BBC Iplayer Downloader Plugin - Beta + Support

[Society]

The iPlayerServiceMessenger.log was still growing when I wanted to zip so I grabbed a copy before zipping and therefore the time of the file isn't consistent with the others and it isn't normally-terminated. I've removed GBPVRRecordingService.exe[-n].log files.

Set to low quality and tried to get a 10-min Chucklevision programme via Search but it doesn't seem to be readily available - which seems to have caused problems. I've since discovered that "raw" get_iplayer has problems with this programme (640x360avc1 + mp4a) and guess that a public holiday isn't the best time to conduct tests.

Downloaded and converted Office avi - only 5':30" then switched and downloaded Outnumbered avi - which is complete.

One result of bouncing the machine is that GetIplayerService is no longer hogging a core. I'll watch to see what might trigger that.

Traffic shaping on my legacy PlusNet product is not restricted at any time for streaming. They claim to make a point of refining traffic management signatures so that iPlayer functions as designed with a high priority (subject to Olympics or Wimbledon, etc). I imagine that get_iplayer traffic has a signature that matches what's on their switches. Note that I normally opt for "High Quality" but never for HD.

[smiler]

The iPlayerServiceMessenger.log was still growing when I wanted to zip so I grabbed a copy before zipping and therefore the time of the file isn't consistent with the others and it isn't normally-terminated. I've removed GBPVRRecordingService.exe[-n].log files.

The file will grow when you are downloading or procesing in any way. You can always run the stop service batch file in the /plugins/iplayerplugin directory. This will free the file lock and allow you to save it.

I had a look through the log files the chucklevision program seems to not support the flashmedium/low modes.

This is an issue for me as well because I cannot successfully download/watch the flashhigh version and it is not available in the medium or low, the ISP's do not really care. :mad:

Here is the line in the log:

Code:

INFO: No specified modes (flashmedium,flashlow) available for this programme with version 'default' (try modes: flashhigh1,flashhigh2,flashstd1,flashstd2,flashvhigh1,flashvhigh2,subtitles1,subtitles2)

I guess you will need to download it off peak in HQ or simply choose another program.

Set to low quality and tried to get a 10-min Chucklevision programme via Search but it doesn't seem to be readily available - which seems to have caused problems. I've since discovered that "raw" get_iplayer has problems with this programme (640x360avc1 + mp4a) and guess that a public holiday isn't the best time to conduct tests.

Downloaded and converted Office avi - only 5':30" then switched and downloaded Outnumbered avi - which is complete.

The iphone downloads are not always available, they sometimes take a few days to appear after the flash version. I'm pretty sure that the are not heavily utilised otherwise complaints would prevail to the bbc.

One result of bouncing the machine is that GetIplayerService is no longer hogging a core. I'll watch to see what might trigger that.

Yeah, that does seem strange.:confused:

Traffic shaping on my legacy PlusNet product is not restricted at any time for streaming. They claim to make a point of refining traffic management signatures so that iPlayer functions as designed with a high priority (subject to Olympics or Wimbledon, etc). I imagine that get_iplayer traffic has a signature that matches what's on their switches. Note that I normally opt for "High Quality" but never for HD.

I haer found that the best thing to do to guarantee the best likelyhood of a good download is to try to download at non peak times. This allows for the throttling to be taken out of the picture.

[Society]

The file will grow when you are downloading or procesing in any way. You can always run the stop service batch file in the /plugins/iplayerplugin directory. This will free the file lock and allow you to save it.

Did you note what was being added to the log? Is that expected behaviour when a download has failed or should there be a limit to activity?

The programme itself is of no interest to me - I selected it as a test item because it was just 10 minutes long.

I haer found that the best thing to do to guarantee the best likelyhood of a good download is to try to download at non peak times. This allows for the throttling to be taken out of the picture.

I'll try for an HQ (not HD) download in a few hours but it seems strange that I encounter problems via the plugin. I've not got a handle on the naming conventions so wonder what get_iplayer command would give me the equivalent file.

I already download radio programmes and various other stuff in the early hours as that's unmetered traffic on my tariff. Is there a way to introduce a delay such that the plugin will not start downloads until some scheduled time? If it turns out that I'm not the only one experiencing these problems then it could be more generally worthwhile.

[smiler]

Did you note what was being added to the log? Is that expected behaviour when a download has failed or should there be a limit to activity?

The programme itself is of no interest to me - I selected it as a test item because it was just 10 minutes long.




I'll try for an HQ (not HD) download in a few hours but it seems strange that I encounter problems via the plugin. I've not got a handle on the naming conventions so wonder what get_iplayer command would give me the equivalent file.

I already download radio programmes and various other stuff in the early hours as that's unmetered traffic on my tariff. Is there a way to introduce a delay such that the plugin will not start downloads until some scheduled time? If it turns out that I'm not the only one experiencing these problems then it could be more generally worthwhile.

