Download Iplayer Files [BETTER]
Perry Barillari
So recently BBC iPlayer started allowing you to download content from the website to watch offline using a desktop program. I tried using it to get some episodes of a show I like, but the episodes came out as garbled up files that can only be played through the iPlayer program.
there is no web ui for this image, you simply define the shows you want via the env var value for key "SHOWS" with a comma to seperate the list and get-iplayer then monitors and downloads any matching shows.
you dont need to putty in, all you need to do is edit the container and define the shows you want to download by setting the value for env var "SHOWS" (comma separated) get_iplayer is run for you inside the container and will search and download any shows that match the values.
NOTE: Unless you opt to change the default value, the installer sets the location for recorded programmes to iPlayer Recordings on the Windows desktop of the administrator user who ran the installer. If you have multiple users running get_iplayer on one Windows PC, the other users will need to configure their own output folders with the CLI:
With version 2.95, the Windows installer no longer lets you specify an output folder.
The default is still %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\iPlayer Recordings, but the installer has been changed to properly handle multi-user systems, so the active user's desktop is always used.
In order to change the output directory permanently, you still use get_iplayer --prefs-add --output "" as in seagull's original answer.
TVJohn is incorrect - the --prefs-add option works just fine on all platforms, including Windows.
Also, the options file in C:\ProgramData\get_iplayer has been removed and should not be re-created.
Updated information for get_iplayer on Windows can be found here.
Hi Chris - I recently installed the Adobe air beta. Following this, all of my saved programs were deleted and my bbc iplayer has stopped working. I have deleted all files (flash, adobe, air etc) and re-installed but none of the iplayer buttons respond - the iplayer constantly shows as offline, and clicking on "preferences" etc does nothing. I am on a macbook air and osx 10.7.3. Any suggestions?
I second that. Stopped working for me too. The files are till there, apparently, since iPlayer Desktop shows correct file usage statistics, but nothing is listed in iPlayer available list. The system is a MacMini of 2010 vintage, still on OSX Snow Leopard.
Tried renaming the preferenced folder for iplayer as you've previously suggested (found it in C:\Documents and Settings\USER NAME\Application Data). All this did was when iplayer opens, it displays the No prgrammes available welcome screen, but I still can't download any programmes!!
Many thanks, this worked for me (I just moved the folder to a different location). Had previously unsuccessfully tried deleting/renaming the iplayer preferenced folder, but your suggested worked a treat!
like others here i have problems with the AIR update and my bbc iplayer. it was working fine until i was obliged to download the update a few days ago. now all my archived programmes refuse to play. i get a message 'there was a problem with the download' then the 'archived file' disappears! even files that were successfuly downloaded before the AIR update are meeting the same fate. also now i cannot download any programs from the iplayer website. the download starts, then pauses, then a message appears saying there is a problem with the download and the programme disappears from the player window.
A word of warning. You are NOT permitted under BBC licence terms to keep your download for longer than the programme appears on the iPlayer. Even get_iPlayer will remind you of this if you keep files for too long.
One other thing to bear in mind is that although the BBC turns a blind eye to get_iplayer usage, it is not in any way supported and is always susceptible to unexpected changes in the way the BBC streams its content. In other words, reliability is in no way guaranteed or even expected!
The BBC discontinued the RSS feed for iPlayer TV content in October 2014.[44] This stopped some third-party tools such as the get_iplayer[45] content downloader from working.[46] In March 2016, an unofficial site restored access to this information.[47][48][49]
One of the key features of the original iPlayer download service was the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) technology to enable the distribution of large video files (i.e. TV programmes) to scale effectively. Once downloaded, the content was only playable within the iPlayer itself or Windows Media Player 10 or 11, and subject to digital rights management.
Non-iPhone users were found to be watching and downloading streams intended for iPhone users allowing them to play them on alternative devices. The BBC modified the iPlayer service on 13 March 2008 to prevent this.[158]Through the month of June 2008, further methods were discovered by iPlayer users to watch and download streams intended for iPhones. A Ruby[159]hole was followed by the BBC introducing XOR encryption on parts of the downloaded files if a genuine iPhone was not detected.
