bbc.co.uk downloads truncated....

@TVjunkie thanks! Download in HD working via VPN (Akamai, port 80). Speed max. 600 kB/s, average 300 kB/s (one file).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/2015 10:41AM by rancor.

I wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @ilanad:
> Both of your sample programmes IN FACT LACK A HD
> (720p) version; the "Watch in HD" option
> in the iPlayer pages is MISLEADING.

My most sincere apologies . I made a crucial mistake
Both of your sample programmes DO HAVE A HD version,
but ONLY ON THE AKAMAI CDN!
(Download possible only via UK VPN - see tips sent to @rancor)

> @tong2shot:
> If you load via a UK proxy the Mediaselector/5 API URLs:
> vPID=p00pvbj7
> vPID=p00pvbj7
> you'll see for yourself that no media bitrate="2800" version has been uploaded to either Ll or AK CDNs.

I made a mistake; those URLs are for the "BBC One ident" (short logo clip of the TV channel at the beginning...).
The correct Mediaselector/5 API URLs are the following:
vPID=b03phw8v
vPID=b03phkl1
Both of those do produce entries with media bitrate="2800", and for both CDNs ( supplier="level3" & supplier="akamai").
However, the stream parameters for the L3 CDN are NON-FUNCTIONAL, they point to a PLACEBO stream that is never
to be found on the L3 server!
This is indeed sad, as that L3 HD stream was the only one accessible by FRD via Tor plugin/HTTP proxy!
If you try to dump this L3 HD stream with RTMPdump:

rtmpdump -r "rtmp://iplayertokfs.fplive.net:1935/iplayertok" -a "iplayertok?token=c3RhcnRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIwMTIzMjUxNyZlbmRfdGltZT0yMDE1MDIwMjAzMjUxNyZkaWdlc3Q9NjhmMzJiNTk4MDYzYmU2NjU2MjM1NzdjM2ExOWIyNDc=" -f "WIN 16,0,0,296" -W "http://emp.bbci.co.uk/emp/SMPf/1.10.16/StandardMediaPlayerChromelessFlash.swf" -p "http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03pmbnm/" -C O:1 -C O:0 -y "mp4:3200kbps/modav/bUnknown-2938fa83-e42e-4c58-85e5-434035fa5f5b_b03phw8v_1421665716298" -o "b03phw8v_1421665716298.flv"

you get:

ERROR: Closing connection: NetStream.Play.StreamNotFound

With FRD, if you succeed to connect to the L3 server (via Tor/proxy), FRD sits idle at first at the "DOWNLOADING" stage,
then ERRORs out!

> e.g. last week's Graham Norton has a L3 HD stream:
> The Graham Norton Show - S16E15,
> which FRD can fetch just fine, while last Friday's episode does not:
> The Graham Norton Show - S16E16,

While the latter was indeed true at the time of writing, now the Mediaselector/5 API DOES produce
HD stream data for latest episode (S16E16):
vPID=b051c7hc,
but, again, the L3 stream is "virtual"; its data does not initiate a real stream from the server!

So, I am now pushing the alert button because:

IT APPEARS THAT FOR NEW VIDEO CONTENT FROM THE BBC IPLAYER,
THE HD VERSION IS ONLY AVAILABLE FROM THE AKAMAI CDN (geo-blocked at
RTMP server level)!

This may be intentional (the most probable scenario) or the result of something gone awry
with the Level 3 CDN (it is a remote possibility, since the iPlayer API continues to yield
L3 stream parameters...).
In any case, this is indeed a sad day... UK VPNs a solution for now, but expect the free ones to vanish
into thin air as they get abused with time; and even the paid-for ones are not full proof:
As the "hulu" case in the US has shown, it is quite feasible for the BBC to detect and block selected VPN IPs...
A sad day indeed - at least we have the Limelight CDNs (Noone knows for how much longer...)

