[Juggler54]

I have an LG Smart DVD BP 620. BBC Iplayer has been playing as a premium app for the last two weeks since I bought it but in the last two days if is not loading. I have rung LG and was told I had to get onto BBc iplayer about re-installing this. All the other premium apps Love Film and Netflix are working but not iPlayer. Has anyone any info on re-installing an app.

[dbhowmik]

I have got the same problem with BBC iPlayer and scratching my head for last few hours . Would be good if somebody can shed some light on it. Everything else in premium content working fine.

[Juggler54]

I am so relieved its not just me. LG told me I had to contact iPlayer but as it was pre installed when I got it and cannot see any options in setup to uninstall it I cannot see how I can do this. I am sure it happened after the last software update. I believe it needs a corrective update to resolve it. Thus is an LG problem and not an iplayer

[pengipete]

Just found this forum/thread in a google search and th0ught I add some info that may be useful at some point.

I have an LG BP420 (sister model to the 620) and the iplayer app on that also stopped working as of yesterday. There had been a firmware/software update a couple of days before that and the only noticeable change that made was a new interface for iplayer. iplayer was actually working better with that update - no buffering or freezing as it had been doing for the previous three or four updates - until yesterday when iplayer stopped working completely.

The symptom shows as - I select the iplayer app from the "home" screen and the "busy circle" appears but then the screen turns grey and nothing appears. Pressing the "back" button on the remote does nothing - I have to use the "home" button to get back to the main menu.

It does not appear to be a problem with this latest firmware. I have flashed the 420 with three earlier versions of firmware/software and they all result in the same grey screen -those earlier firmware/software versions all include different versions of the iplayer app - which suggests that the problem is not down to the app iteslf.

I also have an LG BDP660 (slightly earlier model than these BP's) and although that did load the iplayer "home page" - it was unusable as it would not accept input from the remote other than to scroll from side to side - no content could be selected or played and no other keys were recognised - including the "back" key. That device had also worked perfectly well prior to yesterday.

All other apps on the BP420 work fine - Lovefilm streams flawlessly as usual.

I reset the router to obtain a different IP address - just in case and checked the ethernet cable etc. No difference.

For the record - my ISP is TalkTalk - I mention that as there is a long-running discussion on TT's own forum and on some other forums about LG and Sony smart device owners having problems with iplayer that don't seem to occur on any other network - which has lead to some suspecting that TT are using some oddball traffic management that is breaking iplayer on certain smart devices. (iplayer home-site does given specific mention of issues relating to LG smart stuff but no useful information)

Also, just for the record - I get ~19M downstream, have no know line problems and iplayer works perfectly well on all of my pc's, laptops etc - it has simply stopped working on two different LG "smart" devices on the same day.

Given that iplayer has suddenly stopped working on two LG devices - one of which has had no updates installed in months - whatever has changed can not be attributed directly to firmware or software - which rather supports LG's claim that this is down to iplayer rather than them. It doesn't actually exempt them though as it is possible that LG's devices are not 100% stable and fell over following some change in iplayer that they should have been able to handle. If that is the case - we as end-users will be left in the middle of those two claiming that the other has to remedy the problem.

It's worth noting that although the iplayer app is seemingly "built-in" to these LG devices, LG say it is still a "third-party app" and therefore outside of their control.

All I can say with any certainty is that is NOT the app on the 420 that is directly causing the problem as the same problem is affecting previous versions of the app and is affecting two different LG smart blu-ray players from two completely different ranges.

With that in mind - the most likely cause of the problem lies with iplayer itself rather than LG.

[Juggler54]

Thanks for that response. I am having the same response as you although I am getting iplayer on my smart TV and on my laptop. I did download new firmware a few days before the incident. I am connecting all the other devices to the same router so feel the problem is LG. How can I get it re-installed if the app is faulty! That facility does not seem available to me. It is so frustrating

[pengipete]

You can't install (or install) the main "premium" apps separately - they come in the one bundle when you get an update (there are actually two updates that these receive - firmware for the box itself and the software update that usually but not always follows those and adds or changes the "premium" apps).

It is extremely unlikely that reinstalling the app would make any difference but there is a way to do it.

Go to the LG support site for the LG620 and download the software and firmware drivers you find there - then bung them onto a FAT formatted USB key. Remove any discs from the player then switch it off and plug-in the USB key. Power-on on and you'll get the usual "update available" notification - install the "update" and if the player powers down, switch on and go into the Premium menu - at which point you'll be asked if you want to install a software update - say yes.

When you download those files - check the version numbers are the latest - the same ones you have on the player already. If they are older version - still download and try them. These players do not restrict you to only installer newer firmware or software - which means that you can roll-back to a previous, working version if a new causes problems. That might come in useful in future - download and keep every version as they appear on LG's site - so you have a "library" of all updates that you can use in future (I did just that recently when Lovefilm started playing up after one update). Just be aware that LG don't give unique numbers to the download - you'll want to change the filenames manually so you know what version number they contain.

