The iPad may look like a giant iPhone, but its browser leaves Web sites in no doubt about what device you're using -- and that means no BBC iPlayer, even if you're a paid-up licensee surfing on British shores. But there's still a way to get the iPlayer to work on the iPad, although it's a far from perfect method.
There are several alternative browsers for the iPhone in the App Store, and you can also install them on the iPad. We tested the free Sphere Lite and Atomic Web Browser Lite, and 59p Perfect Browser 3 (iTunes links), and all were able to bring up the iPhone version of iPlayer on our iPad, and play radio and video streams.
Being iPhone apps, you'll have to use the 2x zoom feature to get video to fill the iPad's screen, and that makes for shoddy video quality. But it's still watchable -- in a dial-up, YouTube kind of way -- and at least it doesn't matter for the radio content.
If you use the iPad's built-in Safari browser to visit the iPlayer home page, you'll get served the version for the desktop browser -- and that means Flash video that you can't see on the iPad. Go straight to the mobile version of the site, which works a treat on the iPhone, and you'll get a roundhouse kick right in the kisser, with a message saying "your phone does not support BBC iPlayer".
Previously, a rumoured BBC iPlayer app failed to materialise, and an app called Rewatch that promised to allow us to download iPlayer content to the iPhone from BBC RSS feeds also failed to arrive in the App Store.
According to a post on the iPlayer forum, iPlayer was treating the iPad as a valid device until 19 April. But those halcyon days are over, until the Beeb changes its mind or Apple gives the iPad browser a way to pretend it's actually on the iPhone. In the meantime, if we're desperate for a catch-up on the curling or a nubbin of news, at least we have a workaround.
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Anonymous 27 July, 2010 13:30
is thereany way to get bbc radio on my ipadin hongkong...im happy to pay
Anonymous 10 August, 2010 11:26
BBC iplayer uses Adobe Flash to stream its video content to the user. Steve Jobs deliberately barred Adobe Flash from Apples' devices, including the ipad, so it's Apple to blame for this problem, not BBC. Google "Adobe Flash Apple ipad" and go find out the reasons for this ridiculous absurdity
Anonymous 11 August, 2010 18:29
The last comment is a little out of date - Firstly BBC iPlayer now fully support iPad! For both Ipad and iphone it uses a H.264 codec which is much less processor intensive that flash. Flash is not supported for good reason. It is too processor intensive. Pretty much all flash content can be recoded in other ways that the iphone and ipad fully support.
Why stick with flash? It's like buying an HD TV and watching analgue TV channels through it. You might like it how it used to be, but things progress generally for the better as long as poeple move on and don't hang on to old and out of date technology.
Anonymous 7 September, 2010 20:51
Please update this post. I just watched inlayer via the BBC site and it works a treat. Although does anyone know y my Internet connection on wireless at home keeps dropping off? Watching HD videos via YouTube are impossible due to continuos buffering.
Ralphie41 26 September, 2010 17:59
Just managed to get the bbciplayer on to my iPad. Streaming is of very high quality, I watched Nature events in all its glory. The trick is to go to the BBC iplayer (downloads for tablets). A note of warning: at the time of writing you can get this app only using the safari browser. The BBC says it's working to get the app through other browsers.
It's amazingly fast to get TV programmes going, it worked a treat for catching up on radio also. Could get almost a full screen by default. A thoroughly wonderful app. Please note we are warned it will not, understandably, play outside the UK. However mine worked in Le Touquet!!!! I don't know why it did.
Anonymous 12 October, 2010 21:09
Unfortunately the iPad is here and it is only going to get more popular. I can't understand why the BBC accepted it until mid April and now I can't use it. Do you think the BBC is even aware of our comments here, as they seem to be pretending that the iPad no longer exists.
All of you out there PHONE THEM. And complain!!!!
Anonymous 24 October, 2010 22:32
The problem tends to lay with the ipad being not compatible with the iplayer. I'm not sure what public money should be used to design a work around for ipads when really its apples responsibility to do this. People that buy the ipad need to understand that the product has limitations and accept that or buy something else.
Anonymous 27 November, 2010 12:37
People, the iPad DOES run the BBC iPlayer - and has done so for months. Originally you needed a Beta version of the iPlayer for it to run in the iPad Safari browser but now all you need to type is "BBC.co.uk/iplayer" and away you go (by the way, on the iPad the address will get resolved to "BBC.co.uk/iplayer/bigscreen/".
Enjoy!
Anonymous 28 November, 2010 07:52
If you need to access flash content on a regular basis, then the ipad is not for you! I have an IPAD and it only serves half my computing needs. having it jailbroken makes the IPAD a productivity tool on the road,otherwise it's an expensive email tool, digital picture frame, safari browser tabless makes it very frustrating when browing the web! You can't close an active web page window is also very annoying...Despite all my complains, the sole reason I am still using it is because of its long battery power and it does't burn my lap after long hours of using it! As soon as a 10.1" Winows or Android based tablet hits the market with decent battery life and performance, I will definitely get rid of my IPAD for GOOD!
Anonymous 28 November, 2010 08:00
More IPAD complaints...... I bought the top end IPAD 64G 3G model and I regret to this day because of the following:
1. Why does the bluetooth only support bt keyboard and headset only?
2. Why isn't bt mouse supported on it?
3. Memory is 256MB so my apps keeps swaping out and reload when i view it again! This really is going backwards as memory prices are not that expensive these days!!! Pure APPLE GREED. APPLE will argue that this saves battery life.. hmmmm.
Anonymous 2 January, 2011 16:20
The person posting the first Anonymous comment on 28th November really needs to get to grips with an instruction manual or tutorial for using his iPad if he thinks you can't have multiple web windows in Safari - each of which is individually closable. There may be no 'tab' function, but the multiple window facility does exactly the same thing. It amazes me how people spend more time complaining about a device than they obviously do learning how to use it properly!!!
Anonymous 21 January, 2011 17:23
You can install the skyFire web browser and watch the iplayer on the iPad... This converts the flash video in DHTML while it's not perfect quality it is better the using the x2 function on the other browsers. Instructions on how to use the browser are included on iTunes.
Anonymous 24 April, 2011 01:39
The people expressing really strong opinions here sound like jerks.
To the moron on 29th April 17:18, in UK we don't vote for the Prime Minister, we vote for a local representative of the party. It's the members of the political party (of which I am sure you are not one) who vote for their leader.
Also, supporting iPlayer on iPad is not simply a case of removing a line of code from the iPhone's web version. You may not have noticed but the two devices have vastly different screen sizes and therefore have different layout and rendering requirements.
The Beeb didn't create the BBC Micro - that was Acorn - but they did commission it. And it was pioneering. It was one of the first computers to appear in the homes of everyday people.
Whereas not having Flash support on iOS is annoying today (who can pretend 10 years' worth of Flash content doesn't exist?), time moves on. It was annoying when Apple brought out the iMac without a floppy disk drive in the1990s. It will be annoying when they release iMacs and MacBook Pros without optical drives. But we'll get used to it and will forget it was ever an issue. Evolution comes from trailblazing and change, not from standing still.