iMP (Interactive Media Player; also referred to as Integrated Media Player ) is a computer program being developed by the BBC to replace and extend its existing RealPlayer-based Radio Player and bbc.co.uk#Streaming media. The program, which has been under development since 2003, incorporates a media player, electronic programme guide (EPG) and specially designed download client (computing), and will allow the download of both BBC Television and BBC Radio content by UK-based Internet users, for use up to 7 days after broadcast.

The system will be under a 3-month trial of 5000 broadband users, beginning in September 2005. The technology and infrastructure is being provided by Kontiki, Siemens AG and BBC Broadcast.

=Key features=

One of the key features of iMP is the use of peer-to-peer technology to enable the distribution of large video files (i.e. TV programs) to scale effectively. Once downloaded, the content is only playable within iMP itself, and digital rights management (DRM) software will prevent it being directly copied to another medium (e.g. e-mail or CD-ROM). Additionally, the DRM will cause programmes to expire (i.e. be deleted) 7 days after they were originally broadcast, in the same way that the BBC s existing radio streams become unavailable after that time. This is important to prevent users building up libraries of downloaded content, which would in turn severely limit the amount of content for which the BBC was able to gain appropriate permission from Copyright owners.

The client also offers an electronic programme guide (EPG) with listings for both the previous 7 and next 7 days programmes; selecting a programme which has already been broadcast will begin downloading it immediately, while those not yet shown will be downloaded as soon as they have been. It is also possible to schedule a series to be automatically downloaded when the next episode becomes available. Once downloaded, the client requests a key from the BBC server to unlock the content before playback. As with other TV licence-funded facilities (and to simplify copyright clearance for the content) the service will only be usable within the UK.

Additional features said to be under consideration or development include series stacking , which would allow a viewer to catch up with a series if they missed the first few episodes (as an exception to the 7-day expiry rule), and the ability to transfer programmes to a personal digital assistant or mobile phone to view on the move . This feature allows content to be played a limited number of times before it expires.

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