| 4oD - 4 on Demand |
Launched in November 2006, 4oD stands for "4 on Demand", an Internet Television service which allows some internet, Virgin Media, TalkTalk TV and BT Vision users to view programming recently shown on Channel 4, E4 or More4, or from their archives.
4oD also includes a selection of films and content from the National Geographic Channel and FX (UK).
The cable version is operated through an appropriate set top box whilst the Internet variant requires the installation of a free piece of software, which allows users to download the programmes to a computer for viewing.
As of April 2009, the Internet version is fully available to Windows, Mac and Linux users so long as Adobe Flash Player is installed. The "Catch-up" service offers content free of charge for both streaming and downloaded versions of a programme for thirty days after its broadcast on Channel 4.
Some content is available free of charge, whilst most other programmes and films, including archive programming, is charged for on a per-download basis, typically around 99p per standard programme or £1.99 per film.
Video can be viewed multiple times, for up to forty-eight hours after the first time it was played, or for a month until played.
The video on the internet service is advertised as being 'DVD quality' (videos are all H.264 MP4 format), and estimates download time to be around twice the programme length on an average broadband connection, though speeds vary dramatically dependent on ISP, connection speed and other factors, and may be less or more than this.
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At this time, not all content is available to Irish users, due to licensing restrictions, however the majority of the programming is available.
A Download to Own (DTO) or "Buy" feature was once available on selected content, allowing users to purchase a programme and keep it for as long as they wish. This service has now been suspended alongside the application to power it, in favour of further investment into their online cross platform catchup service powered by Adobe Flash 10. |
| NOTE: UK only IP restrictions apply to all VOD services on 4OD. |
| See the 4OD website. |
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| Minimum recommended computer specification |
The video quality experienced by users on their computers will be depend on many factors, including internet connection speed and quality as well as PC specification and configuration. It is possible that some users with older or lower specification computers may experience some difficulty playing video content.
4oDs minimum recommendation (although it may well be possible for users with lower specification machines to watch video) is:
A 1Mb Internet broadband connection is recommended.
The viewing experience is also likely to be improved on machines with higher specification integrated or dedicated graphics processing units.'
There seem to be some reports that 4oD can be viewed using Linux, apparently you can watch online using Firefox with flash installed, though you can not download the programmes for watching later, as you can with Windows.
There are no specifications listed for Linux at the 4oD website.
Windows recommended Minimum: Pentium 4 2GHZ or equivalent, 1GB RAM, iOS recommended Minimum: Intel Core Duo 1.66GHz or equivalent, 1GB of RAM.
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| Subtitles |
| Subtitles are available for certain 4oD content. If subtitles are available an "S" button will be visible in the video player. Click on the "S" and the subtitles will load and be displayed. Not all of the content will have subtitles. And subtitles may become available at a later date after the programme has been available. |
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| PIN Protected Content |
Channel4.com provides access to content reflecting the broad range of Channel 4's programmes which may be unsuitable for younger viewers.
In order to help you control access to the content on Channel4.com from your computer, they have provided a PIN (Personal Identification Number) system.
This will enable you to set a PIN to prevent anyone viewing the content you choose to restrict access to. You may find this helpful to ensure children and younger viewers in your household can only view content that is appropriate for them. |
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| DRM |
| DRM stands for Digital Rights Management, which is a software system used to administer and protect the licences of video, music and other assets in a digital environment. 4oD uses Adobe's RTMP-E solution to prevent unauthorised access to Channel 4 programmes. |
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| TV Platforms |
| BT Vision |
| 4oD is available on BT Vision, offering programmes for 7 days after broadcast without access to the 4oD archive. |
| Freesat |
| 4oD was due to launch on Freesat before Christmas 2012 as part of Freesat's second generation Free Time guide, however it has been delayed until early 2013. |
| Sky |
| 4oD was added to Sky's On Demand service on 18 March 2013. |
| Televisions & Blu-ray players |
| A 4oD app for the Samsung Smart TV service is due to be released in 2013. |
| Talk Talk |
| 4oD is available on TalkTalk TV, which offers programmes up to 7 days after broadcast. TalkTalk TV does not offer the back catalogue of programmes. |
| YouView |
| 4oD is available on YouView. The 4oD app contains options to resume watching recent programmes and browse by most popular, categories, collections and A-to-Z. |
| Virgin Media |
| 4oD is available on Virgin Media's cable television service. This platform offers programmes for 7 days after broadcast and Virgin has exclusive use of most of Channel 4 archive which is free on XL package. In 2007, Virgin Media announced plans to offer high definition programming through 4oD but as of 2012 no further information has been released. |
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| Game Consoles |
| Playstation 3 |
| 4oD was released on 14 December 2010 on PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network. 4oD on PS3 is free and ad-funded with pre-, mid- and post- roll video ads being sold and served by Channel 4. This service is a 14 day catch-up version of 4oD it is accessible through ps3.channel4.com. |
| Xbox 360 |
| On 5 October 2011, it was announced that 4oD would be made available Xbox Live Gold members. The service also integrates with the Xbox 360’s Kinect controller. 4oD was added to the Xbox Live on 21 December 2011. All content on Xbox Live contains ad's which cannot be skipped. |
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| Mobile Devices |
| Android |
| A 4oD app for the Android operating system was released on 5 February 2013. However the app is missing a number of previously promised features such as the ability to watch TV live channels or view content offline, in addition it's limited to Wi-Fi connections and doesn't support rooted devices. |
| Apple iOS |
A 4oD iPad app launched on 3 May 2011, the app offers a 30-day catch-up service. The current requirements to run this app is a compatible with iPad with iOS 3.2 or later.
A 4oD app for the iPhone and iPod Touch allowing a 30-day catch-up was released on 2 September 2011, along with an update to the iPad app.
Both apps now feature improved search functionality to enable users to more easily navigate the catch-up and archive content. They can both be browsed in 3G, but video playback is still only available with a Wi-Fi signal to "ensure the quality of the viewing experience isn't affected". The apps also feature a link to Channel 4's content on iTunes, offering the chance to purchase shows. |
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| Computer platforms |
On 17 December 2012, Channel 4 and Microsoft release a dedicated 4oD application for Windows 8. The move saw Channel 4 become the first major UK broadcaster to support the operating system with a native app.
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