Using iPlayer WWW on Kodi with ExpressVPN and Zomboided VPN app. it will not work with any of the UK VPN IP addresses. However, I can get the iplayer working on my PC using ExpressVPN, so not sure what is stopping it from working on kodi.
I did notice the IP addresses assigned are different.
Any ideas?
When I try to play something on iPlayer WWW I receive the error about not working outside of the UK.
pjb...@msn.com
Hi interesting stuff.I live in uk and use iplayerwww .If however i install ipvanish can i download programs from the iplayer or bbc iplayer for keeps?
thanks for the tutorial really interesting and well visulized.
cheers pete
This guide has been written in a step by step manner for beginners. If this is your first time here you really must go through the guide in this fashion if you are to understand and get the most out of get_iplayer.
To begin using get_iplayer, we should first search for the programme we want to watch. Once you have the programme in mind that you would like to see, we simply search for a programme using get_iplayer by typing the following:
HINT - Notice how get_iplayer doesn't have to refresh the available streams? This is because it did it in the last command. get_iplayer will remember the list for 4 hours, and then update the list if a new search is performed after this 4 hour time limit.
get_iplayer saves files to your current working directory as a default on both Mac OS X and Linux, whereas it saves programmes to the folder you specified when first installing if you're using Windows.
As a default, get_iplayer will download the highest quality version of each TV programme, so you DO NOT need to change anything or use any of the commands below if you are happy with having the highest quality version. By "highest quality" I mean the version with the largest video size.
It can be frustrating when get_iplayer downloads from the wrong channel! Sometimes programmes from different, or even the same, series are shown on different channels at the same time. This can be annoying as you may accidentally download something from a previous series you have already seen on TV.
We can set the output path of programmes get_iplayer downloads on a case by case basis. You can do this globally, but it makes more sense to do this on a programme by programme basis, particularly if you are trying to ensure the relevant XBMC and Plex folder structure conventions are met.
The file path should go within the quotation marks. You are free to type out the location and get_iplayer will create it for you if it doesn't exist already, or it will simply add files to the directory if it already exists.
It's quite common to want to permanently change the location get_iplayer saves its downloaded files. For a complete overview of all output options take a look at the Output Options in the wiki, but lets take a look at a few simple and common options you can use.
This will have get_iplayer save all downloaded shows in the "2 - TV Shows" directory in the "TV Shows 1" disc. On Windows, the exact path will look a little different but I don't have a Windows install to show you directly.
You can set specific locations for the different types of files with the following options. Each one will override the --output command for their specific file type, so you have some flexibility in where you can save files:
The only part of it that get_iplayer actually needs is the pid (programme ID). In this case it is b03bvsw2. It makes no difference if you use the whole URL and it is probably easier so I will be doing that in this tutorial.
Another strange thing, ...well, something I have not been aware of is that each time "get_iplayert" commences a download session, it creates a file in Windows>Users>Me, called "cmd.exe" containing zero bytes which MBAM jumps on at the next daily scan and quarantine's it as a Trojan!
We have established that each time get_iplayer runs, not when the command window appears, but as soon as a download begins, it creates two files in my "Users" folder, "cmd.exe" and ffmpeg, both zero content!
As for ffmpeg, I had thought that the clean install might have sorted that out, but it seems that the programme cannot find the necessary link to it's own Utils > Bin, where the dratted files are both stored.
Thanks for the info, I do indeed use MBAM. Disabling it whilst using get_iplayer fixed it for me too. I guess I have to wait for the update for both to work together, as the update does not yet work for me. Thanks for the solution though !
Guys I found this thread from googling, I hope you can help please. I'm having the same problem where the ts won't convert to mp4 I'm taking that MBAM is MalawareBytes, which I have now uninstalled. I have also done a clean install of get_iplyaer, but the problem persits. All I'm getting are .ts files. It's worked fine for years up until now.
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