Loading ...Mar 23 2010
Following on from the disappointing delay of BBC iPlayer onto TechniSat and Harvard receivers, it looks likely that the service will be added over the course of the next week or two.
TechniSat have confirmed a scheduled inclusion on the 25th March 2010 with Harvard Group (Grundig, Bush, Goodmans) and Sagem expected to follow on the 30th March 2010.
Panasonic receivers (DMR-BS850, BS750 and XS350) have an update happening tomorrow (24th March 2010) though we don’t know whether this includes iPlayer; unfortunately we have absolutely no news on Panasonic and LG televisions yet!
Note that iPlayer will only be available on Freesat HD and Freesat+ receivers/idtv’s.
Hopefully all will go according to plan this time 
March 23rd, 2010 at 4:00 pm
tick,tick,tick…..ah well…patience is some sort of virtue.
thanks for the update.
alnQuote
March 23rd, 2010 at 5:07 pm
I know this is a bit pedantic but it is not the iPlayer that is launching on Technisat and Harvard; it is Technisat and Harvard finally upgrading their software to enable their boxes to access iPlayer.
On the other hand, with the beta test of the BBC end apparently complete, it now only needs confirmation that these boxes have been correctly upgraded for the service to be formally launched. The BBC Red Button OTA front page announces it as “Coming Soon”
PeterQuote
March 23rd, 2010 at 5:14 pm
@Peter
Can see your point but it works either way; essentially the service needs adding to the receive from software supplied from the BBC to the manufacturer.
Either way, hopefully this will go according to plan this time; we’d still like to know what resulted in delays a couple of weeks ago! And why Panasonic still won’t confirm anything!!!
adminQuote
March 23rd, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Thanks for the update.
Still very disappointed that Panasonic have still not confirmed anything about updating there software yet. Is this the way to treat customers?
Have the BBC announced that the beta testing of their end is complete and operational now?
Regards
Mike
MikeAQuote
March 23rd, 2010 at 6:08 pm
I agree it’s disapponting about panny tvs, but we can’t really start complaining to panny until it’s officially “live”, so as Aln (1) says “patience is a virtue…”
Al CatrazQuote
March 24th, 2010 at 4:15 am
I know this is very off topic and site but is there any indication of what they are doing about porting the software to the Freeview HD platform? I presume it should be a fairly simple job in terms of the red button software for Freeview broadcasts and the Humax boxes.
PeterQuote
March 24th, 2010 at 8:27 am
There is a Panny update shown on this website, does anyone know what it is……..could it be iPlayer?
http://www.dtg.org.uk/industry/download_schedule.php
Roger DQuote
March 24th, 2010 at 8:41 am
Still no Panasonic TV update. Very very disapointing!
NealQuote
March 24th, 2010 at 9:29 am
Panasonic plasmas could be no more soon if the energy saving trust get their way:-(
http://hcc.techradar.com/ and scroll down.
Richard CrichtonQuote
March 24th, 2010 at 10:24 am
Roger D
The panasonic update shown on DTG only names their newest versions of freesat tv; ie the 20 series.
Admin
as above this does not seem to address either the recorders or the earlier freesat series 81s or 10/15s
RozzoQuote
March 24th, 2010 at 10:26 am
http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/tv/download/2010/down_eug20.html
says it’s just an SD card update, so nothing to do with i-player
RozzoQuote
March 24th, 2010 at 10:57 am
Sony also have a download today 24/3/10 for freesat
Alan MQuote
March 24th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Looks like the Grundig update is coming shortly as there is now a link for BBC iPlayer on their website
http://www.grundigdigital.co.uk/
PaulQuote
March 24th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Budh has appeared too – just followed the link:
To connect to BBC iPlayer you first need to connect your freesat Digital Box to your broadband router. To obtain the correct setup instructions, please enter the MAC Address for your freesat Digital Box below.
Enter your 12 digit MAC Address here xxxxxxxxxxxx [Submit]
To find your MAC Address, press MENU and the 0 on your remote control.
You are now ready for BBC iPlayer.
To get started, your freesat HD Digital Box will first need to be connected to your broadband router. For step-by-step instructions, go to http://www.freesat.co.uk/iplayer
Of course, since the update isn’t scheduled to be streamed before 30/03/10 the software isn’t there so I’m not quite ready!
Oh well. We can but wait.
RogerQuote
March 24th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
just phoned goodmans re: iplayer as it is now on there web page i entered the mac number and it told me my hd box needs a up date and to phone goodmans to arrange a upgrade was told iplayer is not avalable and could not give me a date when it will be.
mikeQuote
March 25th, 2010 at 7:08 am
mike – Will not the update just happen automatically? Surely all Goodmans box user don’t have to phone up.
AlanQuote
March 25th, 2010 at 8:03 am
mike- have you the current 1.8.1 version?. switch to automatic upgrades and you will get that and the new patch coming. i take it you are connected up to ethernet?
thats all you need to do
jimQuote
March 25th, 2010 at 10:25 am
The new Technisat firmware is now available on air. 1454D patch 6.
To download either wait till the time set or press menu, settings, service settings,update software.
Richard CrichtonQuote
March 25th, 2010 at 10:30 am
Software update in Progress, Please be patent …..
