For better or worse…
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Diddorol - diolch Rob!
Anyone happen to know if there is an app or work around for US folks who can’t see the BBC player, and some others? Being out of the UK restricts its use and results in this message “Because of rights agreements you can only download or stream BBC iPlayer TV programmes while you’re inside the UK.” I have heard that there is an app to help with that, but wasn’t sure. Diolch!
There are tools - vpn tunnel software (some free, some not, for a variety of platforms) that will make it look as if you are connecting to the BBC from an ip address in the UK, thus fooling the BBC or anyone else imposing restrictions based on ip addresses. I am not sure how legal that is in the UK or in the US, and I can send you details in a PM rather than posting here. Alternatively, you could search for word combinations like tunnel, vpn with your favourite search engine - you are guaranteed to find some useful stuff. I use these to my advantage from Australia.
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I’ve been realy looking forward to S4C being available on the iPlayer and was quite excited to read this thread yesterday.
Sadly, it was not quite as I’d hoped, at least not yet anyway. It’s true, the S4C channel is available to watch on a PC on the BBC iPlayer website and also on the Android app on my phone. However, this it no different to watching S4C on Clic which I could do on both anyway.
The great thing about the iPlayer app on Android, is that you can download programmes when you’re home on your wifi and then play them when you’re away without having to use up all your phones 3G data. Sadly, S4C appears to be the only channel on the iPlayer app that hasn’t got a download button on it’s programmes 
I’ve written to them to ask the question, Why?, so we’ll see what they say.
The other reason I was looking forward to S4C being on the iPlayer is so I could watch it using Sky ‘On Demand’. At last I can catch up by watching S4C programmes on my TV in the living room and not on the pc or laptop on Clic. At least that’s what I thought. Sadly, the channel has not appeared yet on Sky Catch Up. I turned off my Sky box and back on again but no difference.
So, potentially, this could be brilliant, as long as the S4C content will at some point be as watchable and downloadable as all the other channels…hopefully soon. 
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Thank you for contacting the BBC iPlayer support team.
I understand you are keen to download some S4C programmes via its newly-launched section of BBC iPlayer.
Please be assured that downloads for S4C are coming soon. At the moment, only streaming programmes (watching online without saving) is possible.
Further information about the recent launch of S4C programmes’ availability on BBC iPlayer can be read about at the link below:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2014/s4c-comes-to-bbc-iplayer
If you have any further queries about future availability of S4C’s content on iPlayer, I would suggest contacting S4C directly. You can do so via their own website, here:
Welsh:
http://www.s4c.co.uk/c_contact.shtml
English:
http://www.s4c.co.uk/e_contact.shtml
(Please be advised that the BBC is not responsible for the content of any third-party website.)
I hope the above information is useful to you.
Thanks again for getting in contact with us.
Kind regards
Helen McCrickerd
BBC Audience Services
Coming soon then…great!
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One thing I am disappointed about is that there are no Welsh subtitles (for those programmes which have Welsh subtitles on Clic, which is by no means all of them). I half expected this to be honest, based on the experience of Pobol y Cwm, which has been on iPlayer for some time.
Hopefully this will change in due course.
Not really a problem unless in due course, Clic disappears (in a cost saving measure), which they might argue is justifiable, since it is duplicated on iPlayer (except that the Welsh subtitles aren’t - at least for the moment).
So is there some kind of danger that S4C/Clic is going to disappear? I hope not - it’s the only way I watch S4C. I used to watch a few BBC programmes on iPlayer, but since they changed the website I find it hard to locate the programmes I like and I gave up. The Clic site is much more user friendly I think.
Hi sarah,
i am in the netherlands and have an,international iplayer app from the app store. It costs me 5 euros a month and I get a huge selection of programmes - but nothing from SC4.
Warm wishes,
Elkie
I live in Italy and I have the same problem in reverse getting U.S. programs.
Knowing nothing about the legalities the technical solution is to use software like HMA which makes your computer appear as if it is based in the country from which you want to see/listen to a radio or TV program. I subscribe to HMA Pro and can now receive just about anything from anywhere in the world.
Do a Google Search for HMA if you are interested in this solution.
I know a number of friends both in the U.S. and Europe who are using it very successfully.
Only in my suspicious mind Dee - I mean I haven’t seen any announcement to that effect, but I’m just wondering why they made this move, unless it was to try to get more exposure on the back of the BBC’s widely-known presence.
In these days of cuts, one tends to expect the worst, or at least I do.
