BBC iPlayer: All the new features in pictures

We've seen the new iPlayer in action, including sharing, personalisation and instant messaging. Check out our screenshots of the new features

Richard Trenholm

Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.

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Richard Trenholm

May 26, 2010 7:24 a.m. PT

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The BBC unveiled the new-look iPlayer this morning, adding sharing, personalisation and integration with other services. Take a look at our pictures of the new on-demand player in action, including some shots of features yet to be available to the humble licence fee-payer.

Logging in with your BBC iD -- which you already have if you've ever commented on other BBC sites -- will allow you to save and share your favourite programmes. There are a wealth of ways to find cool new stuff, while instant messaging is in the pipeline.

You can try out the personalisation and sharing features today in the beta version of the site. It will roll out to become the full site before July. Let us know what you think in the comments: is iPlayer wonderful on-demand -- or way off-target?

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The site is divided into TV and radio sections.

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The new-look homepage features a series of sliding tabs to help you find good stuff to watch: featured, for you, most popular and friends.

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Featured shows the BBC's top picks.

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For you includes suggestions based on what you like.

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The recommendation engine suggests things you might be interested in, based on what you have watched and favourited.

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Most popular shows what the masses are enjoying.

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Friends includes recommendations from your mates, with notes saying why they liked it.

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Here's where you add notes, limited to a Twitter-friendly 140 characters.

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Programmes can be shared to Facebook.

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Your favourites are stored in a drop-down section at the top of the page. This section tells you when new episodes are available, and reminds you if any episodes are expiring shortly.

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You can also search by category and genre.

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This is the streamlined pop-out player.

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Here you're watching live in your browser.

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The bit rate adapts to your connection, dropping from the highest quality 1,500Kbps and back again as necessary.

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The iPlayer Desktop app also allows you to watch live. If you want to download a series, the app will automatically download new episodes when they become available. You can even schedule overnight downloads to avoid tying up your Web connection.

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Windows Live instant messaging will be integrated into iPlayer, so you can chat with friends about the programmes you're watching, including syncing up to the same show. Other IM services are set to be added over time.

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iPlayer will link out to other on-demand services.

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Search iPlayer for any telly you've missed, and iPlayer will show you a direct link to the programmes from other channels.

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iPlayer has seen a steady rise in popularity. The grey bit is radio and the pink is TV.

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The BBC reckon on-demand video is set to skyrocket, watched from various sources. On that subject, an iPad app should be ready for the Apple tablet's launch on Friday. Are you ready to chuck out your television? Thoughts in the comments please, telly fans.