How to record BBC iPlayer without signing-in

[Ed999]

While I'm on here today, I'll just mention a couple of new points that have come up in the past month. These concern the BBC iPlayer.


First, and most important, the BBC website has abandoned support for the http format. Most software programs, however, have been built on the assumption that http:// is a valid url format.

Those programs are now broken. So are scripts based on them.

From 1st May forward, the BBC website will only recognise a request for a url if the request is made using the https:// format. Whereas, up until last month, the website would serve a stream if the request was made in either http or https format, from now on it will only serve a stream if the secure https stream is requested.

If you access their site, and are refused, this is the first thing to check.


Secondly, but probably equally important, from 1st May the BBC servers will only serve a stream if the request is made using the correct security certificate. Previously, their servers did not ask for this.

Again, many software programs, and scripts based on them, will be broken as a result of this change.

In the case of YouTube-dl.exe the solution is to add to the command line the option --no-check-certificate because without that the server will simply send a refusal instead of the requested stream.

Again, if you access their site, and are refused, this is the second thing to check.

So far my researches have not extended beyond avoiding the check, I can't yet comment on the specifics of the particular security certificate, or how to comply rather than simply side-step.

[j_cool]

Originally Posted by Ed999

For SHOUTcast, streamripper is far and away a better choice than ffmpeg. No possibility at all of streamripper (or stationripper) monkeying with the stream, because streamripper has no ability to modify the bitrate or sample rate of the input.
.

Ed,

This has been seen and appreciated.

Johnny.

[j_cool]

Now, when we know that .mp2 is not a big deal, let's get all we can.

Assuming that you have good amplifier and speakers,
get motherboard that supports PCI slot, just for the sake of this audio card:

M-Audio Audiophile 24/96 2496 PCI Soundcard

http://www.m-audio.com/products/view/audiophile-2496



This is the most accurate audio card that I have ever heard.

It is cheap on ebay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_n...udiophile+2496

Driver works with windows 7 and 10:

http://www.m-audio.com/support/downl...rs/delta-6.0.8

Without equalizer this card sounds ordinary, equalizer makes all the difference.

Equalizer does not come with card's drivers, so player that has equalizer is a must.

I cannot think of better player than audacious:

https://audacious-media-player.org/download

Card is so accurate that for files with different input quality equalizer has to be adjusted,
it sees even the smallest difference in input quality.

[j_cool]

Something worth saying about m-audio sound card.

Occasionally cracking can be heard. This is not because card is faulty.

Users manual explains why this happens and fixes.

Open M-Audio Delta Control Panel, hardware tab, ASIO/WDM buffer size, increase from default to higher value.
2048 samples appear to be working well in my setup.

Definitely worth reading users manual.

After giving a try to this audio card, my Asus Essence STX ended in rubbish bin.

[Ed999]

On May 2nd 2018, I posted some suggestions here - see above in this thread - about how to overcome problems I've encountered with accessing BBC streams on their radio iplayer website.

I've been told, elsewhere, that other people have not run into the problems I mentioned.

So I'd like to emphasise here that the suggestions I made in that post are only applicable if you do run into a problem. No need to make any changes to your usual setup if you don't have a problem connecting.

Maybe I was just unlucky. Maybe the BBC website has some fault that is only intermittent. Maybe their streams now do certain things only if you have an ip address for a particular country.

But if you find you're unlucky, and do have a problem connecting to a BBC stream, you might try out my above suggestions. They did at least work for me.