James R | On 05, Nov 2014

The BFI has unveiled a new version of BFI Player, complete with a new back catalogue of Universal Pictures titles.

The video on-demand service, which launched in the UK last year, swiftly established itself as a go-to destination for independent and specialised films, as well as valuable resource of British film heritage. Where else could UK viewers find an online, free-to-view catalogue of archive Edwardian footage, including Burnley vs Manchester United from 1902?

Now, 12 months later, the site has been given a dramatic make-over in almost every respect.

On the surface, the VOD platform has been given a radical transformation. Working with leading digital product design consultancy Ostmodern and Ooyala, the new responsive layout and picture-driven interface (based on feedback from BFI Player customers) makes it easier to browse the collections.

Picture quality is a priority too: 70 per cent of the paid content has been captured in high definition, with many of the movies and content on BFI Player lovingly restored to return the classics to their former glory.

There’s even a sexy new logo:

The BFI has not skimped on the content revamp either. A new back catalogue of movies from Universal Pictures has joined the streaming line-up, from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial to the Back To The Future film series.

Indeed, the re-launch is timed to coincide with the BFI’s major new season, Sci-Fi: Days of Fear and Wonder. More than 50 movies have been added to the service to accompany the event, which is running at the BFI Southbank throughout November. For those not in London, viewers can watchalong with titles ranging from Flash Gordon to the recntly restored The Day The Earth Caught Fire.

Sci-Fi on BFI Player is grouped into the three themes that form the backbone of the season: Tomorrow’s World, Altered States, and Contact!

Other collecions remain the same, including Edwardian Britain on Film; Backed By BFI (which contains exactly what you’d expect); BFI London Film Festival Presents (an archive of festival hits and interviews), BFI Flare (LGBT content from the UK’s leading LGBT film festival and a range of queer classics), Cult Cinema (groupies, gangsters and weird and wayward delights of British cinema history); Inside Film (rarities, exclusives, documentaries and special features behind the scenes); and New Chinese Cinema.

Most exciting of all, perhaps, is a new destination for films unavailable on DVD.

Further collections will be rolled out in the coming weeks and months, while, as part of a second wave of features, some of the best-known cinema-goers in the UK and beyond will be invited to programme guest collections drawing on their fandom and passion for film.

Curation is still at the heart of the BFI’s content strategy, which the BFI is emphasising by introducing a new Film of the Day feature, which will highlight a film every day linked with a key topical event, celebration or anniversary.

Edward Humphrey, Director of Digital at the BFI, says the service is all about “joining the dots” for audiences.

“Growing audiences for British independent and specialised films is core to everything the BFI does and we recognise that audiences are seldom offered a real diversity of choice in the on-demand market,” he comments. “The revamped BFI Player continues our path towards a richer, more rewarding digital film experience for UK audiences.”

Equally central to the BFI’s remit is accessibility – not just in terms in streaming, but price. The BFI Player’s strength has always been its range of titles available to stream for free (did we mention the videos from the early 1900s?). That remains the case with BFI Player 2.0, with 60 per cent of the content available for free.

Prices for paid content range from £1 for shorts with features starting at £2.50 and a range of titles released day-and-date with cinemas priced at up to £10. Viewers will have 30 days to watch their purchase and a 48-hour window to re-watch movies once they are first viewed.

BFI Members will have a 15 per cent discount on all rentals, as well as access to exclusive offers. The first of these is a hand-selected film which members can watch for free to celebrate the new BFI Player.

For more information, visit BFI Player at http://player.bfi.org.uk – or read our interview with BFI Director of Digital Edward Humphrey at the service’s launch last year.