For its HD programmes the BBC provides  50fps HD and SD streams, which is kind of pointless since most HD programmes are shot in progressive format and the only benefit 50fps provides is for the scrolling end credits.

They do not provide the 960x540  50fps for programmes which are SD only, which is a shame because shows like Dad's Army were shot in 25i and would benefit from 50fps.

However there is another stream at 704 x 396 50fps. I managed to watch The Good Life using this stream via another piece of software and it looked like proper interlaced video. The BBC mentions this additional stream on its website but does not say what devices it is intended for (I assume it is for TV sets), and says that what stream you see depends on what device you are using.

So could you please add support for this extra stream? I know this is possible because I managed to download it using a paid software which I will not name.

youtube-dl can also be used (for free) and shows this format you require if available for the programme.

(30-11-2016, 01:06 PM)So could you please add support for this extra stream?

Maybe, but don't hold your breath. I have some changes in mind that would support this, but I'm still mulling it over. For me, the 50fps streams are a complete waste of bandwidth, and it isn't worth adding yet another quality level that virtually nobody would even care about. I regret adding 50fps support at all, but at the time I thought it would be the only option for HD (and it was for nearly a month). But since 50fps is now in, it could probably stand a few tweaks.

Thanks for the reply user-2 but this is my point really - that 50fps is a waste of bandwidth for HD material, but that for old SD programmes shot with tube cameras in 25i there is a big benefit in picture quality because at 50fps they have twice the temporal resolution of the deinterlaced 25p streams. Whenever there are programmes with archival clips or made before 1995, the old videotaped studio material looks terrible deinterlaced. It looks much better at 5ofps, so I think this would be a very good extra feature and not at all a waste of time.

I don't agree with you at all that that deinterlaced content looks any better at 50fps, but that's the nub of the matter: it's in the eye of the beholder. I don't doubt that a few people might think a few old SD-only programmes look nicer at 50fps, but the vast majority of users won't care much about the low-resolution video for a small fraction of available programmes. Given that those streams can easily be downloaded with youtube-dl, it's just not worth my time to add them to get_iplayer unless it's part of a more general change in how 50fps streams are handled, something I may yet decide to do. However, anybody else is free to have a go.

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