BBC iPlayer

[chatterbox]

Hi,

In the UK we have a great streaming serve called BBC iPlayer - This has had semi recent sucsess in the XBMC community - It would be great to see the feature added to BOXEE.

Peace out all, the product is looking fantastic

[Siberia]

I think for the UK this would be one of the major points to the greater success of boxee and I have found iPlayer so worthwhile to have since they have released it and I know others would really appreciate it too.

[avneron]

i agree we need to find a way to bring the iPlayer into boxee

[Gamester17]

an iPlayer script is already available for XBMC (search the XBMC forums), ...though I am not actually sure if Boxee's GUI allows for script to simple be copied in or if it only support plugins for that?

[NPerez]

this is currently the biggest project for iplayer in XBMC as far as i know:
http://code.google.com/p/xbmc-iplayer/

this is a plugin. you can use this in boxee without modifying it in any way. i don't know if it's working at the moment - i'm not getting any videos listed, but then again, I'm in the US so it shouldn't be working for me.

if you're in the UK, give it a try, and if you experience the same problem, then the latest word on a fix will likely be in this utterly gigantic thread about it on the XBMC forums: http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=27063&page=45&highlight=iplayer

i wasn't able to find any recent scripts for it, but if there is a working script, it can be migrated to boxee without needing any major changes. if there's any xbmc scripts that anyone would like to see made compatible with boxee, you can let me know and i will make the necessary changes - it's rather simple most of the time.

[marcel]

Hi guys

You can add a script to boxee by manipulating the sources.xml file see thread

http://forum.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=52

try adding script:// with the script path in sources.xml.

enjoy!

[deeceefar2]

As far as I'm aware BBC iPlayer as well as Hulu, both use RTMP for their video. I've seen some of the RTMP support from Boxee ported back to XBMC, but I don't think it is complete. I've tested out VLC's implementation a bit with some open RTMP streams and it seems to work fine, however I've not tried with any Hulu streams. I think, though I may be wrong that the RTMP implementations are all using the same source library which I'm not sure is complete.

On another note from listening to the demo given at the Video 2.0 conference it seems that Boxee is angling for official Hulu support, perhaps why they did the port of RTMP intially, to test if it is possible to implement in Boxee. I could be way off here, but it seems to me they would like to hold off full RTMP support until being able to work something out with Hulu so they don't hurt the would be partenership by implementing their service in Boxee without permission.

So my guess is patience is going to pay off on this one. Either Hulu partenership becomes reality, AWESOME, or it doesn't and they finish RTMP support. Either way it would seem they have other more important things to work on at the moment, and although I'm sure there is ALOT of us that would like to see RTMP support in Boxee it will take time for Boxee to foster relationships with Hulu or other RTMP streams or give up on them and provide the protocol support.

That said the source code is open, there are other open source projects with somewhat working RTMP streaming ability so I don't think it would be a stretch for someone to pull RTMP support into Boxee and XBMC. However it seems the most able to do it now, have other things more important to do.

Anyway just my take on the RTMP support topic.

[Strawp]

Hello!

I'm in that big XBMC thread and I'm the SysOp for the beebhack wiki (http://beebhack.wikia.com/) I think that RTMP is the ideal goal and it sounds like it might be happening quite soon, but the H.264 stream might also be doable directly to playback without any storing to disk by using the methods that Phil Lewis came up with (and presented at BBC Hackday 08, cheekily ;) ).

http://beebhack.wikia.com/wiki/IPhone_H.264_version

Is it possible to pipe video from STDIN into the player in Boxee?

[NPerez]

interesting.. I just set my browser to a UK proxy & faked the user-agent to the iPhone, and it is in fact loading in Quicktime format (though it seems that Quicktime knew I was in the US, as it gave me a 403).

i'm pretty sure that it would be possible to set this up in boxee using only python.. but as noted in that beebhack wiki page, they've been changing the site around often. this is the biggest problem with any site that doesn't like external use of their content.

obviously, before going crazy with creating fragile hacks/workarounds, an inquiry with bbc wouldn't hurt, and perhaps they'd be willing to provide some sort of solution, seeing as we're not trying to provide any functionality that isn't already available from their site.

if that isn't a possibility, then that's all well and fine, but with all of these plugins/scripts that are on shaky grounds with the content owners, i think it's becoming more and more necessary to have a feature for plugins & scripts to update from within the app, similarly to how addons update in firefox

[Strawp]

They moved on beyond user agent tests about a week after the iPhone interface went live. They haven't made any changes to how they check for ages though and to be honest they'd have to implement some real DRM to get what we have now properly blocked out.

