BBC Radio iPlayer: download & convert to MP3

If I'm going on a long drive, I like to be able to listen to radio "plays" to ease the journey.

As BBC PodCasts give way to iPlayer Radio, this is becoming increasing difficult.

So now I have to use get_iplayer to download a programme, and ffmpeg to convert it to MP3.

Although the BBC still provide a wide range of Podcast material, I find that much of what I like is only available via BBC iPlayer Radio. So I guess if I had a 4G Smart Phone, and only traveled in good wifi reception areas, I wouldn't need to do this.

But what I can do is plug my 2.5G Nokia 3310 into the car radio and play whatever I have downloaded to its spacious memory.

using my Linux laptop

Install get-iplayer using Synaptic Package Manager or use terminal command:-

sudo apt install get-iplayer

From web browser, copy the BBC iPlayer Radio ID for the programme of interest from URL.
For example:-

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01p3lg0

pid = b01p3lg0

Run terminal command:-

get_iplayer --pid=b01p3lg0 --radiomode=good

Go to your /home/{user} folder and locate the download file. Use the file manager Rename option to copy the name of the file.

Use this file name in an ffmeg command like this to convert the file format and give it a shorter name:-

ffmpeg -i /home/steve/A_Charles_Paris_Mystery_An_Amateur_Corpse_-_1._Episode_1_b01p3lg0_original.m4a -acodec mp3 -ac 2 -ab 192k /home/steve/AmateurCorpse_1_4.mp3

Now just download this MP3 file via USB to the Nokia's @Playlists folder. Then navigate to Music > Options > All songs:-

Ooops!

The Track Title is embedded in the audio file, so in my example above the 4 episodes are simply listed as Episode 1 to 4.

I could edit this in an audio editor (e.g. Audacity) but since these recordings will be deleted as soon as I have listened to them, I'm really not bothered.