Choose an account where you get to have administrator privileges. You will not be able to install the BBC Iplayer Desktop if you do not have it. Your computer must meet the required specifications of the BBC Iplayer pages. If you still lack the necessary required specifications, BBC Iplayer pages will be able to detect the needed installation and provide you the necessary downloads.

Adobe AIR powers the new BBC Iplayer desktop application. The AIR application gets its name from – Adobe Integrated Runtime. Adobe Air has been developed by Adobe Systems. Adobe Systems developed it so they can come up with rich Internet applications like the Adobe Flex, HTML, Ajax and Adobe Flash. It is an all-around runtime environment. It allows HTML, Flash, JavaScript and Actionscript codes to be used to come up a more conventional desk top-like program. You do not have to install anything because it is already packaged, digitally signed and install in the user’s local file system. Adobe AIR needs access to your computers local disks and also the file systems.

Downloading from the BBC Iplayer for Windows should start by visiting the page where to install BBC Iplayer Desktop. The installation page will appear with a simple instruction. Click on the button indicating the “Install BBC Iplayer Desktop”. The application Adobe Air will start to install by itself. It’s a very similar system to that used by the M6 Replay site, based in France.

Carefully follow the instructions that are displayed in the page. You will be asked for confirmation on installing the application. Click on the Install button. You will then save it. Open the file once the download is finished. You then have to agree on the conditions that Adobe AIR provided. Select a folder where you can store the BBC Iplayer Desktop. You have now installed the BBC Iplayer Desktop in your computer. As you download a program, the BBC website will automatically start the BBC Iplayer.

If you have a Mac, you should begin by getting an account of your own in the BBC Iplayer website. Once you are in the program’s page, choose the Download button then click it on the “To computer” option button. The installation page will show you the basic instructions in installing the BBC Iplayer Desktop. Also install the Adobe Air and follow the instructions. Agree to the End User License Agreement that is set by the BBC Iplayer.

Downloading from the BBC Iplayer can be transferred to some phones and portable media players. Also it’s even possible to download straight to your phone. There are some phones that can download programs with the use of Wi-Fi and 3G. These phones are Apple IPhone, Nokia N96, Samsung Omnia, BlackBerry Bold 2. Your downloaded file is available for up to 7 days. Just make sure that your computer or mobile phone supports the digital rights management system.

I’m afraid your IP address is to blame. BBC Iplayer looks up the location of your IP address. BBc Iplayer will only work if it’s a UK IP address.

If your IP address is in another country tough.

So outside the UK BBC IPlayer and all UK TV are blocked ?

But all is not lost, there are ways to Watch UK TV. The solution is to make sure that your connection has a UK IP address. If you’re technically minded the best free method is to route through a pc in the UK.

If you can leave a PC on in UK and connect via SSH or VPN tunneling you’ll be fine. This creates a little encrypted tunnel between two computers, in my case it was my laptop and my LInux server at home.

Have a look at a program called Putty, it can connect to windows or linux.

Then redirected your browser to use a local proxy connected through this SSH tunnel. It’s not that difficult to do, and you won’t get blocked. I had huge difficulties with performance though.

My connection upload speed couldn’t cope with video streaming and was awful. The upload speed on your home connection is vital to making this work, mine was hopeless. The other option that people can use to watch BBC Iplayer and UK TV is to use a slingbox, but again my poor UK connection speed made that unusable, might be good for many people though.

So I moved to the private TV proxy services, and at first that worked well, you get a private proxy to watch TV for in exchange for a small fee. Worked great except the BBC don’t like these companies set up with the intention of bypassing their restrictions so guess what they do ? Well they complain to the hosting companies, or ISPs and generally your TV proxy company just dissappears over night, it’s not illegal to use their service but of course most people don’t want the hassle.

I finally settled for a program which delivered BBC Iplayer through a secure network of private proxies, it has a software front end, support teams and is not marketed in any way as a TV proxy program. It works a treat!