Record iPlayer

Create Your Personal Online Video Collection

Here’s a simple way of watching anything you want anytime and, without those annoying time limits. All you need is some software that can ‘grab’ the video that comes into your computer via the Internet (known as “streaming” video).

In a nutshell, you’ve got two ways to record iPlayer or any other similar service: either ‘recording’ or ‘capturing’ it.

Recording is better than capturing because the quality is better, but it doesn’t always work because the systems at the BBC (and especially, Channel 4) try to block people trying to download their programmes in the ‘background’ (but don’t worry, they won’t cut you off from watching the programme in your web browser….).

Take a look at this video demonstrating how I go about recording (please wait a few seconds…, this is a large video. Total length of the demo is 9 mins long). I’ll show you how I record both TV and Radio programmes plus a short demo with Hulu in the US:

The software I used in this video is called Replay Capture Suite which you can get from here: http://www.applian.com/avscs/

If you can’t get recording to work, you can turn to “Capturing” which has the benefit of working 100% of the time and quality is good too. It works by literally capturing what’s on your screen (or just an area of your screen). Once you’ve captured the programme, it’s perfectly acceptable to watch it on your laptop or your TV by connecting your laptop to the TV.

Ok, now onto the question of which software. After two years of trying-out various software packages, the best one that I’ve used is Replay Capture Suite (from Applian Inc). And here are my reasons why:

• Both packages come with software allowing you to “record” and “capture”.
• The quality of video and sound when “capturing” is excellent.
• When you attempt to “record”, this software has proven to be the most reliable. Like I mentioned before, some sites make it difficult to record streaming video. In my experience and testing against other software packages, Applian has proved to the most reliable. The new version of the recording software now comes with 126 converters so it’s a breeze to convert the recorded video into any format of your choice such as for your iPhone, iPad, DVD, etc…In iPlayer, the recorded video is saved in Flash Video Format which is fine for viewing on PC’s or Mac’s but absolutely no good for your iPod or Blackberry (for example).
• The bundle comes with software allowing you to edit and convert your videos into other formats.
• Applian has dedicated itself to producing media recording software since 1997. They don’t do anything else: they just focus on high quality media software and at very reasonable prices. So this means that Applian are really committed to producing good quality software in just this specific area (and wouldn’t still be in business if it was rubbish).
• The software works perfectly in any version of Windows. I’ve tried and tested in XP, Vista and Windows 7 and it works fine.
• Really good customer support & quick to respond (I made enquiries on “recording” from iPlayer from outside the UK and had an answer within a few hours)

On the second point on capturing, I was very surprised by the quality of video and sound even when grabbing High Definition videos from iPlayer. Other packages I’ve tried had all sorts of problems including ‘jerky’ video and even de-synchronised video and sound. Ok, it’s NOT Blu-ray / HD-quality but it’s more than good enough to watch on the telly. And although I’m in the multimedia business, I don’t have any special gear in my lounge: my wife would disown me if I did. What I have is a Samsung 60″ HD flat-sceen TV. Yes, it’s a nice TV and yes, I watch captured BBC iPlayer programmes on it and it’s perfectly acceptable.

I do have one gripe with the software which is they don’t have the same version for Apple computers and I have no idea why but since I’m not a big Mac user, it doesn’t affect me.  To get around this, Applian have teamed up with another software developer and as a result have produced a piece of software called “Jaksta” (requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later, Intel processor). I haven’t tested it myself but there is a demo version so for Mac users, here’s the link: http://www.jaksta.com/download-video-for-mac/ Test it out with iPlayer and go ahead and purchase if it works out fine.

If Jaksta doesn’t work out, there is another way around this: first get hold of a copy of a software package called “Parallels” and then install a copy of Windows. “Parallels” allows you to run your Mac as a PC. After that, install the Replay Capture Suite.  According to Applian, their software works just fine in this environment but then again, it’s more money!

So apart from this Mac ‘annoyance’, the simple fact is that I wanted quality video & sound since it’s really annoying to watch anything unless it’s half-decent.

Applian also market a very similar package called WM Recording Bonus Bundle. The only advantage of the WM Recording Bundle is that it worked if you wanted to record iPlayer from outside the UK whereas the OLDER version of same software in Replay Capture Suite didn’t. (And since I travel a lot, I tended to use the WM Recording Bundle quite frequently which I do via a dedicated UK-based proxy service).

But now THIS HAS CHANGED with the introduction of Replay Media Catcher version 4. I’ve recently tested this newer version (via a proxy service) whilst on a recent business trip to Spain and, unlike the previous version, I can confirm that it works absolutely perfectly.

Replay Capture Suite offers 7 more pieces of software which are:

1. Replay Converter: allows you to convert video and sound into any number of different formats. When recording video, it typically saves the resultant file in Flash Video format. But with this application you can convert it so you can watch it, for example, on your iPod. Another bonus here is that you can actually rip (or ‘read from’) and burn DVDs.
2. Replay Splitter: this is a simple yet effective video and audio editor. So if you wanted to cut out ads from your recorded program, this software will allow you to do this.
3. Replay Music: this is a very reliable program allowing you to record or download high-quality music directly from your computer or, from online radio stations or subscription-based music sites like Spotify.
4. Replay AV: records from Internet Radio or TV stations and includes a ’scheduler’ and a built-in ‘converter’. The scheduler is just like your home video: you can program it to record something whilst you’re out.
5. Skype Telecorder: records your Skype video or voice calls. This is really useful if you want to record teleconferences or even private chats.
6. Video Padlock: I really love this simple application. It allows you to ‘lock’ your videos, photos or even other documents with a password (128-bit encryption). Very useful if you’re worried about allowing the kids viewing unsuitable material or simply maintaining your own privacy at home.
7. Replay Director: this is like a central ‘control panel’ which allows you to easily navigate to any of the seven applications in the Replay Media Suite with ease.

Replay Capture Suite is priced at £49 (69€) which I think is pretty good value for money. If you think about it, that’s around 60% less than a modern DVD / hard-drive recorder or a ‘media centre’ than you buy in the stores these days. And although I have a DVD hard-drive recorder, I hardly use it anymore since I put all my iPlayer and Channel 4 programmes on my laptop (I even get requests from my wife!). So your computer becomes the place for documents, photos, music, DVD player and now your own personal video collection too although, rest-assured, I don’t drag the laptop to the TV everyday!

It’s just really satisfying to watch something you really fancy whenever you want and not be at the mercy of your Internet connection either (especially when there’s high demand) or those really irritating time-limits. And at least you don’t have to mess around for more than a minute or so plugging-in your laptop to the TV. But if £49 is a stretch too far, then you could just settle for Replay Media Catcher version 4 which is priced at £29.95. Again, it’s a question of your needs and value for money. If you need or think you’re going to need to record audio and take advantage of the expanded capabilities such as basic editing & video / document ‘padlocking’ then you’re going to save a great deal by simply purchasing the whole  Replay Capture Suite. If you purchased all the software that Applian have to offer, it would come to a whopping £182.60 so by simply purchasing the whole suite, you get to save £133.60.

For more information and further demos, just click on the image below:

Enjoy! Andy

p.s. I almost forgot but one last reassuring factor is that Applian offer a 30-day money-back guarantee so if it’s not for you, just ask for your money back!