Unfortunately, the iPlayer isn’t weighed down with extra features. Luckily, the BBC has wised up to download caps, and we were greeted with a warning within the first few hours of use, reminding us to check with our ISP about our download limit. The BBC’s HD video streams at 3.2mbps, or roughly 1.5GB per hour of video, and the 1,500kbps mode adds up fast too. It looks fantastic, although the amount of HD programming on iPlayer at this point is limited, and there’s no way to download high-definition WMVs.Īll this video comes at a hefty data price, of course. Those with large screens will be pleased by the appearance of the BBC’s HD channel, which allows you to stream H.264 1,280 x 720 video through a web browser or download it into the desktop application. The occasional compression artefact means that iPlayer content will never blow you away on a 40in LCD TV, but it’s fine for watching on a laptop. The BBC claims the new mode is “close to TV quality”, and we can’t fault that. But the iPlayer also sports an 832 x 468 full-screen mode for both streaming and downloading which uses 1,500kbps. At its most basic, the iPlayer will stream at 500kbps, and will automatically set itself to this if it detects restricted bandwidth.
0 kommentar(er)
