Video: Holy Cow! BBC iPlayer works smoothly on the Nokia N900’s Browser! [V. Simple Instructions inside]

UPDATE 04-02-10: RECENT BBC iPLAYER UPDATE STOPS THIS SOLUTION WORKING. PLEASE SEE NEW METHOD TO GET iPLAYER WORKING SMOOTHLY ON YOUR N900

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BBC iPlayer is the greatest catchup service in the UK. Though it’s only BBC channels, it implements on demand video better than anyone else in the UK, with fast streaming of videos appearing seconds after the show finishes airing on live TV. It even does live streaming sometimes.

There’s an app for many platforms, and a really great one for S60, but this never made it over to Maemo and N900. On the Browser, BBC iPlayer only works well with Radio as the browser attempts to use the high bandwidth desktop videos.

User Dancairo on talk.Maemo.org found that the Wii version is not only very mobile friendly in interface but allows you to watch videos in lower bandwidth! This lower bandwidth version is still much clearer than the S60 5th edition version and it’s smooth (let it buffer for a few seconds first in the smaller box).

You can quickly switch jump about on the time line and it resumes playback at that position almost immediately. Very, very, very nice indeed! Another testament to the greatness that is the Maemo 5 browser (and Adobe Flash Playback! )

• IT STREAMS OVER 3G TOO! You can only do that with select networks with the S60 5th Edition app. [Though broadband and WiFi is recommended so as not to eat your bandwidth allowance if you have one]
• It works with TV-OUT so you can watch on a TV without even having a digibox or TV connection even (ha, like Uni TVs). BBC iPlayer app on S60 5TH does not work over  TV out.
• Sound and picture quality is better than S60 5th Edition app.
• Subtitles work! And the font size is very mobile friendly. There’s no subtitles option in the S60 5th edition app.

Instructions

1. Point your N900’s browser to http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/bigscreen/

See it’s much nicer than bbc iPlayer direct. It’s very finger poke friendly.  It’s like it was made for the N900.

2. Just find any programme and choose “low bandwidth option”.  Click play. DONE! Here I’ve clicked to the TV section.

I’ve picked out BBC 1

I’ve selected Live at the Apollo

Scroll down at the bottom, it’ll say “Low Bandwidth Option”

Just click play

It might take a few seconds to buffer (and it will s stutter) but then it will play smoothly.

Then just tap the video once to watch in full screen. Tap again to access controls/time line. You can easily jump in the time line and video will resume smoothly. Tip. Go out of full screen mode, let it play a bit and return to full screen.

Note. There is another way to get BBC iPlayer to work on the N900 but it requres Xterminal/downloading of some stuff and so a bit long winded. This is just go to a web page…choose low bandwidth version…DONE!

Subtitles:

Press the S.