This topic

BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

brizzlechris — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 16:45:43 GMT

Hi,

I've noticed today that if I record BBC programmes on my BT TV Box Pro (in IP mode), I can no longer watch the recordings from the hard drive (are they actually being written to the hard drive any longer?) and am instead am redirected to watch the programme via the iPlayer app.

On the face of it it looks like this causes two immediately obvious negatives (and maybe some less obvious ones I haven't yet thought of!)

1) Programmes/recordings cannot now be kept for an infinite period.

I "recorded" last night's Sports Personality of the Year. This would previously have been available to keep on the box for as long as I desired (subject to hardware failure etc.) Now, as it's reliant on the iPlayer availability, it's shown as being available for 29 days.

Some older recordings I had sitting on my box for some time from BBC channels now are unplayable, show as "Unavailable" with the message "This programme is not available to watch. Press delete to remove".

2) Some programmes which don't get made available will no longer be viewable after transmission

Previously, you would have been able to record programmes that don't get onto iPlayer (e.g. the "Verified Live" afternoon news bulletins on the BBC News channel). Now, if I schedule a recording and attempt to watch this immediately after the broadcast has ended, I get the "Unavailable" status displayed with the message "This programme is not available to watch. Press delete to remove" upon playback.

A few questions come to mind...

Does this only affect Pro box users in IP mode? Or is this also applicable to aerial users?

When did this change occur? And is there anywhere where this was announced? I feel like I've missed something but it's not immediately obvious when I tried to find something.

Re: BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

chrisjp — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 17:17:19 GMT

I still use an aerial for my TV and, so far, have had no issues with recording programmes, via my Freeview box, on any channel, including the BBC.

Re: BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

Andy005 — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 17:53:12 GMT

Hi @brizzlechris

I've just been able to record BBC1 in IP mode and I was able to watch the recorded section without any problems. I recorded Vigil last night and that plays okay as well. I have other recordings from 18th Nov and 9th Dec and they play as well.

Being directed to watch via iPlayer sounds like what you'd experience if trying to watch programmes from within the TV Guide that show the 'play' symbol.

It might be worth going into Maintenance Mode and select the 'Keep Recordings' option, see if that cures the issue.

Re: BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

brizzlechris — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 19:11:09 GMT

Thanks @Andy005 - a maintenance mode factory reset (keeping recordings) seems to have put things back to how they worked previously.

Having a look at things post reset, the component software (4.1.108) and manufacturer software (0.9.58) remained the same as before the reset but the platform configuration changed from 5497 pre-reset to 5485 post-reset.

Here's a pic of how BBC recordings were appearing pre-reset...

Re: BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

zulu17 — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 20:32:22 GMT

Only spectulation but based opon your experience (EE TV experts might be able to confirm if there were any issues)

1) You may find that another box software update may be available either now or overnight or when you next restart that will update your box configuation.

2) As you found your "unavailable " recordings were still on the box just that the system considered that you were not entitled to access them or system couldn't find them based upon the system view of your channel subscriptions. So suspicion of rogue or mismatched data somewhere. Possibly this would have corrected itself overnight or indeed in the box was restarted (powered off/on).

Re: BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

NickBS — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 12:37:11 GMT

Hey - sorry about that. Looks like your TV Box is part of a user research group and received a build that we use for internal testing. Glad you got it sorted with a reset.

Re: BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

Lizzie — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 18:56:37 GMT

Hi everyone,

Do we know if anything has changed recently on this issue?

I have received an email this morning from ee along the lines of the original poster's query, that BBC recordings will from 21 August only be available through the iplayer app, with warnings that some content will not be available, that there may be a 15 minute delay before recordings are playable, and that availability may expire quickly.

The email refers to watching in internet mode, which I now do. I used to watch via aerial but when I had my latest box, the cable that was sent would not work, and as the hub was very close to the TV the engineer who helped me over the phone talked me through changing to internet instead.

Re: BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

Midnight_Voice — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 16:25:01 GMT

@Lizzie

The above was @brizzlechris accidentally getting an early test build of what will now be rolled out on August 21st.

It will affect recordings of programmes on BBC channel made on or after that date only, and only for people using IP Mode.

If you want to carry on as at present, switch back to aerial mode. This is supposed to require a factory reset, thus losing all your current recordings, but it’s worth reconnecting an aerial and then trying a Maintenance Mode Option 2 reset, to see if this brings the box out of IP Mode without losing them.

I don’t know what happened with your latest box, but BT don’t send out aerial cables, so it should just have been a case of plugging in the existing one you had; you were badly advised about that 😢

Re: BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

Lizzie — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 16:56:52 GMT

Thank you!
You helped me at the time when I couldn't work out which cable I needed, so in a way I was glad to go cable less.
I wonder if I might do better just buying a box that records.

Re: BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

Midnight_Voice — Sat, 17 Aug 2024 17:54:16 GMT

@Lizzie

You have a box that records. You have a box that records from an aerial (and if you don’t, and you have a faulty one, then EE will swap it for a working one).

What you apparently don’t have is a working TV aerial cable; and if you don’t, then no recording box, YouView or not, is going to work for you (unless you happen to have an unused satellite dish on the wall or roof, and you get a Freesat recorder!)

