7IN BRIEF
TOMORROW’S
WORLD
BBC shows to appear on iPlayer
sooner after broadcast
technical upgrades, it has
reduced this by 20 seconds,
meaning iPlayer viewers
should now be around 60
seconds behind the TV
broadcast.
“Reliability of viewing
experience has always
been and remains our top
priority,” the BBC said, but
added that it hopes to make
more improvements to reduce
this 60-second delay further.
Read more on the BBC’s
site: www.snipca.com/47270.
BBC TV shows will be made
available on iPlayer much
sooner after they’ve been
broadcast, as part of a major
technical upgrade to the
on-demand service.
The BBC said that previously
there was a “significant delay”
before a programme became
available to watch because it
took time to convert the
shows into a quality high
enough for iPlayer. The longer
the programme, the longer
this process took.
Strictly Come Dancing and
Match of the Day are two
shows where viewers have
been frustrated that episodes
aren’t available immediately
after broadcast, it said.
It’s now using new
technology called ‘pseudo
VOD’ which reuses segments
of a show as it’s broadcast live
on iPlayer. It said this creates a
“temporary on demand video”
that “plugs the gap” while it
works on creating the higher-
quality video as before.
A second major upgrade
reduces the delay – or ‘latency’
– when watching live streams
on iPlayer, such as sporting
events.
The BBC adds this latency
to ensure live streams aren’t
interrupted, but it typically
means delays of between 80
and 120 seconds.
It says that thanks to
Plans to let you switch
broadband quickly with
just ‘one touch’ have been
delayed by nearly one year
until March 2024.
The One Touch Switching
Company (TOTSCo, https://
totsco.org.uk), which is in
charge of implementing the
new ‘one touch’ process, says
it’s aiming to get the system
working by 14 March 2024.
In 2021, Ofcom set a
deadline of 3 April 2023 for
internet companies to
introduce a system that starts
the process of switching as
soon as you’ve contacted your
new provider.
But Ofcom postponed this
when providers admitted
they weren’t ready for the
change. It said the delay was
“extremely disappointing and
frustrating” and accused
Under the new scheme,
your new provider will handle
every aspect of your switch,
including asking your old
provider for your final bill.
This process already works
when moving between
providers that are on the
Openreach network, such as
BT, Sky, TalkTalk and Zen.
But Ofcom wants to make it
easier to switch providers that
are on different networks,
such as from BT to Virgin
Media – or vice versa.
An Ofcom spokesperson
said that broadband firms
“must now hit the new target
it has set itself without fail,
and we will continue to hold
them to account to make sure
this happens”.
providers of letting down
their customers.
TOTSCo said that the new
date of next March “strikes the
right balance” between the
need to act quickly and taking
the time to make sure the new
system works properly (see
www.snipca.com/47275).
Switch broadband in ‘one
touch’ delayed to March 2024
How easy have you found it to
switch broadband? Let us
know: <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_EMAIL_ADDRESS>
LENOVO RELEASES 5G
TABLET FOR £349
Lenovo has released a
5G version of its Tab M10
Android tablet (pictured).
Priced £349, it has a 2K
screen, and comes with
128GB of storage and 4GB
of RAM. There’s also a ‘Plus’
edition priced £399 that
comes with a digital pen
for writing on screen. Read
more and buy at www.
snipca.com/47285.
NETFLIX LAUNCHES
TV GAMES IN UK
Netflix has launched a trial
service of games to play on
TVs, available to a “small
number of members” in
Canada and the UK. Players
can control the games using
their phone. Netflix will also
soon start testing games
on PCs and Macs to play
through www.netflix.com.
Read more at www.snipca.
com/47281. Netflix added
games to phones and tablets
in 2021 (see www.snipca.
com/47282).
Issue 665 • 30 August – 12 September 2023
Robots can walk, run, jump
and beat us at chess. Now
they can attach themselves
to walls and
crawl up. Built by
scientists at China’s
Nanjing University,
this “robotic insect”
is able to land
and take off from
glass, wooden
doors, marble, tree
bark, elastic cloth,
lime wall and painted iron
sheet. What does that leave?
Plasticine? Watch at w
What does this mean?