We waited weeks
The wait is finally over – Fingers Crossed !
DavidQuote
March 25th, 2010 at 10:51 am
iPlayer is up and running on the Technisat HDFS
Richard CrichtonQuote
March 25th, 2010 at 10:59 am
update done – iplayer is great, now let’s see if anything else has improved!
Mr no nameQuote
March 25th, 2010 at 11:04 am
Yes indeed the wait is over! Just downloaded the Technisat software. Took about 10 minutes. All is well, now watching a film on BBC iplayer. Good quality picture and sound, no juddering or stuttering …… congratulations BBC & Technisat. The long wait was worth it.
Now waiting with much trepidation for Panasonic to come up with iplayer for the LZD81 series !!!!!
Brian LincolnQuote
March 25th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Yep – all installed & working. I already had it plugged in to my router, so it could play videos etc so no need for any setting up . . it just works! Brilliant.
ProfZarkovQuote
March 25th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Glad to hear all is well on the Technisat platforms – looking forward to it being released on the Harvard equipment.
PaulQuote
March 25th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
@13, Paul. So if Grundig are getting it that means Bush should get it as they are both one of the same, Havard. Here’s hoping.
PhilQuote
March 25th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
@25, Phil yes I believe Bush will be getting the update at the same time – looks like Roger @14 noticed the Bush website has been updated also. Fingers crossed…!
PaulQuote
March 25th, 2010 at 7:23 pm
Wow! the technisat implementation is really good, loving the interface and its pretty quick to navigate and use.
Anyone know if I can assign a remote button as a shortcut to go direct to iplayer?
zagQuote
March 25th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
If you have Subtitles switched on – Nothing you do will bring up the red button on the Technisat
Took me until today to work that out
Also despite TWO channel searches I now have no radio channels
iPlayer in “Good Connection” mode is surprisingly good well better than I dared expect really
Roll on ITV HD without the Red Button eh
DavidQuote
March 25th, 2010 at 10:31 pm
wasn’t Panasonic TV’s the first to have Freesat built into there sets?
Funny how we have to wait till everyone else gets iPlayer, in the end it’s all about the money i guess…
GaryQuote
March 25th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
ITV HD… i hope they get rid of the display in the top right hand corner or if not just make it faded in the background because lets face it we all know what channel we are on so why have it stick out like that, they could at least do what BBC HD have done and have it show up faded..
GaryQuote
March 26th, 2010 at 2:22 am
@28 David
The only way to get the radio channels back is to do a factory reset. I lost mine weeks ago.
Richard CrichtonQuote
March 26th, 2010 at 9:16 am
just a pity LG are lagging so far behind too – have chased Customer support recently in light of fact that most others have or are getting imminently – response was – “still under development. Regrettably we are unable to provide you with the release date as of yet.” – not really ideal. come on LG – get the finger out!
scbQuote
March 26th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
arrgh another factory reset to get radio –
I got a new item for my wish list then – A save to disc all my recorder settings
DavidQuote
March 27th, 2010 at 12:06 am
I don’t have iPlayer on my HDFS and when I go to get the update it tells me there’s no new software available! Aaaaarghhhhh! Why can’t I have it?
David KQuote
March 27th, 2010 at 11:00 am
@34 David K
Go to Main menu>Settings>System configuration and see what version software you have installed. It should be (1454d).
The Technisat site does not have this software. It is an over air download only.
Go to Main menu>Settings>Service settings>Update software and set updates to on. It should say ‘checking availability of new software’ if it’s working. If not do a factory reset and repeat the above.
Richard CrichtonQuote
March 28th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Thanks for the reply Richard. Checked the version I have and it is 1454d. But still no iPlayer. Did a factory reset but still no luck. My software appears to be the correct version but no iPlayer option on the red button. I still get the message that it’s coming soon to Freesat. Looks like I’ll need to call TechniSat
David KQuote
March 28th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
@36 David K
You only get the option if you are connected to the internet via your router otherwise you will still get the coming soon message so it looks like you are not connected. When you press the red button it should say connecting. Check the cable bewteen the box and router and make sure you are connected to the internet.
Richard CrichtonQuote
March 29th, 2010 at 8:36 am
Been playing with this some more and its great. Not too impressed with the quality yet though, but that must be a BBC issue.
zagQuote
March 29th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Ah I see Richard. Still waiting for my WLAN adapter to arrive. Cart before the horse then!
David KQuote
March 29th, 2010 at 7:17 pm
I’m thinking of buying a Panasonic G10 or Sony W5810. Will Iplayer work on these?
BarryQuote
March 29th, 2010 at 7:20 pm
@Barry
Sony freesat models yes, Panasonic freesat models not yet!
adminQuote
March 29th, 2010 at 7:35 pm
I see Harvard (Bush, etc) have drifted another day……
RogerQuote
March 29th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Wednesday now
RossQuote
March 29th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
tick,tick,tick…….for another bit longer…….patience,virtue..etc,etc
alnQuote
March 29th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
gives you great confidence it will work eh?
jimQuote
March 29th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Jim: I’m so confident about their ability to produce functional firmware patches that I’ve put update on “manual”. I’ll let all the eager beavers give it the once over. Once bricked, twice shy!
RogerQuote
March 29th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
psttttt…..
