The BBC iPlayer is to make its way to Freesat.

After a successful Beta trial, this is the first time that Auntie has delivered the service onto a normal, household set top box or TV set.

If you want to watch iPlayer on your TV, for now at least, you’ll need specific equipment. Firstly, you’ll need to own a Humax branded Freesat HD or Freesat+ set top box and a broadband connection of at least 1Mbps. Obviously, you’ll need to connect the two together to make it work.

Once you’ve connected them together, to access BBC iPlayer you’ll need to firstly tune into a BBC channel. Then, press the red button. Once that’s loaded up, type in the code 5483 and press OK. You’ll see a message that says “Number not found” but you won’t need to worry about that because, after a couple of seconds, the BBC iPlayer will appear on your screen and you can access all those TV and radio shows you missed.

Unfortunately, the Freesat version of BBC iPlayer is only available on Humax set top boxes at the moment. However, the BBC are planning to make it available on all Freesat HD set top boxes and Freesat HD TVs over the coming months – including all HD boxes and TVs with Freesat built in from launch.

As this is still new and spanking, there’s a few bugs to be ironed out so don’t get too uppity just yet. And, of course, if your computer has a TV-out card thingy, you can do this anyway… but some of us are luddites y’know?

Freesat’s website for more detailed instructions.