The log will keep growing if you have a failed item in the list, I will add a fix in the wish list for this, however normal downloads will not cause the list to grow once the download has completed.

The log contains the full command that was used for getiplayer when downloading, so you should be able to copy and paste it in to your command window to run it seperatly.

For example the ChuckleBros download:

Code:

"perl.exe"  "C:\Program Files\get_iplayer\get_iplayer.pl" --flvstreamer=C:\PROGRA~1\GET_IP~1\FLVSTR~1.EXE --mplayer=C:\PROGRA~1\GET_IP~1\mplayer\MPLAYE~1.0RC\mplayer.exe --lame=C:\PROGRA~1\GET_IP~1\lame\lame.exe --ffmpeg=C:\PROGRA~1\GET_IP~1\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe --file-prefix "ChuckleVision_-_Series_20_-_1-_Mind_Your_Manors" --get --pid b008wc7f --force --use-rtmpdump-exitcode --overwrite  --outputtv "D:\iPlayer Downloads"  --rtmp-tv-opts="--resume" --type tv --vmode=flashmedium,flashlow

Therefore if you get a failure it might be worth trying the exact same download command line without the plugin and see if it fails. I would certainly be interested if there is any difference.

As for the time delayed downloads, I will add it to the wish list, it is quite a major change so is likely to be a V4 update.

[Society]

Is there a way to introduce a delay such that the plugin will not start downloads until some scheduled time? If it turns out that I'm not the only one experiencing these problems then it could be more generally worthwhile.

Found others among the get_iplayer blog comments who had problems which have been attributed to throttling but surprised it hasn't seen mention here.

I had some success after midnight with an avc/mp4a but then, after noon, switched from ffmpeg to mencoder and it took 1hr45' of 50%CPU to generate an unwatchable mpgv/mpga file of a 1hr programme with a series of silent "still" images among the moving ones. Is the constructed command line inappropriate or is the problem elsewhere?

I'll obviously switch back to ffmpeg and only attempt use of the plugin off-peak unless/until some future version puts the queue on a schedule.

Thanks for your patience.

[smiler]

Found others among the get_iplayer blog comments who had problems which have been attributed to throttling but surprised it hasn't seen mention here.

I had some success after midnight with an avc/mp4a but then, after noon, switched from ffmpeg to mencoder and it took 1hr45' of 50%CPU to generate an unwatchable mpgv/mpga file of a 1hr programme with a series of silent "still" images among the moving ones. Is the constructed command line inappropriate or is the problem elsewhere?

I'll obviously switch back to ffmpeg and only attempt use of the plugin off-peak unless/until some future version puts the queue on a schedule.

Thanks for your patience.

I will try to recreate the problem with Mencoder, it is interesting that the ffmpeg seems to work better. I have found that ffmpeg can sometimes be more compatible. I suspect that mencoder is actually encoding the file but maybe not following the MPG spec fully.

It would be interesting to play the resulting MPG in VLC to see if it can play it ok, if so this would actually point to a codec issue.

[Society]

I will try to recreate the problem with Mencoder, it is interesting that the ffmpeg seems to work better. I have found that ffmpeg can sometimes be more compatible. I suspect that mencoder is actually encoding the file but maybe not following the MPG spec fully.

It would be interesting to play the resulting MPG in VLC to see if it can play it ok, if so this would actually point to a codec issue.

I apologise for not having stated that principle viewings of downloaded files and transcoded files were by VLC from my desktop PC so that I was removing GBPVR and MVP from the equation.

I'd initially tried viewing a few transcoded files on the MVP but the Recordings info regarding times and duration wan't helpful and the skip function usually caused loss of sync or other problems so tests have been with VLC as the player.

[smiler]

I apologise for not having stated that principle viewings of downloaded files and transcoded files were by VLC from my desktop PC so that I was removing GBPVR and MVP from the equation.

I'd initially tried viewing a few transcoded files on the MVP but the Recordings info regarding times and duration wan't helpful and the skip function usually caused loss of sync or other problems so tests have been with VLC as the player.

I have found a bug for certain mencoder encodes in low quality, I think I have fixed it now along with a few other bugs. I will try and upload a bug fixed version of the plugin to the wiki this weekend.

[smiler]

Ok, I have been pretty busy lately.

But I have finally uploaded the latest version of the plugin to the wiki. It is really a better debugged version of the existing plugin, with quite a few bug fixes for gui bugs etc.

The new version also allows better configuration of HD content via ignoring HD transcode, this is available in the GBPVR plugin configuration.

You can also manually configure the transcode settings that are available for mencoder and FFmpeg in the config.xml file.

[gEd]

Cheers smiler

Installed and the plugin works fine
I broke my previous install after I have to restore my c: drive back 4 weeks.

I noticed that I had to complete the info for the radio tab (even though I don;t plan to download any) otherwise config.exe hung on exit. All good now.

still an awsome plugin!