Mostly though - keep in mind that this does NOT appear to be a problem with the current app. I've tried the last three firmware and software versions on the 420 and the last two versions on the older 660 - none of them work yet they all did before yesterday. The cause of this problem is also NOT the device itself - it's happening on two different devices from different model ranges and manufacturing runs. No amount of updating (or "down-dating") the iplayer app makes any difference.

I suspect that the root cause is some change made by the iplayer team. They have been making a lot of changes lately due Adobe's decision to cease development of "Flash" - requiring new apps for new mobile phones and even leaving "Jelly Bean" users unable to use iplayer at all. Chances are that they have "fixed" one problem and caused another.

The most likely "solution" will be that it will "magically cure itself" in a day or two without us ever knowing what actually caused the problem. Without wanting to sound mean, it's a shame there are no reports of it affecting one of the gaming devices - if it was hitting the X-box or similar, it would be all over the tech papers and the BBC would be promising a cure very quickly. Since the BBC closed the iplayer forums, it's very difficult to get anywhere with issues like this as there's no single place where "complaints" can be seen together to get any idea of the scale of the problem.

[Juggler54]

Thank you for going to the trouble till write such a lengthy and informative reply. I will wait for a few days and hope it gets sorted. Thanks for the advice.

[pengipete]

No worries. I've emailed the BBC iplayer team with the details and also gave them a link to this thread so if you can add anything, it might be worth doing that. I'll post back if and when I hear or know anything. In the meantime, if you haven't already done so, it might be a good idea to contact the bbc yourself - the more people who report a problem, the more chance they'll acknowledge and address it.

For the record - if anyone posts, could you state what ISP you are using? It would help if you could say whether or not you are on their own unbundled network or their "resold BT" one. I ask because of the recently reported issues with some LG and Sony hardware and iplayer on TalkTalk's network which LG and the BBC both claim to have been investigating - so it might be relevant to this.

[Juggler54]

Thanks for doing that. I have just given this information to LG and also referred them to this thread. I am now going to connect to BBC iplayer who I contacted previously. My Service Provider is not Talk Talk or BT. We'll get his sorted out hopefully sooner rather than later!

[andrewwf1]

I hope the BBC and LG can sort this out. I have just bought my BP620 and have now wasted 4 hours trying to make the i-player work before I found this forum.

[pengipete]

Quick update...

BBC have now acknowledged the problem and say they are investigating...


LG Blu-ray players – Why am I unable to access BBC iPlayer on supported LG devices?

Please note that we are aware of reports from users who are having problems accessing BBC iPlayer on some supported LG Blu-ray players.

This is currently under investigation.

We'll update this FAQ once further information becomes available.

BBC iPlayer - Help - LG Blu-ray players

[dbhowmik]

Thanks everybody for taking interest in this forum. In my opinion, the problem lies with iPlayer team.

I am using Virgin Cable internet and always get 30 MB downstream. Absolutely not a problem with ISP.

Hope this will be sorted soon.

[pengipete]

Heads up chaps - just received an over the air software update and iplayer is back up. Just watching it now and - so far - seems to be working okay.

Hope it's working for everyone else - and a wave to whoever got it sorted quickly

[pengipete]

Just watched a 30 minute show - worked fine with none of the freezing and buffering that used to affect iplayer before the most recent update.

Oddly enough, they've reverted to the previous GUI layout - though the fact that rolling back the software didn't cure the problem suggests that there was more to it than just that - which is also supported by the fact that my older BD660 - which has not received an update yet - still has the problem despite using a much earlier version of the GUI.

Anyhoo - happy now cos I can catch-up with Masterchef

[ShuggMcGlummfer]

Hi, not an LG problem, but a Samsung one. I have a BD HT-C6930 and ever since I updated the firmware a while back, I no longer get a Play icon on the iPlayer. Well, I do, but only on the programme that it initially shows, thereafter there's just a little red dot where it should be. Result is that nothing can be played.

I contacted the BBC and they told me that there's nothing wrong with the Player, contact Samsung. I did so over a month ago and since then we've been bouncing emails, I say it doesn't work, they say do this, do that, suprise still crap. Then they said contact BBC, so I've gone back again.

Has anyone else with this or a similar model had any such problems or has anyone any ideas how to get this to work?

Cheers.

[derek500]

Got an LG BP620 yesterday and have this 'grey screen' lock up with iPlayer. It's working fine with my LG smart TV.

Software version is BD7.697.00.00.C Is this the latest?

[mister]

Originally Posted by derek500

Got an LG BP620 yesterday and have this 'grey screen' lock up with iPlayer. It's working fine with my LG smart TV.

Software version is BD7.697.00.00.C Is this the latest?

It looks like it... and no iPlayer on mine, which is the same model

[derek500]

Originally Posted by mister

It looks like it... and no iPlayer on mine, which is the same model

Had an online chat with LG this morning. They're aware of the problem and are sorting it.

[derek500]

Just had an auto software/firmware update and BBC iPlayer is now working!!

Also a few more apps added.