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Airplay problems with BBC iPlayer (Global) on iPad2 and ATV5.0

Hi,

I've just upgraded to ATV 5.0 on my ATV2 and to iOS 5.1 on my iPad2 and suddenly the Airplay option on my BBC iPlayer (Global) doesn't work properly anymore.

For months I have been watching BBC iPlayer content on ATV via iPad using the in-App Airplay icon. But now when I try that I just get a black screen with a spinning load-icon. Mirroring works, sort of, well it puts something on the screen but the audio quality is poor the video is so pixelated and choppy that it is not watchable. Mirroring generally works fine.

Does anyone have any idea why the in-App Airplay option isn't working? Any suggestions? Apart from the two platform upgrades mentioned above nothing else in my setup has changed.

Using an iPad to Airplay BBC content to an ATV may not be elegant, so before you ask why: I am outside the UK (hence the subscription to iPlayer global) and I do not want to fake my geography using a proxy server (I'd rather pay the BBC a monthly subscription than pay it to a proxy service). If there is a better way to get the iPlayer content onto my ATV I'd be glad to hear it. Maybe I am missing a trick here.

Cheers,

Rob

AppleTV 2

Posted on Mar 17, 2012 5:01 PM

55 replies

teomad

Level 1

4 points

Mar 25, 2012 2:11 PM in response to Rob4l

I am having exactly the same problem. I'd strongly suggest that everyone writes an email to complain and demand a refund covering the period from when iOS 5.1 was released up until the time when this gets fixed (whenever that may be). The address is:

bbciplayer@bbc.com

If enough people complain then sooner or later they will do something about it!

swytch

Level 1

4 points

Mar 30, 2012 2:53 PM in response to Rob4l

i encountered same problems, certainly by using airplay on a ipad1 ... i wrote as suggested a mail to the bbc. ... frustrating, certainly as i recommended bbc iplayer to many friends and living outside theuk (belgium)

teomad

Level 1

4 points

Mar 31, 2012 12:17 AM in response to Rob4l

Having complained to the BBC I got an initial reply, clearly a standard response, telling me to use an HDMI cable or Mirroring. I was furious about this as I had explained in my first email that this was not an option for me. I then wrote a second very angry email, asking them to take the time to read my first email and demanding compensation and got the following reply:

"We are very sorry to hear how the problem with AirPlay is affecting your enjoyment of BBC iPlayer and realize that the alternatives we have offered are not ideal.

Please rest assured that our technical team is working very hard to resolve this issue as soon as possible. In the meantime, since we do not handle financial transactions (they handled entirely from the App store) we are prepared to offer you an extension to your subscription corresponding to the period of time during which Airplay was not possible.

We would also like to take this opportunity to explain how this issue arose:

The BBC iPlayer (Global) app was tested against Apple’s Beta 5.1 version and successfully played video. There was a small change added to 5.1 between the Beta and Public Release around video streaming which affected our app. Apple would normally have released a Gold Master version before releasing to the public which would have allowed us to pick this up, but didn’t in this case for security reasons.

There is also an issue with the AppleTV 5.0 update which is affecting AirPlay. We have been working with Apple on a fix for this and they have found a solution but we are not sure when they will release it. In the meantime our developers are investigating a workaround which we will release once it is properly tested. We hope to release this latest by the end of April, depending on how quickly we can test how long it takes Apple to approve the submission for the app store.

Please bear with us while we try to solve this and we will get back to you with any news."

I only use the iPlayer through AirPlay on the Apple TV and so this functionality is essential for me. I also paid in advance for a year's subscription so I am particularly angry as I cannot even cancel my subscription. To anyone in the same boat as me, I suggest you persist with your complaint as the BBC are clearly prepared to compensate those really affected.

petski

Level 1

0 points

Mar 31, 2012 4:40 AM in response to Rob4l

This problem has really peed me off. Why is it taking so long to fix. BBC iplayer was the reason I bought an apple TV. I will not be blindly updating my apple products in the future as it seems now that Steve Jobs is gone that apple cannot be trusted any more. I dont like the new look of the apple TV . Why is their no option to revert back to the previous OS.

Northesk

Level 1

0 points

Mar 31, 2012 5:33 PM in response to teomad

I too wrote to the BBC asking for an extension to my one year subscription for much the same reasons, including that I couldn't use an HDMI cable as a work around.

All I received was the following:

"Thank you for your recent email regarding the BBC iPlayer.

We can confirm that we are currently investigating the matter for you and will be in contact shortly.
If we can be of any further assistance to you then please do not hesitate to contact us again."

I don't think they've quite worked out what is meant by customer service. It would appear that they're using the Basil Fawlty manual for dealing with users.

Now that I know that the BBC will entertain an extension to a one year subscription, I'll be taking this up with them again, with more success this time I hope.

Apr 14, 2012 9:45 PM in response to Northesk

Still can't get it to work & responses from the BBC are rubbish. Almost a month now with the Iplayer Global not working as advertised. What a crock

Apr 15, 2012 2:37 AM in response to Teapotlid

I bought the Apple TV yesterday and have spent some very frustrating hours trying to get iPlayer global (I live in France) to work via my iPhone. Like everybody in this thread, I was just getting that annoying Iittle revolving arrow on my TV screen. I've read through many different discussions on the subject and finally ended up on YouTube and the following video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15AkXOTmI10

And hey presto! It works!

I hadn't found the AirPlay icon on my iPhone controls and had been using the icon on my iPlayer screen which doesn't feature the "mirroring" button. When I switched on "mirroring" (whatever that is), I got the picture and sound almost immediately, and the quality is good.

