Watch BBC iPlayer on XBMC (Xbox Media Center)
You only have to look at the row between the ISPs and the BBC to see that the iPlayer has been a huge success with users. I was particularly pleased with the move to a simple flash interface and I watch the odd thing I’ve missed this way.
However it was noticed by pretty much the entire internet that you the BBC provide an iPlayer service for the iPhone which has the same content but providing the video as DRM free mp4. It was also noticed that you can fairly easily pretend to be an iPhone and thus download these videos to keep and watch on any device.
So it was only a matter of time before the clever bunch of python coders who create scripts and plugins for XBMC came up with a solution for downloading these watching these videos on Xbox Media Center. The script works superbly, it can take a little while to grab the list of shows available but once done you can select anything and it’ll download it and start playing. The added bonus is that since these files are DRM free, they won’t expire after seven days like the normal iPlayer interface.
It’s a great way to catch up with BBC shows from the comfort of your sofa and I’ve used it recently to watch the episodes of Doctor Who I’ve missed on saturday night. Actually it works so well it makes you wonder why the TV companies don’t just provide something like this rather than trying to make it difficult and then failing when some technically minded person works out how to get round the protection. Maybe the ad supported channels could do something similar with ad support rather than DRM…
Just a further note to say that iPlayer is UK only so this script won’t change that fact and allow users from other countries to watch the videos…..*cough*…..proxy….*cough*
Has there been an update, because it doesn’t seem to work any more after the latest update to XBMC. (XBMC is working fine, just this plugin doesn’t)
Hi, I need to update this post a bit as things have changed since I wrote it.
There doesn’t appear to be a script any more, there is a plugin instead so you have to install it in the plugins folder rather than the scripts folder.
Also it requires a build of XBMC that has had the RTMP streaming patch included which I think has now made it into the latest beta releases.
There is also an issue with freezing at the end of a stream but his I believe has a patch now which may or may no have made it into the releases.
Grab the latest T3CH release, install the plugin and give it a go. If you need any info give me a shout.
Jay
Hi,
Thanks for the reply! I’ve got the latest XBMC installed (T3CH) on my Xbox. XBMC works just as it should. I’ve deleted the TDATA and UDATA from the old version that I had.
A little background on my setup. I’m not in the UK, so I’ve got a VPN linking me to the UK. (So I know iPlayer does work on my PC) I’ve then got a proxy server running from my PC, so XBMC can pick it up. Apple trailers work fine, and so does the ITV plugin.
So, I’ve installed the iPlayer plugin and all it seems to able to do is pick up the channels. It doesn’t want to show me any of the shows.
Any ideas?
Hmmm, not sure. It sounds like you’ve got everything you need in place.
Maybe the latest T3CH release doesn’t have the patch I thought it did. I’m running one of the ‘PIMPED’ releases as I knew it worked correctly.
You could try switching on the detailed logging and send me a log. Can’t promise anything but I might be able to see the problem. Otherwise I can hunt out a copy of the release I’m using which you could test.