iPlayer problems

[Dave2002]

First a technical one. In an effort to try to understand why my iMac has been going slow, I tried going into Terminal (Applications -> Utilities-> Terminal) then typed top -o cpu and also top -o fault. Almost immediately I discovered that BBC iPlayer Desktop, which I hardly use anyway, was using more cpu and had more disk faults than anything else. I stopped it immediately, and I'll watch out for that happening again, as it did appear to be slowing things down. OK - it was only using 10% of resources, and it may have been at a low processor priority, but nevertheless after removing it from the run list things seemed slicker.

Secondly, and a more programme related issue - I have episodes 2-4 of Dancing on the Edge recorded on my PVR. I wanted to see episode 1, and recent trailers on both TV and radio have convinced me that I should be able to watch almost anything - "unmissable" I think was a word used in the BBC "adverts". I thought that since this was/is a series and it's still not finished, that I'd be able to watch episode 1 today.

Nope!

I think this is really poor. If the BBC is not going to provide series continuity on iPlayer for series such as this one, then they shouldn't be broadcasting promotions for the iPlayer as they do. I know that the 7 day limit applies to most single programmes, but for series they really need to get their act together.

I suppose I can find it on YouTube or elsewhere!

[Ferretfancy]

Dave 2002

This is the second weekend recently when my iPlayer service has failed completely. I tried to watch a couple of programmes yesterday, but they simply failed to run. I can normally get iPlayer on both my Blu Ray hard disc, or directly on my smart TV,and neither worked correctly. In the case of the TV I got error messages telling me to check my network connections, but I notice in the manual that false messages can appear. This morning when I checked, everything had returned to normal!

On the previous occasion, I managed to send a message to BBC iPlayer on my desktop, and in the end received an apologetic reply, admitting that there had been network problems which had now been corrected. It is as if somebody had pulled the wrong switch just as they were leaving for the weekend!

[Anna]

- I have episodes 2-4 of Dancing on the Edge recorded on my PVR. I wanted to see episode 1, and recent trailers on both TV and radio have convinced me that I should be able to watch almost anything - "unmissable" I think was a word used in the BBC "adverts". I thought that since this was/is a series and it's still not finished, that I'd be able to watch episode 1 today.

I have no idea why your recording on PVR doesn't work but all episodes of Dancing on the Edge are available on iplayer until 4th March so you can still catch up by watching on your computer.

[Dave2002]

I have no idea why your recording on PVR doesn't work but all episodes of Dancing on the Edge are available on iplayer until 4th March so you can still catch up by watching on your computer.

Anna,

Slight confusion here. I have episodes 2-4 on my PVR already. I missed episode 1 (actually I think I did record it, then erased it to save space thinking (a) I might not watch it, and (b) I could always get it from iPlayer.

The problem we had over the weekend was that when we went to our Freesat (also PVR) box to watch episode 1 via the internet connection, only episodes 2-4 were available.
I have now checked - and you are right. It is available via my computer (iMac), and it may even be available as a download, in which case I might just be able to watch it a bit later still.

Curiously, returning back to the Humax Freesat device and running iPlayer from there, only episodes 2-4 are listed - the same as over the weekend. Very odd how iPlayer seems to present different content on different devices. Maybe episode 1 is there, but the coding is such that the Search on the Humax box doesn't work.

[Resurrection Man]

.....
I have now checked - and you are right. It is available via my computer (iMac), and it may even be available as a download, in which case I might just be able to watch it a bit later still.
.....

Be wary of the time-limited DRM on iPlayer downloads....but you probably were aware of that already!

[Bryn]

Be wary of the time-limited DRM on iPlayer downloads....but you probably were aware of that already!

Let's just say that there are ways and means ...

[Ferretfancy]

My problem has not been due to time expiry, but rather that on my TV link IPlayer failed to appear at all on Saturday. I was able to get as far as selecting a programme, but after that, nothing! By Sunday morning everything was back to normal.This is not the first time this has happened at a weekend, and as far as I know the system was working on my computer. I prefer to watch the much better quality on the big screen.

[An_Inspector_Calls]

Curiously, returning back to the Humax Freesat device and running iPlayer from there, only episodes 2-4 are listed - the same as over the weekend. Very odd how iPlayer seems to present different content on different devices. Maybe episode 1 is there, but the coding is such that the Search on the Humax box doesn't work.

Strange, my Humax Freeview PVR is showing episodes 1-4 and I just checked episode 1 and it plays OK. The Humax Freesat PVR is showing only episodes 2-4.