Great, another wonderful thing that’s nearly impossible to enjoy abroad because the BBC can’t figure out how to resolve their license issues and international offerings.
It’s not like US and other countries all have it figured out, it took HBO years to make it so we could all watch GoT at the same time and if it weren’t for that show I doubt HBO would have gotten it sorted at all.
I really hope you do get to see it. This is yet another ground breaker (BP1 was amazing).
I nearly fell off my seat when they managed to show footage that must have been from a camera mounted on the back of a Sperm whale deep diving. They also got one on an Orca. David Attenborough is a legend and provides the usual authoritative voice over which instils a true sense of awe and wonder.
I wont go any further but it really is the new cutting edge of wildlife programming.
I "only" watched it in HD. It's fairly low on "nature red in tooth and claw" which is quite welcome and very high on sheer wonder. Some of the colourscapes (that's the best word I can come up with) are simply amazing. You are often put within a few inches of fast moving fish, dolphins etc and can see muscles, scales, pincers, arms, fins all moving perfectly clearly. I have no idea how the heck they get cameras to work in amongst coral and hollows in rocks and follow swift action.
If my TV license fee goes towards turning out this sort of thing sometimes then I'm a very happy bunny.
While interviewing some producers they showed how they got the camera on the whale's back. It involved a sucker (plunger style) and a crew member hanging off the side of a boat and sticking it on. After a day or two it falls off and floats to the surface where it's collected. Amazing stuff.
The most criminal part of many nature documentaries is when they dub over Attenborough for the US audience with someone with a US accent. It's tantamount to sacrilege.
I have the same problem. I tried to find any subscription option but none exists. But it still works with VPN. I don’t have a 4K TV though! Just 1080P projector.
Well, the UHD Blu-ray is slated to be released in January (presumably world-wide) so there is that. And Blu-ray will be the ultimate version in terms of picture quality, if you are into that.
Maybe a silly question, but why would Blu-ray offer better picture quality than iPlayer? I mean, I guess it's the same 4k resolution. Is colour data more compressed / frame rate lower on iPlayer vs Blu ray?
It essentially comes down to bitrate. Even with 1080p, there's still a noticeable bump in quality when you go from the "just enough" streaming bitrate to the "here just have the whole thing" version from a local disk.
Both versions still decode to a 1080p (or 4k) frame, but the local version means you don't have to compress it quite as much.
Streaming is definitely more compressed, and with movies the audio formats are not always the best since they need compatibility. If you want the best picture quality, get the UHD bluray.
The BBC has another whole set of constraints on it when it comes to it's commercial services.
Other content creators and such aren't operating under royal charter, funded by a license fee that every person in the UK watching (or recording) any live tv (not just BBC) or using iPlayer is obligated to pay.
The BBC can certainly engage in commercial services, but it's balancing act will be different to most other content creators.
Ya, when it comes to BBC's top-flight documentaries, and anything Attenborough, the resolution is very much beside the point. The imagery is amazing for what it is, for how much effort and research is necessary to gather it. I'd rather watch Attenborough talk about snails in black and white, on an airport TV, than anything produced by the history channel in high-dynamic 48k. That said, if any production deserves the absolute best it is a BBC nature doc.
Anyone know how the 4K feature detection works? For example, can a certain user agent be spoofed to enable the higher-res version?
I ask because I use youtube-dl to watch iPlayer shows and it only grabs standard HD versions. If anyone else UK based has figured this out I'd love to learn how.
The 2.2GB download is a 1280x720 50FPS MP4, definitely a long way from 4K HDR.