I can also play iPlayer content which I have downloaded (I had read somewhere that only streamed programmes could be viewed via AirPlay).

I hope this works for you.

Rob4l Author

Level 1

0 points

Apr 15, 2012 9:11 AM in response to nontechie2

Hi nt2,

the mirroring option is not anything new, I mentioned it in the original post, and believe me, the quality is really poor compared to what was available prior to the update - at least the quality that I am getting. If you've just bought the the ATV then I assume that it is a third generation model and so you may be seeing something much better. It's also interesting that you are mirroring from you iPhone. I don't have that option on my iPhone4 only on the iPad - it would be useful to know if it is a new feature with the new ATV or maybe you're using an iPhone4S. Could you clarify this?

If picture and sound quality are indeed good on the latest ATV using mirroring, it may not augur well for the rest of us. Theoretically the BBC could just point to this 'solution' and deprecate their support for the ATV2.

Does anyone know if it's possible to get good quality picture and sound on an ATV3 from and iPad3 ?

As an aside: I swear, I am never going to upgrade another Apple OS until at least a month after it's released and I have thoroughly checked these discussion groups!

Apr 15, 2012 10:28 AM in response to Rob4l

Hi Rob4I,

Yes, indeed, I'm using the iPhone 4s. I can't tell you which version of ATV I bought because I can't find anything on the box or the device - just "Apple TV" but it uses 5.0 software, if that helps. Presumably it's the latest version. This is the whole problem with today's technology - and the reason why we fall into the trap of convincing ourselves we need to upgrade.

Having said that, I must admit I completely fell for the BBC iPlayer global which I only discovered recently. The quality of BBC programmes - I tell myself - makes the expense (and frustration until you figure out how everything works) worthwhile.

By the way, and only if you have the time to spare, could you tell me what "mirroring" is (in non-techie terms if poss.).

Thanks.

Rob4l Author

Level 1

0 points

Apr 15, 2012 2:38 PM in response to nontechie2

Thanks nontechie2,

so it seems likely that there have been hardware improvements to Airplay and mirroring with the latest devices which improve the quality of mirrored video. I could imagine that Apple may be moving away from the in App Airplay option to a single inteface to mirror the whole device. I only hope that there is a fix for earlier hardware.

I don't have a problem, in principle with upgrading my hardware but both my ATV and iPad are less than a year old and I would prefer to choose when to upgrade rather than be harried into it. Pesonally, I don't blame the BBC for this problem, although I am sure that only they will fix it. Over the past couple of years I have seen too many problems with Apple system upgrades both on iPhone and Mac. There is a history of new operating systems resulting in degraded service and as a result I have stopped recommending Apple to friends. I still love the technology but "It just works" isn't true anymore. As for the iPlayer, I agree, it's great to get access to the BBC archives and worth the monthly fee. I am beginning to feel that it may not be worth the hassle and frustration though.

Mirroring? Oddly enough it does almost exactly what it says. It allows you to display 1-to-1 the screen of your iPhone/iPad/iPod on an ATV. Switch it on without the iPlayer and you should see exaclty what I mean. I've used it with Google Earth to show my kids stuff. You could display pictures from your iPhone without using PhotoStream. You could hook the ATV to a projector and use it for presentation purposes. It's a clever idea because it's often useful to see what you're manipulating on the control device (iPhone) while the viewers look at the bigger screen.

The iPlayer is an exception because when you use mirroring with it you just get the "Showing on your AppleTV" message on the screen. I can't remember if this was the case with the previous ATV software or not. The problem in my case is that the resulting connection is unwatchable while the in App icon used to provide an excellent connection.

I hope I've answered your question.

Cheers,

Apr 17, 2012 10:08 AM in response to Rob4l

Hi Rob and thanks for taking the time to answer my question. It's very clear.

I was quite shocked to hear that although your equipment is less than a year old, you're having these problems. I'm new to all this and have been quite overwhelmed by the possibilities of my iPhone. Now you've got me worried!

I hope people from Apple read these discussions (do they ever intervene to comment?) and take steps to change things.

Good luck anyway!

Jan

Mbqmbq

Level 1

0 points

Apr 18, 2012 11:50 AM in response to Rob4l

I have the same problem.

Sending content to AppleTV works fine using the Swedish SVTplay service, but when I'm trying to do the same with the BBC iplayer it does not work :-(

Has any one found a workaround?

Regards,

Magnus

Rob4l Author

Level 1

0 points

Apr 19, 2012 12:49 AM in response to Mbqmbq

Hi Magnus,

the BBC has acknowledge that the problem lies with the iPlayer and explained how it happened. They say that they are working on fixing it and estimate that an update should be available around the end of April.

Depending on which iOS device you are using and which model of the ATV there may be a workaround for you. If you are using an iPhone4S and the newest ATV then try this from nontechie2:

"I've read through many different discussions on the subject and finally ended up on YouTube and the following video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15AkXOTmI10

And hey presto! It works!"

I don't know about the iPad3 but this workaround gives very poor results on iPad2 with ATV2. The mirroring option described here isn't available on iPhone4 or earlier at all.

I am paraphrasing various parts of this discussion, for more information have a look at the earlier posts.

Cheers,

May 11, 2012 4:11 AM in response to Rob4l

The AirPlay problems with BBC iPlayer (Global) have been solved by a bug fix in the Apple TV software update 5.0.1.

Mbqmbq

Level 1

0 points

May 11, 2012 12:24 PM in response to StaceyCartwright

Great!

It works!

Thanks,

Magnus

Airplay problems with BBC iPlayer (Global) on iPad2 and ATV5.0