Tag Archives: Eastenders

Computers/Technology, Movies & TV

BBC iPlayer on the iPod Touch/iPhone

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BBC iPlayer on an iPod

I’m not sure whether it’s because the BBC has been stung by the criticism over their handling of the Mac in relation iPlayer, or the official explanation which is that it’s the highest quality portable device, but yesterday the BBC launched the iPlayer for the iPhone and iPod Touch ahead of versions for any of the other more established mobile devices.

If you’ve not come across the service, BBC iPlayer is the catch-up service that allows computer users to watch programmes that have been shown on the BBC channels over the past seven days. There are two variations, a windows only download version using Windows Media Player, and a browser based streaming version using Adobe Flash.

The iPhone/iPod Touch version uses Quicktime instead, and although it runs off the web based version (as with the desktop version you just need to browse to http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/ using the iPhone/iPod Touch browser) the programmes don’t run within the browser but use the iPhone/iPod Touch Quicktime viewer.

BBC iPlayer on an iPod

The service is only available over a wi-fi connection – and when you see the quality of the picture you realise why. By way of an example, I’ve taken a couple of pictures of the episode of Eastenders that was shown last night. The first shot is of the opening titles, the familiar aerial shot of London, and then I’ve also taken a picture of a scene later on in the programme. The clarity of the pictures is really fantastic – when you compare it to the quality of image produced by some of the other attempts at mobile TV it is noticeably better, and certainly very watch-able. The quality hasn’t been traded at the expense of speed – there is no discernible sitting around and waiting – nor is it noticeably running at a reduced frame rate. You can also skip forward to later in the programme without any problem either – just touch the screen to bring up the controls and move the slider later in the programme.

The other thing to remember is this isn’t directly costing users anything either – if you use the iPhone you get free access to any Cloud wi-fi hotspots as part of the deal – and it’s free for iPod Touch users too thanks to the BBC Online deal for free access that was announced last year.

Church, Movies & TV

Alternative Church Fundraising

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If you are an Eastenders fan I’m sure you will have been glued to the show on Friday night, to see the second attempt by Billy and Honey to get married. It was also a good example of one of the other ways that churches are raising money for repairs, as rather than being a Church in Walford – like many of the locations on the show that aren’t permanent sets on the back-lot at the studio – it is actually a Church in Watford. In this case it is the Church my parents attend, St Andrews, one of a number that have been used by the show over the years.

The last appearance of the building in the programme was a while back, when it was the location for Dot and Jim’s wedding, and also used for the christening of Louise, daughter of Lisa and Phil. The more recent church events have been held at another local Church, however the BBC came back to St Andrews for the recent programmes. This time you also got to see a bit more of the Church, including a nice shot looking down the length of the aisle, and also use was made of part of their vestry that has a nice rose window. There were also a couple of external shots too.

Having the BBC has it’s benefits too. The local crematorium apparently now has a nice set of artificial flowers thanks to regular visits from Eastenders. However it also has it’s hassles. St Andrews church hall is actually in the former north aisle of the Church – the door of which was hidden behind a curtain on the programme on Friday night. However during term time there is a nursery school that uses the hall, and of course they are not allowed to be around when Eastenders take over the building. Luckily for this batch of filming, the school could make alternative arrangements. There is also the disruption to places used for filming. For example it wasn’t until Friday that Mum discovered why she hadn’t been able to find anything in the vestry recently!!!

Having said that, for Churches struggling with limited finances, it is a great way to earn a little extra income, and also makes use of a building that will be largely unused during much of the week. Although current policy in St Albans Diocese require that all scripts are approved by the Archdeacon. This is partly because the scripts for programmes like Eastenders have previously had to be corrected to accurately reflect Church practice (for the Christening episode the crew turned up with the writers having written their own baptism service – on that occasion the Archdeacon was on site and asked that they used the proper service instead), however the full approval policy came in following an incident at another Church in the Diocese where the building was booked by a film company, and it later transpired that they were using the building to make a porn film…

Incidentally, if you saw the programme on Friday, you’ll have seen that the wedding itself didn’t actually take place, so there should be a return visit to St Andrews in the not to distant future.