Looks as though the BBC gave a big fuck-you to Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines. I can’t help but think they aren’t taking the new internet-medium of TV seriously.

Imagine if they simply created an open API where third party developers could create their own program to pull the programs. Sony could knock together their own, beautiful, integrated player for the PS3, and the same for Microsoft and Nintendo.

Set-top box manufacturers could do the same, and everyone could watch TV on their mobile phones (not just Nokia N95′s and iPhones). Its a shame the are taking this restrictive route.

I’ve been through the trouble and strife of installing on Intrepid, not sure it will help you with Jaunty, but my (badly-written, screenshot-less) brief write-up of the installation procedure is on my blog at http://bit.ly/Intrepid-iPlayer (please excuse the site, it’s in need of a serious refresh).

Ben – is nothing ever good enough? You say the BBC is not taking tv seriously on the Internet, yet the advent of iplayer means nothing to you? Any idea f the scale involved. Don’t tell me, you want everything the way you want it, when you want it, where you way it and you want it for free.

Doesn’t work on my bog standard Intrepid. It requires Adobe Air and Flash to install, both of which I have, but still no luck

Hmmnnn, ok, I’m either being really thick or somethings wrong. No ‘download’ link on buzzcocks or anywhere else? I’ve become a ‘labs’ tester (nice name by the way) but couldn’t see any download links! :(

ahhh, that latest episode (linked from iplayer homepage) isn’t available, have to dig down for an earlier episode to get a download link.

Thanks for this info, greatly appreciated!

@Dan Allsobrook – which versions of Air and Flash do you have installed? I found I had to remove Air 1.0 and install 1.5, then go to the flash website and download the .tar.gz version of the Flash installer, rather than the .deb one.

Tried installing. Half way through the install process Adobe Air installer suddenly switched to using Japanese characters. Probably an Adobe problem.

Don’t get me wrong, I really like using the iPlayer! I’m saying they are going down the wrong road with this. Imagine you needed a separate program for each website you wanted to visit. An ‘eBay Bid-Buddy 2.0′, ‘Amazon Quick Store Lite’, and ‘Yahoo! News Feed’. One of the reasons the web became such a success was the way it was standardised, and anyone could create a program to view it all.

The situation with online TV now is, I have Firefox/IE/Opera for Youtube et al., 4oD for Channel 4, BBC iPlayer for BBC and ITV Catch Up for ITV. Its quickly turned into a right mess of platform dependance and poor scalability.

And yes, I do expect my online TV when, where and how I want it like – like I can use eBay when I want to, on my mobile on the bus, and with a range of payment mediums. So yeah, online TV at the moment is a poor example ‘Web 2.0′

@Ben – but there is that website bbc.co.uk/iplayer that does do what you require. The cross-platform download-only problems are mainly generated by the people who own the content that the BBC broadcasts. I think the fact that Auntie’s trying to at least find ways that fix the problem for each group of users is actually pretty good. Me, i’d probably tell the linux people to sod off.

Wha?

James
(Linux person)

Yeah just tried this running OS 10.5.6 – has just started working via Safari and not Firefox – and seems to be most shows….

Can you install Adobe Air on a Xandros machine? (Asus eee PC)

Well, when services in the US begin, we frequently see people complaining that the service is not available in… the UK, or France, or wherever. It always has to do with rights. Now I, a US fan of the BBC, am in the same position.

I hope that the whole rights situation will be rationalized. The Internet is global. The suggestion of public APIs available worldwide is right on target. The purpose of the adoption of AIR is that it supports the “brand” of copy protection the BBC wants.

It would be very good for the BBC, and the British people, if their cultural voice was more prominently available worldwide. It would seem to me that BBC shows would be MORE, not less, popular and easy to sell abroad.

I’m a Mac 10.3.9 . My real player no longer takes ( as of last thurs 8th Jan 2009)… help I can’t listen to radio London when I work at home. Windows media is still there. Tried uninstall and reinstall.

Lab tester on iplayer : it won’t let me join so that I can do the iplayer desktop thing.
Real player isn’t working- but that’s for somehing else ha ? Confused and p**** off .com

G5 non intel mac.,,haven’t installed any new software recently and I have non of that norton anti v stuff ( or similar ) .. so what do u reckon – please ?!