Testing with the --list formats option does not identify any higher resolution. Here is an example for the most recent episode:
tom@desktop:~$ youtube-dl --list-formats https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09hs07h/blue-planet-ii-series-1-6-coasts
[bbc.co.uk] b09hs07h: Downloading video page
[bbc.co.uk] b09hs07h: Downloading playlist JSON
[bbc.co.uk] b09hs074: Downloading media selection XML
[bbc.co.uk] b09hs074: Downloading m3u8 information
[info] Available formats for b09hs074:
format code extension resolution note
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_akamai_uk_dash-audio_eng=128000 m4a audio only [en] DASH audio 128k , mp4a.40.2 (48000Hz)
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_akamai_uk_dash_https-audio_eng=128000 m4a audio only [en] DASH audio 128k , mp4a.40.2 (48000Hz)
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_limelight_uk_dash-audio_eng=128000 m4a audio only [en] DASH audio 128k , mp4a.40.2 (48000Hz)
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_limelight_uk_dash_https-audio_eng=128000 m4a audio only [en] DASH audio 128k , mp4a.40.2 (48000Hz)
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_akamai_uk_dash-video=827000 mp4 704x396 DASH video 827k , avc3.4D401E, 25fps, video only
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_akamai_uk_dash_https-video=827000 mp4 704x396 DASH video 827k , avc3.4D401E, 25fps, video only
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_limelight_uk_dash-video=827000 mp4 704x396 DASH video 827k , avc3.4D401E, 25fps, video only
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_limelight_uk_dash_https-video=827000 mp4 704x396 DASH video 827k , avc3.4D401E, 25fps, video only
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_akamai_uk_dash-video=1570000 mp4 704x396 DASH video 1570k , avc3.64001F, 50fps, video only
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_akamai_uk_dash_https-video=1570000 mp4 704x396 DASH video 1570k , avc3.64001F, 50fps, video only
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_limelight_uk_dash-video=1570000 mp4 704x396 DASH video 1570k , avc3.64001F, 50fps, video only
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_limelight_uk_dash_https-video=1570000 mp4 704x396 DASH video 1570k , avc3.64001F, 50fps, video only
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_akamai_uk_dash-video=2812000 mp4 960x540 DASH video 2812k , avc3.64001F, 50fps, video only
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_akamai_uk_dash_https-video=2812000 mp4 960x540 DASH video 2812k , avc3.64001F, 50fps, video only
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_limelight_uk_dash-video=2812000 mp4 960x540 DASH video 2812k , avc3.64001F, 50fps, video only
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_limelight_uk_dash_https-video=2812000 mp4 960x540 DASH video 2812k , avc3.64001F, 50fps, video only
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_akamai_uk_dash-video=5070000 mp4 1280x720 DASH video 5070k , avc3.640020, 50fps, video only
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_akamai_uk_dash_https-video=5070000 mp4 1280x720 DASH video 5070k , avc3.640020, 50fps, video only
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_limelight_uk_dash-video=5070000 mp4 1280x720 DASH video 5070k , avc3.640020, 50fps, video only
stream-uk-iptv_streaming_concrete_combined_hd_mf_limelight_uk_dash_https-video=5070000 mp4 1280x720 DASH video 5070k , avc3.640020, 50fps, video only
stream-uk-iptv_stre...
The version of iPlayer which I worked with had a setting to enable "beta features", this includes 4K UHD videos. So you'd probably need to spoof a TV/STB UA and set a cookie.
40 comments
[ 3.4 ms ] story [ 88.6 ms ] threadI nearly fell off my seat when they managed to show footage that must have been from a camera mounted on the back of a Sperm whale deep diving. They also got one on an Orca. David Attenborough is a legend and provides the usual authoritative voice over which instils a true sense of awe and wonder.
I wont go any further but it really is the new cutting edge of wildlife programming.
If my TV license fee goes towards turning out this sort of thing sometimes then I'm a very happy bunny.
I hope my TV is capable of showing it in all its glory. HDR is complicated. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-dynamic-range_video#Stand...
Here I thought it was simply to offer television and radio programming to the British.
Both versions still decode to a 1080p (or 4k) frame, but the local version means you don't have to compress it quite as much.
The BBC iPlayer though has banding and images of light glistening on sea waves are horribly blocky.
I had assumed this was done to save money. A programme like Blue Planet II being a flag ship show, no doubt showing how good things can get.
Sounds like the ideal demo to show off UHD TVs in shops.
Other content creators and such aren't operating under royal charter, funded by a license fee that every person in the UK watching (or recording) any live tv (not just BBC) or using iPlayer is obligated to pay.
The BBC can certainly engage in commercial services, but it's balancing act will be different to most other content creators.
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/about/h...
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one
Many recent Netflix Originals (eg, the Marvel stuff) is in HDR as well.
On a large display, 720p is soft. Even with sharpening, the detail isn't there.
I ask because I use youtube-dl to watch iPlayer shows and it only grabs standard HD versions. If anyone else UK based has figured this out I'd love to learn how.
I suspect it'll need an enhancement from youtube-dl in your case.
Testing with the --list formats option does not identify any higher resolution. Here is an example for the most recent episode:
Mind you there is the option for other Attenborugh fans to download the audio only track
Looks like the 4K streams won't be available for another 24+ hours:
> The BBC plans to release the special edition of Blue Planet II immediately after the final episode is broadcast on BBC One on Sunday.
The BBC doesn’t seem to prioritise it. The iPlayer seems to play 720p for the most part; perplexed as to why it’s not 1080p, an easy win.