Online video help

Need online video help? The web has loads of terrific video content, but are you making the most of what's on offer? We reveal 12 handy hints for getting better videos online.

BBC iPlayer - choose when you watch
The BBC iPlayer Download Manager lets you download all your favourite BBC TV programmes for free, to watch whenever you want to for up to 30 days. The program is based on the Kontiki Platform, which is also behind the Sky Anytime on-demand service and Channel 4’s 4OD.

BBC iPlayer - streaming version
The streaming version of BBC iPlayer lets you view Flash video versions of programmes online. You can only watch programmes up to seven days from transmission but you don’t need any special software installed as long as you have Adobe Flash Player installed in your browser.

Kontiki - save your bandwidth
Kontiki is peer-to-peer software, which uses your bandwidth to distribute programmes that you’ve already downloaded or are in the process of downloading. This has implications if your ISP places data limits on your broadband connection. Avoid running the applications when you’re not downloading or watching video with them by right-clicking their icons in your System Tray and choosing Exit.

ITV Catch up
ITV Catch Up lets you watch catch-up programmes from the last 30 days, as well as classic shows from the broadcaster’s archive. If you use Internet Explorer, you’ll need Windows Media Player 9 or higher and Flash to view the content. Firefox users will also need to have Microsoft Silverlight installed.

Zattoo - Freeview on your PC
Zattoo is an online service that lets you watch most Freeview channels via the web. It’s free and easy to use and the picture quality is fine as long as you have a reasonably fast broadband connection. Sign up with Zattoo and download the client software from the website.

Download video files
Problems playing back some downloadable video files are usually caused by not having the correct codec installed on your system to decode the video properly. Commonly used codecs include XVid and DivX, which are both free to download.

Windows Media Player
Windows Media Player isn’t always the best choice for playing back video files. VLC Media Player is a great alternative as it’s capable of playing a wide variety of media formats without you needing to download additional codecs.

YouTube videos - improve quality
To watch YouTube videos at a higher resolution, simply add the following tag to the end of the video’s URL in your browser’s address bar: &fmt=6. This tells YouTube to access the 448 x 336-pixel resolution version instead of the standard 320 x 240 pixels.