Linux BBCiPlayer Download beta now available

[#1]

Good news for all Linux (and Mac) users, the BBC have finally gotten round to producing an iPlayer downloader for us.
Read about it and activate it here http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/labs ;
The downloader allows you to keep content for upto 30days, rather than just stream it.
It works via Adobe Air, which is included within the initial download for the installation.
As most know i run PCLinuxOS and have installed it initially on my Laptops 'testing' install, this is based on PCLinuxOS 2009 TR5 I already the Adobe Flash 10.0.15.3 release (its from outside the repo) and the BBCi Downloader install prompted me to install adobe air (which it seems to have done without any issue)
The downloader then seems to do what it says and downloads content, you can limit the space used and set up parental ciontrols also.
Looks good for a Beta, and i have just enjoyed watching 'nevermind the buzzcocks' and may watch it later, I am also gonna install this on a box that will be to playgames and (now) record tv on it
Take a look its pretty good and seems ok on my testing install, will try it on the a fore mentioned box later (which will be based on the stable side of things).
Now what would be good is if PlusNet could (perhaps for a small fee £2 or £3 a month) give a download allowance outside of the normal one for this type of multimedia content. other wise i will have to line up the downloads at about 2355 each night....
Jase

[#2]

We've had a open source downloader for about 6 months - without DRM or time-limited access.
See http://beebhack.wikia.com/wiki/Beebhack and get

get_iplayer

This is a Perl script which will run on any PC.
I've just tried the BBC's hobbled version (On Ubuntu 8.10 - a "recommended" distro)
As far as I can tell, Adobe Air is just that  - it doesn't appear to install or do anything.
This is probably a good thing as I certainly don't want any DRM software on my PC.
The Perl script runs perfectly - and the file won't expire, although I shall delete it after watching.
I think Adobe don't know about 64 bit Linux?

[#3]

Quote from: hootiegibbon

Good news for all Linux (and Mac) users, the BBC have finally gotten round to producing an iPlayer downloader for us.

For Linux users using RPM or DEB based distros apparently.
Still, that'll teach those geeky Gentoo, Slackware etc. users a thing or two (but then again they probably know about Beebhack)

Quote

The downloader allows you to keep content for upto 30days, rather than just stream it. It works via Adobe Air, which is included within the initial download for the installation.

Ah yes, that's the crud that handles the DRM.

Quote

Now what would be good is if PlusNet could (perhaps for a small fee £2 or £3 a month) give a download allowance outside of the normal one for this type of multimedia content. other wise i will have to line up the downloads at about 2355 each night....

According to a beeb blog the new iPlayer has switched from P2P to HTTP
downloads because the cost of bandwidth has dropped by 90% over the past year.
We should all be getting a rebate

[#4]

1. If the download includes DRM how are the standard Linux codecs meant to play it?
2. If I want to watch the download on Television, can I burn a DVD?
3. Is the Adobe/BBC application going to phone home?
Ubuntu doesn't provide any Adobe applications in the standard repositories. Can't think why.

[#5]

Quote from: axisofevil

1. If the download includes DRM how are the standard Linux codecs meant to play it? 2. If I want to watch the download on Television, can I burn a DVD? 3. Is the Adobe/BBC application going to phone home?

I'm not in any hurry to try the new iPlayer Desktop but AIUI the DRM for Windows/MacOS/Linux downloads is handled by FMRMS (downloads to other platforms eg. mobile phones will differ).
Downloads using the existing (Windows-only) iPlayer use Windows Media DRM AFAIK so....
1. If you can play downloads now without interference from DRM it seems possible you'll continue to be able to do so.
2. If you can burn DVDs now without interference from DRM it seems possible you'll continue to be able to do so.
That said, it seems unlikely that the Beeb aren't aware of the tools on the Beebhack site - only time will tell if they've turned a blind eye to it until they have a MacOS & Linux iPlayer available.
3. Almost certainly that'll be the case if FMRMS is involved.
There seems to be a glitch with the current beta whereby the 30-day time-limit is reset whenever the PC is re-booted  

[#6]

Quote

Adobe Flash Media Rights Management Server Control access to your rich media with cross-platform content protection Take command of your rich media content with Adobe® Flash® Media Rights Management Server software. Help control how, when, and where your content can be experienced — even after it’s been downloaded. Protect your valuable assets and explore revenue-building options that include powerful advertising controls and flexible distribution models.

So it's Thanks, but no thanks.
I'll wait until someone does a substantial job of destroying the DRM.
Actually, if they are just adding DRM to flash, it will still be in a poor quality format.
I'll carry on with the H264 used by the iPhone

[#7]

To make sure you don't rack up your bandwidth:

sleep 2h ; perl get_iplayer.sh --get http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00h3.....

You can run this in a screen session and detach it before you go to bed, if you don't want to leave your PC unattended while logged in.