BBC iPlayer - Review - A truly wonderful application

Reviews for BBC iPlayer

BBC iPlayer

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A truly wonderful application (BBC iPlayer)

Member Name: Grummy

Product:	BBC iPlayer
Date:	21/08/09 (122 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use and catch up on your missed favourite TV shows.

Disadvantages: Doesn't carry the full range of episodes from all shows.

The BBC iPlayer is a truly brilliant innovation for everyone with access to the internet, with only a couple of minor grievances.

Yes it is certainly an excellent application, making available BBC's 1, 2, 3, 4 and BBC HD for general viewing, CBBC and C Beebies for the kids, BBC News and BBC Parliament for current affairs and BBC Alba, the Scottish Gaelic BBC Channel.

This Application allows you to go back and watch any missed TV shows from recent weeks whether its Mock the Week, Eastenders, Doctor Who or Songs of Praise, essentially whatever you watch on those channels you can go back and re-watch.

Now I haven't watched every show, so I can't say for sure on this, but I DO watch Mock the Week regularly and I have found that the repeats of Mock the Week are only from up to a week previous, so you only have 2 at any one time. Don't get me wrong, its nice to be able to watch what I've missed, but if I am busy for a couple of weeks, my chance to see a particular episode is lost.

Another personal favourite is Have I Got News For You, which never seems to be kept up to date quite as well as other shows. Indeed they only have one episode on there currently, and this was only recently changed. Before now the only episode they had was from over a year ago.

When I first came to use this service I was hoping I would be able to go back and watch some old favourite episodes from such shows, and I was terribly dissapointed. This is a service which could be vastly improved by letting us view, if not all, a handful of episodes from each season of a show such as HIGNFY or MTW.

In terms of actually using the application, it is very simple. I just type BBC iPlayer into my google search engine and pick the first link, and it takes me straight to the site. I type the name of the show I want to watch in the search bar and it gives me a list of available episodes in 'date aired' order, with most recent first, so it is incredibly easy to find what you want and you can be watching your show in a matter of seconds.

Being a part of the BBC website, there is no need to download any software that I have seen, perhaps a flash player if you don't have one, but even if that is the case, they are easy to find for free and install incredibly quickly.

The sound and visuals are truly excellent in quality. There is nothing more to be said here really. But I'll give you some indication as to why I think this anyway. My Laptop has a 15 inch screen and the panel in which they show whatever you are watching is a 6"x4" widescreen view. A very good size. The image is crisp, and the sound has perfect clarity and synchronization with the picture, not like you will often find on other websites where you can watch video/audio clips such as You Tube when the picture will be grainy and the audio out of sync with the picture. No, the BBB iPlayer is truly excellent for the quality it presents when you are viewing any show.

The shows are also instantly brought up. Now of course there can be some issues. Like iwht all websites, if there is a surfer overload, then a website can slowdown, or if your internet connection is playing up then it can take a bit longer. But, touch wood, I have never had this problem, every time I've used this application, the shows have been brought up instantly and have not needed any time to buffer.

the BBC iPlayer allows you to watch its TV shows as well as listen to BBC Radio. The search function has multiple options, search by category, type the name, or A to Z, and it gives you the option of emailing it directly to your friends, very useful if you want them to watch something for any reason.

Overall, I can't find any reason that people shouldn't use this. If you like your programmes, and you've missed one, just jump to this website and you will surely be watching it again within moments.