Want to watch with mother, but on your own device when you want to watch rather than when BBC iPlayer tells you you can? Well a very simple application with the very simple name of IPDL (iPlayer Downloader) lets you do just that. You can grab it here. Mac and Linux versions are available, although it needs a couple of extra files to run under Windows, nevertheless it’s very straightforward to operate.

First, fire up IPDL and visit the BBC iPlayer site and browse or search for the BBC audio or video content you’d like to download.

Next, make like you’re going to watch the show by following its link and then look for the unique ID code for the show in your browser address bar.

Select just that code, and copy it to the IPDL dialog box and click “Download…” The download, should start, giving you the option to choose where to save the resulting mov file.

You can then play the DRM-free content wherever and whenever you like on whatever device you like. The program allows you to download DRM-free video (h.264) and audio (MP3) files from the BBC iPlayer service by pretending to be an iPhone. You can find out more about how the system works on the Beebhack Wiki.

Please note that this post does not endorse the breaking of any BBC terms and conditions and is provided purely for educational purposes to full-license paying members of the British public watching BBC output in Britland.