BBC opens up its archive

UK residents are to get the chance to access the BBC's vast archive of video and audio footage in a six-month trial to begin later this year.

Twenty thousand volunteers will be given a set-top box which is be connected to the internet and will allow viewers to see and hear programs from the dim and distant past.

"It will test what old programmes people really want to see, how they want to see them - full length or clip compilations, and when they want them - in 'lean-forward' exploratory mode similar to web surfing, or as a scheduled experience more akin to TV viewing," said the BBC's Ashley Highfield.

As well as embarking on this fact-finding mission, the BBC has been examining the possibility of introducing an online video-on-demand service that would be in competition with Channel 4's 4oD service. One major consideration, said Highfield, is whether home PCs are the right medium for the content.

"The biggest available audience is sat in front of the television," he said.

You'll need to sign up to the BBC Archive site and be aged 16 or over, be a UK resident and have broadband access at home to be considered for the trial, but demand is expected to be high.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/

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