iPlayer Downloader
Radio Downloads now work!
With over 100,000 downloads to date, iPlayer Downloader is one of our most popular free applications. It was created because the BBC have always lagged behind in their support of operating systems other than Windows, in this case Mac OS X.
iPlayer Downloader is a free Application for Mac OS X which lets you download DRM-free programs from the BBC iPlayer website.
Requirements: Mac OS X 10.5 or later and you must be in the UK otherwise the application won’t be able to download anything. You also require an Intel-based Mac.
Tags: BBC iPlayer, British Broadcasting Corporation, Business/Finance, Computer architecture, Computer science, Computing, free applications, Mac OS, Mac OS X, Mac OS X 10.5, Microsoft Windows, Operating system, operating systems, Technology/Internet, United Kingdom
Hi,
I wonder, now the iPad is out and there are large versions of iplayer videos, if you’ll be adding the ability to download those as well. That would be super cool.
they appear to be under http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/bigscreen.
Thanks
Clive
Unfortunately they look like flash streams, which we can’t currently capture. If they bring out standard H264 streams for iPad then sure – I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t capture those instead!
Actually correction – changed my useragent and you’re right – they look like standard H264 streams. Unfortunately they all say they’re currently unavailable on this device which is weird.
We’ll keep an eye on it for you!
Hi
Regarding the iPlayer Downloader which I have used every day to download and listen to late night radio shows during the day, But it no longer downloads radio shows, I’d love to see it fixed :(
Cheers for an awesome application.
Steve
Would downloading the full size videos and then transferring via iTunes allow us to see it full screen on the ipad?
Fabulous app by the way.
Cheers…
Steve.
Probably not… It’s pretty much impossible (well, judging by a cursory glance anyway) to capture the iPad streams…
I’d like to add my voice to the poster requesting that you fix it for the iplayer downloader to capture radio programmes again. I’d be very grateful
There seems to be a problem when running on snow leopard when you click on a programme you get the dialog asking if you want to download but neither the download or cancel button does anything
I am interested in HD version as I would like to view iPlayer feeds on Apple TV which upscales 720p to 1080p. The ipod version works OK but it is a bit grainy on movement.
If exported to iTunes via Quicktime only iPod/iphone is available. I also use Quicktime Pro 7.6.6.
Great app as it gives better flexibility on viewing platforms.
Cheers Mervyn
Mervyn – it’s unlikely to happen for a while as there’s a lot of encryption in place which no-one has managed to break yet.
Is it possible for you to be able to allow downloads from the BBC Archive site, as this has may great programmes?
HI,
Problems getting audio to download from the new iPLayer site. Will thisbe sorted soon?
Cheers,
Marcus
I’ve sorted the downloading of audio problem in the new iPLayer window. Control-click on the link and then select “Ope Link”. The file then downloads to designated download destination. Phew!
I’m glad control-click works for Marcus, but it doesn’t for me. I haven’t been able to download any radio programmes since BBC changed their iplayer. Can you help! I’ve already downloaded the very latest IPDownloader version, and donated to keep this wonderfully useful programme going. Thanks.
I love this application and have been using it for a few months now. Any chance of one that works with Channel 4′s On Demand service?
Thanks
Matt
I would like tosave some of the BBC iplayer programmes to view anytime (Horizon is one programe that I would like to keep).
I am a computer novice and I am always a bit concerned about downloading from the net.
I have no desires other than to keep programms that interest me.
Will you software allow this without too many complications.
Thank You
Is it possible to download subtitles with a programme?
I just had to move the downloads folder to a new directory, but I can’t select it in the prefs. Any suggestions how I resolve this problem?
Hi Lawrence – once of your oldest users (in every sense!) – something’s up – nothing downloading for me as of today. Have the beeb tweeked something yet again?
Thanks for a great app.
This has been an awesome app for me, and I was glad to make a donation when I saw what it could do for me. All of a sudden however, it has started downloading the radio programmes in a different format which Quicktime won’t open, and I can’t play in Itunes.
Any idea of what has changed?
Thanks,
Richard
Seems to be working again, so a bit strange – however, audio files seemed to have an .mp4 extension once downloaded. Changing this to .mp3 did the trick and all working again – thanks.
I’m afraid I’m not as techno savvy as Nav! How do I go about converting the downloaded audio files to .mp3? I use a Mac, and before I could just drag the files into itunes and they worked a treat. Now nothing happens, and when I try to open the file i get this message ‘The movie is not in a format that QuickTime Player understands.’
I’d be really grateful if anyone can help out.
Cheers,
Richard
Hi,
Just trying this out.
I am trying to download earlier copies of Lip Service. When I try to follow the link to the Lip service page I keep getting the “Do you want to download this” instead of going to the page to choose which episode to download?
Any help please.
A
Hi Richard,
Hope this helps:
1. Go to Finder Preferences – tick ‘Show all file extensions’. This will then show the .mp4 at the end of your downloaded files.
2. Change the 4 in .mp4 to 3 and your away!
Having said that, the files I’ve downloaded today seem to be coming through in mp3 format again, so things should be back to normal for you with a bit of luck.
Hello,
I’ve just downloaded the program and run it (from its disk image). But when I click on a programme to download it, although the download window opens, it closes almost immediately and I get an error message saying the programme cannot be downloaded. This happens for radio and TV programmes (although I’m mostly interested in radio). It makes no difference if I run the iplayer downloader from the disk image the download creates, or from a copy in the Applications folder.
I’m in the UK running OS10.5.8 on an iMac in an out-of-the-box configuration. btw I can watch and listen via the iplayer itself without any problems.