I actually learned about Boxee from cubicgarden who is in the XBMC iPlayer thread and who works for the BBC, unfortunately his view differ from those in charge...

I think this is another project which suddenly becomes easier once RTMP is supported.

[chatterbox]

As I started off this very interesting thread AND live in the UK happy to mess around with iPlayer plugins...can I have my invite to the alpha now :)

No seriously...can I?

:p

[tsella]

No seriously...can I?

:p

pm'ed you. tip: looking for invite? head to search.twitter.com and lookup boxee. always people asking for and providing invites there. and there is http://forum.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=144 and also http://invites.mashable.com/site/boxee

[Gamester17]

I think this is another project which suddenly becomes easier once RTMP is supported.RTMP is already supported in Boxee, it might not be perfect but it is supported.


You can add a script to boxee by manipulating the sources.xml file see thread
http://forum.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=52

try adding script:// with the script path in sources.xmlTry that, it might work out-of-box if you are lucky :)

[Strawp]

RTMP is already supported in Boxee, it might not be perfect but it is supported.

Oh really? Cool, I might have a go at this then.

[kerouack]

In Spain we have something like iBBC, it is called "TVE a la carta" (TVE is the public spanish television), it would be great to integrated it in boxee too. It is only streamed but it is very easy to download with safari.
There is a spanish private television called LASEXTA with a lot of programmes in 480P, streamed too, but easy to download, in quicktime.

[chatterbox]

Hey Folks,

I've read...and read...the post here:

http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php...hlight=iplayer

and downloaded the plugin here:

http://code.google.com/p/xbmc-iplayer/http://code.google.com/p/xbmc-iplayer/

and read the guidance here:

http://forum.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=52http://forum.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=52

But I'm really not getting anywhere, could someone, if anyone has got this to work or have a strong theory on how it might post their/their section of the sources.xml, maybe then direct me to the place in the app where I may see it?

Or...even better - and I know I'm asking a lot but a step-by-step guide for me and others.

Boxee could well and truly be made in the UK by the inclusion of the BBC iPlayer and/or a method to get it working - I really do believe that

[clarkee]

I've hooked the script up, edited sources.xml and it's 50% working :-p

I can see all the shows that are available for viewing, but when i click on them there's no 'play', only 'info'.

Further reading http://code.google.com/p/xbmc-iplayer/wiki/StreamingIssues points out that STREAMING_ENABLED should be set to true. When it is, I get no joy at all out of the plugin.

If I make it fully work I'll post the guide here.

[chatterbox]

Hi Clarkee, How does your sources.xml file look to get the thing 50% working?..would love to know

[clarkee]

I'm using OS X, your results may vary!

I open the contents of the Boxee application and browse to Contents\Resources\boxee\plugins\video and created a folder called iplayer

Next, I downloaded the iplayer xbmc plugin from Google code and put the files in my new iplayer folder.

After this I browsed to ~/Library/Application Support/BOXEE/UserData/profiles/clarkee/ and edited sources.xml. Under the video section I added this:



<source>
<name>BBC iPlayer</name>
<path>plugin://video/iplayer/</path>
<private>false</private>
</source>


According to the scripts authors, streaming doesn't work on the XBOX, but should work under linux. Apparently, to enable it you need to set STREAMING_ENABLED to True in default.py in the iplayer plugin directory. This didn't work for me :(

EDIT: All you need to do is press play once you've opened the 'Info' dialog and the show will stream. You can follow these instructions or go a couple of posts down for Chatterbox's edited version of the same guide that i've written here ;)

[tsella]

wish i could help, but i can't even test it locally :(

care to set me up with a tunnel? pm me if possible, would love to make this work.

[chatterbox]

I'm using OS X, your results may vary!....

