The last couple of days I've noticed that BBC isn't making programs available in hlshd (720p 25fps), only dvfhd and hvfhd (720p 50fps) for HD.
Examples: Latest episodes of The Film Review, Click, BBC News at Six, BBC Weekend News and Episodes 7 and 8 of Below the Surface (Episodes 1-6 of Below the Surfaces are available in hlshd).
Here are a few of the modes for a few of these programs:
Code:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09x5njy/bbc-weekend-news-07042018
dvfhd1,dvfhd2,hvfhd1,hvfhd2,hvfhd3
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09y2b9x/click-om5g:
dvfhd1,dvfhd2,hvfhd1,hvfhd2,hvfhd3
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09yrx76/the-film-review-ghost-stories-wonderstruck-love-simon:
dvfhd1,dvfhd2,hvfhd1,hvfhd2,hvfhd3
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0959t9k/below-the-surface-series-1-episode-6 (includes hlshd):
dvfhd1,dvfhd2,hlshd1,hvfhd1,hvfhd2,hvfhd3
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b095swd2/below-the-surface-series-1-episode-7:
dvfhd1,dvfhd2,hvfhd1,hvfhd2,hvfhd3
As my broadband is extremely slow this is an issue for me as hvdhd takes twice as long to download as hlshd and also requires twice the storage.
Has this been announced by BBC and is there anything we can do to get 720p 25fps back?
You can add Fridays Have I Got News For You as not currently having a hlshd stream, although Room 101, which aired an hour earlier, does have a hlshd stream.
FYI I went to the iplayer website and tested both out and both were streaming at 1280x720 at about 5380kbps as a dash stream which would mean it is the 1280x720 50fps dvfhd stream.
Just done a refresh and the just aired Have I Got a Bit More News For You is also lacking a hlshd stream. Panel shows don't benefit from >25fps but if it's all that's available...
Should I go for the dvfhd or the hvfhd stream?
If I'm reading the wiki and --info output correctly higabmnfy has
dvfhd=1600MB
hvfhd=1714MB
from which I am surmising that while both are 1280x720@50fps the audio differs in that dvfhd=128kbps and the hvfhd=320kbps.
I think it's an issue at their end. There are several children's shows that are only available partially in HLSHD. Alphablocks, for example, is available in HLSHD fully - apart from ONE episode. This includes the episodes shown either side of the non-HLSHD episode.
I've noticed a change too
For example:
Nature's Microworlds ep1 - Galapagos downloaded at 1280x720.
Each subsequent episode has arrived as 960x540.
As a test I just forced Galapagos and that one is still 1280x720.
I do hope they aren't going to stop/restrict 720p @ 25FPS
(12-04-2018, 07:41 PM)As a test I just forced Galapagos and that one is still 1280x720.
Are you aware you can use the --info switch to see what modes are available, it's got to be faster than forcing a download.
Launch get_iplayer
From the command line find the index number for that episode of Nature's Microworlds
type: get_iplayer microworlds
For me the Galapagos episode has the index number 1619
type: get_iplayer --info 1619
The output will contain the available modes and their (estiamated) sizes.
(12-04-2018, 08:26 PM)Are you aware.... /snip
No, I had no idea, and thanks very much for the info - I love useful tips and I'll definitely find that useful.
I didn't need to download the entire file a second time though, just start it, as faithful get_iplayer told me what the size was going to be.
Thanks again augur :)
You're welcome cosys.
And you can add the just aired Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience to the list of shows that didn't get a hlshd in the last week. The missing modes between last weeks and this weeks are hlshd1,hlsvhigh1
If this is an issue at the beebs end then it has been ongoing for 7 days.
If tomorrows Have I Got News For You is also missing the hlshd mode then I'll consider it an intentional change and move to hvfhd for my backlog.
And in passing I saw that the penultimate Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience (S08E03) had only a single hlshd1 and hlsvhigh1, a while ago there were four (maybe two) available (hlshd1-hlshd4). This could be indicative of a gradual phase out.
(10-04-2018, 12:11 AM)Should I go for the dvfhd or the hvfhd stream?
"hvf" should be preferred to "dvf". Beyond that...
EDIT: Removed obsolete advice See
v3.14 release notes
(12-04-2018, 11:20 PM)If tomorrows Have I Got News For You is also missing the hlshd mode then I'll consider it an intentional change and move to hvfhd for my backlog.
Probably a good assumption, though there is a tiny chance it could be slightly premature. The "hls" streams were broken (albeit still present) for nearly a month in 2016. That said, it looks like programmes that have actually been produced during the past 10 days (e.g., One Show, Newsnight, HIGNFY, Question Time) no longer have those streams. This is not exactly a surprise. Those streams have been on life support for years.
(12-04-2018, 11:20 PM)And in passing I saw that the penultimate Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience (S08E03) had only a single hlshd1 and hlsvhigh1, a while ago there were four (maybe two) available (hlshd1-hlshd4). This could be indicative of a gradual phase out.
That changed years ago, and it was anything but gradual.
(13-04-2018, 12:14 PM)user-2 Wrote: [ -> ] (12-04-2018, 11:20 PM)And in passing I saw that the penultimate Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience (S08E03) had only a single hlshd1 and hlsvhigh1, a while ago there were four (maybe two) available (hlshd1-hlshd4). This could be indicative of a gradual phase out.
That changed years ago, and it was anything but gradual.
So 'a while ago' was years, doesn't time fly. I've been using get_iplayer before 720p streams were available and thinking 720p was a great step forward, now I'm dragging my heels.
Tonights HIGNFY is also missing the hlshd stream, time to go modify all my pvr files in which I specified the hlshd stream and remove that line, then do the smart thing and set the desired stream(s) in the options file.
get_iplayer --prefs-add --tvmode=hlshd,hvfhd
Time to go dig out a keyboard for my microserver.
Closing this thread to avoid any more irrelevant posts (now moved elsewhere). hlshd is on the way out, and I've given you options to adapt your settings to cope. There isn't any more to say on this for now. The next release of get_iplayer will change the default settings to keep HD as the preferred resolution, even if 50fps.
Get_iplayer keeps downloading in 540p.
Tried "--tvmode=best"
Updated get_iplayer
Tried downloading via pid instead of url
All to no avail.
Me too. Has the BBC changed the way it deploys iPlayer programmes? I don't seem to be able to download programmes in hlshd any more. Both the bitrate and the resolution seem to have been lowered. I've had a good look through the wiki about download formats, but modes=best no longer seems to do the business. Any comments, anyone?