What’s the problem, please?
Hi, same here. It worked great so far, but stopped working about a week ago.
iPlayer Downloader has stopped working for me this week, used it on Wednesday and it worked, yesterday and today nothing happens. Have the BBC put a block on it again.
I have the same problem as Jan.
I am running Snow Leopard on a Macbook Pro.
Your help would be appreciated Lawrence.
I am having same problem as Jan above, the programme worked fine for th first day or two, but now I just get Programme cannot be downloaded message. I am also on mac os, can you help? cheers Simon
Having the same problem as Jan above. iPlayer Downloader was working fine when I used it a couple of days ago. What’s going on? Any help/advice/info would be much appreciated. Thank you.
It seems that the BBC have changed something again, as iPlayer Downloader is not working (I have seen some moaning on discussion lists about the Chris Moyles show!) Any chance this will be fixed soon?
Hi,
Just to second the comment from Marcus, it also isn’t working for me either. Is this a temporary glitch or anything that can be fixed in the near future?
Please let me know if you find out how the BBC are blocking us, and if there is a way round it. Personally I can’t see what their problem is at all. It has always been possible to record off air programmes to Video and now to DVD in very good quality . . . far better quality that we get with your excellent program! Good luck with finding the solution.
Hi there,
same here…
There are some radio shows I would like to record so I can listen to them in the car, but no joy. Everything was fine till last week:(
suddenly none of the iPlayer downloads are working, the BBC updated their security or something? anyone got a workaround?
Can record audio from audio stream using Audio Hijack ( but nowhere near as quickly as downloading the mp3 file using iPlayer Downloader) , but have yet to find easy and convenient way of recording video streams if IPlayer Downloader doesn’t get fixed soon. Any suggestions?
Same as above: tried Gilles Peterson radio show Tue.07.Dec.2010, didn’t work.
Really peed-off as can’t find anything else on the net that works!
…for bbc radio, used W7 with Radio Downloader, works (for the moment).
[Until the BBC DRM folks work out another block for that probably in near future as well!]
All gone pear shaped again….
Get iPlayer Automator (MacOSX) is able to download from iPlayer. Also able to get HD versions and they are working of Channel 4 stuff.
However, iPlayer Downloader is our default downloaders
For Mark:
Interesting news, but how on earth does it work??? For example, I am trying to download I Claudius from Radio 4, how do I get to it??
hang on… sorted… I had to select “Radio” from Preferences and then restart the app.
The interface is not really great and there are no instructions, but it does seem to work (for now…), so at least I can keep recording the shows I was following:)
Can confirm that Get iPlayer Automator does work. It’s nowhere near as pretty, simple or intuitive as iPlayer Downloader but if you can be bothered to get to grips with it may prove a useful lifeline until Lawrence gets iPlayer Downloader back up and working – in the very near future hopefully.
I got Get iPlayer Automator and haven’t a clue how to even begin. I opened one of the programmes in the iplayer in safari and hoped that would do something but it just gave a strange code in the PID and said ‘not currently available’ and frankly I don’t know what PID is. I wish it came with a manual! Thanks for the suggestions, though, I never manage to watch iplayer within the week and the ip downloader has been the best thing I’ve ever found on the internet, is godsend for kids when you’re somewhere that doesn’t have good streaming, eg on a train.
New version 4.0 seems to work fine for TV shows.
But radio shows NOT downloading.
(Get iPlayer Automator is also out of action for any shows since 12 December.)
It tells me a new update is out – I should download (which I do) – but it won’t run on PPC (which I wasn’t told before I downloaded). Your website should make this clear not just:
Requirements: Mac OS X 10.5 or later and you must be in the UK otherwise the application won’t be able to download anything.
Should include “Intel Machines Only”.
Where can I find 3.7?
C
Sorry Colin – I have amended the text in the description. There’s no version which will work on a PPC mac unfortunately. Time to buy a new Mac!
New version works for TV, thanks. no radio though
though it only gives flv files, so I have to put it through another program after to get an mp4 (btw, thats HandBreak, its mainly for DVD ripping and is free, in case anyone else is wondering).
any chance you could cut out that bit in the next update?
but in the mean time, anything that works is fine by me ;)
I’m happy to report that for Mac, at least, Get iPlayer Automator IS now working again for radio programmes.
Using it is easy enough.
First, in Preferences, choose a destination for the downloads. And select “Add completed downloads to iTunes”
Then:
1. Search for the name of the programme (‘Food Programme’, ‘Book of the Week’ or whatever)
2. Select the particular episode you want and click on “Add to queue”
3. Click green START button
4. Wait a little while (or quite a long time) for the programme to download.
5. Listen to the programme in iTunes
I suspect that TV shows will take a long time to download.
Hope this helps!
Downloaded new version 4.1 to get radio downloads again (having used previous versions successfully for ages now) only every time it tries to download it gets the name of the download OK then the flvstreamer quits unexpectedly with the following error:
OS Version: Mac OS X 10.5.8 (9L30)
Exception Type: EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Exception Codes: 0×0000000000000002, 0×0000000000000000
Crashed Thread: 0
Dyld Error Message:
unknown required load command 0×80000022
Anything I can do about this?
Love the app and would dearly love it back in full working order.
Thanks.
Can’t get iPlayer Downloader 4.0 to work at all. Won’t download radio shows and when I attempt to download TV programmes I get a dialogue box saying: ‘The application flvstreamer quit unexpectedly after it was reluached…’ Hitting the Relaunch button does nothing. Anyone else having this problem? Is there something I’m failing to do? Help, please.
