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Really, why is iplayer so poor?

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 ksjs 22 Feb 2013
Wondering is there anything I can do or should I just accept that iplayer is unstable?

I want to use BBC iPlayer regularly, mainly for listening to radio (previously broadcast shows but sometimes listening live), but regularly it stops i.e. it will work for 2-3 mins and then just display the insufficient bandwidth message. This is rubbish however as we can stream film easily for example.

Is there anything that can be done to improve its functionality?
 Neil Williams 22 Feb 2013
In reply to ksjs:

For radio, you can access the streams another way, e.g. the TuneIn Radio app on an iOS or Android device, which is excellent. For TV perhaps switch from HD to SD which substantially reduces the bandwidth requirement?

Neil
 Neil Williams 22 Feb 2013
In reply to Neil Williams:

And for Radio 4 shows in retrospect, check out the BBC podcasts on iTunes as an alternative, perhaps, if the show you want is on there?

Neil
 Hairy Pete 22 Feb 2013
In reply to ksjs: The BBC iplayer seems to be particularly susceptible to network errors. I had this same problem, although youtube videos seemed fine. The solution was to slow down the link between my computer and the modem.
Next time it stops, keep pressing the play option until you are eventually offered the option of going to the "diagnosis" page. Use this page to speed-test your link and then tinker with your network to see if you can improve the speed.
 jkarran 22 Feb 2013
In reply to ksjs:

Try a google search. Mine did this for a while until a rather more computer savvy mate removed some plug-in or upgrade that had effectively broken it. It works fine now. I asked what it was and he said he'd just googled for something like 'slow i-player'. Not the most communicative of chaps.

jk
 EeeByGum 22 Feb 2013
In reply to ksjs: I agree - the iPlayer app is really quite poor, especially from a reputable publisher like the BBC. The fact that the screen has to be on doesn't help when listening to radio broadcasts.

Personally, I podcast most of the radio programmes I listen to, but you could also try using the iPlayer through your browser rather than the app.
 Ramblin dave 22 Feb 2013
In reply to jkarran:
> (In reply to ksjs)
>
> Try a google search. Mine did this for a while until a rather more computer savvy mate removed some plug-in or upgrade that had effectively broken it. It works fine now. I asked what it was and he said he'd just googled for something like 'slow i-player'. Not the most communicative of chaps.

http://xkcd.com/627/

 Fraser 22 Feb 2013
In reply to ksjs:

Are you talking about listening on a pc/laptop, or using a mobile/tablet? I retrospectively listen to radio shows on my home pc quite regularly and never have a problem with it not playing smoothly. (and I don't have a very fast b/b connection) Could it be your connection - have you any problems on other sites?
 Fredt 22 Feb 2013
In reply to ksjs:

There is an iPlayer upgrade released today by iTunes, which claims to fix speed issues.
OP ksjs 22 Feb 2013
In reply to Neil Williams: The issue is more radio related than tv (though when accessing iplayer through a PS3 it does seem bad but I thought this was maybe more the software on the PS3?) Anyway, trying SD or Lo on tv or radio respectively seems to make little difference.
OP ksjs 22 Feb 2013
In reply to Neil Williams: Have looked at podcasts but some of what I'm after is either unavailable as a podcast or I'd like to hear the whole programme.
OP ksjs 22 Feb 2013
In reply to Hairy Pete: I'm 99.99% sure it's not a hardware / software problem my end: everything else works fine (vimeo, youtube, internet radio streaming, downloading etc).
OP ksjs 22 Feb 2013
In reply to jkarran: I'm running a recent install of Linux Mint 13 and I haven't tweaked anything. I should however do a bit more digging around Linux forums and see if there's any suggestions.
OP ksjs 22 Feb 2013
In reply to EeeByGum: Listening via laptop.
OP ksjs 22 Feb 2013
In reply to Fraser: Listening on a laptop with about 3mb connection and no other connectivity issues.
 Neil Williams 22 Feb 2013
In reply to ksjs:

In that case I would recommend looking into the alternatives and not using iPlayer, e.g. using the smartphone apps I suggested if you have one, or streaming via the relevant BBC Radio station's website (which is often available separately from the iPlayer), or if it's Radio 4 the Podcasts.

Neil
OP ksjs 22 Feb 2013
In reply to Neil Williams: I can't stream programmes broadcast previously which is the point of iplayer. Hence its apparent uselessness.
 Neil Williams 22 Feb 2013
In reply to ksjs:

If they are Radio 4 programmes there are almost always podcasts available, either via iTunes (which I guess you don't use if you're on Linux) or often simply for download.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4

Neil
 Hairy Pete 22 Feb 2013
In reply to ksjs:
> (In reply to jkarran) I'm running a recent install of Linux Mint 13
I'm not familiar with Mint, I run fedora. My experience is that I have to obliterate the Pulse-Audio package to get sensible results from the sound system.

 The New NickB 22 Feb 2013
In reply to ksjs:

For live radio, I find the radio player app works really well even on 3G.
 jkarran 22 Feb 2013
In reply to ksjs:

> I'm running a recent install of Linux Mint 13 and I haven't tweaked anything. I should however do a bit more digging around Linux forums and see if there's any suggestions.

Half working under Linux is 50% better than I've ever managed
jk
 Jack B 22 Feb 2013
In reply to ksjs:

If you're happy using a little command line, try get-iplayer. It's a little linux program which lets you watch and download stuff from iplayer. Fast and reliable.
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