SHERLOOOOOOOCK!
BBC, I love you.
Ok, so, after having my depressive FASDFASDLKJF-fest with proxy servers, I got a link from a facebook page/profile I watch concerning this lovely thing called "Expat Shield"- saying somehing along the lines of "Hey Sherlock fans- check out this program!" and I obviously was intrigued.
So I look at the link, and see it's a program to shield your IP for things like the BBC iPlayer. I go, great! Download! I wanna see if this works! Except... it's an exe file.
For those not savvy with computers, and programs- Executable file. Ok, sure, sounds alright- except. Mac's don't run executables. Macs run dmg's. (Disk Images)
So I check the download specs and I was right. Needs Windows XP/Vista/7 to run. Damn.
So I sit there beating my head, staring at the old decrepit HP laptop of mine in the corner when I have my eureka moment. I HAVE WINDOWS BOOTCAMP DUH.
So! Switch it over, boot it up, run a few updates because wow it's out of date, search for the program, download, run, connect it. And it connects, says everything's cool.
So I started my first test last night- head for BBC One's live streaming. And it loads the news like a pro! Barely any lag! (Only a few seconds every hour or so) and I was like SWEET! Awesome!
So I turned it off, went to bed, and smiled like a fool.
Because I was a fool. I forgot, networks can lag. My test was in the middle of the night- not in the middle of the afternoon.
So I start it up again around an hour before the show's to start. Eastenders.
Everything seems ok, little bit of lag every 10 minutes or so, but nothing terrible...
Until 10 minutes before Sherlock's to start.
Then the lag starts every few minutes, minute, ten seconds. And then the player crashes altogether.
I panic and reload- Sherlock starts in two minutes! The page finally loads after a minute, and I hit play frantically. To sit there for 3 minutes as it spins, buffering nothing at all.
I scream, but then! SUDDENLY! Sherlock! ...Only to lag constantly, every 30 seconds, skipping up to a minute of footage each time. But I watch, desparately hoping it'll smooth out...
...And then the player dies again.
So I wail in frustration, and shut everything off. I hope and pray that some kind soul who CAN watch it without the horrid lag and awful jagged gaps will post it somewhere afterward on youtube or elsewhere, and I'll be able to hunt it down. But first, I had chores to do.
So I finish and come back, show nearly over, when I notice something on the schedule. All the other shows have "Watch in iPlayer" links after they were over. So I wait, and watch and... no link.
I sigh, shrug, and start trolling youtube and livejournal, searching for a link, while watching the few mini-clips of Sherlock trailers off the BBC.
When I haven't found anything for 20 minutes on LJ or Youtube, and I'd seen most of the mini-clips off the BBC, I click "Episodes" and see if I'll find out when the next showing is...
Only to see that they DO have the first episode, ready for watch in iPlayer.
My only response, still, is THANK YOU BBC FOR NOT BEING A BUNCH OF PRATS. <3
PS-(GO AWAY I'M GONNA WATCH IT NOW)
Ok, so, after having my depressive FASDFASDLKJF-fest with proxy servers, I got a link from a facebook page/profile I watch concerning this lovely thing called "Expat Shield"- saying somehing along the lines of "Hey Sherlock fans- check out this program!" and I obviously was intrigued.
So I look at the link, and see it's a program to shield your IP for things like the BBC iPlayer. I go, great! Download! I wanna see if this works! Except... it's an exe file.
For those not savvy with computers, and programs- Executable file. Ok, sure, sounds alright- except. Mac's don't run executables. Macs run dmg's. (Disk Images)
So I check the download specs and I was right. Needs Windows XP/Vista/7 to run. Damn.
So I sit there beating my head, staring at the old decrepit HP laptop of mine in the corner when I have my eureka moment. I HAVE WINDOWS BOOTCAMP DUH.
So! Switch it over, boot it up, run a few updates because wow it's out of date, search for the program, download, run, connect it. And it connects, says everything's cool.
So I started my first test last night- head for BBC One's live streaming. And it loads the news like a pro! Barely any lag! (Only a few seconds every hour or so) and I was like SWEET! Awesome!
So I turned it off, went to bed, and smiled like a fool.
Because I was a fool. I forgot, networks can lag. My test was in the middle of the night- not in the middle of the afternoon.
So I start it up again around an hour before the show's to start. Eastenders.
Everything seems ok, little bit of lag every 10 minutes or so, but nothing terrible...
Until 10 minutes before Sherlock's to start.
Then the lag starts every few minutes, minute, ten seconds. And then the player crashes altogether.
I panic and reload- Sherlock starts in two minutes! The page finally loads after a minute, and I hit play frantically. To sit there for 3 minutes as it spins, buffering nothing at all.
I scream, but then! SUDDENLY! Sherlock! ...Only to lag constantly, every 30 seconds, skipping up to a minute of footage each time. But I watch, desparately hoping it'll smooth out...
...And then the player dies again.
So I wail in frustration, and shut everything off. I hope and pray that some kind soul who CAN watch it without the horrid lag and awful jagged gaps will post it somewhere afterward on youtube or elsewhere, and I'll be able to hunt it down. But first, I had chores to do.
So I finish and come back, show nearly over, when I notice something on the schedule. All the other shows have "Watch in iPlayer" links after they were over. So I wait, and watch and... no link.
I sigh, shrug, and start trolling youtube and livejournal, searching for a link, while watching the few mini-clips of Sherlock trailers off the BBC.
When I haven't found anything for 20 minutes on LJ or Youtube, and I'd seen most of the mini-clips off the BBC, I click "Episodes" and see if I'll find out when the next showing is...
Only to see that they DO have the first episode, ready for watch in iPlayer.
My only response, still, is THANK YOU BBC FOR NOT BEING A BUNCH OF PRATS. <3
PS-(GO AWAY I'M GONNA WATCH IT NOW)