BBC iPlayer issues when offline or out of region
Jan 1, 2020, 2:02 am
#1
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BBC iPlayer issues when offline or out of region
I'm frequently out of the UK. I either download a lot of BBC programmes when I'm in the UK for later viewing, or some VPNs allow me to download when not in the UK. This has worked perfectly well for years. However, fairly recently (a few weeks or months??), playback either when offline (e.g. airplane mode) or out of region has resulted in either lack of playback _of downloaded content_ or very stuttering/ juddering playback. This is very inconsistent: sometimes it makes things unwatchable, sometimes it's a minor irritation and sometimes not an issue at all. I don't think it's the quality of the download, since later on, the same programme will playback fine.
If I'm on VPN that's tunneling to the UK, it sometimes, but not always fixes the issue. But of course, that doesn't help with playback offline, and in China, it's not always possible to connect to the UK with consistency.
Has anyone else noticed this? Any fixes? A cursory google search doesn't shed any light, or is it just me??!
tb
PS Happy New Year!
If I'm on VPN that's tunneling to the UK, it sometimes, but not always fixes the issue. But of course, that doesn't help with playback offline, and in China, it's not always possible to connect to the UK with consistency.
Has anyone else noticed this? Any fixes? A cursory google search doesn't shed any light, or is it just me??!
tb
PS Happy New Year!
Jan 1, 2020, 2:09 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Just you. 
Offline has worked 100% of the time. Had to change VPN from PIA to NordVPN to get BBC content but that is a totally different issue. Just stuck my phone in airplane mode and played something downloaded from the BBC and no issue at all. Perhaps deleting/reinstalling whatever app you use may help? Or try a different app to play it and see what happens? VLC usually plays anything I find. Perhaps the download is bad?
Offline has worked 100% of the time. Had to change VPN from PIA to NordVPN to get BBC content but that is a totally different issue. Just stuck my phone in airplane mode and played something downloaded from the BBC and no issue at all. Perhaps deleting/reinstalling whatever app you use may help? Or try a different app to play it and see what happens? VLC usually plays anything I find. Perhaps the download is bad?
Jan 1, 2020, 6:03 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: PEK and BOS
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Posts: 4,530
Just you.
Offline has worked 100% of the time. Had to change VPN from PIA to NordVPN to get BBC content but that is a totally different issue. Just stuck my phone in airplane mode and played something downloaded from the BBC and no issue at all. Perhaps deleting/reinstalling whatever app you use may help? Or try a different app to play it and see what happens? VLC usually plays anything I find. Perhaps the download is bad?
Offline has worked 100% of the time. Had to change VPN from PIA to NordVPN to get BBC content but that is a totally different issue. Just stuck my phone in airplane mode and played something downloaded from the BBC and no issue at all. Perhaps deleting/reinstalling whatever app you use may help? Or try a different app to play it and see what happens? VLC usually plays anything I find. Perhaps the download is bad?
tb
Jan 1, 2020, 7:05 am
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Just tried again now with a podcast from the BBC and that plays fine with Podcast Addict. I also downloaded using BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer and all played well in/out of Airplane mode. Maybe try clearing cache of the apps and see what happens, or delete/reinstall all the BBC apps (but be careful the downloads don't disappear too).
Jan 1, 2020, 3:36 pm
#6
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,912
I'm assuming you use android for this...
This might seem to not make sense, but check the background data usage and the background battery usage.options. Some apps don't take too well if either or both those options are set to disallow. Doesn't make any sense, but it has happened to me on a few apps (for me, most notably Tunein) and it has happened to a friend of mine. On a tablet, there is an audio issue.... on my phone, no issue. On my friend's phone, audio shuts down within a minute of the screen shutting off (assuming that's when the phone locks).
This might seem to not make sense, but check the background data usage and the background battery usage.options. Some apps don't take too well if either or both those options are set to disallow. Doesn't make any sense, but it has happened to me on a few apps (for me, most notably Tunein) and it has happened to a friend of mine. On a tablet, there is an audio issue.... on my phone, no issue. On my friend's phone, audio shuts down within a minute of the screen shutting off (assuming that's when the phone locks).
Jan 1, 2020, 4:31 pm
#7
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And no, I'm talking about PC (Windows 10)....
How does one clear cache on the app? I don't want to delete the app and reinstall, since I would then need to re-download everything....which is quite a lot, and I'm currently out of the UK and not back for a while.
tb
Jan 2, 2020, 2:36 am
#8
Ambassador: Emirates Airlines
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 18,600
I downloaded War of the Worlds and watched this on a recent Emirates flight where I didn't have any access to WiFi.
It was very choppy - and seemed to be dropping frames every few seconds.
So.... it's not only you! This was on a good spec Android tablet that plays Netflix perfectly.
It was very choppy - and seemed to be dropping frames every few seconds.
So.... it's not only you! This was on a good spec Android tablet that plays Netflix perfectly.
Jan 2, 2020, 9:30 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2007
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I downloaded War of the Worlds and watched this on a recent Emirates flight where I didn't have any access to WiFi.
It was very choppy - and seemed to be dropping frames every few seconds.
So.... it's not only you! This was on a good spec Android tablet that plays Netflix perfectly.
It was very choppy - and seemed to be dropping frames every few seconds.
So.... it's not only you! This was on a good spec Android tablet that plays Netflix perfectly.
But good to know that it's not just me...after I posted on this thread, the problem appeared to disappear, so I was beginning to wonder whether I made the whole thing up...but I tried playing "Zog" for my young son this morning, when not connected to VPN, and it was terrible again. Connected to UK via VPN and it played perfectly...so at least for me it's very real, but it's also intermittent.
tb
