Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Awful.
I didn't think you could make it slower to find a "podcast" for a particular programme, but how wrong I was. It was fairly quick a year or so back, but then it got a little fiddly - needed to find the podcast link, then had to re-sort the list, then hunt. But at least there were lots of programmes per page. Now, play hunt the podcast link (not easy now, so gave up and went via the programme itself). Then click on the alphabet link for the programme. Then page through the lists (only one column per page), in my case four times. Then found the programmes page. What was once a few clicks and a few seconds is now, well I lost count quite frankly.
Why don't you get people to try out the pages, by actually using them, before release?
Madness.

^ There's always one... Just scroll down and click the BIG button that says Downloads. Sites look good. Some issues with linking to programmes, but just seems to be a URL thing (they go to beta.)
Definitely a step in the right direction

Was this exciting new development responsible for the virtual shutting down of the iPlayer Desktop downloading system?

Why can't the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ finish the software they have before launching a completely new beta system to do things nobody ever wanted?

I for one am quite happy using iPlayer to listen to the few remaining quality radio programmes available from the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. Do we really need another new way to slow our browsing down?

If it aint broke don't fix it! Also, if it IS broken, (*) PLEASE DO FIX IT.

Can someone not go back and undo whatever they did at the end of last week?

PLEASE..!?!?

(*) = It really is very broken again.

What a mess the new site is. It is hard to navigate, trying to find a programme to listen again is near impossible, why do we keep getting constant changes if the site works for most people why waste valuable recourses constantly changing it. I keep hearing the bbc needs to save money but it seems to me an awful lot is being spent on change for changes sake. I have no doubt I'll eventually get the hang of it (if I can be bothered to waste hours of my time) just for some clown to change it again to be 'trendy'

Looks like the /programmes (and schedule) related links aren't working properly on the beta sub-domain. For example is redirecting to /programmes which is rather unhelpful.

In terms of the new beta radio sites I think they're a great improvement on the previous version. The navigation is now much easier to understand and looks better laid out. I think the station logo on each page could be enlarged, perhaps by removing 'Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio' from the graphic, as after all this is already present above it on the page.

Dreadful!!!

I either listen live to radio5 or go to demand a programme from radio4(extra). Now I can't find the schedue for any of the stations. Click schedule, and you get a list of the programmes alphabetically.

WHAT was wrong with the previous version? Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ IT guys run out of work or something?

Err, yeah, can't get to the Radio 4 Schedule from the Radio 4 homepage #fail

@6 & @7: The problem with the schedule lies with how /programmes is set up to process URLs when running on the beta sub-domain. For whatever reason when on the beta sub-domain instead of mirroring it redirects to the main site without copying the rest of the URL across.

In fairness to Chris and his team the programme schedules do load correctly on the 'other' sub-domain, which they tested their design on before they moved it to the beta sub-domain. Fingers crossed radio can have words with the relevant people and get this resolved quickly, as it's a big inconvenience.

@8: OK, fair dinkum. Maybe make the 'Return to current Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔpage' link a bit more obvious whilst you're ironing things out..?

I am on this page /asiannetwork/latest-programmes and I click on stations , I get re-directed to .

Not sure if it's intentional or another 'beta sub-domain' related problem but the new local radio sites aren't loading. For example typing beta.bbc.co.uk/radiocambridgeshire is redirecting to the local news site, instead of displaying the new beta version of the site.

There seems to be a fashion for updating perfectly functional websites with heavyweight Ajax / javascript based dynamic updates.

While this could be great, I have yet to see an implementation that actually improves the end-user experience. Most of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ updates have, while making the sites look prettier and more "iPad" have the effect of making them harder to navigate and slower to load (not to mention less robust).

It's not just the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ, either. This is becoming endemic. The update to the Met office site is positively shocking. Looks very pretty, but is a major step backwards in terms of user experience.

Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

Never bothered much with the station homepages before as they were a bit of a mess but these are wildly superior both in terms of appearance and functionality. Might start using them now. Ta.

Ah, just found a problem. Listen Live launches the Radioplayer. I'd rather just listen in the tab if you don't mind. Cheers.

I think it shows the attitude of certain parts of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ to English local radio that you have ignored that sector entirely - if you'd really converted most of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's radio stations to new homepages, you'd have to have worked on the local stations.

