BOOT CAMP 521 (22/04/08)
Internet TV and the BBC iPlayer part 3
Last
week, in this short series on watching TV over the Internet we looked at
‘streaming’ TV programmes from the BBC iPlayer website. We’re staying with
iPlayer for this week’s episode and focusing on the download facility.
Streaming
lets you watch TV programmes straight away on your PC. The quality is okay when
viewed on a small inset screen but it looks a bit ragged around the edges when
blown up to full screen size. You have to stay online for the duration of the
programme, it can get a bit stuttery if you have a slow Internet connection and
there are no subtitles.
Downloading
a programme overcomes these problems; once it is on your computer’s hard drive
you can watch it when it suits you. The quality is much better – comparable
with broadcast TV – in fact it is so good that it is worth connecting your PC
to your TV (but more about that next week) and downloaded programmes have
subtitles. It all sounds great but as you should know by now there’s a catch,
or rather several catches…
Unlike
streaming, where all you need is a PC or mobile device with broadband and a
‘Flash’ capable browser, the requirements for downloading are much more
stringent.
To begin
with iPlayer downloads only work on PCs running 32-bit Windows XP or Vista
operating systems. According to the BBC Linux and Mac versions are in the
pipeline but they won’t be available until later in the year. Additionally your
PC must have Windows Media Player (v11 or above), plus IE6 or Firefox 1.5 or
later and you have to install a Kontiki-based peer-to-peer file sharing program
called iPlayer Download Manager.
You
don’t get to keep downloaded programmes either. They are automatically deleted
after 30 days, whether you have watched them or not. You can watch a downloaded
programme as many times as you like, but once you’ve started playback the clock
starts ticking and it will be deleted after 7 days. You can also take it as
read that iPlayer downloading only works in the UK but apart from that…
Assuming
that your PC qualifies then the first job is to download and install iPlayer
Download Manager. The easiest way to do it is to click on the programme that
you want to see then click the Download link on the right side of the panel
underneath the screen. The download should begin; the file is around 6Mb so it
shouldn’t take very long. After it has finished click on the file icon to run
the installation Wizard. You may be asked by your firewall or security software
to grant permission for it to access the Internet, if so agree, then accept the
Terms and Conditions and the Download Manager will be installed. You may
receive an alert message if you are using an older version of Windows Media
Player, in which case click the links to carry out an automatic upgrade.
When
Download Manager has finished installing will have to restart your browser,
after which you can return to iPlayer and download your chosen programme. Click
the Download button to start the file transfer, you will need around 600Mb of
hard disc space for each hour or programme time, the size of the download in
megabytes is shown next to the button.
Download
times are dependent on a number of factors, including the speed of your
Internet connection, congestion at your local exchange, how many other people
are trying to download and share the same programme, and the time of day. In
the UK the Internet is at its busiest from around 9am to midday and from 5pm to
midnight, so it’s a good idea to avoid those times. It’s hard to give precise
figures, but under ideal conditions and an 8Mb/s broadband connection, an
hour-long programme should take around an hour to download.
You
can play your downloaded programmes from the Download Manager icon on your
desktop or in the System Tray. Alternatively you can play files directly in
Windows Media Player. In Windows XP iPlayer downloads are stored in
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Shared Documents\Shared Video\My
Deliveries\iplayer_live and in Vista you will find them in
C:\Users\Public\Videos\My Deliveries\iplayer_live. The only point to watch out
for is that WMP doesn’t have the subtitle option (the ‘S’ icon on the Download
Manager playback window toolbar.
The
iPlayer playback window is resizable and it has a simple set of controls, for
pausing playback rewinding the program to the beginning, controlling the volume
and a full screen button. One of the most useful features is the progress bar,
just below the toolbar, and because the file is stored on your PC, you can
instantly skip to any point in the programme by dragging the slider. You should
also look at the Settings menu, especially if you have any privacy and parental
concerns. Here you will find the PIN-coded Parental lock and options that allows
others to upload programmes stored on your PC (set to share by default) and
usage statistics (also on by default), which reports back to the BBC what you
are watching.
Next Week – Internet TV and the BBC iPlayer
JARGON FILTER
KONTIKI
Peer to peer
(P2P) file-sharing software, used by the BBC, 4oD and Sky that downloads (and
uploads) TV programme data to and from other P2P users connected to the
Internet
PARENTAL
CONTROL
Restricts
access to programmes rated ‘G’ (Guidance) by password or PIN code
SYSTEM
TRAY
The area next to the
desktop clock displaying icons of running programs that are usually loaded when
Windows boots up
TOP TIP
IPlayer has been hugely
successful, so much so that there are fears that it could put the UK’s Internet
infrastructure under serious pressure; it’s already causing high demand
‘spikes’ at peak periods. Those using ‘capped’ broadband services with a strict
monthly limit should think twice about using iPlayer. With downloads running at
around 600Mb an hour it doesn’t take long to blow a hole in a typical 2Gb
monthly cap. You can’t rely on your ISP to warn you either and the first you’ll
know about it could be a massive bill!
If you want to keep tabs on your monthly downloads install a free
logging utility like NetMeter (http://tinyurl.com/2sbxd9)
Don't forget, there's a
full archive of previous Boot Camp Top Tips at www.pctoptips.co.uk
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© R. Maybury 2008, 2603
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