HD content still unavailable

[Andy Bircumshaw]

On 31/10/2010, at 12:58am, Kris LeC wrote:

> Hi, I've ... updated the get_iplayer.pl from "Update iPlayer EMP
> version" found at http://git.infradead.org/get_iplayer.git

Just checking - you clicked on the link marked "snapshot" there, right?

And then you extracted get_iplayer from the .tar.gz file, right?

Sorry if you know this already: .tar.gz is like a .zip file

> I also looked in "C:\Users\***\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program
> Files (x86)\get_iplayer", as mentioned by this user here:
> 
> http://lists.infradead.org/pipermail/get_iplayer/2010-October/000232.html
> 
> but there's only a get_iplayer.cgi file in that location.

I think that's only a cache. I.E. if a file's not there then it's not important.

> I placed a
> copy of get_iplayer.pl there

Ok, is this the file "get_iplayer" from the .tar.gz file you downloaded earlier, but renamed?

Where else did you put the get_iplayer program?

> and looked through both that and
> get_iplayer.cgi for the corresponding URL as referenced here:
> 
> http://lists.infradead.org/pipermail/get_iplayer/2010-October/000229.html
> 
> but to no avail.

You looked through what, exactly?

I really appreciate you trying to be thorough in telling us what you've read and tried to do. You're doing a pretty good job, but I think you need to be even more verbose.

If I open the get_iplayer program in Notepad and search (ctrl-f, case-sensitive) for swfurl, the second instance of it is on line 5825, where it says:

   swfurl          => "http://www.bbc.co.uk/emp/10player.swf?revision=18269_21576",

I'm guessing that the get_iplayer program is called "get_iplayer.pl" on Windows, and I'm guessing it's in a directory called something like "C:\Program Files\get_iplayer" (possibly "C:\Program Files (x86)\get_iplayer" on Windows 7??).

> Is there something glaringly obvious I'm missing? The Web PVR Manager
> fails to download HD content, as does the CLI, which returns an error
> of "ERROR: RTMP_ReadPacket, failed to read RTMP packet header" and
> "INFO: Command exit code 1 (raw code = 256)" for both flashhd1 and
> flashhd2 for both the --get and --pid commands.


This probably isn't the most elegant way of doing things but it's late, I'm tired & coming down with a cold, but from the CLI try using `get_iplayer -v --pid b00vfgtg`. Note the "-v". You will get a LOT of output - I don't use Windows much (and don't have access to a Windows box right now), but hopefully you'll be able to scroll back through it, or wait until the download has finished and copy the whole lot of it. If you can do the latter then that's *extremely* useful for debugging. Can you look through this output and find a line that looks like:

INFO: RTMP_URL: rtmp://cp41752.edgefcs.net:1935/ondemand?_fcs_vhost=cp41752.edge
fcs.net&undefined&auth=daEbtdnbXd1b9cId2bWcwbBdEc8aadkaiaP-bmZrmR-bWG-KqoEJqzoGD
rHrxK&aifp=v001&slist=secure/3200kbps/b00tzmq4_1285791954, tcUrl: rtmp://cp41752.edgefcs.net:80/ondemand?_fcs_vhost=cp41752.edgefcs.net&undefined&auth=daEbtdnbX
d1b9cId2bWcwbBdEc8aadkaiaP-bmZrmR-bWG-KqoEJqzoGDrHrxK&aifp=v001&slist=secure/320
0kbps/b00tzmq4_1285791954, application: ondemand?_fcs_vhost=cp41752.edgefcs.net&
undefined&auth=daEbtdnbXd1b9cId2bWcwbBdEc8aadkaiaP-bmZrmR-bWG-KqoEJqzoGDrHrxK&ai
fp=v001&slist=secure/3200kbps/b00tzmq4_1285791954, authString: auth=daEbtdnbXd1b
9cId2bWcwbBdEc8aadkaiaP-bmZrmR-bWG-KqoEJqzoGDrHrxK&aifp=v001&slist=secure/3200kbps/b00tzmq4_1285791954, swfUrl: http://www.bbc.co.uk/emp/10player.swf?revision=1
8269_21576, file: /mnt/space/Media/BBC/Michael_Woods_Story_of_England_-_2._Domes
day_to_Magna_Carta_b00tzmsd_default.partial.mp4, file_done: /mnt/space/Media/BBC
/Michael_Woods_Story_of_England_-_2._Domesday_to_Magna_Carta_b00tzmsd_default.mp
4

If you look carefully at that (ctrl-f "swfUrl") then you'll see the authentication URL that your installed version of get_iplayer is actually using. This should end in "18269_21576".

BTW: I downloaded the first episode here - PID b00tw231, "Romans to Normans" - in order to test, and I do get the 1.2GB 1280x720 version. Is it just me, or my telly, or is the saturation on that turned WAY up? Maybe someone could compare on the web based player? On my TV the grass in the opening scenes is a very vivid shade - the colours of "South Pacific - Ocean of Islands" (also HD from iPlayer), for instance, are much more realistic.

I hope this helps some. I'm sorry if I'm snippy, and I'm sorry I can't test on Windows. I sometimes feel a bit inadequate trying to help with Windows get_iplayer problems, but I kinda feel the need to wade in and try because no-one else ever does. So I hope I'm a little help, at least.

aB.