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Posted on April 22nd, 2009 by Barry Collins
New BBC iPlayer: good news for PC and Xbox 360 owners
The BBC has once again overhauled the iPlayer, with the new service far outrstripping the derisory first effort that was launched back in September 2007. The big additions are a new desktop download client and HD streaming/downloads – we’ll be bringing you a full review later in the week. However, a new feature that’s slipped under the radar is potentially the most useful for PC owners: direct WMV downloads.
If you go to any show on the iPlayer menu, you’ll now find an option called More Downloads, under which there’s an option called Windows Media Player. This basically bypasses the new Adobe AIR-based desktop client and downloads the programme directly as a .WMV file.
This means you don’t have to faff about installing the client software (which is annoyingly set to launch on start-up and report home to the BBC on your viewing habits by default), you can just play the files straight from Windows Media Player or Media Center. However, the real boon is that it makes watching the iPlayer on Media Center Extender devices such as the Xbox 360 a cinch.
Although the old iPlayer worked flawlessly with a select few MCE devices, trying to watch files on the Xbox 360 required a byzantine set of hacks to bypass the digital rights management. Now, all you need do is download the WMV files on a PC on your home network and the Xbox 360 plays them flawlessly.
The picture isn’t quite broadcast quality, and we noticed the odd bit of juddering in our brief tests last night, but it means that Xbox 360 owners are now on a level footing with PlayStation 3 and Wii devotees, who’ve had iPlayer streaming for some time.
Tags: BBC iPlayer, Media Center Extender, Xbox 360
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4 Responses to “ New BBC iPlayer: good news for PC and Xbox 360 owners ”
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April 22nd, 2009 at 2:52 pm
The More Downloads button does not show up in Google Chrome/Iron.
Chris
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:02 pm
All good but the HD download content cant play on the 360. (protected mp4 file) the mp4 BBC HD introduction is the only HD thing that plays.
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:44 pm
In my opinion it is rubbish. Downloads used to take about 10 minutes at the most, they now take 3 to 4 hours. Also it is set to go into standby after about 15 minutes which is about half way through the standard programme. Good tip on the WMV i shall try this in future.
April 24th, 2009 at 1:57 am
I think the new feature has slipped under the radar because it’s being provided out of necessity, not because the BBC is particularly keen to continue supporting it. The BBC blog announcement concedes that there are already too many people using iPlayer with MCE to withdraw support for Windows Media. Also, the iPlayer website states that “the BBC iPlayer Desktop is not accessible to screenreaders and subtitling so we are also adding the Windows Media Player download as an accessible option.” Until that’s fixed, Windows Media would have to stay anyway.
I wouldn’t say that the feature is completely new. The old Kontiki-based iPlayer software used a combination of direct download and P2P. Now the P2P aspect has gone, we’re left with the same WMV files and licencing server, but with our web browsers performing a direct download. The continued support of older versions of the Microsoft Individualized Blackbox means that it’s still simple for anyone to remove the DRM. This isn’t going to be a problem suffered by the new Adobe AIR iPlayer. iPlayer files are transitory, so changing the DRM code will be easy. You don’t risk making someone’s entire collection of DRM protected media files unusable by insisting on a system-wide change.
Barry, I assume you’re using Internet Explorer. With Internet Explorer, the DRM ActiveX component is used to acquire the license at the same time you download the file. When I use Firefox, I only acquire a license once I attempt to start the file in Windows Media Player.
Holly, I’ve noticed this too, although I found that it’s highly dependant on the time of day. Because they’re direct downloads, you can use a regular download manager. By using a download manager that is able to make multiple connections when fetching a single file, you may be able to dramatically increase your download rate. With the WMV files, it’s easy; you’re starting the download from the link in a browser window. If you have a download manager that is a browser add-on, you should be able to start it off the same as for any other link.
It’s also possible to do the same thing with the new Adobe AIR iPlayer. That’s slightly questionable, but I see no problem downloading the WMV files that way. They are standard links and multiple-connection download managers are standard software.