BBC iplayer on iPad

MikeSh · Feb 11, 2011, 15:34:07

Just installed the "BBC iplayer" app on my iPad yesterday. Everything works except for the live streaming of Radio 4 which fails showing;
"Failed to load programme;please try later".
All other BBC TV and Radio channels stream live perfectly.
Anyone else experienced this please?

Rik · Feb 11, 2011, 16:58:20

I don't use iPlayer, Mike, sorry. It sound almost like a server error for Radio 4.

lozcart · Feb 11, 2011, 17:51:11

Radio 4 not working for me Mike, everything else seems ok.

MikeSh · Feb 11, 2011, 18:35:01

Yes - sort of suspected it was "them"

Thanks

Lance · Feb 11, 2011, 22:51:15

Always nice to check though isn't it!

MikeSh · Feb 12, 2011, 07:11:47

Quote from: Lance on Feb 11, 2011, 22:51:15
Always nice to check though isn't it!

Yes, there's comfort in numbers

MikeSh · Feb 12, 2011, 15:23:00

Well just tried connecting the iPad via my "3" MiFi network dongle and R4 comes through loud and clear.
So has anybody got any ideas why the wireless on my Netgear DG834G v4 causes BBC R4 only to fail please (all other progs work OK) ?

Rik · Feb 12, 2011, 15:36:37

TBH, none, Mike.

MikeSh · Feb 12, 2011, 15:38:33

Rik · Feb 12, 2011, 15:53:05

Quite. A word with support might be called for.

pctech · Feb 12, 2011, 15:53:37

I have a v4 but no iPad but tried it with an xbox wireless adapter and found it to be quite weak TBH.

Steve · Feb 12, 2011, 16:04:12

I've managed to reproduce this error and found a solution on mine anyway to play radio 4 live,as you say the other channels work.

Try this go into settings>general>network>wifi>choose network>select your current wifi connection> under DNS change the address (currently router)i.e 192.168.0.1 to 8.8.8.8 > Renew lease.

It works on mine and when I revert back to the router as DNS it fails.

8.8.8.8 is Google's DNS it's easy to remember but you might wish to try another.

Rik · Feb 12, 2011, 16:07:19

What's at 8.8.8.8, Steve?

pctech · Feb 12, 2011, 16:11:30

Google's DNS though thought it might be 6.6.6.6.

Steve · Feb 12, 2011, 16:13:08

Google primary DNS server, the iPad automatically sets the DNS to the routers IP address so I've just asked it to look elsewhere . I'll try IDNets primary next to see if that works

Rik · Feb 12, 2011, 16:16:06

Thanks, guys.

Steve · Feb 12, 2011, 16:22:20

I've just tried setting the DNS server in the iPad to either of IDNet DNS servers and confirm that I am unable to stream Radio 4 live via iPlayer . Changing to Google DNS and it works fine.

Rik · Feb 12, 2011, 16:23:08

Email to support, Steve?

Steve · Feb 12, 2011, 16:26:00

I think so, just tried 208.67.222.222 which is OpenDNS and that works as well. I just used google's first as it's easy to remember and less keystrokes

I'll refer them to this thread perhaps MikeSH can confirm?

MikeSh · Feb 12, 2011, 16:28:38

Steve - that worked for me. Many thanks

It looks like there may be a problem at one of the BBC servers perhaps?

Rik · Feb 12, 2011, 16:29:48

Quote from: Steve on Feb 12, 2011, 16:26:00
I think so, just tried 208.67.222.222 which is OpenDNS and that works as well. I just used google's first as it's easy to remember and less keystrokes

I'll refer them to this thread perhaps MikeSH can confirm?

Is there only a single DNS setting on the tablet? I wonder if that's the problem.

Rik · Feb 12, 2011, 16:30:14

Quote from: MikeSh on Feb 12, 2011, 16:28:38
Steve - that worked for me. Many thanks
It looks like there may be a problem at one of the BBC servers perhaps?

On the face of it, Mike, it's an IDNet DNS issue.

MikeSh · Feb 12, 2011, 16:33:51

Quote from: Rik on Feb 12, 2011, 16:30:14
On the face of it, Mike, it's an IDNet DNS issue.

Right Rik - I would be interested to know how it can be so selective as regards which programme to reject

Rik · Feb 12, 2011, 16:35:14

It suggests to me, and I could be completely wrong, that Radio 4 has a separate IP address (possibly all channels do) and that it hasn't propagated to IDNet yet.

Steve · Feb 12, 2011, 16:35:49

I've let support know.

Rik · Feb 12, 2011, 16:37:27

Is it possible to trace to the Radio 4 server, Steve?

Lance · Feb 12, 2011, 16:45:11

Maybe its just that IDNet aren't Radio 4 fans!

Rik · Feb 12, 2011, 16:46:20

MikeSh · Feb 12, 2011, 16:48:35

Quote from: pctech on Feb 12, 2011, 16:11:30
Google's DNS though thought it might be 6.6.6.6.

Oops Mitch, missed the above in the heat of the moment

pctech · Feb 12, 2011, 16:50:58

Quote from: MikeSh on Feb 12, 2011, 16:48:35
Oops Mitch, missed the above in the heat of the moment

glad someone got it.

Rik · Feb 12, 2011, 16:52:28

I thought you were serious.

pctech · Feb 12, 2011, 16:53:30

Apparently it belongs to the US DoD.

