Rise of iPlayer

the shadow · 24 Nov 2008 at 09:07

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article5213521.ece

jas72 · 24 Nov 2008 at 09:10

can't get it outside the UK

But then again I don't pay any licence to watch either

V4NT0M · 24 Nov 2008 at 09:20

/me joins that facebook group

Not that it means anything, I find it amusing that many news stories now contain the words "facebook group =/

nin9abadga · 24 Nov 2008 at 09:43

whilst iPlayer may be pretty good, it annoys me that the stuff on there isn't on for a longer time. i listen to a lot of radio 4 and 7 comedy and drama stuff, i used to be able to go on to the listen again feature and listen to a whole series or a number of episodes, now it's limited to the latest 1 only meaning if I discover a gem i can only ever listen to that 1.

Participant · 24 Nov 2008 at 09:47

nin9abadga said:
whilst iPlayer may be pretty good, it annoys me that the stuff on there isn't on for a longer time. i listen to a lot of radio 4 and 7 comedy and drama stuff, i used to be able to go on to the listen again feature and listen to a whole series or a number of episodes, now it's limited to the latest 1 only meaning if I discover a gem i can only ever listen to that 1.

Do you have a sound card with a "record what you hear" feature, e.g. X-Fi? If so, that may help you to keep the content for longer. Not sure on the legalities of that but it's a possibility. As long as your speakers can play it, you can record it.

Jez · 24 Nov 2008 at 09:51

How people can realistically consider i-player as an alternative to live TV is beyond me. The quality on streamed stuff is fairly terrible beyond a quick catch up windowed in the office, and the downloads take so long through the terrible p2p system that they are not instantly watchable.

I'll stick with Sky and a huge HDD for the time being until something better with true on demand comes along.

nin9abadga · 24 Nov 2008 at 09:53

Robbie G said:
Do you have a sound card with a "record what you hear" feature, e.g. X-Fi? If so, that may help you to keep the content for longer. Not sure on the legalities of that but it's a possibility. As long as your speakers can play it, you can record it.

i don't have that capability unfortunately, i've resorted to scouring the internet for illegitimate sources - works for some but really hit and miss for most of the others

steve-h · 24 Nov 2008 at 09:59

who wants to watch tv on a laptop... seriously

its ok for catching up on stuff... but its hardly a replacement for a tv

Participant · 24 Nov 2008 at 10:02

Jez said:
How people can realistically consider i-player as an alternative to live TV is beyond me. The quality on streamed stuff is fairly terrible beyond a quick catch up windowed in the office, and the downloads take so long through the terrible p2p system that they are not instantly watchable.

Quality seems fine to me if you use the hi-q option, and the speeds are excellent in my experience. It maxes out my download so I can't really complain.

nin9abadga said:
i don't have that capability unfortunately, i've resorted to scouring the internet for illegitimate sources - works for some but really hit and miss for most of the others

If you connect a cable from your sound card's line out to your hi-fi you should be able to record it that way.

Jez · 24 Nov 2008 at 10:05

Robbie G said:
Quality seems fine to me if you use the hi-q option, and the speeds are excellent in my experience. It maxes out my download so I can't really complain.

Our opinions on fine clearly differ then, it is "fine" if we are talking catching up on a programme on the computer screen, but display it on anything bigger than your average plasma telly and it isnt there...yet.

The download side of it i have never had much success with, once they are down there are OK, but it seems to take an age

MookJong · 24 Nov 2008 at 10:08

I have my TV hooked up to my PC as a clone monoitor and on iPlayers High Quality setting programs are totally watchable on a 32" screen.

Use it frequently

Kitchster_uk · 24 Nov 2008 at 10:12

Great, i fancy listening to adverts on the radio during my commute and watching them every 15 mins, taking up decent program time. It is worth the 140 notes not to be subjected to ad after ad. On commercial channels, i mostly sky plus stuff so i can scroll past the ad's at 30x speed so as not to waste my time.

Edinho · 24 Nov 2008 at 10:16

Jez said:
How people can realistically consider i-player as an alternative to live TV is beyond me. The quality on streamed stuff is fairly terrible beyond a quick catch up windowed in the office, and the downloads take so long through the terrible p2p system that they are not instantly watchable.

I'll stick with Sky and a huge HDD for the time being until something better with true on demand comes along.

I can stream mine through the TV. Quality it up with divx, & xvid. Its not HD and I would say its of a superior quaility to most freeview streams. As for the p2p I can download all programs at full whack :confused:

Jez · 24 Nov 2008 at 10:18

Edinho said:
I can stream mine through the TV. Quality it up with divx, & xvid. Its not HD and I would say its of a superior quaility to most freeview streams. As for the p2p I can download all programs at full whack

Perhaps the download side of things is an issue with my ISP rather than the service

Antar Bolaeisk · 24 Nov 2008 at 10:29

I think it using Kontiki for the p2p sharing like Sky Player does. Unfortunately this program is very liberal with the use of both upload speeds and memory usage. I find I have to turn off everything Kontiki related when not using Sky Player.

daz · 24 Nov 2008 at 10:45

I think you'll eventually have to register to use iPlayer, give your name and address and licence number, and you'll have to register a IP to use with the service (max of 3 IPs allowed to be registered at any one time).

Glaucus · 24 Nov 2008 at 10:52

jas72 said:
can't get it outside the UK

But then again I don't pay any licence to watch either

Nit hard to get around though. lots of programs offering ip masks.

russ0r · 24 Nov 2008 at 10:54

nin9abadga said:
i don't have that capability unfortunately, i've resorted to scouring the internet for illegitimate sources - works for some but really hit and miss for most of the others

Audacity will do this for you. It takes a bit of setting up but it's 100% free.

[DOD]Asprilla · 24 Nov 2008 at 11:14

Antar Bolaeisk said:
I think it using Kontiki for the p2p sharing like Sky Player does.

It does indeed.

The Beeb is trying to make more programmes available including whole back catalogues via the Kangaroo project with ITV & C4, but unfortunately this has been refered to the Competition Commission. AFAIK the front end is ready for realease and most of the rights management / payaways piece is finished, it's just a case of waiting for the CC judgement.

Raymond Lin · 24 Nov 2008 at 11:24

daz said:
I think you'll eventually have to register to use iPlayer, give your name and address and licence number, and you'll have to register a IP to use with the service (max of 3 IPs allowed to be registered at any one time).

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, don't tell them that

I do have a TV licence