BBC iPlayer and VLC

Hi,
Although I have found many posts on the VLC Player and downloading BBC iPlayer files, I am still not clear on a few things, especially as my wife uses the Acer and I need to keep the interfacing simple.

At the moment we can very easily find/download/store/play/delete the BBC iPlayer programmes (on my Windows Laptop - sorry, won't mention the W word again!) by just using the BBC iPlayer Download Manager.

But if I go down the VLC Player route will this still use the BBC iPlayer Download Manager as the interface?
If not can someone explain what the practical aspects will be in (a) finding and downloading programmes from the BBC site and (b) playing these programmes.

The reason for the question is quite simply that my wife is not computer literate and needs a simple graphical interface.

Thanks in advance,
Mike

 

If you're on about watching a stored copy of a programme rather than a streamed Flash version in a web browser,
then the only way I know of getting a drm free file from the bbc site is via a well known exploit, that cons the site into thinking you are using an Apple Iphone you then download a drm free H264 file in a .mov container that VLC can handle.
( Vlc and Linux will not handle the WMV files with drm from the kontiki peer2peer downloads)

Lots of command line programs/scripts have been written to handle this exploit my favorite is get_iplayer

http://linuxcentre.net/getiplayer/

It really isn't that hard to install or use.
Go here and use the instructions for Fedora/Redhat

http://linuxcentre.net/getiplayer/installation/

To use just open a terminal then type

Code:

cd /home/user/Videos

Then type:

Code:

get_iplayer

This lists all the currently available iphone compatible shows.
scan the list for the show you need and its number (lets say its 123).
The type.

Code:

get_iplayer --get 123

The show will be downloaded to your Videos folder where you can open it from VLC.

I know this is not as easy as using a GUI but it really isn't that difficult and it works really well.

 

Thanks for that info, all is now clear on that approach.

But is there another way, would something like "Wine" allow me to run the BBC iPlayer in a windows environment?

Mike

 

Use get_iplayer, its really simple to use, and I also like a graphic interface, but get_iplayer is one of the best apps I've used on the Aspire.

 

BBC iplayer on wine is being worked upon but it is nowhere near ready.
http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=8780

To summarise
What works:- Installation appears to work

What doesn't work:- BBC iPlayer Download Manager does not run
The Firefox Extension is not recognised in Windows Firefox.

Tested on Ubuntu and Slackware

Wine AppDB rates it as Garbage. (Which says it all, I think.)

 

Hi Blingin2Mingin

I am completely new to the Aspire One and Linux and am still finding my way. I followed your instructions as far as "get_iplayer ..get 123" but am not sure what should happen next. Nothing appears in my video folder. Am I missing something?

Please word your response as simply as possible.
Many thanks
Elizabeth

 

Hi
Use your search bar on the home page to locate the file selecting the "desktop" option. The second time i installed this app it put the files in a strange place. Just locate and move them. Secondly the syntax in your last post was wrong. It should be -- not .. before the program number you have selected. This will be followed by a countdown process till the file is downloaded. You can type into the terminal

Code:

sudo thunar

this will allow you to drag and drop across folders not normally permitted but be VERY CAREFUL as you will be acting as root and could potentially harm your system.
I hope this is of use

 

Thanks so much Darryl. Perfectly explained and it works perfectly. Sorry it was something as simple as the syntax - the screen is so small I must have misread it.

I have used Windows for many years but this is a whole new world. All this talk of Gnome, KDE and XFCE confuses me completely!
Thanks again

 

BTW, streaming viewing works fine from BBC iplayer on my Linux 512 8G - you don't have to download and store unless it is necessary for you.

 

It works on mine as well but I am now using get_iplayer to download programmes for later viewing when streaming is not possible, ie where I do not have internet access.

However, I do have problems finding programmes, the list goes by so fast and I can't find an idiot's guide to the search terms. All the ones I have found are full of technical terminology which loses me.

Any ideas anyone?
Thanks

 

Having just re-read Blingin2Mingin's excellent advice above, how I scan the list? I have tried using the arrow keys but this just does something to the text at the bottom.

Thanks again
Elizabeth

 

Ok touchpad 101,
You can slide your finger up and down on the right side of the trackpad just under 1cm from the right button (or roll it for fine tuning). This is what you need to do to scroll up to view the rest of the program list. You can also do the same thing along the bottom of the trackpad to scroll left and right. You can also tap both of the lower corners to get the same effect as clicking the button on that side. I prefer this to clicking buttons all the time. Oh and after scrolling up on the get iplayer list you can get straight back to the command prompt by pressing the down arrow.
Enjoy.

 

Darryl - thanks for taking the time to help.

I have just tried this and it work, to a point, but it will not go to the top of the list (stuck at 150 of 700+).
Any ideas?

 

programs often start at around that number. if you request one below it will give you a title but say that the program is not ready for download... tis just the way it is i'm afraid.

 

thanks for this. works a treat. can anybody post simple instructions to download itv programs on limpus.

 

You can trap the list as it scrolls by by piping the output from get_iplayer to something. e.g.

get_iplayer | less will show the list one screenfull at a time. Hit the space bar to move forward, the 'B' key to move backward and 'Q' to quit.

get_iplayer | grep "Coast" will only list the programmes where the description line contains "Coast" - useful for searching for specific programmes. Note that this is case-sensitive (in fact the text is actually a simple 'regular expression' - if you want to get fancy with your searching look this up)

get_iplayer > savedlist will save the output to a file (called 'savedlist' here) instead of to the screen. You can then browse at your leisure with a file editor e.g. by typing mouspad savedlist or even with a word processor.

 

Thanks Darryl. It's just odd that the programmes at that stage start with C, not A or B.

Syzygy - I will try your suggestions but, as my Acer has now decided not to boot up at all (and I don't understand the solutions posted) it may be some time... I'll let you know how I get on.

 

The simplest way to search for specific programs using get_iplayer is just to include your search terms after the get_iplayer command.

For example:

If you want to search for all programs with eastenders in the title, then you would enter the following command in the terminal:

Code:

get_iplayer eastenders

If it is the first time that you have run the get_iplayer command then it will return the list of all programs, but then at the bottom, return all the programs which have "eastenders" in the title. If you have previously run the command and therefore already have a cache of the program listing, then it will only return the programs which match your search term.

Obviously the term "eastenders" in the code above can be replaced with anything.