I seem to be finding a lot of shows at the moment that are missing aAudio Description in the TV version of the BBC iPlayer app.
For example, Daddy Issues series 2. There are normally 2 buttons - play and play with AD. The second button is missing. However, the AD track is available in the iPhone app. I asked BBC support about this and they told me it was there and it's somehow my fault.
Then there's the new series of What We Do In the Shadows.
I noticed last week that Can You Keep a Secret? had no AD. So my wife tried on the TV version of iPlayer and it did indeed have AD. I tried episode 2 on the Apple TV app and it does seem to have it.
I know AD versions often are lagged behind the mainstream version, but I feel that the TV app is maybe not showing the option for some programmes that genuinely have it.
Has anyone else noticed this or is it just me?
Comments
iOS vs TV app
Yeah it is weird why they are different. I noticed for Daddy Issues series 2 that the AD was available in the iOS app as you say, but I couldn't find it in the TV app. Unless some shows in the TV version also come under a different language or something. Maybe I need to dig around a bit. But it feels to me like they are just missing for some reason.
Daddy has less Issues but a rant nonetheless
Well, the AD button for that episode of Daddy Issues has randomly started appearing now. No sign of it in What We Do in the Shadows still.
I know the BBC tend to add audio description a little after the show comes on - maybe a week or so usually. I wonder if maybe they are caching the information on device and now I have to wait a random amount of time before it tries again. But the weird thing is it isn't consistent across shows. So "Can You Keep a Secret?" seemed to be delayed by a few weeks, Daddy Issues by months. Some others by a week.
Their support did tell me to uninstall the app and set it up again which I suppose would fix an issue like that. To be honestly, I just couldn't be bothered and watched something else instead hoping it would fix itself.
I've always had the impression that AD with the BBC is very low-tech so I wouldn't be surprised if they had a work experience person in a small shed having to manually add it for each Apple TV individually.
I suppose I shouldn't expect the same service as sighted people considering my TV licence is less expensive but it is still pretty poor.
I remember way back I had issues with my Fire TV Cube and BBC iPlayer - I forget what but something to do with the screen reader not working properly. Anyway they told me that they only really supported screen readers on the Apple TV. To be fair the Fire TV app became pretty good after a while. But it seems even their number 1 most supported option is also sub par.
It is particularly irritating having it delayed when you have something that has some kind of time context. For example, trying to watch the Amandaland Christmas Special on Boxing Day and it had no AD. Well, it was something we had decided to watch so I just had to put up with it and my wife did her best to fill me in when needed. The Here We Go New Year's special I ended up watching mid-January.
I know the BBC have bigger problems than this and are probably having to divert all their resources to their legal department these days but it is still infuriating.