Thanks. That would be useful. I did contact them via the website. I'm trying to track down the original message. Dammit. Seems I didn't save a copy - thought I did!

The actual message went something like this but had to be very carefully engineered to fit into the nChars < 351 ! Not sure what order I put the points in but here's roughly what I wrote:

(1) Has the 400kbps stream been withdrawn altogether?
(2) If so, please would the BBC set the h.264 profile of the 500kbps stream from "Main" to "Baseline" because it currently restricts access.
(3) iPlayer content does not require flash v10+ (e.g. Wii can use BigScreen version). However, by demanding users have it you are further restricting access. So called Improvements do not make things better if they cannot be used.
(4) How can the BigScreen iplayer be forced to play low-bandwidth for both tv and radio streams.
(5) Please don't use the word "support" in the response.

Re: 1 & 2: The meaning of the first two points are pretty obvious.

Re: 3: It is possible to access iplayer content via the BigScreen version. But, unlike the old web version, it can't determine speed as well. Although, it's a bit of a null point if the N900 can't properly play the even the slowest streams broadcast.

Re: 4:
The low bandwidth option has been removed so (a) if you want to listen to radio on 3G via the BigScreen iPlayer (flash 7 version) one is forced to gobble data at 128kbps, rather than the 64 or 96 streams that sound acceptable and used to be accessed from the normal version (non-BigScreen) but are more difficult to track down (still available via rtmp at the moment). And, (b) if the connection supports the 800kbps stream, the device you're using will try to use it; obviously there's a problem with the N900 which can't even handle the 500kbps stream (and when downloaded this one needs MPlayer*).

*Can anyone stream better h.264 than 400kbps/Baseline with these new graphics drivers? If 500/Main is possible then with some artificial throttling of the connection, viewing the BigScreen version might be possible. Thinking aloud here.

Re: 5:
I put in the last comment because I can support myself perfectly well. I just want access! Also, I was especially on edge because, I had had an email from my building society which said, amongst other things, that they "don't support the linux operating system [...] because of the number of versions". Wrong in so many ways. I was somewhere between fits of laughter, hysterical tears and deafening rage. Anyway... calm now.

The response is somewhat risible; proper buck-passing management speak:

Dear [-me-]

Reference [-ref-]

Thank you for contacting the BBC iPlayer Support Team.

We aim to make information available on the BBC iPlayer Help website wherever possible because we know that information about accessing content through BBC iPlayer is important to all of our audience. We make the most requested information available, and in most cases can advise where it can be found, but in practice it's impossible to provide answers to everything that people ask us about.

The BBC is committed to ensuring that the Licence Fee is used to provide the best value to our audiences, and as such so we cannot always undertake to research individual user issues to their resolution. We receive many unique enquiries each week. I hope that you understand the reasons for this.

We do however capture the details of all enquiries we receive so that we can provide reports to programmes about the nature and type of information people are requesting. This is to encourage better provision of information online on programme websites.

You may wish to know that technical questions are discussed on external messageboards. Details can be found on []http://iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk/help/using_bbc_iplayer/_messageboards[/]

Please note that the BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Once again thank you for contacting BBC iPlayer.

Kind Regards
[-sender-]

BBC Audience Services

[]www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer[/]

NB This is sent from an outgoing account only which is not monitored. You cannot reply to this email address but if necessary please contact us via our webform quoting any case number we provided.

Quite frankly: WTF! I'm sure the main aim of this chap's reply was to insight rage because not only did it not make any reference to the content of my message, it makes very little sense. Aaarrggghhh!

Side note: @Marxian
The notion of a media group that's state funded (or as good as) is worthwhile because it is able to pursue activities that have no or only a long term financial return yet inform/entertain/etc. where as officially commercial stations need to get a shorter return to pay their way. However, it seems that short-termism and corporate selling-out is pervading. And, it appears many of the concerns of Phil Lewis (get_iplayer founder) are being realised/we justified [1] [2]. The irony is that the BBC use a lot of OSS products and are funding OSS projects - it's just access to their services must be with proprietary products; weird.
... anyway, the merits of the BBC and how it's being (mis-)managed would take up a 300,000 word PhD thesis so not really appropriate for TMO!

Possibly I should have put this post in a [RantNRage][/RantNRage] tag?