BBC iPlayer on Freesat has arrived! If you’re packing a Humax Freesat box you can tune in to Auntie’s programmes on demand using your remote. What’s it like? Read our full BBC iPlayer on Freesat review to find out!
Freesat’s iPlayer might look similar to the version you’ve used on a PC or Mac, but under the hood there are some important changes.
First off, it’s tricky to find. Since it’s still in the Beta test phase you’re made to tap into it by entering a not-so-secret code from the BBC’s red button services. Once that hoop’s been successfully jumped through, things are fairly smooth, if a little slow.
BBC iPlayer on Freesat: now open to all
The latest iPlayer content loads just fine, and while button presses take a while to register navigating through menus is largely a doddle. You can track down shows by genre or channel as well as date. There’s also a list of each channel’s most recent or most popular content.
Most impressive of all is the BBC iPlayer on Freesat’s search function. Using the remote’s number keys, it makes tapping out a programme title quick and easy, exactly like typing a text on a mobile phone.
Once you dive into a programme Freesat’s iPlayer service offers standard and high quality streams. On an 8MB broadband connection the latter worked just fine, loading in just a couple of seconds and with pictures not too far short of a standard Freeview signal. The standard quality feed, however, was a blurry mess on our 47 inch HD screen.
Adding iPlayer to Freesat gives the setup a huge boost in the usefulness stakes, although it’s clear the boxes currently supporting it were not designed to control the Beeb’s on-screen menus.
Accidentally pressing anything but the direction keys or OK button dumps you back to a menu or different channel. From there it’s a long trek back to the iPlayer screen, and your position when viewing a programme will be lost too.
Given that iPlayer on Freesat is still in the Beta phase, however, we’re willing to overlook those niggling control problems. It’s a fantastic addition to an already capable service, and should have Sky, which has yet to provide true on-demand services to its set-top boxes, looking over its shoulder. Freesat’s promising iPlayer support on every one of its certified devices soon, from set-top boxes to integrated TVs. Here’s hoping ITV and Channel 4 follow suit too.