Admin: We’re posting in GMT?
(posted 22:27 or thereabouts)
RogerQuote
March 29th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
This is now officially taking the piss. Harvard have been scheduled for the 30th and suddenly in the last couple of hours it has changed to the 31st.
Paul DQuote
March 30th, 2010 at 9:28 am
@39 WLAN. Yes that’s another great feature of the Technisat.
http://hcc.techradar.com/blogs/team-hcc/first-wi-fi-freesat-receiver-offer-bbc-iplayer-30-03-10
Richard CrichtonQuote
March 30th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
info from Freesat site:
Important information: customers with Goodmans, Grundig, Bush HD boxes
On Wednesday 31st March your box will receive the software update for BBC iPlayer. The update will be in two parts, the first of which will start automatically when the box is turned on. It may take up to 20 minutes to complete both parts of the update.
so allow extra time if you plan to watch anything!
Al CatrazQuote
March 30th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
All this talk about ITVHD it’s ok for everyone in the south of the country. What about us in STV land, i’ve not heard anything about us getting ITVHD??.
FrancisQuote
March 30th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
@Francis
See this page, http://www.joinfreesat.co.uk/index.php/itv1-hd-to-launch-in-april, and especially look at comment 123 for an alternative.
adminQuote
March 30th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
@ Brian Lincoln
Not good outlook for LZD81 owners!
I spoke to Panasonic yesterday and was told that there are no plans in place at all to update these models for BBC Iplayer.
He said that the new 2010 Freesat models are being shipped now with the capability.
They will then address units needing upgrade working back as far as the beginning of 2009 last.
Summer this year most likely for the first upgrades.
He did offer a glimmer of hope that an upgrade could possibly take place sometime!
I moaned that one of the attractions offered with these sets was the capability of functionality such as I player and that early adopters who paid handsomely were being disadvantaged unfairly.
His comment was that Panny had never stated that I player would become available.
Maybe they did not, but I remember the salesman at the time dangling that additional carrot.
JonQuote
March 30th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
I was talking to a friend about the impending upgrade on my Freesat receiver for iPlayer (on a Bush box) and he mentioned he could get iPlayer on his TV via his Nintendo Wii. Anyway I decided to do the same. It is very easy to do.
I suspect the picture quality may not be as good as the input is not upscaled via HDMI but it is better than watching on my PC and it can be done via wireless connection. I have also set up my wife’s iPhone for iPlayer. Now she can watch TV in the Kitchen.
Kevin Ver1Quote
March 30th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
we are on our 2nd box as a fault with the first one has turned out to be a design issue – WE CAN NOT GET THE REMOTE TO WORK UNLESS WE ARE DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE BOX AND LESS THAN 2M AWAY!!! We have even been as sad as to measure the angles that work as well as the distance. I could understand this to some extent if we had a huge lounge, however we live in a 2 bed semi and are never further than 3.5m from the box. Has anyone else had the same issue or found a solution???
thx
Other than this issue the box is fab, but could do with more HD channels; particularly with the launch of Freeview HD which we don’t get in our area
caroleQuote
March 30th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
@carole
You haven’t said what receiver you have? If it is a Humax HDR, make sure you remove both film coatings from the two perspex front panels.
adminQuote
March 30th, 2010 at 10:54 pm
Good thinking admin.
When I bought my goodmans box the remote wasn’t working properly until I removed the plastic film. It was hard to spot that there was even a film there.
Paul DQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 1:07 am
OOOH EXCITING!
My goodmans box has just started to do the update. Well I hope it has because if it hasn’t it must be broke. It froze up completely and let me put it into standby but now won’t come out of standby.
Hopefully it is the update. If it is I will let you all know how it’s gone. I have fast broadband a router next to the freesat box so it will be all systems go.
Paul DQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 1:44 am
Now i’m concerned. My box still won’t come out of standby 40 minutes later. Can an update even take that long? i don’t want to switch it off at the plug in case I disturb the update.
Paul DQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 8:20 am
I hope Paul D’s update completed OK.
Today’s Harvard update is, according to the DTG site, for “zappers” only and consequently my GFSDTR500HD is not picking up an update today.
Does anyone know when iPlayer support will be added for the Grundig/Goodmans DTRs?
brambleQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 9:53 am
I’ve just turned my Grundig unit on and it’s midway doing the software download. Will let you know how it all goes.
PaulQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 10:08 am
Well it downloaded an update and rebooted the box – now it’s trying to download a second update but the progress bar hasn’t moved off ~5% for the last 10 mins…
PaulQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 10:09 am
Just to remind everyone, the notification on the Freesat front page http://www.freesat.co.uk says to allow 40 minutes for this two-part download.
Good luck!
RogerQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 10:20 am
Paul, Is yours a DTR or a” zapper” which I take to mean a set top box without a hard drive?
brambleQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 10:33 am
I tried to find the download earlier for my Goodmans HD box bt it picked up nothing. Any ideas?
jimQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 10:41 am
Jim: Have you got update set to manual? If so, you won’t find the download until you change it back to automatic, and then go in and out of standby. Also have a look and see if its upgraded on the qt – the upgraded version numbers should be 1.9.1/2.0.1 according to DTG.
RogerQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 10:44 am
Roger Says:
March 31st, 2010 at 10:41 am
Jim: Have you got update set to manual? If so, you won’t find the download until you change it back to automatic, and then go in and out of standby. Also have a look and see if its upgraded on the qt – the upgraded version numbers should be 1.9.1/2.0.1 according to DTG.
Hi Roger
Idid both to no avail but that was at 8.30 am. Maybe something has happened since
jimQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 10:45 am
No update yet for my Goodmans GFSAT200HD. Software version still showing as 1.8.1. I left it in standy mode last night – does it have to be left on to update?
IanQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 10:48 am
Have also cheked that current version remains at 1.8.1
jimQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 10:49 am
@63, Roger – thanks for that – it finally moved and has downloaded the second update.
@64, Bramble – it’s a set top box not a recorder – I guess it’s a zapper then (not a phrase I’ve heard of before!).
Software version now at 2.0.1 – will let you know how I get on.
PaulQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 10:52 am
Hmmmm….
Downloads didn’t officially start until 10am, so if you haven’t tried since 8:30am then you could give it another try.
Over on Digitalspy, folk are having fun too…
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1237314
RogerQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 10:52 am
Just finished the two stage download on my Goodmans box iplayer working fine.
BruceQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 11:01 am
Loaded both downloads on my Goodmans box but when I press the red button it just says ‘connecting’!
BrianQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 11:12 am
Hmmm…after my Grundig box rebooted all channels have been lost. I tried a first time install to re-scan channels but it’s not finding anything – now completely channel-less!
PaulQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 11:27 am
Bravely switched update from manual to automatic at 11am, and I’ve now got iPlayer! Watching “Synth Britannia at the BBC” in HQ – quality is good and I’m officially impressed. Its also more convenient than watching on the PC.
RogerQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 11:29 am
Now to download the Ubuntu 10.4 beta ISO, lets see how it handles bandwidth degradation……. *evil grin*
RogerQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 11:47 am
I powered off the unit at the mains for 5 mins – now back in business! Lets see if iPlayer works…
PaulQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 11:55 am
What has happend to the update for the Sagem DSI86HD? It has gone from the the DTG website.
RattyQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 11:58 am
My Goodmans has updated and everthing including the Iplayer beta is working fine.
There was a delay between the two halves of the upgrade so patience is rewarded. The box doesn’t connect to the router until after the second upgrade.
There’s a goodmans support page http://iplayer.goodmansdigital.co.uk/
The implementation of the iplayer is really good, significantly less clunky and easier to navigate than Virginmedia V box.
Peter MorrisQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 12:12 pm
download was completed ok on my goodmans hdbox but still no iplayer on pressing the red button on bbc1 it tells me its comming soon.
i went to goodmans web page entered my mac number and it now tells me i need a upgrade and to phone there 10p phone line i done this but could not understand the the chap who took my call.
Has anyone got any idears what to do???????
mikeQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Hi folks,
After waiting patiently for the BBC i-player on my Bush HD box, it updated this morning to 1.9.1 but it still won’t give me the i-player!
I phoned the Bush help line and gave them the mac address,
the bad news, as mine is one of the early boxes it isn’t capable of receiving the iplayer! Doh!
The good news, Bush will exchange my old box for a new one FREE of charge, I only have to pay £14.95 for the courier charge! not bad!
The not so good, impatient news, I’ll have to wait 4-5 weeks as they don’t have any in stock!!! Never mind.
I’m going back to waiting!
Kind regards,
Hayden
HaydenQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Hi Mike,
just called BUSH (Same place as Goodmans) to find out “some of the Early adopters of bush HD boxes need a Box change to get iPlayer see http://bit.ly/coJ9jN 4 week wait cost about £15″ as I’ve just posted to twitter @freesat_tv .
Anyone calling the line today may have a delay getting through as there appears to be only one person dealing with the calls as the main call centre is down or so I’m told but looking at your post it might be more to the point they don’t know what they are doing! lol
NickQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 1:35 pm
just checked my mac address on the website and it says I need a hardware upgrade – doh….
http://iplayer.bushdigital.co.uk/index.aspx
update: I just called the helpline and they said I would have to pay £14-99p to get my box swapped out for a newer version – I made it clear how unhappy I was and that to charge me more was unacceptable.
Also they can’t swap out for another 5 weeks and if I don’t upgrade my current box I won’t be able to get any more firmware updates……I need to look into this a bit more……
BrianQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 1:38 pm
@60 Bramble.
I think it turned out to be a false alarm. The box never came out of standby so eventually I turned it off at the mains and there was no update. I think I locked the box up changing channels too quick.
But the download appears to be downloading now. I was hoping to try it last night but patience is a freesat virtue lol
Paul DQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Both parts of the update have just completed and there is NO iplayer option on bbc red button.
Paul DQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Left it on standby for awhile and now works fine. Is higher quality HD?
BrianQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Get a technisat box chaps, Iplayer works great
There is a reason the bush/goodmans ones are cheap!
zagQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 2:54 pm
zag: iPlayer on the Bush box works fine when the box upgrades.
