The BBC has announced that an update for its iPlayer app on iPhone and iPad will add the ability to download shows for viewing offline, instead of being streaming only. Reports The Guardian.
“Viewers will now be able to watch the latest series of Doctor Who and other BBC favourites while travelling and on holiday abroad, with the corporation allowing programmes to be downloaded from the iPlayer to tablets and smartphones for the first time.
Daniel Danker, the BBC’s general manager of on-demand programmes, said: “This fundamentally changes one of the most annoying restrictions about viewing programmes. It means audiences are liberated from the constraints [of online-only viewing] and it fundamentally changes what it means to go on holiday.”
He added: “With mobile downloads, you can now load up your mobile phone or tablet with hours and hours of BBC programmes, then watch them on the road, on the tube, on a plane, without worrying about having an internet connection or running up a mobile data bill.”
Once downloaded, programmes will be available for 30 days, or within seven days of being watched. Up to 50 hours of TV will fit on a 16GB iPhone or iPad, or 25 hours of higher-definition content.
Users must have a wi-fi connection to download BBC programmes, but will soon be able to select shows for offline viewing via a 3G signal.
The launch is part of BBC plans to take the five-year-old iPlayer beyond the laptop, catch-up programming and tech-savvy users.”
Read more at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/sep/04/bbc-mobile-download-iplayer-smartphone
