BBC iPlayer on the TechniSat HDFS Freesat HD digital box

TechniSat Digital has released a software update that will be available from 25th March to allow the TechniSat HDFS to join the BBC iPlayer trial

Launched in June 2009, the HDFS® provides unrivalled functionality as demonstrated by the numerous awards received, including Gold Award and Group Test Winner from What Satellite & Digital TV magazine; Best Buy award from Home Cinema Choice and 5 Star Award from What Hi-Fi Sound & Vision. The latest software update extends the features of the HDFS to include the BBC iPlayer trial which, uniquely among Freesat products, can be accessed wirelessly with the USB WLAN Adaptor.

Although the HDFS can connect to the BBC iPlayer service using a fixed connection from its Ethernet port, this is not always convenient due to the location of the household broadband router – TechniSat’s wireless solution offers a simple and cost effective way to access the service. Simply connect the USB WLAN Adaptor to one of the USB ports on the HDFS, select ‘Network Settings – WLAN’ from the ‘Special Functions’ menu, enter the router security key and the HDFS is now network connected. The BBC iPlayer service can then be accessed through the Red Button. Once network connected to the home router, multimedia files stored in shared folders on a PC can be streamed wirelessly to the HDFS and played on the TV.

TechniSat UK’s Research & Development Manager, Martin Wilks, said “We are very pleased to be joining the BBC iPlayer trial and believe that the wireless capability of the HDFS offers customers the lowest cost solution to receiving the service when a fixed connection is not possible.”

The awards recognise that customers benefit from PVR recording via USB to external hard drive; playback of movies, music and pictures from USB memory sticks, SD/MS/MMC cards and CompactFlash and multimedia streaming from a networked PC via LAN or wirelessly using the optional USB WLAN Adaptor.