As it is, it doesn't look like you've covered most Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ stations at all - none of the English local radio pages have a new look homepage. In fact, bizarrely, none of them have an "old-look" home page either, just a page of news headlines.

Why on Earth don't local Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ stations have their own station homepage, and relevant webpages? It is crazy that a Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ local station no longer has even a perfunctory dedicated web presence.

@17: From what I've seen they are converted, they're just not currently available on the beta.

Great to see sign-in and favourites, but the latter currently shows a listing different to that selected via iPlayer. There must be a full alignment between the two.

Russ

The screenshot illustrations on the page cite 'Podcasts', but the actual new beta pages have translated it into 'Downloads'. This is likely to cause confusion, and I suggest it be changed to 'Podcasts & downloads'.

Every station homepage should render a listen live clickable in the initial (default) presentation. The currently shows the highlights tab, whereas I understand it should be the live tab (if the stations are to be consistent, which would seem to be the intention). If the stations are intended to have an inconsistent presentation, please could a listen live block be added to Radio 4.

Russ

@Russ. I presume it's to do with Podcasts being connected with iPods. Downloads is more generic. Just a guess.

Chris@19
Glad to hear you are considering listening within the tab.

I would use Radioplayer but you cannot save stations without enabling third party cookies. In fact, with the beta, unless I'm missing something, you cannot save them even if you do. And for some reason if you stop the stream and go back to it after a while you have to go via another station to start it again. I also notice that if you navigate to another station homepage and then click on listen live, it launches another Radioplayer instead of changing station of the one already launched. Using Chrome if that's any help.

Russ@22
Yes, R4 does land on the wrong place leaving you having to scroll through to the listen live block.

Not bad overall, just a couple of reservations on the design front - I also feel the station logos are too small, particularly with local radio where 'RADIO NORFOLK' in small writing over to the left hand side isn't exactly very prominent, also the dark backgrounds feel at odds the rest of the stations' programmes pages which are generally lighter coloured.

It would be nice to have a 'programme finder' on the TV header as well; I know it is possible to search for a programme by typing its name in the URL after /programmes/ but I doubt many users are aware of this feature.

A trifling issue - the local radio stations Oxford and Lincolnshire have reinstated the word 'Radio' in their names, but this has never been reflected online.

Very good and an improvement from the mismatch of homepages that we had previously. It should make navigating between the two very easy.

One other note, could the Radio iPlayer favourites be synchronised with these favourites so that I don't have to find all my programmes again and so if I find a programme on one site it will appear on the other.

Comment number 26. At 10:22 13th Jun 2012, rafmarham wrote:
Very good and an improvement from the mismatch of homepages that we had previously. It should make navigating between the two very easy.

But didn't they reflect what the station was like. Now all the sites are generic and boring. Also, on the 5 live page there isn't a link to watch the studio, which they always say you can do. Is that going to be added.

Oh and on 6Music's homepage there is no link to what the Album of the Day is. A big feature on the station that surely should feature on the homepage.

Ivan #24: Radioplayer is probably a bit out-of-scope here, but its current interface is in a serious state of disrepair and dubious legality. I raised the Radioplayer cookie matter on the cookie law blog. (The Radioplayer help pages are hopeless.)

Russ

I use the web a lot and love a lot of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ redesigns, but I did find this new product a little confusing, the tabs should be more prominent and titles should show you exactly what you are looking at right now, without that knowledge it just looks like a page of links.

#3 - see

"Downloads disappearing – Why is downloaded content disappearing from Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ iPlayer Desktop?

***13 June 2012***

Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ iPlayer support would like to thank users for reporting this issue to us.

We believe this issue has been resolved for the vast majority of users, but as we are still receiving some reports of problems with Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ iPlayer Desktop we are still investigating as a matter of priority.

If you downloaded a programme and it has disappeared from Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ iPlayer Desktop, please note that if the content is already outside of the 7 day download window there is no way of getting the programme back. If the programme is still available on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ iPlayer, then try downloading the programme again."

Looking at

It's very confusing that some stations have the prefix "Radio" and other's don't (Essex, Gurensey, Hereford and Worcester, Linconshire, London 94.9, Newcastle, Oxford, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, Tees, Three Counties, Wiltshire, WM).

