PVR switch syntax - help please

[Andy Bircumshaw]

On 10 April 2012, at 21:03, Alastair wrote:
>> ...
>> Putting `get_iplayer --pvr` in a crontab allows you to schedule the downloads for 
>>  off-peak &/or unmetered hours.
>> 
>> Note that the various different versions of a program (flashhd, flashvhigh, flashhigh, 
>> flashstd &c) are NOT certain to posted to the iPlayer site simultaneously. It may be that 
>>  
>> the standard or high versions are posted before the vhigh or hd versions, perhaps by
>> as much as several hours.
>> 
>> You probably need to account for this, which is easy using crontab - you just use the 
>> extended `get_iplayer --pvr --before 24` your actual crontab entry. 
> 
> Many thanks for this.  You raise an issue which had not yet occurred to me.  My cron job 
> worked OK last night using default resolution.

You can see what resolutions are available using `get_iplayer 1123 -i | grep sizes`

> I shall try the --before switch as you suggest 
> but this seems a bit arbitrary.  How do you get the highest resolution available in your 
> command?

If you were to download a show using `get_iplayer -g 1123 --tvmode flashhd,flashvhigh,flashhigh,flashstd,flashnormal` then get_iplayer would try to download this particular show using the first specified mode, falling back on each of the subsequent specified modes in turn if the previous one is unavailable.

If you run `get_iplayer --tvmode flashhd,flashvhigh,flashhigh,flashstd,flashnormal --prefs-add` then get_iplayer will download nothing, but add the --tvmode setting to your user preferences and they'll be applied to every future download.

Having done this, you can inspect your user preferences using `get_iplayer --prefs-show`

Note: I think it may be better practice to have a single --modes setting, rather than separate --tvmode & --radiomode settings. Perhaps someone else can comment on that?


> I do not know the BBC policy on resolution but it would be better if, having delayed 
> download for 24 hours, get_iplayer could try hd and step down through vhigh and high.  I 
> assume you do this somehow?

Ah, I did not parse this question properly when I initially read your email. But you can see from the above, I think.

aB.