iPlayer

[Frances_iom]

having recently acquired from the estate of a friend a Sony Blu-Ray player which among a vast amount of totally junk internet channels(with no apparent way of removing same from menu) can handle iPlayer - which has provided a fair amount of listening and avoidance of R2.5 - however there appears to be a disquieting feature (or may be a quieting feature) that if you listen for more than about 4 hours continuously then it stops with note that network not available - 'precondition .... on ..mp4 no longer holds' is the only error message (the rest of my internet is unaffected) having happened now twice on both days on an hour (7pm + 8pm) - the Sony claims to be running latest software tho the model is ancient being all of 18months old - any ideas - a bug, a feature on IP lease by BT (the BD is connected to primary router) or just bl*dy mindedness by BBC (I'm currently in UK home counties)

[Dave2002]

having recently acquired from the estate of a friend a Sony Blu-Ray player which among a vast amount of totally junk internet channels(with no apparent way of removing same from menu) can handle iPlayer - which has provided a fair amount of listening and avoidance of R2.5 - however there appears to be a disquieting feature (or may be a quieting feature) that if you listen for more than about 4 hours continuously then it stops with note that network not available - 'precondition .... on ..mp4 no longer holds' is the only error message (the rest of my internet is unaffected) having happened now twice on both days on an hour (7pm + 8pm) - the Sony claims to be running latest software tho the model is ancient being all of 18months old - any ideas - a bug, a feature on IP lease by BT (the BD is connected to primary router) or just bl*dy mindedness by BBC (I'm currently in UK home counties)

Is this when watching video material, or simply audio? If the error message is consistent this suggests a player problem. Maybe it generates temporary files, and they hit a file limit after 4 hours?

What happens if you try to run it for 4 hours or more, but change streams during the period? Does the problem only arise if you stay "on channel"? Indeed, does the unit do live streaming at all? This is only a relatively recent feature for iPlayer I think, and perhaps not all players will do that. It's unlikely that any single stored programme would last more than 4 hours.

Noting your times though, does also make me wonder if there could be network issues. We often find that things go wrong around 8pm, because that seems to be when everyone else is trying to access their broadband services. That is the most likely time for dropouts and low download rates, and some providers provide relatively poor service around this time.

There might be a firmware upgrade for your Sony box which will fix the problem, though you have indicated that it's running the latest software.

[Frances_iom]

audio only + not tried listen live - no interest in TV + tho I have several dvds find I seldom watch these - thanks to an inconsiderate 'gentleman' who stepped back without thinking, propelling me sideways into the road where I landed on my right elbow, I've been somewhat restricted in movement + not feeling 100% fit over Xmas thus was thankful for easy access to TTN - I would place this on pause(refinding where you stopped seems very awkward) during the periods when I wanted to listen to COTW or Wagner etc thus I would be accessing the same program for over 4 hours.
Don't think it is busy network as the stream seems to buffer quite a bit + my other internet access showed no signs of delay at these times - I can only regain access to iPlayer by restarting the 'app';

[Frances_iom]

happened again today - 'pre condition failed' but at about 3 54 pm so doubt if network problem ( no other net effect noted at time) - I had only listened to about 2hrs - just started on Gergiev from this morning though had had a quite long pause - maybe it is actually impossible to listen to an item unless in one sitting - the joys of DRM ! - I guess once DAB has been forced thro then basically my CD collection will be the only thing left that allows me to choose the item.

[Resurrection Man]

HS...please start a new thread as it gets very confusing having two topics in the same thread.

[Resurrection Man]

happened again today - 'pre condition failed' but at about 3 54 pm so doubt if network problem ( no other net effect noted at time) - I had only listened to about 2hrs - just started on Gergiev from this morning though had had a quite long pause - maybe it is actually impossible to listen to an item unless in one sitting - the joys of DRM ! - I guess once DAB has been forced thro then basically my CD collection will be the only thing left that allows me to choose the item.

Frances..I suspect that the problem lies within your Sony box. At the end of the day, these are computers and in my experience rushed out with inadequate testing...just too many 'features' (aka bugs) packed in so that the product reaches the market within the short timeframe that these products last before the next NEW thing. Or it could be feature of the so-called standards. There are quite a lot of IT standards out there that were never quite finished off. For example a lot of the stuff surrounding electronic program guides (EPG) and how digital TV is broadcast. Things like Series Link...never quite nailed down to a sufficiently ambiguously clear set of specifications. So the broadcaster goes one way and the product supplier the other way. One reason why we have two digital video recorders (we rarely watch anything live and selectively choose what we do decide to record) is because as they come from two different manufacturers the chances of the same bug aka lack of interpretation of the specification occurring at the same time are minimised.

But back to your problem....I suspect it is down to the same interpretation errors either by iPlayer or Sony ("you mean you want to listen for over four hours ? No-one listens for that long ")

Incidentally your uneditable list of internet channels seems endemic to all Sony products. One of our (third) digital TV recorders (you know, the one that lets me burn decent classical programmes to DVD ) insists on displaying all available channels including the adult ones which I'd love to get rid off but can't.

[Frances_iom]

Thanks - I came to the same conclusion - if I let it continue (ie no pause) it will run thro to end (6hrs later!) ok - one or possibly 2 short pauses seem ok but a third or if I pause for a significant period (basically to avoid having to retune + then use the forward button to find the time) then it throws me off
However I see why my basically bedridden friend for whom it was bought found it too difficult to use though it made quite an improvement for me over Xmas - found myself listening to very little of daytime R2.5 and the evenings of R2.25; it has a favourite button but you don't seem able to use it on iPlayer (eg I'd be happy to be able to set R3 to avoid several clicks to select it.

[Resurrection Man]

HS...it's not cluttering up the forum. You have a completely different problem.

[Resurrection Man]

Forget I asked.

That is just being childish.

I did put forward a suggestion/request for more information to try and help you solve your problem but I cannot remember which thread you posed your original question on. And given your response I am damned if I can be bothered to trawl through every single damn thread on the forum to try and see if you gave any more information as requested.

[eighthobstruction]

>>>> It is only our opinions and principles that can render us unhappy, and it is only the ignorant person that finds fault with another
After Epictetus<<<<

[Resurrection Man]

>>>> It is only our opinions and principles that can render us unhappy, and it is only the ignorant person that finds fault with another
After Epictetus<<<<

And your point is what exactly? Sorry if I am being ignorant.

[eighthobstruction]

My point is sharp!....that's OK....

[Resurrection Man]

My point is sharp!....that's OK....

LOL!

But my point is equally moot. It is custom and practice on all the technical support sites that I visit to encourage people with problems to start a new thread. It makes it that much easier for those trying to offer support. If the response to a simple request to do this is met with a hissy fit then it would be hardly surprising if any technical help was less than forthcoming.