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PS3 iPlayer crack launched
14-04-2008
by Emmet Ryan

Owners of Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) can now enjoy access to the BBC iPlayer the same way Nintendo Wii users can thanks to a new crack that has been developed.

The unofficial version of the video streaming player saw developers create a workaround portal so PS3 owners could access the iPlayer. The hack allows gamers to stream BBC content directly to their TVs via the games console.

PS3 owners can access the service at http://ps3iplayer.com and the developers claim they created the workaround in part to show how easy it is to get the iPlayer, which launched in December, to work on the Sony device.

The BBC has yet to create an official version of the iPlayer for the PS3 or Microsoft's Xbox 360 but last week the broadcaster named the Wii as the first console to officially gain access to the service. The broadcaster claims that the problem isn't on their end and that the trouble lies with Sony and Microsoft as the two firms have expressed concerns over the way in which content streamed to the devices is controlled.

Meanwhile, video streaming fans in Indonesia have a more legitimate cause for celebration than PS3 users. While the crack of the Sony device is unofficial, the Indonesian government has formally declared an end to its ban on YouTube.

The video sharing site was knocked offline last week by the Asian state after a film by Dutch politician Geert Wilders, which was deemed to be anti-Islam in nature, was made available on the site. Several other websites where the video was hosted were affected, including social network MySpace.

Wilders' film, entitled Fitna, contained scenes from 9/11, speeches by Islamic extremists, and cartoons of Prophet Mohammed. The ban followed a similar block in Pakistan last month which was blamed for a two hour near-global outage of YouTube. The Indonesian government was essentially forced into lifting its ban as a result of protests from frequent users of these sites. As it now stands, only pages where the banned film can be found will remain blocked, meaning that YouTube users in Indonesia can access other videos on the site.

These two events follow on from significant moves by MySpace and Blockbuster on the streaming front on Friday, making it all in all a good few days for fans of online video.