(It’ll be good when Panasonic get their arses into gear and put iPlayer on the TX-L37G10B, and they’re NOT cheap kit…)
RogerQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 3:00 pm
It’s working here now. Quality on HQ is very good. Runs nice and smooth, sound is very good. Menus react very quickly aswell.
Paul DQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 3:11 pm
update to my post 31 Mar @ 1:35pm:
I’ve since been onto freesat and they say I shouldn’t have to pay anything as its part of the spec! I’ve now got Harvard and freesat talking to each other to resolve why Harvard are trying to charge for something that is part of the freesat spec….my view is that the onus is on Harvard to arrange free swap outs for equipment that isn’t compatible with the latest firmware/iplayer update. Will post here when I hear more…..
BrianQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 3:28 pm
i checked my goodmans hd box when i came in and it saidupdate failed….also something about not having enough space to change channels!!!.
now i have no update and i cant change the channels by keying in the numbers,and thats after i did a first time install.
ho-hum.
i also went to the goodmans site and put in mi mac and was told im now ready for iplayer.
anyone else had anything like this?
theres no sign of it attempting to update again…..any thoughts please!
alnQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 3:35 pm
hold those thoughts….stuff happening!!…excitement rising!!…expectations moderate!!…must go for a lie down….
alnQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 5:13 pm
bingo!!…..i am now in with the in crowd
alnQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 6:34 pm
Disappointed, download successful on Goodmans box but still cannot get I player. Checked on Goodmans site and I need to contact them because I need another update. Box is an early version. They must have known that this would not work on some boxes and should have made this fact clear from the outset.
I have bought a suitable length of Ethernet cable only for this to be redundant.
Total shambles!!!
AlanQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 6:38 pm
I have used iPlayer on my TechniSat HDFS with great success. It has been an option on the red button and called iPlayer BETA. It has now gone back to the Blue message relating to BBC HD 7001. Was it a false alarm and is not now available again? Am I missing something?
BobHQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Right, got update, still no iPlayer…
Checked MAC address on Bush website, says, and I quote.. “You are now ready for BBC iPlayer.”
Still don’t have iPlayer
Suggestions?
MarkQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 8:45 pm
Scrub that last comment, second update installed and currently enjoying Wonders of the Solar System in high quilaty.
MarkQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 9:07 pm
I have a Goodmans 200HD. No update yet, left it on all last night and for a few hours this evening. I have noticed that the freesat channel 999 has no signal? any ideas?
DavidQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 11:45 pm
I too have one of the early goodmans HD boxes, and I also am unable to get the iplayer. Spent an hour after the (successful) update rigging up the router with ethernet cable, all to no avail.
What a bloody shambles this freesat is. Why should I have to pay £15 just because they couldn’t run a *^&%$( up in a brewery.
And the almost total lack of info!!!
Bloody shambles.
colinQuote
March 31st, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Further to my last post does anyone know of an email addy for freesat? I really don’t want to phone and moan cos I know it’s not the fault of some lassie on the switchboard.
colinQuote
April 1st, 2010 at 3:01 am
I must congratulate both freesat and harvard on this update. iplayer works flawlessly on my goodmans box and the only problem that seems to have arisen is a loss of sound on bbc hd when subtitles are selected. No doubt harvard will address this.
I do wonder, though, why we can’t have HD iplayer. The boxes are clearly capable of decoding and transmitting HD formats to the TV and many of us have more than enough bandwidth for the 1280 x 720 HD iplayer video.
Anyone know why this is?
Paul DQuote
April 1st, 2010 at 6:35 am
Hi
I have updated my Bush HD box for the BBC iPlayer to work and that is working really well, however after exiting the BBC iPlayer I can no longer watch BBC HD channel. As you will see in the video, its says BBC HD channel is a Data Service, no vision or sound.
I found after a power cycle all is well until I use and exit the BBC iPLayer and again its a data service on BBC HD channel
Have Harvard messed the update up for all the boxes and are any other people experiencing the same as me?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUz7OMxqKjg
Shaun EdwardsQuote
April 1st, 2010 at 6:42 am
I am sorry I cannot congratulate Goodmans. Mine is an early box which would appear not to work with I player. The annoying thing is Goodmans knew this but failed to warn users. As usual a total farce. Shambles!!!!
AlanQuote
April 1st, 2010 at 9:11 am
Shaun: I’d seen comment of this yesterday, and indeed found my Bush did the same, but corrected after unplugging form the mains. I did a couple of “tests” this morning and found that everything is ok if you view iPlayer in standard quality, but BBC HD becomes unusable after viewing iPlayer in high quality. I had a most curious Video/Sound late” display, rather than the “Data Service” one. It looks like we’ll be unplugging for a couple of minutes after viewing iPlayer in high quality before going to BBC HD if we want to work around this.
It looks like the iPlayer implementation isn’t exiting cleanly and Harvard needs to patch the upgrade….. *sigh*
Alan: Goodmans have a page on their website iplayer.goodmansdigital.co.uk which allows you to enter the “MAC address” of your box which then determines wether it requires an upgrade. Admittedly, they don’t TELL you before you enter the MAC address that is the purpose of the exercise but in the run up to iPlayer implementation, I’d have thought you would have been keeping an eye on all sources of information…..