The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Olympics Extra Extra station is missing from the list -

@Russ (21): Indeed, and we've already seen confusion in the comments here. Everyone knows them as podcasts, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's competitors and newspapers and publishers in the UK provide podcasts, all over the world organisations and individuals provide podcasts, but the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ alone has decided to start calling them downloads. "Downloads" might mean games, or apps, or documents or, indeed, iPlayer downloads, but no, on the radio pages "Downloads" refers specifically to podcasts.

@Pale Weasel (23): No, according to the word was coined in The Guardian before Apple provided any kind of support for podcasts. Other than the "pod" in the name, there's no connection.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

All this dont do nothing foe me...i will be content when i can hear for example Tony Blackburns Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ London show streaming in winamp at 128 aac+..At the moment I cannot do this...radio is about audio first looks second!!!!!

why mono in 2012...where are the urls for hi-fi stereo sound...all this facy work on your pages is no good when the audio is diabolical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hate these black-background pages - make it look like you're at a funeral; instead of the present bright, white program homepages.

The Radio 4 Beta Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔpage is dreadful - dark, lots of big pictures make it difficult to find what you want, suggested 'highlights' - but not the ones I want!

PLEASE just leave the excellent bright, bold, clear Radio 4 homepage (with useful program finder menu) we have at present. It works - Don't change it!

I don't often use the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio website - so in that context I'll say that this new raio homepage looks pretty good - and fairly easy to navigate about. btw I really don't like the 'new' Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ homepage - I used the old one quite a lot - maybe there's a message there. We human's don't really like change and that's really it.

When viewing the radio homepages on an iPad I have noticed that the mobile version is shown instead. Is there a way to change this to the Desktop version as the link at the bottom (Preferences I believe) refers to the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔpage and not the individual page itself.

I do like the new homepages for each individual station, although I do think Radio 2's and Local Radio's do look a bit dark and gloomy.

I have an issue with the schedule pages though, like Radio 1 they still all carry the old style schedule. Will these be eventually updated to fit in with the style of the homepages?

In the initial radio homepage release, there was a choice of going to the programme microsite page (from the programme title) or going direct to the console player (from the graphic). This choice has now been removed in the updated radio homepage: except for a listen-live link, all references are merely to the beta station homepages, which is not particularly helpful. What's the point of the radio homepage if that is that is all there is present?

On the old-style station homepages, references are to programme microsite pages. On the new style beta homepages, 'next' and 'coming up' programmes understandably refence microsite pages only, but for those programmes available to listen to, the programme title and rollover graphic link both carry non-console references, but actually have the effect of launching the console. It is not clear whether this cut-down functionality is intended, or whether it is another 'temporary measure' we haven't been told about yet.

The only place left carrying the useful choice between programme microsite pages and console links is therefore an old-style schedule page. I hope this choice will not be removed.

Russ

Apart from its presumably incorrect default highlights setting, the Radio4 carousel has got a duplicate drama setting listed as 'on-air'.

Russ

The duplicate drama carousel setting in #45 now seems to have disappeared.

Russ

We don't need all the extra "embellishments", we just want to listen to radio! I am so glad about the Feedback button. Even when I am shopping, I always choose "see all" – I hate to waste time by going to the next page. And that is exactly what I have to do now to see the shows available on iPlayer! That is really bad design. As if done by someone who does not listen to the radio. The company that designed this site did not do a very important part of their job: they did not study how people use the site. Below is my email I send to the wrong dept. about a week ago, even before this version went live:
I love Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ radio and am very thankful for the iPlayer. In my opinion, the new look for Radio iPlayer is much more busy, confusing, harder to use and navigate and it does not show length of the show - important when I am choosing what to listen to if I only have limited time for listening. The previous version was much better. I can't imagine how older people would be able to find their way now. Simple is better. There should be a web feedback capability, it is impossible to find where to go to submit a comment. Thank you, Hana. Well, I know, there is now feedback button. But WAY TOO MANY IMAGES, way too busy. Why say 6 more days and show the pink icon for it also? As my teacher used to repeat over and over: LESS IS MORE, LESS IS MORE! I want to go back, I want easy, I don't wont to do any more work; this is supposed to be fun!

