Channel 4’s ‘revolutionary’ VoD service: not quite showtime.
So, Channel 4 has beaten the BBC to the first UK-based ‘full’ Video-On-Demand service, which even uses crafty tech like peer-to-peer file sharing to push the infrastructure costs out to the punters and their poor ISPs. But respect — the legals on content must have been a killer to negotiate. We thought we’d give it a bit of a test-drive.
Visit the website, click the install link, computer says no, as the installer thinks my PC doesn’t meet the requirements:
- Windows XP
- A broadband internet connection (well, d’oh)
- Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher
- Windows Media Player 10
- Macromedia Flash 9
- Microsoft.net Framework 2.0
Well, lucky I wasn’t expecting to watch Big Brother on my Mac…
Anyway, I do have all that software, I just choose to not use Internet Explorer unless coerced. So, quit out of Firefox, start up Internet Explorer 7, click the link to install. Nice pop-up saying ‘Error reading initialization [sic] file’ (what — Channel 4 couldn’t find British programmers to write this thing?), of which nothing in their FAQs. Life’s too short, people.
Looks like others are having problems too. Oops. Nothing here to see, early adopters, move on.
Bored now. In the interim, we suggest spending some quality time with the open-source Democracy player: you can probably find everything you want from 4OD on BitTorrent anyway. Not that that’s legal.
![[Image relating to the story Christmas at Number 42]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2650/4194806474_aa3bfc8c85.jpg)
![[Image relating to the story Introducing <em>Fire & Knives </em>]](http://www.bigshinything.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Front_coverpage1.jpeg)
![[Image relating to the story BigShinyThing recommends… Regretsy]](http://www.bigshinything.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/kittenhead.jpg)
![[Image relating to the story Face On]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2467/3616836686_143db79999.jpg?v=0)
Great concept. Awful, awful, software. Eye-openingly bad. Don’t go near it. Don’t know who they contracted for this, but they got screwed.
Do C4 not realise they’re competing with people using well written client software, and efficient index sites to download their stuff for free? I like you C4, so wake up! Hire some BitTorrent hackers if you know what’s good for you…
To add insult to injury: I couldn’t uninstall the software! Every time I load my PC it starts running it’s p2p program (which you can’t kill just be “closing” the 4oD icon). It doesn’t matter who you log in as, it’s always there in the background, sucking bandwidth. You can get it through task manager, it’s called “KService.exe”. It really slows down my PC and there are no throttle or disable controls. It’s MALWARE by almost any definition.
Further, despite the promise to respond within 24 hours, they have so far only suggested rebooting since I reported the problem (like I hadn’t tried that). I supplied a detailed error message, four days ago.
Stay away!
looks like you aren’t the only one — there’s a thing called kclean that ’should’ do it (according to C4: i’m not speaking from personal experience as i didn’t actually bother installing 4OD after all the hassle) — otherwise did you try hunting it down what starts that service in the registry?)
It’s almost as badly designed as the Channel4Radio web site, which is equally shocking. Did C4 do ANY usability testing?
I uninstalled it after finding that it couldn’t work offline – so much for downloading content onto my laptop to watch on the train. What a joke.
Meanwhile, I don’t have a problem with KService… I do have a problem with C4 not explicitly making people aware what it does, and how it will continue to use bandwidth even when the 4ODF service is shutdown. Personally, I think this is on a par with the premium telephone call scandal that has besieged C4 – using bandwidth all the time with explicitly seeking permission from the users (and I don’t mean hidden away in fine print).
Mine just crashed!
The bandwidth issue aside, I find the whole thing slightly ironic. The (also horribly designed) website has step-by-step instructions on installing the software, as if to appeal to a wide demographic, with the internet novices included. Yet I also had the same problems installing, and after all that frustration, more problems actually using the program… Usability sits about 0, not to mention that it looks awful, amateurish in the worst way possible. And so, I don’t understand how any novice could fare well with this – apart from a high dose of luck and the good will of the gods.
Don’t even get me started on being forced to use windows media player. They couldn’t be bothered to showcase there own, equally horrible piece of programming? …oh wait, they did
Such a disappointment. Why, C4, why???
I kinda like it.
If you wanted to watch it offline and using any software other than Media Player, you would have to find out where the video files are downloaded to and how to remove the Digital Rights Management (DRM) on them. Probably using google or something to start with…
Hypothetically….
Installed 4oD a couple of days ago,was working perfectly,now my computer’s kinda sluggish and 4oD won’t even open when I click the link!Re-installing doesn’t help either. Predictably, khost.exe is still running in task manager.
if the badnwidth usage on 4od is getting you down. stop windows from starting Kservice on start and you’ll be good.
when you then want to use 4od, services.msc in Run, and enable it again
also http://www.channel4.com/watch_online (or /catchup) lets you watch progs. without 4od
This solved all prblems for me
1. Uninstall Iplayer Download Manager and/or 4OD using Add/Remove programs.
2. Uninstall Kontiki by running KClean.exe http://static.sky.com/kclean/KClean.exe.
3. Then delete the remnants of the Kontiki folder in Program Files if it’s still there.
4. Check the Services list again. KService should no longer be present.
5. Reinstall Download Manager and/or 4OD.
6. Check Services list. KService should now be present and “Started”.
7. Both programs should now work!
Windows should be banned.
Macs all the way
HOW AM I MEANT TO WATCH SKINS CATCH UP? It’s the only delight I watch on TV. Give us a break, make 4OD for flipping Mac.