Find myself downloading programmes from the BBC more and more, currently to my laptop. I can plug this into the AV system in the living room with an HDMI cable and watch on the Sony flat screen with sound courtesy of Denon, Monitor Audio and MJ Acoustics – makes it worthwhile.

What alternatives are there that wouldn’t mean using my laptop? I gather that the PS3 has integrated iPlayer; but does this download to it’s HD or stream live. Also that the Wii streams. I have an Xbox360 but TVersity can’t stream iPlayer downloads over the network.

I want to be able to download rather than stream and wonder whether just building a mini-PC based media centre/’puter and attaching to the AV system may be the way to go.

Any comments/advice, please?!

TIA.

I have a Mac mini set up as a media centre using an application called Plex (http://www.plexapp.com/). It’s Mac only so not the cheapest option but it is very good. It has an iPlayer plugin (amongst many others) so will stream directly, no idea if it’ll download but it’s basically just a wrapper around the browser based iplayer plugin I think so it could probably be manipulated if you’re that way inclined.

My intention once we move somewhere bigger and I get a study back is to use the Mac mini as the home computer and server, then use the new AppleTV plugged into the TV as a front end to Plex. You can then run multiple ATV’s throughout the house all with access to the same music and film/tv library over wireless.

ps3 streams
bravia sync means one remote for tv/ ps3

its nice and simple- my missus loves it and was originally against us getting one

^^^ Yes, usability was quite a large consideration for me too – very important the better half can work it!

I can confirm the Wii only streams too. Works well though.

I have an Xbox360 but TVersity can’t stream iPlayer downloads over the network.

It can if you open them in Media Player first. When you play them in MP it toddles off to get the DRM licence, TVersity should then stream it.

Or at least, that’s what it used to do, unless it’s changed; I’ve not had cause to do it since getting a BD player with iPlayer built in.

Thanks all. Some food for thought, and good point about usability and the number of remotes in the living room..!

After some research it’s dawned on me that I can download from the BBC as files for Windows Media Player, rather than for BBC iPlayer, and the XBOX360 is able to stream them from the laptop.

I use ‘get_iplayer’ to download some programs. Info for Win/Linux in link
http://www.infradead.org/get_iplayer/html/get_iplayer.html

There is an iPlayer available for the PS3 that will stream iPlayer ondemand video, however it does not currently support HD streams. The Wii also has an iPlayer app, but that definitely cannot handle HD streams. The Xbox360 doesn’t have a web browser or an iPlayer app, Freesat TV’s (and several other TV’s) can access the iPlayer as well for streaming programs. None of these devices download the video files, but they do stream quite well! Also there are plenty of other devices that can do it. Including soon this:- http://www.youview.com/, led by some sugary type bloke.