Hi, I have 3 questions:

1)

 I sometimes download a given episode
multiple times to see if I can get the highest quality version
because it seems,

sometimes
the bitrate and the file size of the video vary by up
about 1-20MB, (something like that).

What factors are involved in obtaining the maximum quality?
Maybe I'm being a bit OCD about this, worrying about a few megabytes
difference in quality but I just want to make sure I get the highest quality of
what's available as I can't stand having an inferior version to watch than
what is available.

2)

Also, do you think some shows broadcast in 1080p on iPlayer?
If this is the case, does this program allow 1080p quality downloads?
If this is not the case, does anyone know when iPlayer will
start streaming shows in 1080p or at least higher than the readily available 720p?
(Or maybe just a higher bitrate?)

3) When using the multiple PID download command

e.g.

If I have a chain of episodes I want to download in a queue,
if one episode fails....the queue doesn't seem to continue.
Is there a way to fix this?

What factors may affect the chance of a failure?


And despite one failure, how can the queue be continued?

(and preferably report to the user/me which episode
failed...but if not, I guess I can just check which episode wasn't created properly by looking at the file extension, file size, playing each episode, etc. to see which file is messed up.)

Thanks.

#1:  Those numbers are devoid of context and impossible to assess. Assuming that you're referring to flash HD streams, the differences are negligible.  get_iplayer tells you what version it downloaded, so there is no doubt whether or not you have the best available.

#2: No, no, no and support for 50fps HD will be in next release of get_iplayer. At last check, the BBC doesn't broadcast 1080p.

#3: Impossible to even guess without seeing the output from get_iplayer. All errors are not created equal.  Your example appears to refer to programmes that are not available via iPlayer, so no clue what you're trying to do.

EDIT: Example programmes have probably been broadcast at some point, just not available from iPlayer.

Flash HD streams? What other types are there?
I just set the settings for best quality.


What do you mean get_iplayer tells you which version is downloaded?
In the file title??

Will I benefit at all from the 50FPS change? (Smoother version of an episode?)
Or does it only affect a select few special programs or something?
The Hobbit? Haha just kidding. :P (Reference to the fact the Hobbit was theatrically shown in 48FPS as well as 24FPS.
Not that the Hobbit would be on iPlayer...hence me joking.)

The example PIDs I pasted are only examples I got from the help section.
They weren't the programmes I actually used but I don't think it would
make a difference as the failing download doesn't always fail,
so I suspect it could be my internet not being 100% reliable,
in which case, I'd want to know how to continue the file
or at least skip to the next one in the queue (after the internet connection properly returns).

As an example:

Let's say I have 7 episodes (let's say episode "1 to 7") I want to download.
I put the PIDs in a queue.
I go away from my computer (not sleep mode or anything like that, that would disrupt the process/internet)
(or do something else on my computer, with get_iplayer minimised)
I come back and....BOOM. Queue does not continue as
episode 3 failed.....
Now I have to do the queue again from episode 3!
(Which is a pain especially if you're away for ages, thinking your queue is
finished by now only to find you have to try again with some episodes.)

There's just no notification or way of knowing if the queue/download is complete without
manually checking.

If I have written something that doesn't make sense, let me know.

EDIT: Also, I've noticed that when the file size is smaller for an episode than
a different time I downloaded it, I must have been using internet or doing something
on the computer so....I often don't touch anything on the computer until
the download is complete to achieve maximum quality...but this is not reliable.
So maybe it's another factor. Don't know.

(05-01-2016, 04:06 PM)Flash HD streams? What other types are there?

Read the recording modes documentation in wiki

(05-01-2016, 04:06 PM)What do you mean get_iplayer tells you which version is downloaded?
In the file title??

No, it is right there in the screen output, e.g., "INFO: Trying flashhd1 mode ..." You can put it in the file name if you like by using the <mode> token in --file-prefix.

(05-01-2016, 04:06 PM)Will I benefit at all from the 50FPS change? (Smoother version of an episode?)

That is up to you. The BBC has reduced the sources for 25fps HD streams, so it's possible they may be removed eventually.  Or they may change the mix of streams offered.  No way to know.

(05-01-2016, 04:06 PM)As an example:

Let's say I have 7 episodes (let's say episode "1 to 7") I want to download.

No examples or hypotheticals.  Post a real command line with real output containing real error messages. It could be as simple as you having poor upstream connectivity, but I'm not going to guess.

