BBC iplayer, has it had its day.

GAC · 3 Jun 2022 at 08:03

simple one this, is iplayer dead in the water and the bbc have just given up on ever trying to up the quality ?

i know they are testing 4k, and have been for years now but the iplayer itself is still only pumping out glorious 720p, to me it seems they still only want people viewing things on the tv and nothing else in 4k, or even 1080.

even checking out BBC news on youtube it seems 1080/24 is king, apart from the 720/50 stuff Oo

so as a platform is it dead in the water as far as development now.

Kainz · 3 Jun 2022 at 08:46

I get a triple migraine trying to use the damn thing on any platform. It makes the YouTube UI look good. Haven't used it for a good year though, but the missus still uses it for EE, even she hates it for image quality on a large screen.

BUDFORCE · 3 Jun 2022 at 08:56

Never watched it.

Keep begging the Mrs to stop paying her TV licence as well, as we basically never watch live TV either.

I hear the BBC are closing services (CBBC etc) so it's becoming even worse value for money.

azazl187 · 3 Jun 2022 at 08:57

I'm not sure it's ever had its day tbh

bm_999 · 3 Jun 2022 at 09:22

"do you have a license", yes loll

dont some of the other channels have 4k content on their streaming services

Bluecube · 3 Jun 2022 at 10:36

I use iPlayer all the time. Can’t say I’ve ever had any issues navigating it or using it in general. It’s certainly easier to use than Amazon or Disney+. Not had any issues with the quality either. In fact I’m surprised to hear the streaming is 720p! I do have High Quality ticked in the options so maybe that makes a difference.

barmyllama · 3 Jun 2022 at 12:50

TV licence for me represents absolutely the worst value for money of anything I spend money on.

I currently pay less for Disney and Prime combined than a TV licence, per year, to literally watch nothing.

It's only my wife that can't see the pointlessness of having one. Even though she barely watches anything on the BBC or any other live TV programs.

Same with Sky.

If you deduct £30 a month from the £57 we pay currently, to cover the internet. That's £27 for Sky channels and Netflix. I don't watch anything on those Sky channels or watch anything they have on their streaming service. I don't even record anything either, so the box is useless too. The fact that they have adverts on any of their premium channels feels like being shafted twice over.

Glanza · 3 Jun 2022 at 12:53

It's fine when using the web version but the app is still fair from perfect.

Stumble Bum · 3 Jun 2022 at 13:03

The BBC have to make cost savings on iPlayer so that they can keep funding all of their inclusion and diversity committees.

gpuerrilla · 3 Jun 2022 at 13:25

Originally it was great. They should probably sell the name over to Apple now, cash in and admit a new model without a license fee might enable them to survive.

MagicBoy · 3 Jun 2022 at 13:28

I reject the premise of the thread. There's no 4k source material from the BBC so why would they add it as an option when it's not needed?

arknor · 3 Jun 2022 at 16:01

azazl187 said:
I'm not sure it's ever had its day tbh

wasnt it one of the very first video streaming platforms from a tv channel and prett good at the start content wise

Stu999 · 3 Jun 2022 at 16:41

Works perfectly fine for my uses. There’s some slight clunkiness to the interface but no worse than other services or my TV’s OS.

I don’t notice the resolution difference if it is only 720p. Some services like Sky / Now TV charge you for HD.

CaptainRAVE · 3 Jun 2022 at 16:42

The entire BBC has had its day.

GAC · 3 Jun 2022 at 17:01

Stu999 said:
Works perfectly fine for my uses. There’s some slight clunkiness to the interface but no worse than other services or my TV’s OS.

I don’t notice the resolution difference if it is only 720p. Some services like Sky / Now TV charge you for HD.

the bbc could have a yearly charge for that, they are missing a trick it seems.

Malevolence · 3 Jun 2022 at 17:10

They have the entirety of the BBC's archive and back catalogue at their disposal, yet 99% of it isn't available.

robfosters · 3 Jun 2022 at 17:23

Your TV helps the PQ a lot. Newer TV’s like OLED’s and QLED’s usually have excellent 4k upscaling abilities. I watch masterchef on iPlayer and the quality is fantastic. The sharpness and colour really pop.

GAC · 3 Jun 2022 at 17:29

robfosters said:
Your TV helps the PQ a lot. Newer TV’s like OLED’s and QLED’s usually have excellent 4k upscaling abilities. I watch masterchef on iPlayer and the quality is fantastic. The sharpness and colour really pop.

the thing is im not sure exactly what iplayer on tv outputs, im talking purely on the website.

as for the archives who knows why they dont throw it all up, could be paranoia on bandwidth costs or something else. with how the bbc is run they probably have someone burning dvd's in a little cupboard under the stairs to sell on ebay.

barmyllama · 3 Jun 2022 at 17:30

MagicBoy said:
I reject the premise of the thread. There's no 4k source material from the BBC so why would they add it as an option when it's not needed?

Some of the recent David Attenborough shows have been in 4k HDR. There have also been some sporting events in 4k HDR. I assume you need a TV that supports the HLG form of HDR to watch it though.

TheVoice · 3 Jun 2022 at 17:30

1080p streaming has been available for ages:

Devices which support 1080p streaming | iPlayer help

We're excited to be able to bring 1080p streams to some supported TV devices. This is available for both live and on-demand streams on the devices listed below.

www.bbc.co.uk

MagicBoy said:
I reject the premise of the thread. There's no 4k source material from the BBC so why would they add it as an option when it's not needed?

There are several programmes on iPlayer available in UHD, mostly nature documentaries and some newer drama series.

I read somewhere recently they're planning to speak to OFCOM about being able to provide more existing BBC content on iPlayer and keep it on there for longer.