I suggest you read this muddle-headed blog post, and then the comments after it.
Anyway, Phil Lewis has unfortunately pulled get_iplayer. Luckily get_iplayer lives on in this git repository. You will need the following very small patch to make it work:
# Update this script if required
-update_script() if $opt->{update} || $opt->{pluginsupdate};
+#update_script() if $opt->{update} || $opt->{pluginsupdate};
Richard WM Jones 
OK, where does one update the script? Does this only work in Linux?
Also, the git page mentions prometheus, which I omitted in my post on this topic. Prometheus is supposed to be the “next generation get_iplayer”.
Again, is this another linux based programme?
Can you explain this to someone who is admittedly lazy and in a hurry to just get cracking?
Cheers.
I’m afraid to say this is not the place to get support on get_iplayer.
Not really support as much as a hint about where the code may go.
I found the git site and mentioned it in my post. It seems the get_iplayer code is rather convoluted in addition to outdated.
I’ve also heard mention of Prometheus, the next generation of get_iplayer in the same place. That makes more sense than adding more lines to an already cumbersome programme.
On the other hand, I am too lazy to try and figure all this out.
Gunpowder may be outdated but it still works. get_iplayer can still provide a satisfactory bang too with a few tweaks. It has been updated numerous times over the past two years so I’m not surprised it ain’t pretty. Latest versions are 2.76.and 2.77 with a few forks happening. Haven’t seen Prometheus yet. The command line interface is hard work to start with but seriously worth it.
The issue now is that swf verification is causing many missed key frames and aborting after a certain percentage. I have 20mb broadband and it downloads at full capacity but regardless it still messes up. The only workaround i’ve found is to find rtmpdump 2.2, compile it and activate it’s swf verification. Now i can download without issue. swf verification in rtmpdump is a little hit and miss because the docs arn’t clear but basically you need to provide a link to Iplayer’s swf file for it to work the magic.
This is the ONLY viable workaround i’ve found besides using their own closed source crap (which doesn’t run on my ubuntu 10.04 laptop).
If promtheus doesn’t turn up soon, i’ll write my own version in Python as i’ve had to hack the perl script many times so i’m quite familiar with how it works (and yes, it is a complete mess. It’s purely a linear script rather than trying to be an application) so it’s quite easy to work out (besides, I hate Perl with a passion so python would make more sense to me). At most, the new script should take a week to write so i have no idea why Prometheus has been in the works for so long now (maybe the developer got tired of the bad code and gave up?)
See my latest post:Message from a Fan!
http://lacithedog.wordpress.com/2010/10/11/message-from-a-fan/
BTW, I have been using Ubuntu for the past few months. You are sooo persuasive!
Well, not that I haven’t been flirting with non-Windows systems for a while
The get_iplayer source also exists in this repo
http://git.infradead.org/get_iplayer.git
Very helpful, just took a minute. Thanks.