Gary – I’m having the same issue.
I can download radio programmes and they get saved as .aac files but won’t load into itunes. Any ideas?
Thanks, Tony
I just downloaded iPlayer Downloader and it crashed my mac completely – had to re-start. So have app zapped it.
Hi,
I downloaded 4.1 today and was going to make a donation but the PayPal donate button didn’t work. Can you help?
I use Snow Leop on an intel mac and the ipdl v 4 works a treat except, I get Flash files, and not the Mp4 that
allows it used to download… Flash is so CPU hungry…
can I convert it somehow to MP4 pls?
Is there anything I can do to reverse this>
I can’t get anything using even iPlayer Downloader 4.1. I loved this application, and am prepared to donate again if you get it working (I wish I could help technically, but skills are not there yet).
Echo Gary’s post.
I installed iPlayer Downloader 4.1 two days ago – nothing works.
Curiously, Get i-Player still downloads radio and HD TV, but I get ‘flvstreamplayer unexpectedly quit’ messages for everything else, including i-Player Downloader.
I can’t get iPlayer Downloader 4.1 to download video or audio. I really found this application useful to allow me (a very busy man) to take in programs in my own time and enrich my life. I would donate again if you could get it to work. If I was more able on the coding side, I would contribute ideas but unfortunately I am not there yet. I appreciate the work you put in and hope that a ‘fix’ is on its way.
iPlayer Downloader 4.0 now merrily downloading TV and radio programmes again! Many thanks once more.
Hmm, most odd iPlayer Downloader 4.0 IS now working despite failing to do so before. Not sure how this ‘magic’ works but so pleased it does. Thank you.
Hiya mate,
could you compile the wonderful piece of software for PowerPC all over again? My mainstay is an Aluminium G4 Powerbook and the newest version is Intel-only :(
Ta & TaRa,
Stefan
someone mentioned this earlier but i too keep getting flv stream quit unexpectedly, therefore no downloads. does anyone have any idea how to fix this please?
hi, when i download radio programmes (i, claudius) i get an itunes document (aac) that won’t open in itunes ….any thoughts gratefully received
Hi John,
I just wanted to send a quick reply over to your comment earlier today and attached below.
———–
The new upgrade is nothing short of a total 100% disaster – did anybody actuallt test it before wrecking what had been a perfectly good application?
try downloading anything – you get a crash message “flvstreamer quit unexpectedly’
SORT IT!!!!
We don’t expect an upgrade to be crap
———–
Firstly – this software is free, comes as-is and with absolutely no support whatsoever. We don’t use it ourselves and we keep maintaining it as and when it breaks as a result of the BBC changing things at their end.
We have clients to service and you are not one of them – the time we spend on this application is taken out of time we spend with our families, so be grateful that it ever existed in the first place.
As for expectations – it’s free, I personally couldn’t care less what your expectations are.
It’s people like you that encourage me to just bury this little hobby project once and for all because it’s a lot more hassle than it’s worth (i.e. nothing apart from good karma).
Hi Lawrence
Don’t pay any attention to negative comments.
I’ve relied on your program constantly and really appreciate all your hard work on it (yes, have donated!)
Please do keep on fixing it – don’t give up!
thanks again
victor
Working again now, but downloading as AAC, which iTunes doesn’t recognise.
Does anyone know of a simple”cheap” way to convert these to a format iTunes will recognise?
Hi Lawrence,
Just wanted to say that not all users are like John. The great majority of us understand that you willingly give your own precious time to iPlayer Downloader and we are extremely grateful that you do so. Please don’t allow John and his ilk to encourage you to abandon the program. It’s a vital piece of software for many of us and we do appreciate your continuing to update it and deal with ‘glitches’ as they occur. Have a fabulous Christmas.
Thanks guys. Everything seems to be working again this morning which is strange as we certainly haven’t changed anything.
Effinjamie – I’m still looking for a way of converting these myself, seems a bit complicated for some reason.
Gary – this app is most likely going to die a death eventually either way, as the underlying scripts that it relies on are also being abandoned one by one.
Hi Lawrence,
I’d like to add my thanks to you providing this great (FREE!) software that enables me to enjoy BBC programmes at my convenience. Keep up the good work in 2011 and have a Merry Christmas with your family.
Hi Lawrence, really appreciate this program, and have donated before, but I too am getting the flvstreamer quit unexpectedly message. Does anyone know of anything that can be done to fix it? Cheers.
Dear Lawrence,
I’m so sorry that idiot was so abusive to you. IPlayer Downloader has been a mainstay of my life for several years – I love its simplicity and that it lets me use BBC radio like reading books, to enjoy at my convenience.
I’ve been nearly in tears with the recent BBC changes, totally unable to download any radio programmes, so I was delgihted to see you’d manage to do an upgrade.
But I use a PowerMac G5, not Intel, so I still cannot download BBC radio. IS there any chance of a fix to your current version which would enable me to use it again? I can’t afford to buy a new computer.
While I have no wish to drag you away from your family at Christmas, if there is anything you can do to help those of us in the PPC trap, I’d be really grateful. I’d be happy to pay for a working programme, if that helps.
Thanks, with best wishes and great respect, Sharon
Greetings.
I found your programme, downloaded it, and ran it. It asked for munny (!), which I ignored, thinking, ‘Try it first, pay later.’
Now it’s later, and I no longer get the demand for cash. Although I’m retired and have little, I think the piper should be paid for his tune (or some such rubbish); how can I pay you a small amount of moolah?
Happy days,
Ol.