Get your TV aerial cable (the end looks like this):-

and plug it directly into your TV, other end still in the socket on the wall, and see if you can tune the broadcast channels or not. If you can’t, something needs fixing. If you can, try it with the YouView box (remember it will need a reset before you start).

If all this seems a bit complicated, get a techie friend or family member, show them this thread, and get them to help you. It should be quite straightforward….

Re: BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

Lizzie — Sun, 18 Aug 2024 18:50:35 GMT

Hello again @Midnight_Voice ,

I do have a working aerial as I can get channels from TV only or HDMI. My faulty cable/lead seems to be the network/ethernet cable which was supplied, and rather than replace it the BT engineer talked me through over the phone switching to wifi instead. My BT hub is not connected to my TV Pro box by cable.

I saw that a fresh thread "Changes to BT Recordings" had started on the 16th August after we recieved our notification emails, and I was stupidly confused about what watching in 'internet mode' meant.

I do not have anyone to help me, but in any case I am always willing to learn about the stuff that I share my room with!

I was also wondering what the TV Pro box with ee subscription offers me that a Youview box bought separately can't.

Re: BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

Midnight_Voice — Sun, 18 Aug 2024 21:34:13 GMT

@Lizzie

Ah, that makes more sense - the Ethernet cable was faulty, so the engineer talked you through using WiFi.

So as long as you are getting your TV channels on the YouView box via an aerial, the change the BBC are introducing won’t affect you - when you record a BBC programme, the recording will stay on your box for as long as you want it to, and when you play it back, it will play from the hard disc in the box.

IP Mode is a thing that EE TV has whereby a selection of TV channels are sent over the internet instead of an aerial. Very useful if you don’t have a TV aerial, or you get very poor reception from one. But it has a few drawbacks compared with using an aerial - you get all the main channels, but not the more obscure or minority ones like PBS, you can’t skip the adverts on programmes recorded from itvX, and now this latest BBC tie-in that means recorded programmes only last for as long as they are on the BBC iPlayer. And other broadcaster may well flex their muscles and demand further restrictions in the future 😢

The Pro box does give you a few things that a separately-bought YouView box can’t:-

There are Now and other channels in the range from 300 up that only EE TV provides, and the Pro box can record them. On a separate YouView box, you can watch the live Now channels in the Now app, if you subscribe to Now, and you can watch whatever is available On Demand, but you can’t record any of it.

Similar with TNT channels/app/subscription, and Discovery.

I have never wanted to record anything off Now, and I get my Now subscriptions rather cheaper than on EE TV. But if I was a big sports fan, the EE TV ability to record would be very attractive to me, and the EE TV pricing would get much closer to what you can get it for from Now.

On the hardware side, a separate YouView box will set you back £30 -£120, and I wouldn’t look at many below £50, but it is a one-time cost (unless it breaks) and you do own it. With EE TV, you get the loan of a Pro box for as long as you subscribe, at no extra cost, and if it breaks, they replace it.

And better support that if you go it alone, but we cover subscription and non-subscription boxes here without fear or favour.

Also, EE TV ties you to EE or BT broadband; with a standalone YouView box, you have the choice of any ISP.

But I’d certainly go with EE TV and BT or EE broadband if the price was right. If……

Re: BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

Weerab1983 — Sun, 18 Aug 2024 21:54:49 GMT

@Lizzie There's currently a deal through the BT website for full fibre 100 and EE tv with the now entertainment package for £45 a month, but that deal ends in 4 days

If you already have BT broadband you could possibly add EE TV to your package. With the entertainment package being an add on at £15 a month as part of a deal, before it returns to its more expensive price in 4 days.

Re: BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

edbostan — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 04:48:36 GMT

How do you watch the other Freeview channels not available through the Internet? You are only watching a small proportion of what is available. The idea of watching, for example, BBC through the i-player negates the need for recording onto the hard drive as it is available on demand.

Re: BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

Midnight_Voice — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 07:35:07 GMT

@edbostan

You watch them over an aerial, to get all the broadcast channels available in your area.

If you are wedded to the IP channels as the watching and recording mode on your YouView box, for one of the good but diminishing advantages it brings, one suggestion is to tune your TV for OTA broadcasting, and watch that for any channels your YouView box can’t get in IP mode.

As regards the BBC iPlayer, I will still be able to watch The Singing Detective after November; iPlayer users will find it gone. As long as stuff comes and goes, the ability to snapshot it to my hard drive remains valuable.

Re: BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

Lizzie — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 15:25:31 GMT

I can only get Talking Pictures TV and PBS America if I switch from HDMI to TV, so then I can't record them.
I also wonder if all TVs now come with the main apps, like BBC and Channel 4 and 5.

Re: BBC Recordings no longer possible, watch via iPlayer?

Midnight_Voice — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 21:12:59 GMT

@Lizzie

Put your box back into aerial mode, and then it will receive and record those channels.

If you have a Pro box, an aerial, and a good signal from a full Freeview transmitter, the case for IP Mode is weak to non-existent.

And yes, most if not all smart TVs come with the BBC IPlayer and My 5, and even with itvX, just as the Pro box does. Any Freeview Play TV will have them all, and lots of other TVs besides - find one you like, and check the specs that these Players are included.

And if they aren’t all included, buy that model of TV anyway, and add a Roku or a Firestick for about £40, and get all the Players, plus a plethora of other apps, that way.