RogerQuote
April 1st, 2010 at 11:27 am
My Grundig HD Box updated itself yesterday (31/3/2010) lunchtime. there was about a 10 min gap between the first and second upgrades, each took about 10 mins. Connected to the network and iplayer works fine.
BarrieQuote
April 1st, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Still happy with my CRT telly so not interested in HD and was not amused when I found ouit that the network socket on my SD would have no use.
Updates successful here and pleased that the Grundig HD box I bought cheap on eBay is a recent one.
i-Player on the TV is the best thing to happen to my viewing choice for many a year – thank you BBC and congratulations to Harvard for finally getting it right for us “bargain box” owners.
Robin PQuote
April 1st, 2010 at 1:20 pm
how about the people who have’t got Freesat box, but with freesat intergraded in their tv’s Panasonic TH-42PZ81B, how long do we have to wait for the iPlayer?
FrancisQuote
April 1st, 2010 at 6:34 pm
Upgraded my Grundig HD Box yesterday, despite the slow 2 part process, no problems other than the mentioned subtitles being switched on when on BBC HD cutting out the sound altogether (not a problem for me as I never use subtitles, but clearly a bug for Harvard to sort out) changing channels and back again clears the mute sound.
No problem at all with exiting BBC iPlayer out of high quality mode and viewing BBC HD channel.
For those complaining of having early boxes with the problems, I think it’s ridiculous expecting to have to pay £15 for another box that was meant to be equipped ready for ethernet use such as iPlayer, and I would think you would be well within your rights to complain under sales of goods act for a new box from the retailer you bought it from.
Nick SQuote
April 1st, 2010 at 9:11 pm
Nick – I agree about the early box. We also have to pay for a 10p a minute phone call to arrange the swop. To be honest I am not going to bother.
AlanQuote
April 2nd, 2010 at 7:49 am
I am throughly frustrated. I have a Humax box, model Foxsat-HD, software version HZPTSF 1.00.26, Loader version U 7.22. The box is connected via an ethernet cable to my PC and I cannot get iplayer.
I used to be able to recieve it, but the picture was jerky and I put this down a well known national ISP with a weak signal as I only had .7Mbps. So I changed my ISP to that which is owned by a man with long hair and flys areoplanes and hey presto, I now have 9.47 Mbps. Fantastic. Got the new ISP setup, went to the red button on my remote, pressed it only to find that iplayer is undergoing testing and has been eversince. According to freesat website I should be able to receive iplayer and used to be able to do so on my Humax box. Am I doing something wrong, do I need to re-configure something if so what? Any comments and help would be greatfully recieved.
Lee SparrowhawkQuote
April 2nd, 2010 at 8:34 am
@Francis
Francis,
I spoke to Panasonic (ref my post 53) .
I have an integrated Freesat Panny 32LZD81 purchased late 2080 and was asking your same question.
I reckon your TH-42PZ81B is not on their upgrade plans.
JonQuote
April 2nd, 2010 at 8:38 am
@ Shaun and Roger
Same problem with my Bush.
Thanks for the workaround for the time being.
JonQuote
April 2nd, 2010 at 11:14 am
My Freesat box has now been updated and in theory should work with iPlayer. I do intend to carry out a test by temporarily connecting with an Ethernet cable from my modem router. I dare say my wife will not be happy with me having cables around the house and it would be difficult to route the cables in to the living room especially as it has only been decorated a year ago! The point of the exercise is to prove that iPlayer will work on the box if only just to check if a more permanent solution is worthwhile.
I notice they have been plugging the home plug adapters but I have heard there are issues with interference. I was consider getting another wireless router just for the Freesat box and bridging by wireless. Has anyone else used this option and what are the advantages and disadvantages?
Kevin Ver1Quote
April 2nd, 2010 at 5:51 pm
I received the latest software (2.0.1) update on 31 March, both updates were successfully completed. I connected the cable from my Grundig Freesat HD box to my wired Edimax Router. After a couple of minutes, the video and sound started to break up in standard mode, then it started to play again. My Broadband is Virgin Media up to 10MB. The BBC iPlayer dignostic showed the download speed was 9862 kbps and the streaming speed 1, 2 & 3 were 8786; 9464 and 9517 respectively. However, when the Grundig box connected directly to the Virgin Cable Modem, it worked perfect. Today, I replaced the Edimax Router with a brand new Belkin wired router, a new cable. I am still having problem, but not as bad as previously. When the video and sound broke up, when came back again, it returned to and start playing where the video problem started. I guess the problem may be the box. My current Grundig box was replaced on 4 December 2009 by the retailer, now it is out of warranty. Is there anyway I can reset the Grundig box back to its original factory setting and try again.
the patch cable between the router and the
AllanQuote
April 3rd, 2010 at 1:11 am
So any news on wheather Bush, Grundig are going to fix the exiting BBC iPlayer and watching BBC / ITV1 HD without powercycling
Shaun EdwardsQuote
April 3rd, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Just fitted Cat5e cable so I can use BBC i Player on my Humax and it works perfect, first go, no issues at all. PQ not as good as off air, but easily watchable as a catch up.
Advice, Get a Humax. Chris
chrislyerukQuote
April 3rd, 2010 at 8:25 pm
Is the picture quality via the sat box better than using the Nintendo Wii?