(of whom it has been said)
I have used this wonderful program in the past till it collapsed. Then I used iplayer grabber which worked fine but again – no longer. I have now downloaded yours again to no avail, the same problem as above, flv crashes and nothing downloads.
Any suggestions?
Hi Lawrence,
given the obvious demand for your application, had you thought about charging for it to fund the work you would need to keep it going? I for one wold certainly be willing to cough up
yours (in hope), evergreen
hi Barbara,Gary,Daz,Expance and CJ, I have the same problem as you “flvstream quit”.
Have any of you managed to solve the problem, do you think that maybe we don’t have flvstreamer installed?
I’m getting the ‘flvstreamer quit unexpectedly’ error message as well, having just upgraded to v4.0.
Has anyone managed to work out the root cause of the error, clash with another application perhaps?
Great piece of software Lawrence! Keep it up
Best, Paul
Why is it that a Windows-only radio download program called “Radio Downloader” can still download MP3′s, while your’s can only do AAC’s now?
See:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/radiodld
Good work anyway, BTW!
“Can’t get iPlayer Downloader 4.0 to work at all. Won’t download radio shows and when I attempt to download TV programmes I get a dialogue box saying: ‘The application flvstreamer quit unexpectedly after it was reluached…’ Hitting the Relaunch button does nothing.”
I’m having exactly the same problem. I’ve just upgraded to 4.1 hoping that would help, but generates the same error – is there anything I can do? I’ve used this application a lot and will really miss it if it’s no longer usable. Any suggestions gratefully received.
This is one of the most amazing piece of software that I have on my Mac and, as Mac users know, that’s some claim: it’s excellent and works really well. Thank you
I love this software. But today it seems to want to download files as .flv files. Any idea why?
Oops – sorry – just read the blog post. But lip synch is all out !! Aaargh!
Almost back to normal Lawrence!
If anyone else needs an AAC to mp3 encoder max works a treat!
http://sbooth.org/Max/
Jonnie5
To convert the aac file use Switch http://www.nch.com.au/switch/index.html – it’s easy and free
@Lawrence – many thanks for giving so freely to the community. 99.9% of us really appreciate the time and effort you have put in to this, undoubtedly at the expense of your family and business commitments. We hope you will be able to find the time to continue with the project but if you can’t then that would be absolutely understandable – the community will just have to find (or even create) alternatives. Merry Xmas!
Hi, Lawrence,
Thank you for a very useful programme and the time you spend developing it.
I haven’t had the problems others describe with the upgrade although I haven’t used it for radio programmes yet – I tend to use WireTap Pro for any streamed sound I want to record on my Mac. So all I need to do is find a streaming version from the BBC and just tap into it.
The only thing I’ve noticed is that the names have changed. All the spaces have been replaced with underscores and there’s a load of gobbledygook on the end of the name. It’s a bit tedious editing the name after I’ve downloaded it.
The other thing is something that’s always been a problem: every now and then I’ll put a search in for a programme I know is there and instead of a search results page I will get a ‘Download it now?’ dialogue box. If I click ‘Yes’ I will inevitably get a growl message that the programme couldn’t be downloaded. And sometimes there are several programmes in a series and I want to choose which one, so I really need to see a results page. I’ve frequently got around this by only typing in a very small portion of the name and putting up with a large results page – but occasionally i’ve found that even this doesn’t work.
What exactly has been improved in the new version? I’d like to weigh it against the name issue and see whether I’d prefer to go back to the previous version. However, if the new version makes less programmes unable to download, then of course I’ll put up with the minor inconvenience of editing names.
Ok, when I saw how much bigger the files were from version 4, I found an old copy I was using before I upgraded and tried to use that. Not a single file downloaded. So I guess we’re stuck with the problems of the new version. Unless it was down to some other hidden files being altered by having upgraded which are now incompatible with the old version.
Ann Burgess – Just to clarify something:
We have had to make changes to this app because the BBC blocked the way it worked before, not because we thought we’d upgrade it as such.
The above is the reason that an older version of the app will NOT work. The older version is BROKEN and WILL NOT WORK AGAIN.
You’re more than welcome to try it, but I’ve said my bit…
That’s weird – some appear to download as .flv files, but when it’s done they appear as .mp4 files – not complaining though!
Hi Lawrence,
Just wanted to say thanks for all your time and effort – really appreciated.
Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year.
cheers,
Nav
This has been a brilliant piece of software – thanks to the developers for their hard work.
Sadly I’m getting the same flvstreamer issues as others – I’m on Mac OS X 1.5 – anyone know if it is better in 10.6?
Or is there another fix?
Hi,
Thanks for this player and have just downloaded five radio programmes. They arrived as .aac files but had no trouble opening them using Audacity and exporting them as mp3 files. Would gladly pay for this programme.
Merry Xmas!
To others: MPEG Streamclip by Squared 5 can convert the .flv files that iPlayer Downloader now produces to .mov as a simple change of container (ie, no decode and re-encode of the video, so relatively quick and painless).
However, everything I download now seems to have audio slightly out of sync with video, at least when replayed with Perian. Is anyone else seeing that?
Thanks for the reply, Lawrence – it makes it all clear. I’m getting some things downloaded but most often my downloads just seem to conk out halfway through (not always at the same place). The .flv file I am left with does give me part of the programme, which is better than nothing; I can play these files with RealPlayer which is a free downloadable media player.
Occasionally I get a growl report that the programme cannot be downloaded and when I look at it there’s nothing wrong with the file. So people with seemingly bad files would do well to examine them and see whether they are actually fine before starting all over again.
