The BBC is doing whatever it takes to get iPlayer on every connected device you own. It has created the TV Application Layer (TAL), which uses the latest web technologies, like HTML5, to do as much of the heavy lifting as possible for would-be hardware makers. The TAL provides a layer of abstraction that takes care of any difference in devices capabilities or controls, so that software built using it will continue to run on anything added to the BBC’s certified list without the need for a new version.
With different screen sizes and capabilities being launched all the time, it takes a lot of work to keep applications up to date and working properly. The TAL will take the hard work out of BBC app development and ensure that the best experience is had by any user.
More interestingly, the BBC hgas taken an odd step in releasing the code out into the big wide world as open-source. Their hope is that indie developers will add to it and develop it further – kind of like the XBMC project.
Source: [BBC]