I agree that Clic is somewhat more user-friendly than IPlayer. For BBC programmes (TV or radio) I tend to go to the web page of the station I’m interested in, and find the complete schedule, and work my way through until I find the programme I’m looking for, or I find something by serendipity.
I’ve found iPlayer search to be a bit erratic sometimes, plus, in order to search for something you have to know of its existence in the first place (and remember it). Sometimes you can’t quite remember the title of a programme, but might spot it by browing the schedule, for example.
I’m finding that the BBC site as a whole is increasingly broken from several points of view. For example, the iPlayer-orientation of the main part of the site means that it’s increasingly difficult to find stuff that’s not a programme. In addition, the television-orientation of the iPlayer itself makes it difficult for those of us whose main interest is in radio programmes.
Another example is the lack of RSS feeds on CymruFyw. Why on earth is this? And why have I never received an answer to my several enquiries about it in two languages?
It’s all a bit frustrating, really.
Just tried:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cymrufyw/rss#
In a browser and that seemed to provide a feed, or are you looking for something more detailed.
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Thanks for that.
The old ‘Newyddion’ feeds still work, http://feeds.bbci.co.uk/newyddion/rss.xml for example, and seem to aggregate the new content, so I’m still getting news into my reader, but if I was to go looking for the feeds, my reader can’t find them and there’s no indication on the page itself (a standard rss icon would be nice - the English news pages have them).
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I am replying to various things. RE:Sky: I got it on red button under BBCiplayer 1st time I tried and then remembered I’d get no subtitles. This was true and I think there is no answer as I can get no subtitles for anything downloaded from catch-up. (I tend to use them as I find hearing many programmes increasingly difficult despite my GP assuring me that my ears are fine!!! I haven’t tried under ‘catch-up’ but it probably works. You have to ask for ‘All’ and troll through the alphabetical list looking for S4C!!!
RE: loss of clic: I too thought, “Oh no! S4C is financed by BBC now, they’ll save money by ditching clic, which I really, really value!”
from Jackie
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Yes thanks. 
…
Well, just to re-iterate 7 months later that I haven’t heard any official word or even any unofficial rumour that Clic might be in danger. That was just me being pessimistic. Having said that, it appears that both S4C and the BBC are under more financial pressure than ever, so it’s hard to be optimistic.
Since the last time this thread was active, I think iPlayer downloads of S4C programmes is now possible, at least on a PC/laptop - don’t know about mobile devices. I haven’t actually used the download facility, but it’s reassuring to know it’s there. Just recently, I’ve been having problems accessing Clic, but can usually access the programmes OK via iPlayer. (I think it’s a problem with my home network actually). So it’s an advantage that S4C programmes are there on iPlayer. However, there are still no Welsh subtitles (for programmes that have Welsh subtitles on Clic). Considering the fanfare with which the advent of S4C to iPlayer was welcomed (e.g.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2014/s4c-comes-to-bbc-iplayer
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/entries/536df9e4-2126-38c1-a4c2-644efb199354
did they really just forget about this subtitle issue? Or did they hope it would quietly go away?
I can’t believe that S4C would make any difficulty about handing over the subtitle text (especially as the BBC largely holds the purse strings now). Maybe they just didn’t want to make the (small, I’m sure) change to iPlayer that would be needed to offer both Welsh and English subtitles.
I’ve written to the iPlayer help desk, and got the expected semi-automatic rebuff. I’m trying somewhere higher up the chain now.
[Edit: the sharp-eyed may notice that I’ve re-ordered the intro slightly, in case it might have looked as though my opening salvo was aimed at hendraig fach. As if I would dare! (I value my “tatws” too much to risk her coming down from Scotland and hunting me down … ). ]
I am entirely all bark and no bite!!! So you need not fear!! Also, it is a mammoth effort to go 3 miles into town. I did my lungs in by starting smoking aged 14 and not stopping for too long!!
If you can get subtitles on iplayer, I’ll send kisses not bites!!! :
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Well, there are English ones already, but I can’t take any credit for that.
Ah, problem must be my set-up, as I can get subtitles on-line, but none in either language when iplayer is on the tele!! 
Ah…I was talking about online (on a PC/laptop) which is the only way I know how to use iPlayer.
However I seem to remember reading people writing about using it via a telly.
A “smart TV” is one possibility, but I don’t have one of those, so know nothing about the technicalities of them. But I think I’ve seen other approaches mentioned, the details of which I can’t remember at the moment.
Meanwhile, I’ve had a further reply from someone in the BBC. It’s polite and interesting, but I have to await a further reply from elsewhere, and I am preparing myself for it to be another dead end.