Take a break and have a good Christmas now!
I drag radio downloads into audacity and then export as mp3 to iTunes. Seems to work great. Thanks for keeping this going – it is great! Happy Christmas
Thanks so much for updating this to work again after the Beeb changed their DRM around, just tested it on a random video and it appears to be working fine! Means I won’t have to go back to recording radio shows manually. :)
Also, ignore the idiots who aren’t aware of the reasons for the app being updated/changed around, they’re not worth the bother.
thanks man! first one that i’ve found that really works!
Alas, I have a Mac OS 10.5.8 and am getting the same error message as those mentioned above :(. Seems some people have had luck making it work, but alas not me!
If anyone knows how to get it working on a Mac I’d be most grateful to hear.
To the developer: this is a fabulous piece of software which I have loved using for a year or two now, thank you! I have donated a tenner via Paypal in the past, and looks like a few of us should do so again as a thank you for maintaining it!
Cheers.
I cannot for the life of me get this to work, I’m trying to download the Adam and Joe show broadcast on Christmas day and am having real troubles, everywhere I click it’s asking if I want to download the link, I’ve managed to type the name in search and then get to the results page by hitting the enter key but when I select the show to download, I get the “this show could not be downloaded” dialogue box.
I’ve only just completed the switch from PC to Mac, so suspect it’s just me doing something wrong, can anyone help?
Thanks
HI there
I downloaded version 4.0 as many of the above mentioned that this version works OK but have found that I cannot download anything. Do you have to be resident in the UK for this to work?
I think its great that this type of software exists and the fact that it is free is superb. If I get a copy that works I would not mind paying for it as I live in Canada and miss UK TV.
Thanks
Just a note to say thanks for the application.
I’ve been using it for some time and it’s been great.
Sad to read that it’s not working. Hopefully you’ll be able to work through the changes needed.
How to convert of raw AAC streams to iTunes/Quicktime X compatible mp4 files (which then can be named m4a/m4b etc)
You have two relatively easy choices.
1. Quicktime Pro 7.x which can open the AAC and then save as generic AAC using passthrough option. However you need a licence (£20). On a Mac this should be scriptable but there are challenges running scripts with Applescript etc on Snow Leopard.
2. Free command line software MP4box.
http://gpac.sourceforge.net/doc_mp4box.php
Download mac binary from http://www.tkn.tu-berlin.de/research/evalvid/EvalVid/mp4box-mac.tar.bz2
$ MP4Box -add Bleak_Expectations_Series_1_-_Episode_2_b00d3rm9_default.aac test.m4b
AAC import – sample rate 22050 – MPEG-4 audio – 1 channel
Converting to ISMA Audio-Video MP4 file…
Saving to test.m4b: 0.500 secs Interleaving
Opens fine in Quicktime Pro 7 and Quicktime X.
After having no joy with 4.0, I’ve just downloaded 4.1 and it works fine.
I’m using a Macbook Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz + OS 10.6.5 and
have downloaded video and audio with no problems. (Just use ‘Switch’
afterwards to convert audio .aac to .mp3 if needed for iTunes or your iPod.)
It doesn’t work for me anymore (as of mid Dec I think). I get to the download link and then it comes back saying that the file couldn’t be downloaded. I’m running the latest (4.0) version on OS10.6.4. The similar iPlayer Grabber software also doesn’t work. Looks like the BBC has triumphed!
David – can you update to 4.1 please? This seemed to work for kaytee0210.
James B. – really informative, thanks mate!
intel macbook with 10.5.8 and using 4.1 – found this prog after iPlayer Grabber stopped working last month and stopped being supported.
Unfortunately am getting constant crashes here’s the report
“Process: flvstreamer [248]
Path: /Applications/iPlayer Downloader.app/Contents/Resources/flvstreamer
Identifier: flvstreamer
Version: ??? (???)
Code Type: X86 (Native)
Parent Process: sh [247]
Interval Since Last Report: 306 sec
Crashes Since Last Report: 5
Per-App Interval Since Last Report: 0 sec
Per-App Crashes Since Last Report: 5
Date/Time: 2010-12-30 11:57:41.653 +0000
OS Version: Mac OS X 10.5.8 (9L31a)
Report Version: 6
Anonymous UUID: 0C951AE8-0F50-488C-AB2D-FCD0417D9FA5
Exception Type: EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Exception Codes: 0×0000000000000002, 0×0000000000000000
Crashed Thread: 0
Dyld Error Message:
unknown required load command 0×80000022
”
The growl message just says this programme is not available for download.
Any suggestions welcome., Thanks Perry
Hi Perry,
I get the same error message:
Dyld Error Message:
unknown required load command 0×80000022
I assume, that the new versions of flvstreamer > 1.8 don’t work with OS X 10.5.X.
I am running 10.5.8.
When downloading flvstreamer 1.8 I can run the binary. But every version higher responses with the error message, mentioned above.
I tried recompiling the newest version (2.1?) but as I am not very expirienced with Mac OS X I am not succesful so far.
Probably an update to Mac OS X 10.6.X will bring a solution.
Maybe someone here has an idea?
Same problem here as Perry, with version 4.1 on Macbook running 10.5.8.
I also get messages like the following; not sure how to make iPlayer Downloader use an updated flvstreamer, but will have a go!