@tvjunkie

oh frack. well can you give some pointers to the proper setup of the VPN? I (thought) I followed the instruction and get either get a "Connenction Refused" or "Malformed SOCKS" error. and can the proxy be enabled ONLY for the BBC plugin (didn't see it in the setup) since that's the only off shore service I use.

and Hulu is far worse, can't get anything from it any more and I'm from the US.

ilanad wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> @tvjunkie
>
> oh frack. well can you give some pointers to the
> proper setup of the VPN?

Hi
I am not really an expert when it comes to VPN connections...
I do know that the PPTP VPN client is native to Windows Oses (XP and up).
I follow to the letter the guides posted on the respective VPN sites and it just works!
I have an old desktop PC with XP, and old-ish laptop with Vista and a newer
laptop with 7 - all three connect with no problem to VPN servers, once the
VPN connection has been setup as per the guides...
Some various guides picked from VPN sites:
vpnuk
vpnsurfing
bestukvpn
(Always follow the "manual" installation guides - do not install
pre-configured clients. All the PPTP VPNs differ between them in
the hostname of the VPN server, the username and password;
all the rest is almost identical.
Some Free VPNs have a PW that changes every 4-6 hours, to
prevent user abuse; first get the new PW, then try to connect.
Some others have a fixed PW, but once you connect you must
open the default browser of your system to acquire an
authentication to connect to the rest of the web...)
Please also take a look at the "Troubleshooting" section of:
hotfreevpn
(I have no affiliation with any of the above sites)

If you have an Internet Security (Antivirus+Firewall) software installed,
maybe you need to go to its documentation to see how it needs to be
configured to allow VPN connections.
It might also be an issue with your Modem/Router - or maybe your ISP
is blocking VPN connections - it's up to you to remedy these problems...

As a last resort, you might try an OpenVPN solution:
freevpnsoftware
However, this requires some user expertise:
1) An OpenVPN client has to be downloaded and installed.
2) OpenVPN UK Server configuration files have to be
downloaded (from site) and correctly manually installed.

When setting up new VPN connections or installing VPN clients,
it may be necessary to "Run as admin" / Be logged in as admin /
temporarily disable UAC (for Vista/7/8/8.1).
I don't have anything more to add really, this is beyond the scope
of the FRD forum
Good luck (and possibly report back with the results )
And remember: Most VPN services have only ports 80 (http) & 443 (https) open!

> can the proxy be enabled ONLY for the BBC plugin
> (didn't see it in the setup) since that's the only off
> shore service I use.

A VPN service is much different to a proxy service;
Once you are connected to the VP Network, ALL YOUR TRAFFIC
IS REROUTED THROUGH THE VPN SERVER - as the name suggests,
it is as if your computer is moved to a different physical location.
If the VPN speed is sufficient, you can usually do your other stuff while
the BBC files are downloading (with a possible exception being
e-mail clients, e.g. Thunderbird etc.)

> and Hulu is far worse, can't get anything from it
> any more and I'm from the US.

Yes, since hulu have implemented SWF type 2 verification some two years ago,
it is impossible to download anything with tools using the rtmpdump code.
Being in the US, you can at least stream the shows in your browser unhindered
What I referred to is the fact that Hulu have also implemented very strict and
sensitive US Proxy/US VPN detection mechanisms that make it very difficult
for "off shore" clients to get access to hulu streams.
(You in the US call it "off shore", people in the UK call it "overseas" !).

Regards

well I'm having no luck at all. I may set up a VM with just FRD in it so I can give it a dedicated proxy. I was hoping that maybe the plugin could be updated to let it switch in the proxy/vpn info for it when needed. I have a addon for my Kodi media center that does that, switches in a local proxy when it connected to the BBC live streams.... will report back.

@ilanad : that's what I did, setup a debian+LXDE VM to tunnel the VPN connection through ssh with a local dynamic port forwarding. Because I don't trust my VPN provider to tunnel my connection system-widely. Then use the sock proxy produced by ssh in FRD, or browser, or other apps.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2015 10:24PM by tong2shot.