I am looking at Drama available on iPlayer: The programs are formatted wrongly: Anthony Trollope - Orley Farm- is in smaller type than- Episode 1- this is huge
and so on, so on. Infinite scroll is a way to go, NOT pages of programs! (7 currently!) The site developer should fix all this at no extra cost to Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ. But really, I would just want a simple site with a list, just like it was until about a month ago.

It seems like you have overly decompacted the previous, easy-to-use, intuitively tabbed website interface in order to spread this new one all over the navigational map. Lots of visual elements are way too big with the unintended consequence that the user has to scroll about three times as much. In going from an easy to use tree structure to "The Matrix", you have also injected a lot of superfluous crosspaths, cowpaths, meanders and chutes, not to mention ladders. Maybe there are maniacs out there who want to index, customise, reorganise, stack up, streamline, etc.; but a lot of new features I see are not features I need or want. I'm not asking you to go backward, but if you're still moving toward a release, think seriously about simplifying a little, reducing the "hand jive" necessary to navigate up, down, backwards and sideways and putting back in a little tree structure alongside all the Hollywood Squares matriciing. Bye!

Love it - means that Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ radio now works when I am abroad! Now if you can just do it for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TV as well...

Another Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ web site ruined. The Metro style with large pictures taking most of the screen makes using the site a poorer user experience.
The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ in all its guises is our national treasure - this makes it very hard to vote with your feet which is what the designers are counting on !

Hi I dont know if this applies to everyone but currently im unable to receive any broadcast from the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ or TV.
Is relevant to everybody else?
Many thanks
[Personal details removed by Moderator]

Different but useful Radio 3 carousel content settings can be discovered if you know the right url. These urls are currently not documented and are inaccessible from the current beta menu systems.

The undocumented urls take their root from Radio 4 categories, but provide correct content for Radio 3 programmes. Current (non-beta) Radio 3 category roots will not work for Radio 3 carousels.

(I was going to post the above on the Radio 3 radiobeta comment request blog, but it has been closed for further comment.)

Russ

HELP. Pls help. I am trying to listen to R4 in NZ and its been silent for days.
Is there any hope of getting it soon or do I have to download something else to listen to it. What is happening at Brookfield. Have tried all the radio stations and silence on all.

HELP PLEASE

I can no longer listen to bbc radio online in Italy. All I get is a recorded message saying there may be rights restrictions or a technical fault, which is not very helpful. trying to find useful information on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ website is impossible.

My gripe is (mainly) about the very elusive "Playing Now" feature (widget?) on the Radio 2 web page.

This used to work on the main R2 web page (under the name of the show) and was always in blue. Then it stopped working about 3 or more months ago; now it sometimes appears, in orange, on the web page of *some* R2 shows - where it does work.

I was constantly referring to this all day long during various shows and I miss it enormously. Other internet radio stations manage it easily. Why on earth, with all its huge resources, cannot the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ manage to make it work?

And, for the sake of interest, who or what is responsible for entering the 'Playing Now' information? Is it the presenter or is it automated via a music recognition software program?

Unfortunately, so many presenters (who should know better) either gabble over the end of the music, so one can't follow what's being said, or they don't back-announce the title/artist at all.

I cannot stress strongly enough how much I rely on this feature to work. I have a great love of music and 'have' to know what is currently playing. It's not enough to have to check back some hours later and hope it appears on that programme's play list.

And on Dermot O'Leary's programme for yesterday (25th August) there is NO list of music played. Why ever not? On the old web pages this was always shown, after waiting some time. I thought the idea was to provide MORE information, not less.

Very disappointing.

The new black background makes it, for a partially colour-blind person like me, ten times harder to see what's playing, how long it's been on/has left, and the descriptive text. I was just starting to get used to the new layout, and now you go and make it worse by making things less clear.

New design looks cluttered, messy and disorganised... Doesn't make me want to click on anything as the layout is so chaotic...

I would like to know why it is impossible to "listen live" to any of the regional radio stations (e.g. Radio Scotland, Ulster etc) for the last month when using the iplayer or any other app from outside of the UK! All we get is the unhelpful monologue of their being contractual problems or a technical fault. I was told some time ago that this was due to the Olympic games, and then the Paralympics but I don't really believe it. All the other national stations Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 1 etc. are available.