2010-12-31 12:31:28 iPlayer Downloader[2919] Text reads:sh: line 1: 2943 Trace/BPT trap “/Applications/iPlayer Downloader.app/Contents/Resources/flvstreamer” –help 2>&1
WARNING: Your version of flvstreamer/rtmpdump does not support SWF Verification
WARNING: rtmpdump/flvstreamer 1.8 or later is required – please upgrade
INFO: skipping flashaudio1 mode
ERROR: Failed to record ‘
Using 4.1 I’ve managed to grab the aac files okay. They run fine in VLC in stereo, but when I convert them to anything usable in iTunes, they end up mono somehow (both in Switch and Audacity, and using a variety of the different export functions – same results).
Any explanations/ideas/alternatives?
Thanks,
Jo
Ive updated to 4.1 and still no luck… still getting the error message about flvstreamer unexpectedly quitting. Any ideas? thanks.
Hi. Thanks so much for the update. Works great. One minor problem I’ve noticed with the recent downloads (Dr Who and Polar Bears) is a thin green line at the bottom of the frame if I play in Quicktime. It says the frame is 1280 x 724, which seems odd. If I play in VLC no green band appears. That’s a good workaround, except I’m trying to use AirFoil Video Player and I get the same green line at the bottom. Maybe it uses Quicktime? Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Anyone have the issue that I have……when I click to download, I get a box pop up and click on ‘download’ but then nothing happens? Any thoughts or suggestions?
Same thing happens for TV and Radio. Previously this worked fine in the former versions of the software.
Appreciate any help as I really miss the ability to download.
Thanks for the conitunued work to get this program functioning again. My issue is flvstreamer crashing in V4.1. The report is below:
Regards,
Graeme
Process: flvstreamer [4325]
Path: /Applications/iPlayer Downloader.app/Contents/Resources/flvstreamer
Identifier: flvstreamer
Version: ??? (???)
Code Type: X86 (Native)
Parent Process: sh [4324]
Interval Since Last Report: 698511 sec
Crashes Since Last Report: 44
Per-App Interval Since Last Report: 0 sec
Per-App Crashes Since Last Report: 33
Date/Time: 2011-01-02 16:34:54.801 +0200
OS Version: Mac OS X 10.5.8 (9L31a)
Report Version: 6
Anonymous UUID:
Exception Type: EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Exception Codes: 0×0000000000000002, 0×0000000000000000
Crashed Thread: 0
Dyld Error Message:
unknown required load command 0×80000022
My old downloader stopped working (3.7 i think?), i have now downloaded the 4.1 version which works but now the downloaded files are not mp4 files that work on my ipod, is there a way i can change this??
Dear all at Snapshot
I have loved the iplayer Downloader for a long time now and want to thank you for a piece of software
which has been invaluable to me. Unfortunately, I have to spend a lot of time driving so to have the facility to entertain myself with music and spoken word via the downloader has been a lifesaver. I would like to make a donation for all the hours of pleasure it’s given me so can you please let me know how to do this please. Also, I am getting the same flvstreamer crashing error as some other users – if you have time can you let me know if a fix is available.
Happy new year to you.
All the best
Gary Martin
Hey Guys,
Just download a TV Show and cannot open the file because it says it can’t find the default app to open it which in this case would be Flash Player but Flash is Installed and plays content fine namely BBC IPlayer!
Any Clues?
Best
John
Can I personally thank all the people that iplayer to work again. I would be lost with out this app.
Big thanks to Lawrence
No dice. Keep getting the the “flvstreamer application” has crashed alert. I’ve done a Spotlight search for “flvstreamer” but such a thing doesn’t seem to exist on my Mac. Tried trashing iPlayer Downloader prefs but no success. IP-Downloader USED to work brilliantly, but it never seems to for me anymore. I’m on 10.5. Do I need 10.6, or something?
I have the same problem as Rich D, above (2nd Jan). Using Macbook with 10.6.6 Thanks for any help.
Same as John. I wonder why David’s is working but not ours.
Apologies for that last post: it does work, the next time I tried it. Video plays fine, as is, with Quicktime 10. Will it import into iTunes directly or do I need to convert it? Thanks.
Updated to 4.1 Lawrence, but still no joy. I get to the download dialogue and then I get the same message saying that the requested programme couldn’t be downloaded. I’m running the software on a Macbook Pro running 10.6.4.
Got this off the website http://po-ru.com/diary/
“The BBC believes that you should only use its online services through the proprietary software of one of its preferred technology companies. As a result of this, you can no longer use iplayer-dl/iPlayer Downloader.
The BBC has recently changed the iPhone iPlayer to use an HTTPS connection for part of the process. This requires the client to offer an Apple-signed client certificate as part of the connection. This has always been the case for the iPad version, but the iPhone change is new.
This means that a client device that does not have an Apple certificate can no longer connect to the BBC servers. This includes my downloader.”
So looks like it ain’t gonna work no more.
Same issue here… downloads work for a while… sometimes finish… sometimes don’t and can be re started… sometimes can’t be restarted (requested programme couldn’t be downloaded)….
Hi,
BBCiPD continues to work fine for me. The HD files download OK but the files are (as expected) quite large.
Is there any possibility of incorporating a scheduler into iPD to allow the programs chosen to be set to download in the small hours of the morning when broadband is unmetered and downloads faster??
Thanks for a great app
Cheers
Iain
I think the BBC added DRM to the iOS platforms (previously iPod/iPhone did not have this restriction, hence been able to D/L content). iPad messed it all up and now the BBC have taken the iPad resctrictions and extended it across all iOS platforms. So… doubtful anyone has this working, anymore…
Oh well
I’m also having trouble with downloading some programmes. I updated to v4.1 with no difference to the results. Some programmes download just fine, but others just fail with the ‘cannot be downloaded’ Growl message. The only reason I can see for the difference is that every failure is a programme that the BBC has deemed Parental Guidance necessary. I can watch in iPlayer, which has a confirmation dialogue, but iPD has none. A good current example is Needful Things (Sunday, Jan 16).
