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BBC to cease allowing downloads to PCs

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Jeff Layman

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Feb 14, 2024, 12:21:19 PMFeb 14
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There is a thread on this in uk.telecom.broadband which might be better
discussed here.
OP:
<http://al.howardknight.net/?STYPE=msgid&MSGI=%3Cuqi4ks%242j5v6%242%40dont-email.me%3E>

I've tried copying the whole thread over but TB won't play ball.

--

Jeff

JMB99

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Feb 14, 2024, 2:10:47 PMFeb 14
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Which other streaming service allow download to a computer?

I thought most replay from the streaming service server.


JNugent

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Feb 14, 2024, 2:59:32 PMFeb 14
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On 14/02/2024 13:10, JMB99 wrote:

> Which other streaming service allow download to a computer?

I believe that paid accounts with Spotify allow downloading.
>
> I thought most replay from the streaming service server.

Probably true.

They're all obsessed with total control (prevention) of copying facilities.

Java Jive

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Feb 14, 2024, 3:14:51 PMFeb 14
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My understanding is that so few people use the iPlayer PC & Mac apps
that the BBC do not consider it worthwhile to continue to support them,
just the same way and for just the same reasons as, when originally they
were first made available, they never made available a specific Linux
app, although MacOS is derived from Linux, so how difficult could it
have been?

Anyway, as I've already pointed out in the other thread, in the
GetIPlayer mailing list, the suggestion & hope is that the apps being no
longer supported will not make any difference to GiP, because it works
using data directly from the iPlayer website, not via either of the PC
or MacOS BBC applications downloadable to a PC. So, as long as the
iPlayer website itself doesn't change, GiP should continue to work.

--

Fake news kills!

I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website:
www.macfh.co.uk

Roger

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Feb 14, 2024, 4:57:16 PMFeb 14
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On Wed, 14 Feb 2024 20:14:49 +0000, Java Jive
<ja...@evij.com.invalid> wrote:

>On 14/02/2024 19:59, JNugent wrote:
>>
>> On 14/02/2024 13:10, JMB99 wrote:
>>>
>>> Which other streaming service allow download to a computer?
>>
>> I believe that paid accounts with Spotify allow downloading.
>>>
>>> I thought most replay from the streaming service server.
>>
>> Probably true.
>>
>> They're all obsessed with total control (prevention) of copying facilities.
>
>My understanding is that so few people use the iPlayer PC & Mac apps
>that the BBC do not consider it worthwhile to continue to support them,
>just the same way and for just the same reasons as, when originally they
>were first made available, they never made available a specific Linux
>app, although MacOS is derived from Linux, so how difficult could it
>have been?

Definitely not Linux. macOS is derived mostly from FreeBSD
although it's somewhat more complicated than being a straight
copy.
--
Roger

Owen Rees

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Feb 14, 2024, 5:26:51 PMFeb 14
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Java Jive <ja...@evij.com.invalid> wrote:
> On 14/02/2024 19:59, JNugent wrote:
>>
>> On 14/02/2024 13:10, JMB99 wrote:
>>>
>>> Which other streaming service allow download to a computer?
>>
>> I believe that paid accounts with Spotify allow downloading.
>>>
>>> I thought most replay from the streaming service server.
>>
>> Probably true.
>>
>> They're all obsessed with total control (prevention) of copying facilities.
>
> My understanding is that so few people use the iPlayer PC & Mac apps
> that the BBC do not consider it worthwhile to continue to support them,
> just the same way and for just the same reasons as, when originally they
> were first made available, they never made available a specific Linux
> app, although MacOS is derived from Linux, so how difficult could it
> have been?

macOS is not derived from Linux. Its origins are in the Mach kernel and BSD
Unix on which NeXTSTEP was based. Apple bought NeXT and used NeXTSTEP as
the basis for OS X.

Implementing programs that can be compiled to run on various versions of
Unix and also on Linux is usually easier than also making run on MSDOS
and/or Windows NT.

A program that handles real-time video and audio is likely to be at the
more difficult end of the scale.

The world has moved on. High speed networks are more common and the
difficult parts of video and audio are available through web browsers so
maintaining a standalone application has become less economically viable.

Brian Gregory

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Feb 14, 2024, 6:27:04 PMFeb 14
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On 14/02/2024 20:14, Java Jive wrote:
> Anyway, as I've already pointed out in the other thread, in the
> GetIPlayer mailing list, the suggestion & hope is that the apps being no
> longer supported will not make any difference to GiP, because it works
> using data directly from the iPlayer website, not via either of the PC
> or MacOS BBC applications downloadable to a PC.  So, as long as the
> iPlayer website itself doesn't change, GiP should continue to work.