Rik · Feb 12, 2011, 16:56:08

How apt.

Steve · Feb 12, 2011, 22:23:29

For completeness having done a bit of googling there are benefits and negatives from changing the DNS servers on any IOS device and in essence it's which works best for you. iTunes content i.e video like youtube etc is distributed via the Akamai worldwide datastores which use your DNS routing to determine your location. So in theory your local DNS server i.e usually your ISP should offer the fastest download as it directs you to the nearest datastore.

Also the correct DNS entries should state the primary and secondary server,which should be separated by a comma i.e 208.67.222.222,208.67.220.220 for OpenDNS and 212.69.36.3,212.69.40.3 IDNet

I've just paid £.0.59 for TuneIn Radio http://tunein.com/ it also supports Android and Blackberry amongst others. It seems to work very well with apparently some 30,000 stations available.

Lance · Feb 12, 2011, 23:08:22

I've got tune in radio too and also found it good.

Simon · Feb 12, 2011, 23:28:01

Stupid question, perhaps, but where is the radio on the iPhone?

Lance · Feb 12, 2011, 23:31:09

Not a stupid question - there isn't one. Both steve and I have an app called TuneIn Radio which streams the radio over the Internet connection.

Glenn · Feb 13, 2011, 07:08:29

Quote from: pctech on Feb 12, 2011, 16:53:30
Apparently it belongs to the US DoD.

When's the extradition hearing for attempted hacking?

pctech · Feb 13, 2011, 08:38:40

pctech · Feb 13, 2011, 08:39:40

I have a deep interest in network routing, your honour!

MikeSh · Feb 13, 2011, 08:54:39

I also use an app called "Pure Lounge" which, although more expensive at £2.99, is very comprehensive, giving access to Listen again and Podcasts as well as thousands of stations. This is from the "Pure" Dab Radio people.

Simon · Feb 13, 2011, 12:51:22

Quote from: Lance on Feb 12, 2011, 23:31:09
Not a stupid question - there isn't one. Both steve and I have an app called TuneIn Radio which streams the radio over the Internet connection.

Ah, I thought that was just an add-on, not the radio itself.

I have no real use for it, I just wondered where it was!

MikeSh · Feb 22, 2011, 19:49:25

Just to keep everyone up to date with this problem where the Idnet DNS resolver causes BBC Radio 4 streaming to fail on the iPad iPlayer.
I spoke to Idnet support today and even though I explained that changing to Googles DNS server (8.8.8.8)
solved the problem they thought it more likely to be the iPlayer "app" at fault.
So without more information about the Radio4 server etc to give them I cannot see us solving this one.
I have searched the web looking for others having this specific fault but found none. So it seems unlikely to be the app to me.

I would still be interested to hear from any other Idnetters that experience this please.

Steve · Feb 22, 2011, 20:19:43

Maybe of interest to you Mike http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbiplayer/NF7331803?thread=7989021 .I can confirm that Radio 4 live still working with OpenDns

MikeSh · Mar 07, 2011, 16:19:19

Just to add a little bit more mystery to the DNS question I've just noticed that when I go into the "App Store" app on the Ipad and select the "Genius" tab, it fails "Cannot connect to iTunes Store" using Idnet's DNS but when I change to Open DNS, 208.67.222.222, everthing is OK.

Rik · Mar 07, 2011, 16:40:04

There seems to be a problem with the iPad which is affecting DNS at a number of ISPs.

MikeSh · Mar 07, 2011, 18:35:53

Rik, what I should have also added was that up to recently this was always accessible before on this same Ipad using the Idnet DNS.

Rik · Mar 07, 2011, 18:37:47

Curiouser and curiouser, Mike. Drop Simon an email and let him know that, would you?

Steve · Mar 07, 2011, 18:39:48

I just think it's strange that there are no issues using the public DNS servers. Genius can be a bit odd at times but that's an Apple server issue and is not DNS specific.

Gary · Mar 14, 2011, 11:05:39

Quote from: Steve on Mar 07, 2011, 18:39:48
I just think it's strange that there are no issues using the public DNS servers. Genius can be a bit odd at times but that's an Apple server issue and is not DNS specific.

I have had a few DNS issues with iTunes and IOS devices and also facebook and google and a few other sites not loading and when pinged it showed the sites could not be resolved, I have mentioned it before. Now all these issues stopped when I changed to a public DNS, I went back to Norton DNS which is now configurable with a login and then you can add extra blocks like sexual content scams etc, and the youtube issue of stalling slightly has stopped too and I like the added safety of malware scanning via DNS lookup, that's just my personal preference though.

I contacted support and they wanted me to do some digging with terminal, but to be honest I have everything working fine, the Norton (Dyn DNS) server they use in London means I have no delays with apps or web sites thinking I'm in the states, or Europe and lookups are so much faster. The thing is IDnet seem to have an issue with the DNS servers but blame everything but their servers, its always your router that's the problem when you ask, or the site, they don't seem to take action themselves to investigate and tbh I really am not going to keep swapping servers to do tests I just want things to work smoothly with no fuss really.

When changing to a public DNS solves multiple issues for quite a few people it should that should set the wheels of 'somethings not right' in motion, alas it does not seem to at the moment.

Edit: yep its another paragraph