Am I leaping to the wrong conclusion, or are there any plans to fix this?
Apart from that, iPD rocks. It means I can schedule viewing to suit me, even after BBC’s site expires viewing opportunities. Many thanks for a terrific application.
Cheers,
Mark.
The downloader will report a fail if you attempt to download something that is already logged in its history file. In my case, it added a program that did not successfully download so I needed to edit the history to try again. The history should be at ~/.get_iplayer/download_history
Just found, downloaded and started playing with this. Great programme, Thanks a lot.
Now the question: is there anything which works with Sky Player?
Cheers,
Steve
[...] – This video could possibly not be available in your [...]
For those on 10.5.8 getting the flvstreamer error:
1. Download the binary for flvstreamer 1.8 (I got it here: http://download.savannah.gnu.org/releases/flvstreamer/macosx/ )
2. Rename to ‘flvstreamer’
3. Make sure it’s executable (in Terminal: chmod a+x flvstreamer )
4. Go to iplayer downloader in applications and do right click ‘Show package contents’
5. Replace the flvstreamer binary in Resources with the older one you downloaded
That’s it :)
Hi Nel
which of the 1.8 flvstreamer binary files do I download?
there are heaps of them.
Getting the same error on duplicate downloads – where on a mac will i find “~/.get_iplayer/download_history”? to edit the history? Many thanks. Lovely little prog.
Found the answer! just need to use terminal to show hidden files in finder, and the get_iplayer directory shows up
This worked exceeding well for me until very recently. I get, the error message “The requested programme cannot be downloaded.” This happened before with the prior version, but 4.1 fixed it. Is there another update on the way?
have an upto date intel mac, with the latest version of the downloader, but it keeps saying ‘this program can not be downloaded”
Any help would be appreciated as I really need to download a specific program.
Just tried to download a podcast using the iPlayer Downloader on my G4. It didn’t work so I checked for an update. It said that version 4 was available so I allowed it to install itself and when I tried to open it I got an error because it is Intel only.
Great!
So, now I don’t even have the old version, should the glitch have been a temporary issue with the BBC server and no end of searched have resulted in no download of the software newer than 3.4 which seems to have its own issues.
What kind of software updater doesn’t check the architecture it is running on?!
This doesn’t seem to work with radio programs anymore?
On 10.5.8, was getting flvstreamer errors – Nel’s fix worked a treat – you need the unified binary.
Doesn’t seem to work *at all* any more…
Hello everyone…nice blog :P ….btw if any1 wants to download movies free click on my name … bye
Hello,
I just downloaded 4.1 and it will not download anything.
When I try download a video I get “The requested programme cannot be downloaded.”
When I try to download a radio programme I get “The requested programme cannot be downloaded.” AND “The application flvstreamer quit unexpectedly”.
I tried to follow Nell’s instructions, but it just downloads a plain text document that will not open in terminal.
Help please :)
James
Hello,
I think I figured out the flvstreamer problem. It hasn’t shown “The application flvstreamer quit unexpectedly” again, anyway.
I’m still getting the “The requested programme cannot be downloaded.”
Is this because I’m in Ireland? I figured I wouldn’t be able to get video, but we are allowed access to BBC Radio iPlayer programmes over here.
James
A question and a couple of requests…
1 – When downloading HD videos, why is the result 1280×724, rather than the normal 1280×720? Also, there are quite clearly some extra rows of green pixels at the bottom of these videos as well. Is this a bug?
2 – Can you please turn off all the logging to the Console? Running this application generates absolutely tons of messages in the Console Log, which is just filling up hard drive space for no useful reason. Thanks.
3 – Can you please record the size and location of the window, rather resetting it every single time the application is launched? Thanks.
I cannot dl any new content. It will allow any prog that is a repeat, so the downloader is working…….. It looks as though the BBC have changed something?
Please help – I love this software!!
I downloaded the latest version and it just keeps saying it can’t download anything at all.
i could be wrong. but i think the bbc have made another change to iplayer. if i try to download a programme that was added on saturday 2nd april. it loads the page as if trying to watch the show normally and no download option appears. if i go to download something from say the 29th march it downloads normally. will there need to be an update of the downloader?
I too am having trouble downloading most of the programmes. Older programmes work ok, but the latest just come up as a black screen, not the usual download button.
Does anyone els have this problem?
Has the BBC altered its system to prevent downloading?
When clicking on a link, I have “blank” (in fact, black) page, nothing happens. Seems BBC changed something?
Hi Guys,
Aware stuff’s broken at present – we’ll see if we can sort it out over the next few weeks. Snowed under with client work unfortunately/fortunately!
Lawrence
Good for you guys! Most of us recognise you have a day job and this is a “community service”!
Be glad to see it working again soon (hopefully)!
Thanks
I found that you can sometimes work around the current issues by using the A-Z listings… Clicking on the name of the show you want prompts you to download the latest episode…
Come on BBC… If your iPad application supported offline-viewing I would be much less begrudging of the licence fee… I barely ever watch TV “live” nowadays…
Will be keeping an eye out for the return of Downloader! Cheers for your hard work.
Thanks Lawrence for letting us know that you guys are aware of the issue :O)
I have noticed a couple of other things. I have never been able to download from the “other channels” such as ITV, Channel 4 etc. When I clicked on a BBC channel, it would download immediately (aside from the current issue recently discussed), but when I click an ITV program nothing at all happens.