OK I'm now at the same stage as you (also on OS X)...50%...this is certainly the first part of the guide. I've noticed that the plugin has been updated on the 22/08/08, I still only get the info button though...looks brilliant in boxee though

@tsella - I'll try an setup a tunnel tomorrow...Ill PM you with the details,

[chatterbox]

OK..Step by Step: (OS X)

Assuming you have already downloaded Boxee.

1) Visit http://code.google.com/p/xbmc-iplayer/ and download the plugin

2) Open the Boxee Package contents and browse to:

Contents\Resources\boxee\plugins\video

Create a folder called iPlayer and copy the contents of the downloaded plugin to that directory

3) browse to ~/Library/Application Support/BOXEE/UserData/profiles/chatterbox/ and open in TextEdit sources.xml

4) Under the Video section add:


<source>
<name>iPlayer</name>
<path>plugin://video/iPlayer/</path>
<private>false</private>
</source>

5) Launch Boxee, go to Video, Internet Video, Select iPlayer

6) Select the Channel

7) Select the Program

8) Select info

9) Press Enter (there doesn't seem to be a button but it just magically plays)

Taaa Bloody Daaa

PS - Thanks to Clarkee for some pointers 50/50 me ol' mucker

[tsella]

chatterbox & clarkee FTW! awesome guys!

[chatterbox]

chatterbox & clarkee FTW! awesome guys!

Is it worth a sticky buddy? Would be my first ever one LOL

[tsella]

Is it worth a sticky buddy? Would be my first ever one LOL

heck yeah - copied to FAQ (http://forum.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=289) and made sticky

[Strawp]

Awesome work!

[johnsto]

Wow, that's pretty neat.

Incidentally, what's the 'STREAMING_ENABLED' var for? This was present in the older iPlayer script to enable MP4 streaming, but is certainly not present in the current one.

Does Boxee need this variable to be present?

[Strawp]

OK, so trying to get this running on an Ubuntu install gets me to the point where it tries to request the feed and then fails.

Just to check, my paths are:

/usr/boxee/plugins/video/iPlayer
/home/iain/.boxee/UserData/profiles/strawp/sources.xml

[chatterbox]

Wow, that's pretty neat.

Incidentally, what's the 'STREAMING_ENABLED' var for?...

It didn't work for me without this variable, further reading from here (http://code.google.com/p/xbmc-iplayer/wiki/StreamingIssues) suggests
By default, it assumes the server is running on the local machine

So...unless you're sitting at BBC HQ it seems you'll need this :p

[johnsto]

It didn't work for me without this variable, further reading from here (http://code.google.com/p/xbmc-iplayer/wiki/StreamingIssues) suggests

That page was for the previous version of the script (which started a server sitting in between XBMC and the BBC iPlayer site), I just forgot to remove/update that page! The current plugin needs no such variable to be set.

[chatterbox]

That page was for the previous version of the script (which started a server sitting in between XBMC and the BBC iPlayer site), I just forgot to remove/update that page! The current plugin needs no such variable to be set.

Mmm interesting, must have been a fluke, I'll check it out later and update the sticky.

Thanks for the heads-up

[clarkee]

rofl, yeah, so my instructions worked, just there's no 'play' button.

i recon that's a pretty good hack-em-up from me and chatterbox there! high fives all around, this will look bloody awesome on the list of features (for UK users).

at least now I can start pushing it on all of my friends with more force :D

[chatterbox]

...I'll check it out later and update the sticky

Edited :)

(without this the message is too short) :p

[Gamester17]

The latest Boxee Alpha release features HTTP proxy support so at least theoretically you could now use this plugin from anywhere in the world as long as you use a UK (United Kingdom) proxy (http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=free+proxy&btnG=S%C3%B6k&meta=).

It would probably be a violation of BBC iPlayer user agreement doing so but... :rolleyes:

[idan]

hey guys,

so great to see such quality content making its way into boxee... this is what we dreamed of :)

now re the play button problem, i have found the bug (a very simple one) and we will do our best to fix it for the next release.

keep up the good work!

idan

[shoesy]

Cool work guys, but can someone explain how to move the files into the plugins directory on my appletv please? I tried with fugu but it wont let me make the directory. I assume some terminal action is needed to do it, but my command line skills are (almost) non existant.