Kevin Ver1Quote
April 4th, 2010 at 11:44 am
@113 Kevin Ver1
I used a wireless ethernet bridge to connect my Grundig box to the broadband connection – it was ok but the wireless signal was quite weak and meant video playback was occasionally jerky. So I bought a couple of Solwise HomePlug adapters and it seems to have solved the problems. They offer connection speeds of ~50Mbps which is far higher than my broadband connection speed. I am not aware of any interference problems – but I do recall reading somewhere you may get issues if they are connected to surge protectors – might be worth researching this?
PaulQuote
April 4th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
@Paul 118
Thanks for confirming that bridging by wireless is an option. It does look as is HomePlug adapters are now fairly mainstream and as such should be considered, however at the moment I can access iPlayer via my Nintedo Wii. Until I have tested my Satellite box to check if iPlayer works on it and the quality is significantly better I am rather loath to spend any money on it or contemplate running new Ethernet cables round the house.
It is very annoying that I had the chance to install Ethernet in the living room prior to decorating, but at the time I was rushed and decided against it. If I move house it will be at the top of the agenda!
Kevin Ver1Quote
April 4th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
“The upgrade will not be available on some early model Freesat HD receivers produced by Goodmans, Grundig and Bush.
Harvard International, manufacturer of boxes for all three firms, is therefore offering a replacement high definition receiver to anyone affected.
Following the OAD, any boxes that need to be replaced will flag up an on-screen message directing users to the Harvard customer support centre.
The new HD boxes will be offered without charge, but consumers will need to pay £14.99 to cover the costs of a courier service.”
DanQuote
April 4th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
I’ve maanged to get the iplayer onmy Goodmans box, but it has a real problem with stuttering, picture break-up, and sometimes even sound and picture going out of sync.
Any idea what the problem is? In theory I have a high-speed internet connection, and have the problem in the normal quality as well as high quality. Router is connected by ethernet to box – though it is itself running to phone socket by extension cable. Is it most likely down to connection speed dropping away, or a bad connection to the box, or something else?
KathrynQuote
April 4th, 2010 at 11:57 pm
i have a goodmans box and was 49 mins into an hour long prog when it stopped dead…the little circles going round endlessly,so i went off and back on the channel and didnt get the red button so i tried all the bbc channels but no red button so i gave in.
anyone else had this happen!!! or is it just me……as per.!
alnQuote
April 5th, 2010 at 3:03 am
@121 Kathryn
Have you run a speed test on your internet line? If so try it at different times of day so you can ascertain if your connection is fast enough. Extensions can slow down a line but I use an extension and I still get a reasonable 15 Mb/s. Some Internet providers do throttle the connection during peak periods. It is well worth checking out if your provider is one of them.
Kevin Ver1Quote
April 5th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
You get a great Broadband Speed Checker on the BBC Web site, Just do an internal search there. It tells you what sort of TV Stream you can support.
I havnt compared the Humax Freesat to the Wii, but I dont think there is much in it. Now, to get a Wii USB/Lan adapter.
Cheers Chris
chrislyerukQuote
April 5th, 2010 at 2:56 pm
iPlayer is not as good as on air satellite but it’s much better than the terrestrial analogue signal I receive! I am still keen to check out the Sat Box. If I have time I might do it today. One thing that is worth while doing is getting a component cable for the Wii. It is not that expensive and should refine the picture quality. Certainly cheaper than purchasing HomePlug adapters for the Sat Box.
Kevin Ver1Quote
April 6th, 2010 at 11:59 am
@Kevin 119
No problem – as you say no point in spending money on HomePlugs if the Wii already gives you iPlayer and agree about not having to run new ethernet cables around – I guess providing ethernet points around the house is not something many of us will think about when decorating!
@aln 122
I had the same problem – playback stopped at roughly the same time when watching a program and then couldn’t get the red button back. I eventually powered off the unit for an hour or so and then it started working again – and been fine since. I guess there are a few bugs in the recent software causing some erratic behavoir now and again.
PaulQuote
April 6th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
I have a Panasonic TH –42PZ81B Freesat TV from which I would like to use the BBCi facility. I will probably need a 20m Ethernet cable to connect my broadband to the TV can you advise me if this will be ok.
JohnQuote
April 6th, 2010 at 7:06 pm
Further to my previous comment of my Grundig Freesat HD and BBC iPlayer (see post 114) problem, I took delivery of a Technisat HDFS this afternoon, installation and software update took no more than 25 minutes. Connected the Technisat to my broadband router, the connection was established immediately. I was able to watch a full 59 minutes BBC iPlayer program in high quality without any interruption for the first time since the software update by Grundig on 31 March. I guess BBC iPlayer and Harvard have a lot of work ahead to put their products right.
AllanQuote
April 7th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
Finally got it installed on my goodman’s box the other day and the same as Kathryn (121), I run a 50 meg broadband Virgin connection which streams HD without any issues off the web based iplayer, my brother even runs xbmc (up until recently) that ran in full hd without any lag.
My box runs the stream but stops, buffers, but then plays bits of video from before with sound from afterwards then starts that entire section again, picture break up, distortion etc.
I got about 20 minutes into a 30 minute program and had to give up it was like having de ja vu!
Pretty rubbish so far, let’s hope the next update sorts this out!