Thanks for your wonderful application!
I understand it’s now slightly broken and that you’ll get to it when your client work allows, but I just wanted to add my vote of thanks for a great app and I hope it’ll be working again soon.
Best
Rob
At the moment the in-app updates also appear to be broken, will this be fixed in 2.3? I know you guys have real work to do so I’m going to be good and wait patiently :)
Lawrence – do hope you can iron out the problems soon … I’m getting withdrawal symptoms!
Download Link isn’t working !!!
http://snapshotmedia.co.uk/downloads/5
Download link broken. This is a great tool and I’m thankful for it. Please keep it alive if you have capacity for it.
@Joe Mitchell: the download link is the least of the problems; the app itself no longer works due to further rearrangements at the BBC’s end. It’s cat and mouse stuff. And I’ll add that Rob is right to otherwise praise the app to date.
There’s a slight glitch in the download link, but this link works. Note that I’m still pointing you at snapshotmedia.co.uk, not spamming some link to some other site.
http://snapshotmedia.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/iPlayerDownloader4-2dist.dmg
Version 4.2 (which this will get for you) isn’t working any better than version 4.1 at downloading the latest version of Dr. Who, but at least this fixes the link problem.
when i select any episode, to be able to click to download, it doesnt display (render) the flash video section of the page… it just has a black space. this is stopping me from using this app anymore (it was still useful for radio shows i downloaded).
i had the ClickToFlash Safari plug-in installed, which would put a box around where the flash element should display but blocked (as per its functionality). so i uninstalled this plug-in, and this is where i am not, without any content rendering!
if i browse to iplayer’s website natively inside safari or firefox (primary) browsers, everything works as expected.
can anyone help with this? or seen it happen before? is the app using some other internal browser object which has a remnant of this ClickToFlash plug-in still in operation?
many thanks.
Stopped working on my Mac as soon as the new Dr Who aired on Saturday 23rd April. No subsequent programmes will download either so looks like the good old beeb have been messing again.
Shame it’s broken! Used to be the best of all! Please Update!
Is a fix for the app being worked on now? Really missing it as its the only way I get to catch up on missed iPlayer shows. They always disappear on me before I get the chance to watch’em. Any likely date for an update???
I know it’s annoying if challenging to keep up with the BBC shenanigans over this, though I know they’re watching their relationships with rights holders over this, but it’d be great to have the software fixed again. It does a brilliant job and manages to get round the often ludicrous restrictions very effectively. Keep up the good work.
So what are the chances of making this into an iphone app?
There are some programmes when I click on them to download, instead of downloading them, it opens the programme like the normal iplayer but does not download. Anyone knows whats the issue or if its just me.
This was a wonderful app enabeling one to download BBC shows. Unfortunately the download link does not work. Is this because the BBC have “scuppered” this application? If so shame on them.
Looks to me like the link to the download is a tad broken… I have also tried the version attached to macupdate but the application doesn’t respond. Am I missing something or is there an underlying problem? I was so excited when a friend pointed me in the direction of V4.2. I hope you manage to sort it if it is a problem at your end (I’ll continue trying things here)
I’m using the latest version but whenever I click on a show it takes me to the viewing page instead of giving me the download window!
[...] I have a couple of apps to review. Second of all, one of the apps I was intending to review was iPlayer Downloader, which is a program allowing you to download programmes from BBC iPlayer without DRM. The main [...]
Is version 4.2 working for anyone? I’ve seen conflicting comments? Hope to see a fully working version soon. Great work by the way, I really miss the app!
Hoping you will find some time soon to look at a fix. Brilliant app when it has not just been ‘Beeb trashed’ by their changes.
Seems to have died completely now (12th June 2011). Nothing works: radio, TV. Such a shame. This was a vital app for me and, I’m sure, many others too. Any chance of a fix soon? Thank you.
I had a go today and 2 shows worked fine and it’s giving me more options but mostly I can’t get it to work. Great to know it’s still a possibility….Cheers folks.
Using version 4.1 I can still download the odd programme, but these are repeats and were encrypted or whatever under the Beeb’s old system. New progs are a no go. I do hope someone manages to fix this app up as those of us who live in far flung places (we are in Vietnam and were in Dubai before that) rely on this app to bring us some quality TV.
If there was an app that would do ITV as well that would be wonderful…..
Thanks in advance if you are able to help get iPD working.
For anyone wanting a slightly less feature rich BUT working version of this, see
http://tom-tech.com/iplayer_automator/iPlayer_Automator/Get_iPlayer_Automator.html
A lot less shiny, but it gets the job done.
^^ Please make sure to diable the default proxy settings, as the supplied proxy is down.
Thanks Nick, however, your app is downloading flash files, which for me, defeats the purpose.
@Nick
Many thanks for your link to iPlayer Automator. Great WORKING alternative to iPlayer Downloader.
@nick – Fantastic alternative. I’d struggled for days to download a certain programme and yours worked immediately – many thanks
Thought you’d like to know that the iPlayer downloader is working intermittently. Tried to download a few radio shows with no joy.
In case you’re not seeing the updates, we’ve moved the updates over to a new server (on my website as opposed to Lawrence’s company here), so if your 4.2 doesn’t auto-update, you can get 4.3 at http://www.graphicsforge.co.uk
Thanks everyone!
Math
Oh thanks so much, Math – I thought development had stopped. Have just downloaded 4.3 and have managed to download my first radio broadcast in over a year. Much appreciated, and will send some more dosh in thanks.
It’s not being maintained anymore I’m afraid… sorry guys!