What the sudo?

[poprock]

Hi guys.

I’m really close to having this work, but just not quite there yet. Wonder if you can help?

First off, I’m in the UK. Running Boxee on a Mac Mini with OS X 10.5.5. Followed your instructions for setting up iPlayer on Boxee.

I can browse the iPlayer content, view info, etc. When I press play though, I get stuck at the spinner and have to force quit.

I’ve checked and re-checked everything from your installation instructions, can’t find anything I’ve done wrong.

Could it be that the brand-new version of the XMBC iPlayer plugin isn’t working with Boxee? Can you tell me which version you’re successfully using so that I can try it?

[chatterbox]

Going to look into this now, the latest version doesn't seem to work. Fingers crossed, I'll post back here with any info I can get...

[chatterbox]

Going to look into this now, the latest version doesn't seem to work. Fingers crossed, I'll post back here with any info I can get...

Stumped - I've emailed a developer to see if he's got any ideas...I suspect the ever changing plugin doesn't help, Im trying to find the one I used when it did!....

[chatterbox]

Ok, Looking at my post I must have used the plugin on or around the 24th August - It doesn't work...running out of ideas...:confused:

[chatterbox]

Ok, Looking at my post I must have used the plugin on or around the 24th August - It doesn't work...running out of ideas...:confused:

Tried everything I can think of including most plugins and the SVN just in case. Maybe a board (bored) administrator could move a couple of these posts to the correct area for some additional community support.

(PS not one to bitch but I got a really poor response from the boxee helpdesk:

"our support team has replied to your support request #962314

try posting this in the forum as they guy who created it will help you"

...*cough*...maybe end of the week blues! I'll keep playing just in case I fall across the fix (plugin updates are v.regular)

[poprock]

Thanks for taking a look at this, really appreciate the effort.

[C-Quel]

Try to disable the thumbnails for this plugin you may find it will work again.

[chatterbox]

Just tried this through the boxee gui - Settings > Application Settings > iPlayer > Download thumbnails (untick)

Sadly no difference - It doesn't now download the actual thumbnail (as expected), instead showing a default icon. However when going to play the item the same problem - just hangs at a spinning wheel.

It does feel like something has changed for the worse as old and new plugins a like do not work - I wonder if an old version of boxee would be worth testing with?

Any thoughts anyone?

[grindboy]

I've followed all the instructions on ubuntu 8.04. It's a fresh install of Boxee as this is the 1st application I've added. I've run into the same problem as everyone else, the failed to retrieve data message. Any update on whether there is a work around?

[dc2447]

Anyone have Iplayer working on Linux in the UK right now?

[arronhuk]

if you have an issue (on the mac at least) check that your plugin directory (in /Applications/Boxee.app/Contents/Resources/Boxee/plugins/video) is called iPlayer (not sure if it's case sensitive) as that solved it just plain not working for me.

There may be useful log messages in the boxee.log file under ~/Library/Logs.

Edit: Figured out why it had to be called iplayer (that's what I added to the sources file <path>plugin://video/iPlayer/</path>)

[dc2447]

I'm on Linux, the directory is called iPlayer and I can't see anything in the logs.

Works on OSx fine :(


More information:

I have tried the plugin in /opt/boxee/plugins/video as well as ~/.boxee/plugins/video

I have made sure that the plugin folder is called iPlayer (case sensitive) and matches sources.xml

Nothing in the console when starting boxee from there and nothing in /tmp/$user-boxee.log

[stuntmasterzs]

Just tried iplayer plugin on my new macbook and boxee install and it worked first time, but it does have one bug so far. When the streaming video has finished it locks up and i have to hard reset the machine.

On a second note, there is talk of ITV(UK) using the same platform as iplayer so that will be really good for us UK users.

[Strawp]

On a second note, there is talk of ITV(UK) using the same platform as iplayer so that will be really good for us UK users.

I think it would actually be easier to hook into what ITV has now (which is just ASF streams) than the hoops that the iPlayer makes you jump through to get video content.

The perl app, get_iplayer indexes and grabs ITV content now, if you want to have a look at where the content comes from: http://linuxcentre.net/