DRM Removal from downloaded BBC iPlayer Programs

Method for removing DRM from programs downloaded using the BBC iPlayer Download Manager,

Requires Windows Media Player, and possibly may only work with Windows XP

Before DRM is removed, playback of downloaded episode is only available through certain media players supporting DRM. In the case of the BBC iPlayer the DRM limits the number of playbacks and the life-span of the file.

DRM protected BBC iPlayer wmv file played through Portable VLC ^[1]

Once DRM protection is removed, the .wmv file plays with out any restrictions, acting as any other .wmv file. The file no longer expires and is not restricted to media players supporting DRM.


BBC iPlayer wmv file with DRM removed played through Portable VLC ^[1]

To download the BBC iPlayer .wmv file for a program, visit the BBC iPlayer page, find your program and find the program's download link.

From iPlayer program page

If not already installed you may be prompted to install the 'BBC iPlayer Download Manager'. The download manager should then launch and then display the status of the show as it downloads.

BBC iPlayer Download Manager^[2]
Whilst the show downloads, open the settings of the download manager
BBC iPlayer Download Manager ^[2]

Navigate your way to the downloaded program storage location,

Download Manager Settings Tab
And open the folder path given, the default location for the programs is

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\My Videos\My Deliveries\iplayer_live
Find the video files, they will be wmv files similar to
Download the DRM removal tools ^[3], this is a zip file of 'DRMDbg', 'FreeMe2' and 'FreeMe2 Helper'. Decompress the contents of the zip file into an new folder.



Contents of 'DRM Removal.zip' ^[3]
Run 'drmdbg.exe', this will create the file 'drmdbg.ini' and the folder DRM2

Contents of DRM Removal
Copy the DRM protected .wmv video file from the download manager folder into to the 'DRM Removal' folder.

Contents of DRM Removal
Run 'drmdbg.exe', which will launch the following window and 'Windows Media Player'

drmdbg before Multi Scan
Clicking Multi Scan will then start the video playing in Windows Media Player. Allow the video to play until text similar to the following appears in the bottom text box of 'drmdbg',


Copy the portion between <SID> and </SID> tags.
Go back to the DRM Removal folder and drag and drop the DRM protected video file onto 'fmhelper2.exe'.
Press enter after prompted for IBX key. when prompted for the SID Key use right click to paste the key.

fm2helper
Press enter, the progress bar should then complete.
fm2helper
The DRM free version will then appear in the 'DRM Removal' folder, with the prefix 'Freed-'

^[1]Portable VLC http://portableapps.com/apps/music_video/vlc_portable
^[2]BBC iPlayer Download Manager http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/BBC-iPlayer_Setup.exe
^[3]DRM Removal tools http://www.filedropper.com/drmremoval