(05-01-2016, 04:06 PM)EDIT: Also, I've noticed that when the file size is smaller for an episode than
a different time I downloaded it, I must have been using internet or doing something

Don't worry about slight variations between downloads.  RTMP streaming isn't exactly the same as downloading files.

I have another question that's in the same vein as this topic....
I've noticed after right clicking an iPlayer video (in browser)
that the bitrate in kbps is sometimes higher than the bitrate of
videos downloaded via get_iplayer. (Over 2000kbps vs over 5000kbps for example.)
But this is not that frequent and depends on my connection.

I've also noticed when I compare a video downloaded via get_iplayer
with a video downloaded via the official BBC iPlayer Downloads software,
that there is a noticeable difference (not massive but I can see it)
in terms of sharpness, contrast and brightness (get_iplayer video is brighter + higher contrast
and slightly less sharp).

My question is, am I able to download a higher quality video if
my internet connection was better? (Or is there a restriction in maximum quality obtainable via get_iplayer's method?)

I tested iPlayer (in browser) with wifi and ethernet and there
was barely any difference in quality performance.

(Only difference was with ethernet buffering was quicker but
both methods often had pixelated/compressed portions of playback of the video)
and I know my ISP doesn't care. (My internet connection problems are their fault hence
why my connection slows down or even drops completely fairly frequently every week).
Or possibly due to some wiring (which they've looked at a few times....so it must be their allocation of bandwidth, so not my fault at all.)

As far as I know, no one has figured out a way to remove DRM from a video directly
downloaded via the official BBC iPlayer Downloads software (whose downloads are slightly better in quality)
but I came across something which leads me to my second question:

HDS Link Detector....Has anyone heard of it?
I tried getting it to work but I was lost somewhere in the instructions.
Either way, would that method work just as good as get_iplayer or
slightly better? (In terms of quality of video downloaded.)

The same video downloaded via get_iplayer and the official BBC iPlayer Downloads software
came at a difference of a few MB but the quality difference was noticeable to
my eyes.

Sorry about my obsession with quality.  :-)
Any information is appreciated.

Bump.

As an update, my connection has stabilized after getting a repair
and now I'm getting more consistent results
but still there are times when
the quality is 10-40mb shorter than the average.
E.g. most episodes may be about 510mb but a few
are 470mb for example.


Also, what is the reason for the quality difference between
videos downloaded from Get_iPlayer
and videos downloaded from the official BBC iPlayer Downloads software?
I do notice a difference in bitrate, sharpness and colours.
Especially when I view it on a 1080p monitor or TV.

I really like Get_iPlayer and I'm hoping to find out
why there's a discrepency.
(Am I the only one experiencing this?)

I've tried turning off my firewall,
turning off my anti-virus,
and while the download is slightly faster,
the quality is usually not different.

Perhaps there's a setting somewhere I don't know of?
Is this something to do with ffmpeg, re-encoding settings, recording settings?
Open to any ideas people have about this. :)


Thanks.

Hello,

Let's try and clarify some things.

(01-03-2017, 08:19 PM)... there are times when
the quality is 10-40mb shorter than the average.
E.g. most episodes may be about 510mb but a few
are 470mb for example.

The terminology here is confused. Quality isn't measured in megabytes. Size can be measured in megabytes. Size is NOT an indication of quality except for in the very coarsest sense. Other factors affect size such as length of show being downloaded, original recording medium, the BBC's encoding and the quality level of the stream.

You seem most concerned about the last point. The answers you seek are available in the modes and modesref wiki pages.

I'll warn you though, it's not a light read.

It's not expected that you understand everything on first reading or can hold multiple modes/shortcuts and their various bitrates and resolutions in your head. Get a notepad and pen and go through it to see the various options.

Then shortcut all that effort, make sure you're using get_iplayer version 2.99 and  the default will download the highest available quality. If you want the highest possible quality at 50fps you can use the --fps50 flag to obtain 50fps streams.

Again, the two pages linked above will give you the details you need.

Quote:Also, what is the reason for the quality difference between
videos downloaded from Get_iPlayer
and videos downloaded from the official BBC iPlayer Downloads software?
I do notice a difference in bitrate, sharpness and colours.
Especially when I view it on a 1080p monitor or TV.

