RTÉ Player on iPhone and iPad arrives for Christmas

Irish public broadcaster RTÉ has announced that RTÉ Player apps for iOS platforms are now available to download free to all Irish and international audiences. The apps, which were presented to a public audience at the Dublin Web Summit this October and promised a pre-Christmas launch, are consistent with the popular desktop version of the RTÉ Player. iPhone and iPad users are able to stream RTÉ programmes for up to 21 days after transmission using a Wi-Fi or 3G network, as well as watch selected shows live from RTÉ One, RTÉ Two and RTÉ News Now.

Users can bookmark their favourites, browse programmes by day, popularity, genre or search for a specific show. Fun, social sharing features also means programmes can be shared via email, Facebook and Twitter. The new apps support AirPlay which means enjoying the large screen experience using Apple TV.

The RTÉ Player apps have been developed as part of RTÉ’s ongoing strategy to give people a greater choice in how they access RTÉ programmes. RTÉ is focused on delivering a positive user experience across devices and have developed customised apps for iPhone and iPad to enhance this core objective.

Múirne Laffan, Managing Director, RTÉ Digital, said, “We are delighted to bring the apps to market in time for Christmas for people to enjoy on their holiday break and on their new devices. This release of the RTÉ Player apps is optimised for apple Mobile and Tablet devices and we will continue to innovate with many more new features planned for early 2012. We welcome all audience feedback on the mobile and tablet services so we can continue to deliver the best user experience”

The RTÉ Player App uses streaming technology which means that you must be connected to the Internet in order to watch programmes. The apps will automatically adjust video quality based on the speed of your WiFi or 3G connection. On slow connections video quality will be reduced and if the available bandwidth drops below a level where the lowest bit-rate video stream can be maintained an audio only stream will be provided.

(Source: RTÉ via Media Network Weblog)