Beeb 0.10.8: new homescreen layouts, live subtitles and Red Button streams for Apple TV

I've put together another update to Beeb, my independent, open-source BBC player for Apple TV.

• New homescreen layouts: choose Classic or Modern in Settings. Modern gives you a floating Topbar or a Sidebar. Classic keeps the earlier compact topbar and framed banner.
• Immersive modern homescreens: large programme artwork and Beeb's pink focus glow.
• Your preference is remembered: Settings → Homescreen Layout. The Topbar/Sidebar choice appears under Modern and is retained when you switch to Classic and back.
• Press the RED button: it's an option in every live player's controls. Open Red Button or Red Button UHD when BBC is broadcasting those feeds.
• Live TV subtitles: BBC's live captions now work through Apple's native subtitle rendering and controls when available.
• Continuous browsing: scroll through categories, A–Z and the indexed 4K UHD listing without Previous/Next buttons. Programme batches load as needed rather than loading everything at launch.
• A cleaner Browse screen: wider, readable category cards with icons.
• More reliable episode loading: updated BBC playback discovery and version selection, fixing the incorrect-format errors encountered by some users.

Beeb 0.10.7 — Search, 4K browsing, programme Info and live Top Shelf

Updates since the previous public release, 0.8.2:

• Search: find programmes and films in the cached BBC catalogue using the native Apple TV keyboard, with dictation/iPhone keyboard where supported.
• 4K UHD category: daily BBC UHD webpage refresh plus cached discoveries, without scanning every programme's episodes. Mixed-quality seasons show all episodes with individual 4K tags. The editorial UHD list is not guaranteed exhaustive.
• Programme Info: thumbnail, title, full synopsis, original broadcast date, runtime, quality and guidance where supplied. Bounded scrolling layout replaces the native expanding-summary crash path. Back hides the overlay; a second immediate press exits playback.
• Playback speed: native 0.5×–2× choices for on-demand video.
• Clearer playback badges: outlined 4K / FHD / HD / SD labels, improved spacing and contrast, and cleaner live metadata. 4K reports received resolution, not HDR status.
• Live Top Shelf: one-click landscape channel cards with current programme artwork. Put Beeb in the top row and press Up.
• Regional feeds: 16 BBC One regions and three BBC Two feeds, selected in Settings and used from Live and Top Shelf. Top Shelf artwork follows the default channel schedule.
• Cleaner homepage: taller banner with remote left/right navigation, consistent row spacing, larger cards, portrait-only Stream Every Episode posters and no redundant “Explore programme” text.
• Installation fixes: Top Shelf extension included; Finder/AppleDouble metadata excluded to avoid invalid extension placeholder errors.

4K HLG HDR, native subtitles and Show on Skip Back, skip intro/recap, Continue Watching, Up next and bookmarks remain available. UHD still needs your own working TwinVine configuration. HD/live TV do not require TwinVine.

Downloads

• Beeb-0.10.7-public-unsigned.ipa: physical arm64 Apple TV, tvOS 17+. Sign before installing. Sign both the app and the embedded Top Shelf extension with your own appropriate tvOS provisioning. No signature, profile or UHD identity is included.
• Beeb-0.10.7-public-source.zip: matching GPL source, Xcode project, documentation and UHD setup helper.
• Matching .sha256 files for both assets.

Installation and features · IPA signing guide · TwinVine setup

Keep your signing team and app identifier unchanged when updating to preserve your existing app identity. Signing tools must support nested tvOS extensions; Xcode source installation is the fallback.

Unsigned Release build, app/extension structure, archive integrity and release checks passed. Simulator checks cover the Info/Back behaviour, speed menu and regional selection. Physical installation of this unsigned 0.10.7 package requires your own signing and has not been tested on another user's setup.

Unofficial and not produced or endorsed by the BBC. BBC availability restrictions apply. GPL-3.0-or-later; see source attribution.

Beeb 0.8.2 — public source edition

Independent BBC player for Apple TV (tvOS 17+).

• 4K HLG HDR on compatible content with your own TwinVine UHD configuration.
• Native Apple playback controls, English subtitles and Show on Skip Back support.
• Skip intro/recap where timings are supplied, Continue Watching, Up next, saved shows and live TV.
• Homepage banners without logos and individual episode artwork where available.

Downloads and installation

Beeb-0.8.2-public-unsigned.ipa is a prebuilt arm64 tvOS app. It is unsigned: you must sign it with your own Apple certificate and device provisioning profile before installing. No signing profile, UHD identity or private key is included.

Beeb-0.8.2-public-source.zip contains the matching source, Xcode project, screenshots and setup helper. SHA-256 checksums for both downloads are attached.

Follow the README, source installation guide, unsigned IPA guide, and TwinVine UHD setup guide.

Beeb is unofficial and is not produced or endorsed by the BBC. BBC availability restrictions apply. GPL-3.0-or-later; see the source for attribution.