I downloaded Get_iplayer roughly 18 months ago, to use on Windows 8.1 and it always worked fine. Thanks to a nasty virus, my PC was killed, and I've had to re-install everything from the ground up.
I have downloaded the new version of get-iplayer today to replace the one I lost, but i'm finding it much slower than the one I had before. Is it still possible to get the previous version somewhere? I experienced no technical problems with it, so it should be ok for me to go back to.
Thanks :)
(03-02-2017, 12:59 PM)I have downloaded the new version of get-iplayer today to replace the one I lost, but i'm finding it much slower than the one I had before.
It helps to read the release notes for intervening releases. Things have changed, and you need to re-configure to revert to previous behaviour.
Quote:Is it still possible to get the previous version somewhere?
No. Only the latest release is supported.
Thanks for the help.
I am a bit dyslexic, and don't cope well with reading through a lot of stuff though. But you're meaning that it can be altered to get it to work like the previous release?
Yes, though only you know what "work like the previous release" means for you.
Recently my copy of get_iplayer developed some sort of fault, so I reinstalled it. Version 2.99 (the latest version) gives files with names like this:
"get_iplayer_-_b08abcde_b08abcde_original.mp4"
This is pretty useless for knowing what you have downloaded. Far, far better is the version in 2.97, which gives files with names like this:
"Follow_the_Money_Series_2_-_1._Episode_1_b08abcde_default.mp4"
This is MUCH more use.
If I hadn't had a copy of 2.97 (which I had previously downloaded) I would have been stuck with the most recent, but unhelpful, version.
This made me think, why don't you keep previous versions online? I'm not saying you should still support them - obviously you should only support the latest version. I'm talking about a reference archive. CCleaner does it, for example. It creates the feeling that they have nothing to hide.
People might have all sorts of reasons for preferring an earlier version. If they can adapt it to their own purposes (peculiar no doubt to their own machines), why not let them do so, at their own risk of course.
Simply saying (in replying to the question "is it still possible to get the previous version somewhere?"), "no, only the latest release is supported" sounds very defensive (whereas CCleaner's approach is much more open). Your reply is also not an answer to the question. The questioner was not asking for support for a previous version, only for a copy which he could do with as he wished.
You can still get the previous versions from github if you need them.
The problem/fault you refer to with 2.99 was as a direct result of the BBC removing the feeds get_iplayer uses to get its metadata. This includes the programme name, episode number etc which is used to create the default title for a download.
During this outage, we found that some slightly older releases were able to get hold of the relevant metadata to meaningfully name downloaded files which for some reason 2.99 could not. As a result of this, some users reverted to a previous version in the same way that you did while this outage continued.
Once the relevant metadata feeds were back online again (around 2 days later) version 2.99 was able to continue working successfully as it had done before and name files as you would expect them to be named.
tvfan is correct & it was he that had confirmed my downloads using v2.97 (as I've not upgraded yet to v2.99) did have metadata during those 2 days of outage where v2.99 had problems. I would've been on v2.99 if it wasn't for the fact that I've been doing some spring cleaning on my laptop etc & so I was lucky that I was still using v2.97 at the time of that recent problem arising.
And because of that, it made me think whether different versions of GiP, other than the latest, could be run on the same PC or at least there to be run if needed?
Not trying to complicate things, I was wondering if GiP could be run from a Pen Drive/Memory Stick & if it could then you could have each version of GiP on a Memory Stick to be used if needed & then just keep the latest & supported version on your PC.
We all understand that only the latest version of GiP is supported by the great Dinky & any others are not & if you are not using the latest version you are banned from the land & you are an outcast! (lol just joking, my sense of humour)
Thanks Dinky for your commitment to GiP & to people like tvfan, Square Penguin, Round Robin etc who have the knowledge & experience to offer their advice & help to those of us not on their level (yet lol).
Thanks for the explanation. tvfan said "you can still get the previous versions from github if you need them". Can you tell me where? I can find lists of what improvements were made in previous versions, but when I try to download them I am sent to version 2.99.
My radio files in 2.99 are about twice the size of what they used to be in previous versions. Is this known about? (I know this question should really be in another forum. If you prefer I will try to find which one.)
Old versions of the installer are not available but the actual get_iplayer scripts for previous versions are still available from
github. You can download one of these if you need to and use that instead of the current version. If you don't understand what you are doing though I would advise against trying to do any of this.
Quote:My radio files in 2.99 are about twice the size of what they used to be in previous versions. Is this known about?
Yes. The defaults for get_iplayer have changed to include new higher quality streams that the BBC have started to produce and to get rid of the older depreciated streams which the BBC are going to axe soon. (It's all in the release notes :))
Do you just let get_iplayer use its default settings to download the radio programmes for you?
If you do then you will find that 2.99's default setting are different.
Rather than downgrading to an older version, it would probably be easier for you to tell get_iplayer what quality level you want it to download which will override the default settings which as you have seen result in larger files than you have been used to due to their higher sound quality.
Have a look at the
modes page in the Wiki.
You might also want to have a read of the
release notes for the last few versions of get_iplayer to bring yourself up to date with what has been changing recently.
Thanks for the reply. You are correct to surmise that I should avoid fiddling with the get_iplayer scripts, because I don't really know what I am doing - my limited knowledge would indeed be cruelly exposed. So I will stick with the security of the latest version, with all the gremlins ironed out by others who do know what they are doing.
But I still do think it is a bit strange that you have lots of details about each previous version, but not the downloader. So on my hard drive (because I downloaded it earlier) I have an .exe file, a .tar.gz file, and a .zip file of version 2.97, because I downloaded these when they were current. But I can't download them now (though I can download lots and lots of other stuff about version 2.97). This does strike me as pretty odd, and even (as I said earlier) a bit defensive.
Thank you also for pointing me to the solution to my query about the size of files. I had actually read the notes beforehand, but had forgotten whereabouts. It was similar to the situation a while ago when tv files suddenly got bigger. My solution is to download high quality for Radio 3 and lower quality for Radio 4. Thanks again. I know it must be irritating for you to have to point out, again, things which you had already pointed out beforehand, but those of us who are struggling a bit with the complexity of get_iplayer do value the odd guidance to help us in the right direction.
Quote:But I still do think it is a bit strange that you have lots of details about each previous version, but not the downloader.
I think the idea is to try and make it easier to support people by making it difficult for anyone to install an old version of the software unless they know what they are doing.
The problem is when someone comes here and asks for help, they rarely volunteer the fact that they are still using a version from 2 years ago. If people were easily able to install old versions, it would be very hard for anyone to support and it would probably also lead to a lot more support requests when people find that things don't work.
There have been so many changes recently that it makes sense to try and keep as many people on the most up to date version as possible.
Yeeeeeesss. I think that if the old versions are buried in GitHub, the chances of someone unknowingly downloading an old version of get_iplayer are pretty small. So I don't really buy your explanation, though I do sympathise with your desire to protect yourselves from dozy people who don't really know what they are doing (such as my goodself). So maybe I can forgive your ... paternalism, I suppose it is ... but without actually condoning it.