I agree. get_iplayer is kind of pretending to be a video player, not an
app that can download. It seems like there's a good chance it'll
continue to work.

--
Brian Gregory (in England).

Blueshirt

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Feb 15, 2024, 6:42:56 AMFeb 15
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JMB99 wrote:

> Which other streaming service allow download to a computer?
>
> I thought most replay from the streaming service server.

Yes.

I didn't even know you could download to a PC from the BBC iPlayer.
It's not something I would have even thought about. For me the
iPlayer was just about streaming the programme I wanted to watch...
if I wanted to watch it again, I'd go back and stream it again.

Smolley

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Feb 15, 2024, 7:17:36 AMFeb 15
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I record the streamed program off screen. I have quite a good library now.

AnthonyL

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Feb 15, 2024, 8:26:35 AMFeb 15
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It probably was more useful when many folk were still on dial-up or
6mbit/s "broadband" and I would have used it had I not known about
GIP.

It's only a few years back in a previous property that streaming was
quite painful and even here, on the edge of a modest sized city, it's
only 20mbit/s, no sign of full fibre and the nearest cabinet is quite
a distance away.


--
AnthonyL

Why ever wait to finish a job before starting the next?

JMB99

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Feb 15, 2024, 9:43:40 AMFeb 15
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On 15/02/2024 13:26, AnthonyL wrote:
> It probably was more useful when many folk were still on dial-up or
> 6mbit/s "broadband" and I would have used it had I not known about
> GIP.



It would be useful to someone on a journey or away from home and so not
wanting to have to rely on unreliable connections or even going
somewhere they have no access to broadband/

Jeff Layman

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Feb 15, 2024, 2:12:02 PMFeb 15
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On 14/02/2024 20:14, Java Jive wrote:
Possibly, but on an Android phone iPlayer will default to, and can only
be used with, Chrome as far as I can see. I won't use Chrome for
anything, and will one day actually get round to using adb to remove it
from my phone (there is no option to shut it down or uninstall from
"Settings").

I was hoping to use iPlayer on my phone to see how you could download a
BBC programme, and then perhaps copy the saved file to a PC. Anyone know
whether or not if that's possible?

--

Jeff

NY

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Feb 15, 2024, 3:10:10 PMFeb 15
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Ah, whereas I would always look for a way (and hope there *is* a way) of
downloading before watching, so I can use my own player (eg VLC, or
VideoRedo if I want to single-step through parts) and can play the video
at faster than real time (most documentaries and even dramas are so
slooooooooooow), instead of using that player that the catch-up site
includes, most of which do horrible things like displaying big banner if
you freeze frame, which makes it bloody difficult if you are trying to
transcribe credits for submission to IMDB or other film/TV database: in
those circumstances I tend to film the screen with my mobile phone and
then freeze that video so I can read and transcribe the credits. Yes,
OK, a rather niche usage ;-)

Jim Lesurf

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Feb 17, 2024, 5:30:06 AMFeb 17
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In article <uqjen8$2rhir$1...@dont-email.me>, Owen Rees <or...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

> The world has moved on. High speed networks are more common and the
> difficult parts of video and audio are available through web browsers so
> maintaining a standalone application has become less economically viable.

I suspect/hope this is what the BBC have in mind. And that if no other
changes are made, GIP will continue to work OK. That's significant for me
as it lets me fetch things before 9am and avoid them adding to my 'monthly
limit' on transfer quantitiy. i.e. save me money and time.

Jim

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Electronics https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scots_Guide/intro/electron.htm
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Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html

Jim Lesurf

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Feb 17, 2024, 5:30:07 AMFeb 17
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In article <xn0oi3qzb...@reader.xsnews.nl>, Blueshirt
<blue...@indigo.news> wrote:
> I didn't even know you could download to a PC from the BBC iPlayer. It's
> not something I would have even thought about. For me the iPlayer was
> just about streaming the programme I wanted to watch... if I wanted to
> watch it again, I'd go back and stream it again.

However as per my previous posting; Downloading items in batches at a
chosen time can save some of us money and effort. Our connection is also
often faster then than in the evenings. I just give GIP a list of pids to
chug though with specified quality levels, etc, as I make breakfast.
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