’t from the UK, the iPlayer is a big deal. It makes the BBC’s awesome content available for viewing online and on many different devices for (I think) 7 days. (Spooks is what 24 could have been).
There are LOTS of new features, but one which I care a lot of about: Messenger integration. You should definitely read the entire post but here is an excerpt of the Messenger integration, and if you are from the UK, try out the beta.
8. Watch with friends And now something that for some will be the killer feature of the new site: the ability to watch programmes with friends. If you already have a Windows Live Messenger account you can see which of your Windows Live Messenger friends (and other instant messenger services to be added in due course) are in iPlayer right now and what they're watching, and even how far into the programme they are. You can then sync your iPlayer with theirs and chat with them in real time, all within the iPlayer site. Here's how it works: On all TV playback pages in iPlayer you'll see a button to add the IM chat widget to your iPlayer pages. If you're a Messenger user and this is of interest to you, click the Get Started button. After signing in to Windows Live Messenger with your Messenger credentials, you'll now see an extra panel that shows which of your Messenger contacts are online and in iPlayer right now: Separately, while you're watching a programme, anytime you're feeling excited about that programme or even just a particular moment in the programme, you can shout about it to your Messenger friends - simply type whatever comes to mind into the text box and hit the Shout button - all your Messenger friends who are in iPlayer right now will get the message, and may then choose to sync their iPlayer to yours and join you to watch and chat together. By the way, your shouts only go to your Messenger friends who are in iPlayer right now - they won't go to contacts who are not in iPlayer - so you don't need to worry about spamming contacts who don't live in the UK or who aren't interested in your shouts of "It's the Stig!" or whatever. The Messenger that you can add to your iPlayer site is a JavaScript implementation of the Windows Live Messenger client - i.e. your private chat conversations travel over the same MSN network as regular Messenger IM chat. Watch with Friends is being added to the site in the next few weeks - stay tuned!
Here's how it works: On all TV playback pages in iPlayer you'll see a button to add the IM chat widget to your iPlayer pages. If you're a Messenger user and this is of interest to you, click the Get Started button.
After signing in to Windows Live Messenger with your Messenger credentials, you'll now see an extra panel that shows which of your Messenger contacts are online and in iPlayer right now:
Separately, while you're watching a programme, anytime you're feeling excited about that programme or even just a particular moment in the programme, you can shout about it to your Messenger friends - simply type whatever comes to mind into the text box and hit the Shout button - all your Messenger friends who are in iPlayer right now will get the message, and may then choose to sync their iPlayer to yours and join you to watch and chat together.
By the way, your shouts only go to your Messenger friends who are in iPlayer right now - they won't go to contacts who are not in iPlayer - so you don't need to worry about spamming contacts who don't live in the UK or who aren't interested in your shouts of "It's the Stig!" or whatever.
The Messenger that you can add to your iPlayer site is a JavaScript implementation of the Windows Live Messenger client - i.e. your private chat conversations travel over the same MSN network as regular Messenger IM chat.
Watch with Friends is being added to the site in the next few weeks - stay tuned!