no joy for me not being in the UK

Confirming I am eligible to receive the play again signal was to save
everyone the necessity of making the obvious comment about my question.

Location, surely makes no difference to the file I have to tick in
synpatic ( or where ever!).

Presumably every country places similar restrictions on their
broadcasts.I am sure someone in the world knows the file structure of
Linux (ubuntu) and the files to be enabled to receive a radio
broadcast. In this case BBC iplayer. It will be great if you can come
to my rescue. I thought that is what this group is about.

If not, could someone suggest a contact able to answer my question.

The BBC confirm radio playback is available to linux users but sadly
do not offer support in enabling the files.

Hoping I do not have to become an ¨expert¨ in IT just to use Linux

Not sure if this is going to be of any help but I am running Mint 5
(basically Ubuntu 8.04 with restricted codecs) and am able to access
ip[layer without any problems, so I am guessing the answer lies
somewhere in the codecs. Are you using Firefox as your browser and, if
so, have you got the Shockwave Flash plugin? If not, try a search for it
including linux in the search term.

I had already searched the BBC site (and
visited them at Mailbox). I can play live radio broadcasts but nothing
else.

I am also 8.04 and Firefox. Have just been to the shockwave site but
found I cannot proceed because I have an unsupported platform! Perhaps
this is the problem.

I will search the wonderful web tomorrow for the codec and report back.

If you go to the BBC site and the Iplayer page it will tell you all you
need to know. For a start you need Real Player and then you can just run
the radio program.

It is hard for non-UK members to troubleshoot as we don't have access to the
BBC. Supposedly the latest version of Ubuntu comes with BBC compatibility built
in, but it only shows if you are in the UK. When you choose your location at
installation it saves the settings and you cannot download or use services that
do not permit it. There are several media sites in Europe that are only
available there and when you try to access them from here (Canada), it will tell
me that it is not available in my area yet. Sometimes this is for copyright
reasons and sometimes it is for their own technological reasons. The result is
the same in any case. They know where you are and they can shut you out.

BBC itself has a history of trying to thwart open source. At one time you could
only use IE and Windows, but there was a loud outcry and the BBC only grudgingly
gave in, opening their service to Firefox and non-Windows Oses. Shuttleworth of
Canonical has worked closely with the BBC to let it work on the latest version
(8.10) of Ubuntu/Kubuntu, etc. When 8.10 came out the flash videos of Ubuntu all
featured the BBC working on it as if it was somewhat of a triumph.

It has no need of compatibility Roy because its just like downloading a
video in fact. It is just a system for you to get past programs to play
on your computer. You can get a thing like a tool bar that makes things
easier but anyone here can get past programs from the BBC and ITV.

Yes you do need flash video for the films but this is easily downloaded
to linux these days and Real Player for the radio programs.

If the newest Ubuntu has full BBC support. Perhaps an upgrade is called for. I
have not used 8.10 but I have heard good things about it.

The BBC iPlayer is not available outside the UK yet. They are working on
it but it may be a while yet before it is available in any other country.

Do NOT search the web. You can get what you need from the repositories.
Downloading from the web is a sure fire way to mess up your computer.

How to search in Synaptic:
http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Hardy#Searching_for_a_package.2Fprogram
How to install multimedia codecs:
http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Hardy#How_to_install_multimedia_support_on_Ha\
rdy_Heron

What we need is some of our UK members to tell you what you need precisely. We
outside of the UK don't even know what iPlayer is.

A quick search of Google revealed this:
technologytales.com/.../

I didn't need to add anything from the Repositories to my Ubuntu 8.04,
although it's possible I had already install what the iPlayer needed as this
is a mature system. It seems that the player is web based and just worked
(for Radio, TV is blocked).

Iplayer will not play outside the UK but its radio side will. Its the
BBC system that allows you to download past TV and radio programs for a
fixed play period. You can all see what it is by going to bbc.com and
looking at the iPlayer links.

Realplayer downloaded to the desktop and did nothing else.

I have gone through synpatic under nvidia, realplayer, mozilla and
totem and seen nothing obvious

Totem is installed and apparently I will have to remove it for
iplayer. That looks easy in principle but being me, I could easily get
it wrong. Hardly worth the risk with the rapidity of BBC repeats. So
much for my plans to join the much hyped new age of media choice!

I might try ticking totem,plugins-extra but that reads for TV and we
do not even get a TV signal here. (Coventry but the trees block the
transmitter!- thanks Virgin Media)

I was hoping that you would come to the rescue, as I know that you are in the
UK. I think what was being touted in the Ubuntu 8.10 unveiling was the BBC TV
that you spoke about as it had video.

If you install Helix player from the repositories, it is the same as Real
Player. It is their open source version of Real Player.