Problems with --exclude-supplier=akamai and HD downloads

[tellyaddict]

> For many months I have used --exclude-supplier=akamai on my GiP command 
> line as it results in a 10- or 12-fold increase in download speed 
> compared to the throughput I get without that option - with the option, 
> an hour long problem @1280x720 will download in around 5-6 minutes, 
> without it the download takes about an hour. The command line I have 
> been using is
> 
> get_iplayer --pid=xxxxxxxx --exclude-supplier=akamai
> 
> I returned from a weeks holiday yesterday and attempted to download a 
> couple of BBC Proms programs using my normal command line, but found 
> that 1280x720 resolution was not found and the download started at 
> 832x468 resolution. Killed the download, removed the 
> --exclude-supplier=akamai option, and the download started at 1280x720, 
> but I was back to the much slower download speed.
> 
> Any suggestions on how I can still get HD downloads at the faster rate? 
> Running GiP 2.94 on Windows 8.1.

Have a read of https://squarepenguin.co.uk/forums/thread-520.html. This is a known issue as something has changed at the BBC. I agree that Akamai is slower than Level3, but it is not that slow. From the akamai server an hour long programme takes about 10 minutes.