UPDATE: The BBC have since fixed(!) this, so the example below no longer works.

Boing Boing is pointing out that a new hack is available that sucks MP4s off of the iPlayer site and drops them onto your computer in all their DRM free glory. It is, however, quite complicated.

(update: there’s an easier version if you follow Paul’s instructions in this comment)

1. First of all download and install Ruby for Windows

2. Download the file talked about here to your computer. Be sure to drop it in an easy to remember folder. I’m suggesting c:/downloads/ for the purpose of this example

3. Open the command prompt. In other words go to Start->Run and then type CMD and press return

4. Type cd \
(this should mean that you get a prompt like this c:\>

5. Type cd downloads
(this should make downloads your active directory)

6. Find the page on iPlayer that you want to download

7. Back at the command prompt type ruby iplayer-dl followed by the URL from http:// to .shtml of the iPlayer page that you want to ‘convert’. So if I wanted to download this episode of In The Night Garden, I would type:
ruby iplayer-dl http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/page/item/b009h6lk.shtml

8. It would then save the MP4 file in the /downloads directory

9. Rename the .mp4 bit .mov

10. You can now copy it into iTunes.

Get it while you can!