BantambunnyQuote
April 8th, 2010 at 8:48 am
Can anyone else with a Harvard DTR (recorder) confirm that this “zapper” update is not intended for the GFSDTR500HD and GUFSDTR500HD and the versions with smaller drives? How does one confirm that the upgrade will happen – the DTG site only shows current OAD updates? If it’s not going to happen, I will have to replace mine. On the other hand, if it’s coming in a month or two, I’ll wait patiently.
brambleQuote
April 8th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
To answer my own question…
Even though the DTG site has not been changed today, the Harvard DTRs are being updated from today (well, mine has and so has someone else’s on DS). The menu navigation is much improved on my experiences with the iPlayer on the Foxsat-HDR a couple of months ago. Have the BBC improved it or is this a Humax / Harvard difference?
brambleQuote
April 8th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
I have a Bush Freesat box model BFSAT01HD and have just been told that it will not upgrade on my mac address. It will not accept the 2nd upgrade. Am now getting a replacement box for £15.00 and should take about two weeks but reading between the lines it will be more like four weeks.
Jill GregoryQuote
April 11th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
I seam to have a problem … all of my recordings on a usb drive plugged into the back of my Technisat HDFS have disappeared!
It could have coinsided with the software update which happened automatically on my unit. Has anyone else experienced anything similar?
(of course it could be that my drive has given up the ghost but I am exploring all avenues. I cant view any directories on the NAV menu where as I can navigate to a USB stick if I plug it in the front. It sees it as a drive and offers to format it for me but I would prefer to keep the recordings if I can). Any ideas?
PeteWoodsQuote
April 11th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
Can I watch iPlayer – while recording a programme on the hdfs?
gypsyoftheskyQuote
April 11th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
Also – Do you think it will ever be able to play .avi files and divx..??
gypsyoftheskyQuote
April 12th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
134 – no, because you have to tune the single tuner to a bbc channel then red etc. So, you remain tuned to bbc and you tuner cannot be used for anything else. All menus are effectively locked whilst in i-player even though by the time you have started a programme the data is coming through the internet.
RozzoQuote
April 12th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Jon-53&111, Francis-107
***i-player on panasonics***
Unfortunately your experience with support for 81 series panasonic freesat tvs seems to be borne out in this report;
http://blog.wotsat.com/page/whatsat?entry=freesat_reveals_timetable_for_panasonic
also see my comment;
“81 series and G10 buyers left out in the cold by panasonic”
at the bottom of that link and included in a digitalspy thread on the subject.
I won’t re-paste the whole comment here but it confirms their really poor attitude, however, they are wrong to say they never promised i-player! The network connection point is there specifically for future freesat functionality and that includes bbc i-player and still to come itv/c4/c5 VOD services. That is the freesat spec and panasonic cannot be allowed to force us to buy new equipment to achieve functionality which the series we bought were supposed to future-proof / allow for.
There is a suggestion we claim on the 5 year warranties if they won’t (assuming you bought via their network and got the 5 year cover included).
RozzoQuote
April 17th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
Hello
My iPlayer on the HDFS is working fine – first time & excellent quality. Just onee question why can’t we get radio on this facility? I missed the News Quiz & had to plug my PC into the TV and run the “real” iPlayer from that . . . maybe in the non-beta version?
Prof ZarkovQuote
April 17th, 2010 at 6:10 pm
Looks like the BBC beta – is just that, a trial version with ” a selection” of channels – presumably they will roll out the lot once the trial is over? Happy so far. In fact the quality is better than my PC-to-TV set up!
Prof ZarkovQuote
May 5th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
I just got the following reply from Panasonic –
In response, I am pleased to announce that the BBC iplayer should be available on Panasonic Freesat televisions and Diga Blu-ray recorders from the following dates (software stability and successful testing permitting):
2009 Viera televisions: end of July 2010
2008 Viera televisions: end of September 2010
2010 Diga models: end of Sept 2010
DanQuote
May 19th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
So easy. looks a treat. So happy. My Technisat HDFS is brilliant.
GregQuote
June 8th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Another Bush update has arrived today (version 2.2.6) which has sorted out the errors with iplayer on my machine so that it now works and doesn’t keep skipping/repeating. Has anyone else had this update?
NickQuote
June 9th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
I got the update last night on my Grundig. Problem of subs on BBC HD sorted. I have not tried iplayer yet
paulQuote
November 12th, 2010 at 5:36 pm
I have a Panasonic TH-42PZ81b and still waiting for freesat. Anyone else waiting ?
NRCQuote
November 12th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
You mean waiting for iPlayer
adminQuote
December 9th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
I also have Panasonic TH-42PZ81b. No sign of availability for I-Player.
John GQuote
December 28th, 2010 at 2:42 pm
I also have a Panasonic TH-42PZ81B, just tried it this afternoon. It doesn’t recognise the internet connection.
Gordon BQuote
February 15th, 2011 at 10:22 am
Panasonic TH-42PZ81B, CH901 bbciplayer states ‘No internet connection detected’? Ethernets plugged in and TV’s mac address shows in my routers connected devices list!!!!
Last I read bbciplayer would be appear around end Sept 2010, 5 months later still nothing!!!
Rusty SheriffQuote