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Get iPlayer Automator

Avatar Georgia Cheer
Hi all,
I think it was David Moon who told us about Get iPlayer Automator. I downloaded it, used it once to record a program off BBC using Safari browser (as he said it won't work with Firefox, my preferred browser). My question is, I have come back to use it after a month and now it seems to not be able to download any BBC programs. Always says there is an error. I have recently updated to Yosemite, could this be the cause of it? I have the latest version of Get I-A. Does anyone else have a problem using it? I can't get it to Process PID, and it also wont record. I thought all you have to do is go to the website, click Use Current Webpage, and press the green Play symbol button. Any thoughts as to how I can make it work again?

Re: Get iPlayer Automator

Avatar Euan Williams
Hi Georgia. Here's how it's done.
Find the BBC programme’s web page (Safari > iPlayer > your programme).

Open Get IPlayer Automator, wait for it to settle down (watch the blue progress line at the bottom of the window).

Find the “Use Current Webpage button and click it.

The programme title appears below the titles: "PID - Status - Show Name - Episode name"

Click to select the name.

At top left click the green Start button.

GiPA tries to detect the programme, but may fail after the 30 secs allowed:
———
Proxy failed to load test page.
Downloads may fail.
Do you wish to continue?
———

Wait for a while, and try again. You may even need to do this several times over a day or so, but normally everything goes smoothly and efficiently.

Keep an eye on the bottom “info slot” which can start showing something positive, then pause, and get active again. Be patient…

Once you see the % sign and increasing numbers, everything is going well.

All you have to do now is to find the download in User > Movies > TV Shows, or in iTunes under the TV icon (top left).

Bear in mind that GiPA is a hack rather that a polished App. and the BBC have from time to time blocked it over the years. Let us know if this works for you.

Re: Get iPlayer Automator

Avatar Douglas Cheney
I have just tried to use Get iPlayer Automator and found that i wouldn't work, every time I tried to download a program it quit.

Re: Get iPlayer Automator

Avatar Georgia Cheer
Thank you Euan but even with your directions, the download fails. It trys to do it, but after initializing, it comes up with the error 'download failed.' I may try it going back to Maverick just to see if it makes any difference.

Re: Get iPlayer Automator

Avatar Georgia Cheer
Have now tried same procedure with Mavericks OS but still not working. Says unknown problem. I think BBC has managed to lock the application out. Anyone else out there been able to USE the Get iPlayer Automator?

Re: Get iPlayer Automator

Avatar Lionel Ogden
i think you may find that with all these iPlayer applications which are not BBC originals that from time to time the BBC tweaks its system so that the "unofficial apps" cease working. Eventually updates are offered and so the game goes on. BBC iPlayer has recently undergone quite a radical redesign so this may have contributed to the failure.

Re: Get iPlayer Automator

Avatar Euan Williams
On the 30th May I successfully test-downloaded Griff Rhys-Jones' "Burma, My Father and the Forgotten Army" before sending my then reply.

This evening, just before sending this, I downloaded "Have I Got News for You: Series 49 - Episode 8", also selected at random to test GiPD.

The key is the pop-up notice warning that GiPD can't find the Google database doodah "within 30 secs" and do you wish to proceed? If you see this, don't proceed, just repeat after a while. Sometimes it will pop up with "available" a few minutes later.

It seems the database contact and check process is sometimes slow and not terribly efficient, which is why patience will be rewarded. This may be a GiPD server issue.

Lionel is right that the BBC have made efforts to frustrate GiPD use presumably on copyright grounds, and I made the same point on the 30th. However it seems that is not the cause of GiPD's perceived failure.

If a fresh installation of GiPD "crashes" - as opposed to not working properly, the cause probably lies elsewhere, and not with Yosemite. For the same reason, going back to Mavericks won't help either, unless the Yosemite system requires maintenance and the Mavericks system is in a state of grace.

GiPD works here just fine, but, being a hack and having to circumvent the BEEB's regulations means that a little patience and understanding may improve your experience. Hope this helps.

Re: Get iPlayer Automator

Avatar John Surtees
Stopped working for me as well.

Re: Get iPlayer Automator

Avatar Euan Williams
Looks as though the BEEB has been messing about with their formats this week.

Adding "low" and "very low" BBC resolution formats didn't help here, and download successes over the last couple of days have not been repeated.

It may help if affected members also submit a bug report (see GiPA programme menu - where GiPA preferences can also be found).

More details:
re. problem reporting are here.

re. clean installs here. (See the blue listing on the right of the web pages for more.)

Hope this helps someone!

Re: Get iPlayer Automator

Avatar Douglas Cheney
The program has been updated today, but I still can't get it to work has any one else been able to use it

Re: Get iPlayer Automator

Avatar Euan Williams
Nor here either. updated v1.8.6 installed. Bug report sent.

Re: Get iPlayer Automator

Avatar Mick Burrell
I don't use this App but am I right in thinking it's designed to download and keep programmes without a time limit on watching them? If so, isn't this against the BBC's terms & conditions? And if so, it may not be a bug - it just might be that the coders at the BBC are cleverer than the coders who wrote the App ;-)
 
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