Even if there is a difference, there's no way to give you an answer that has any hope of being accurate. You haven't provided any exact commands you used to download a show, so no one can see what quality level you've been using. Indeed I don't see any reference to an actual show that you downloaded or any information on your system, OS, get_iplayer version or much that could let anyone help you.

[quote
I've tried turning off my firewall,
turning off my anti-virus,
and while the download is slightly faster,
the quality is usually not different.
[/quote]

That's because those things have absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the download. If I may use a car analogy it's akin to plugging in a seat-belt and hoping the radio will be louder.

Quote:Perhaps there's a setting somewhere I don't know of?
Is this something to do with ffmpeg, re-encoding settings, recording settings?
Open to any ideas people have about this. :)

If you provide the detail then people can help.

We provide a voluminous guide on how request help. It's got all sorts of useful help in and guides on how to capture logs so we can see what's happening with get_iplayer, so have a read and follow the point before you post again:

thread-706.html

Sorry, I didn't realise how ignorant I was portraying myself. :P
I know quality isn't measured in MB but it's quite a good correlation
if we assume Get_iPlayer works in the same way to obtain
each episode of similar length.

So I'm just speculating that several tens of MB might be indicative
of some lack of quality and wanted to know if there was
a way to make the downloading and/or conversion more consistent
and provide the highest possible quality available from the iPlayer servers.

And of course I know that download speed has nothing to do with
quality but I was thinking perhaps a slow connection might
force Get_iPlayer to give up too early (in looking for certain frames) or completely switch to a lower quality version of
the file entirely.
I don't know. I was just noticing that a slower connection speed led
to lower quality files (hence why I often stepped away from the computer to ensure
internet and CPU usage didn't lead to inconsistencies in Get_iPlayer) but now I'm not so sure as my connection has been fixed but still get inconsistencies.
Sometimes (but not always) I'm able to repeat a download of an episode and obtain a better version
(higher bitrate, higher file size).
 

Anyway, what I'm facing isn't a huge deal and I'm not really complaining
but it would be nice if there was some other option that could allow for
a greater likelihood to obtain the highest quality version.

This is not dependent on any one series, it just happens
here and there with any series I download from.
It could just be that the iPlayer servers have
some episodes of slightly lower quality/bitrate (and lower file size) than the average.

I use the setting:




I also set it to 50 FPS.

An example of some inconsistencies is:


The latter 4 episodes average at about 990MB +
while pid b074gf51
is only 887MB.
That's a difference of about 100MB or so
and ~10% loss in file size.

The video bitrate of pid b074gf51 VS the others:
Data rate: 4258 kbps VS 4850 kbps
Total bitrate: 4383 kbps VS 4950


Another interesting thing is,
For an episode that was lacking bitrate/filesize,
I tried downloading it with the extra command:


and found that the .TS file size and bitrate was much more
inline with the average .MP4 of the other episodes in whatever series it was from.
The conversion from
.TS to .MP4 isn't lossless?
I thought I read that FFmpeg only
takes out the MP4 from the .TS wrapper?
But I'm not knowledgeable about file types so I may be misunderstanding
something here.
If it is indeed the case that the conversion is lossy rather than lossless,
would I be able to convert it myself using Get_iPlayer with different conversion settings?
(If so, do you know how?)

On the other hand, if it's the case that the conversion is lossless,
what could be reducing the final output MP4 file?
Or is it just that's the best available and the iPlayer servers
just have some slightly lower quality episodes?


Any ideas are appreciated.
Thanks. :)

You are barking up the wrong tree, in the wrong forest, on the wrong planet. Moreover, you already answered your own question:

Quote:It could just be that the iPlayer servers have some episodes of slightly lower quality/bitrate (and lower file size) than the average.

get_iplayer is just a downloader. You get whatever the BBC provides - end of. Bit rates vary between programmes - that's how it works with iPlayer, so learn to live with it. If you don't like the quality of some downloads, there is nothing get_iplayer can do about it. Your connection speed, system load, etc., are irrelevant unless your system performs so abysmally that it causes failed downloads, but that doesn't appear to be the case with you. If you in fact are seeing  errors from get_iplayer, then do as SquarePenguin instructed and file a proper report for a valid test case.  Otherwise, just enjoy your programmes and stop wasting your time chasing shadows and looking for patterns where none exist.

There's no need to be rude, just because you feel that my thread is
a waste of your time.
I didn't force you to help me.