Congratulations! You’ve almost made it to the end of semester one. The essays are submitted, the exams are done (or nearly done), and it is officially time to relax. While we usually encourage you to use the Library for research, this Christmas we are encouraging you to use one of our best resources, and a bit of a hidden gem, for something else entirely: pure entertainment.

Meet your new best friend: BoB

If you haven’t used Box of Broadcasts (BoB) yet, you are in for a treat. BoB is an on-demand TV and radio service for education. It allows you to record programmes from over 75 free-to-air channels, but the real magic lies in the archive.

BoB gives you access to over 2 million broadcasts recorded by other students and staff across the UK. This includes rare and hard to find films, obscure documentaries, and TV shows from the last 20 years (some even further back!) that you simply cannot find on iPlayer, Netflix, or other streaming and catch-up services.

It is an incredible resource for your studies, offering news archives, documentaries, and films but it’s also perfect at times like these for switching off and taking a break from university.

Our gift to you: the Christmas collections

To help you get into the festive spirit, we have dived into the archives and created special playlists just for you. Whether you want a feel-good classic or a spooky winter’s tale, we’ve got you covered:

• Christmas Classics: From black-and-white golden era movies to more modern family favourites, and a lot in between. This list also includes all 6 episodes from the BBC’s classic The Box of Delights (which is currently not available on BBC iPlayer).
• Ghost Stories for Christmas: The long, cold winter nights are perfect for sharing spooky tales. So here are just some that we want to share with you, including many M.R. James classics. Some scarily good viewing!
• A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol may be the most famous of ghost stories for Christmas and this list allows you to explore some of the well known, and not so well known, adaptations. Watch them all and pick your favourite Scrooge!
• Christmas specials: A selection of Christmas TV specials from years gone by. Some comfort TV to watch while you drink hot chocolate (or your favourite warming drink).
• Animated Christmas Films: From The Snowman to Mog’s Christmas via The Nightmare Before Christmas, some animated Christmas classics for you to enjoy.

Start watching

Simply click on the playlist you want to watch above and log in with your university credentials*. Or go straight to BoB, once logged in* you can search for our playlists and others, search for your favourite TV programmes or films, or start creating your own playlists and share with friends.

Box of Broadcasts (BoB)
[*The first time you log in to BoB with your university username and password, you will be asked to provide your university email address. You will not be asked to do this again. BoB is only available to current students and staff at University of Edinburgh or students and staff at other HEIs that also have access to BoB.]

Happy viewing and have a restful break!

Note: Unfortunately due to copyright and licensing Box of Broadcasts (BoB) is only available to those in the UK. If you are overseas you might still be able to get access by using the University’s VPN but this isn’t guaranteed.