Removal of BBC recording feature

[MoorCowbell]

As reported on the Cordbusters website, pro boxes will soon no longer record BBC channels, instead redirecting customers to the appropriate iPlayer instance - subject to it still being within the iPlayer retention period and it being available.  This means a sizeable chunk of HD channels will no longer be recordable and, imho, devalues the EETV proposition considerably and creates further disparity between customers accessing TV via Freeview and customers using EE's IPTV solution.

The article above reports that advisory letters have started going out to IPTV customers; has anyone received a letter, and does it offer a charge reduction or the opportunity to exit the contract with EE?

[Midnight_Voice]

@gryffe1888 

It depends on what you have already. We had a loft aerial (could have been a roof aerial for this purpose, same difference) that went to a masthead amplifier and 4-way distribution box, also in the loft, from where cables, put there by the builder, ran to various aerial points in the house. When we wanted a TV in the kitchen, opposite wall to where the point was, our installer swapped in an 8-way distro for the 4-way, and ran an aerial cable down from the eaves, outside, and in through the kitchen wall. Quite straightforward and not expensive.

Only thing I would say, when finding an aerial contractor, make sure they are really local, as lots of internet listings are some UK-wide company, or aggregator, who put out a single listing and swap your location in dynamically. Checkatrade is good, though.

Be interested to hear what you find out when you look at that ‘recording’ later on, by the way, and if the experience differs from going on the iPlayer directly to watch it.

[gryffe1888]

Cheers for reply @Midnight_Voice .

Mixed results when watching "recording" after programme finished. It started from beginning and can now be paused so that's a result. However fast forwarding still gives same results and there were no thumbnails at bottom of screen like you mentioned in your example. I wonder if this is because BBC Breakfast is a live broadcast, perhaps not? I'll try recording a BBC progamme that isn't a live broadcast later and see what happens.

I'll look into a distribution box. Do you find that having more than one aerial cable affects picture quality? I have a vague recollection of reading that "splitting" cable via a box could cause picture degredation.

[Midnight_Voice]

@gryffe1888 

You may be right about the thumbnails. Did you try also watching direct on the iPlayer, to see if that had the thumbnails or not?

Splitting a cable via a passive box can cause degradation, certainly. But not via active boxes, which actively

amplify the signal to avoid this.

[gryffe1888]

@Midnight_Voice 

Watching straight from iPlayer didn't make any difference to fast forward for BBC Breakfast. I suspect this is just hit or a miss with fast forward function because I watched two "recordings" of  BBC programmes from my planner that weren't live and they had the thumbnails, but the "recording" of the live broadcast of Prime Ministers Questions from yesterday did have thumbnails. Oh well, lol. More pluses than minuses I guess, but still not as good as it was pre August 27th.

Thanks for info on active boxes, will check out.

[Midnight_Voice]

@gryffe1888 

Was there a ‘not’ missing from one of those options above?

But I’ve just tried today’s 6am Breakfast, and both on my TV and on my T4000 YouView box it starts at 6am, and fast forwarding it, either with the centre right button or with the >> control, shows the thumbnails.

Likewise, so does yesterday’s Parliament channel, 07:15.

So it works just as you describe above with no ‘not’, but the way you have written it makes me think you intended to put a ‘not’ in.

if so, I don’t know why we are apparently seeing different; I can’t think this could be to do with a different version of the iPlayer on the Pro box?

[gryffe1888]

@Midnight_Voice 

  It's my clumsy use of English that is throwing you, sorry about that.

I typed   "but the "recording" of the live broadcast of Prime Ministers Questions from yesterday did have thumbnails" whereas if I'd typed "and the "recording" of the live broadcast of Prime Ministers Questions from yesterday also had thumbnails" it would have made more sense.  I was pointing out my theory that live broadcasts might not have thumbnails on iPlayer wasn't holding up because Breakfast didn't have them (for me anyway) but PMQ'S did.

I'll see what happens with Breakfast tomorrow and whether I get thumbnails.

Edit, in an unrelated issue I had to reset my router so also took the opportunity to reboot the EE box. This mornings BBC Breakfast now has thumbnails when fast forwarding, so the only issue outstanding is having to wait till programmes are completed to get all functions to work on the "recording" via iPlayer, or if watching direct via iPlayer itself. 

[Midnight_Voice]

@gryffe1888 

Cheers for that. But as above, my theory that thumbnails come on iPlayer after (and only after) the live programme has finished, is still holding up, even with BBC Breakfast, when looked at at teatime 😛

I think your experiences with the restriction on how far back you can go when watching your ‘recording’ of BBC Breakfast while the programme is still live have made it onto the BT Community as well; without an attribution, but I don’t think anyone has reported this yet.

Unsurprisingly, this decision by the BBC has generated a certain amount of pushback, so the flaws in the arrangement are being picked over with interest.

[gryffe1888]

@Midnight_Voice 

Fame at last lol