This review was written by Khafsa Ghulam in February 2013.
BBC iPlayer is a free service offered by the BBC.
About me
I am in my early twenties and I have no light perception, therefore I rely on my screen reader when using my computer, which in my case is JAWS.
As a young person, my daily schedule regularly clashes with the broadcasting of my favourite TV programmes, so the BBC iPlayer is the ultimate solution to my problem. I have been accessing the web based service for the past 4 years and have seen it go through significant developments not only in the services that it offers, but also in the area of accessibility.
I also like using the BBC iPlayer website because it is accessible and as someone who lives with my family, it is very difficult to watch a programme in peace with a room full of people. I really enjoy learning about new technologies and trying out new things, so learning how to use the BBC iPlayer website wasn't a problem for me, I quickly found my way around the website and was soon enjoying the freedom of planning my TV schedule around my social life.
One of the main things that really attracts me to the BBC iPlayer online service is the availability of audio described content.
Information about the service
The BBC iPlayer is an online catch up service that enables users to watch live TV and catch-up on missed programmes, and also offers access to a content guide. In addition, the player also extends the added functionality to download programmes to a computer or a mobile device and watch them offline.
Setting up
The service was tested using Windows 7 running internet explorer version 9, with JAWS version 12. (Please note that the BBC recommend that you use JAWS version 12 with their iPlayer).
You can watch programmes using the BBC iPlayer online catch up service in one of two ways. You can either watch them online using the Flash Player, or you can download them to your computer.
The process of streaming programmes directly from the website was straight-forward, I just found the programme that I wanted to watch and pressed the play button on the flash player.
The service also gives you the option to download the BBC iPlayer software for desktop directly onto your computer. The downloaded programmes can then be viewed within subsequent 30 days and you do not need an internet connection for this. However, when downloading the iPlayer, I struggled to do this without sighted assistance as JAWS does not recognise that option as a link/button so therefore I could not access this element without using a mouse.
Using the service
I use the BBC iPlayer website to view details of programmes that are due to be aired, watch programmes as they are being broadcasted using the 'watch live' feature and catch-up on any TV shows that I may have missed.
Navigating the BBC iPlayer website was mostly straight forward. The Content Guide was easy to navigate and the ability to view programme listings by category made it easy to find what I was looking for.
Additionally, the search feature enabled me to jump straight to a specific programme without having to read through entire catalogue. As a blind user, the fact that the audio described content can be viewed by clicking on a link straight from the homepage is excellent, it means that I can click on the category and get a list of all the programmes that are available with audio description.
However, when I found a programme that I wanted to watch, it wasn't very straight forward to locate the flash player in order to play the content. Nevertheless, there were a few ways in which I was able to work around this problem.
I was able to locate the heading with the title of the programme that I was watching, and then using the 'up' arrow key to locate the flash player and press the play button. I was also able to use the shortcut key for JAWS in order to locate the play button on the page.
Once I pressed the play button, initially it appeared that I could not pause the programme, or access any of the other playback controls ie., forward, back, volume up/ down. However, if I switched the virtual PC cursor off (using Insert plus Z), I was able to access the flash playback controls using the tab/shift Plus Tab, space and enter keys. In contrast to this, when streaming programmes live, I did not have to switch the virtual PC cursor off.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages:
The BBC iPlayer website has a really easy layout and this makes it possible to find most things quickly using a screen reader.
For me, this was a huge boost as it encouraged me to use the service more frequently and therefore increased my confidence in navigating the website. Furthermore, it increased my self-esteem as I didn't have to rely on others to read things for me and I chose when I wanted to access the service.
The fact that the BBC iPlayer online service offers audio described content makes it stand out from most of the other services.
Additionally, the fact that the website enables the user to change the colour scheme and text size, is useful for those users who are partially sighted as it gives them flexibility by allowing them to use a set-up that suits them when accessing the service.
These two factors alone mean that those users who are partially sighted could potentially navigate the website with more ease and therefore be as independent as possible.
Disadvantages:
It is not possible to download audio described content or to stream such content as it is being broadcasted. This is one aspect that lets the service down given the accessibility of the flash player when streaming live content.
Furthermore, the delay in putting up programmes with audio description is another problem, given the fact that the same programmes without this feature are put up almost immediately after they have been aired. This can be frustrating for me, especially when it is a programme that I am really interested in and due to the delay in the availability of the audio described version, I am expected to wait an extra day or watch the programme but miss out on key visual information.
Overall, it is a really good service and it opens many doors for blind and partially sighted people and I would therefore recommend it to any person with sight loss who is looking for an online catch up facility.
Any other comments
From the perspective of a person with sight loss, in order to enhance the user experience, I would recommend the inclusion of shortcut keys that would enable individuals to jump straight to the flash player, to enable access to the playback controls and if possible make audio described programmes available for download, as well as making them available at the same time as the standard programme.
The BBC iPlayer website offers keyboard access tips for those who are screen reader users.
Conclusion
The BBC iPlayer is an online catch up service that enables users to catch up on past TV programmes, watch live TV and view the electronic programme guide (EPG). As a user who has no light perception, the inclusion of audio described content and the excellent accessibility of the website makes it a really useful tool.
While it has its drawbacks, it is still ahead of other online catch up services as it is the only one of the two services that currently offers audio described content, 4oD being the other one.
Legal disclaimer
This review reflects the opinions of the author only. RNIB cannot be held liable for opinions expressed in this article.
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