scott wrote:
>> I know the BT Vision system is supposed to allow you to download video 
>> content to watch later, but I'm not aware of any system which can 
>> manage it in realtime. (Certainly not just using a normal PC...)
> 
> Many TV company websites let you watch TV live via your PC at varying 
> levels of quality.  I have certainly seen a few that exceed digital SD 
> broadcast TV.

Seriously??

> How about BBC iPlayer, what's the quality like on that? (I can't access 
> it outside the UK)

Pitiful. Utterly pitiful.

I mean, forgetting the minor detail that it's plain unusuable at certain 
times of day, the picture quality is abysmal. (The sound isn't bad though.)

Also, if you use the iPlayer client (rather than just the Flash thing on 
the website), it appears to turn our PC into a peer-to-peer client, 
constantly uploading and downloading data even when iPlayer isn't 
running. (It installs a background service which starts at boot.)

> YouTube also streams video at resolutions up to 1080p, you just need a 
> fast enough internet connection to watch it in real time as it's 
> downloading. IIRC the best digital TV broadcast streams use about 6 
> mbit/s, so that should give you some idea what internet speed you need.

I've yet to see anything on YouTube which even approaches TV quality.

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