Website Help

Planet eStream Connect

The Planet eStream Connect service provides the ability for members of staff search over 1.5 million TV and Radio programme from:

  • The BBC Digital and Shakespeare Archives
  • The Planet Connect Network, comprising of content shared by Planet eStream users
  • The Planet Connect Freeview TV Scheduler

Content can then be added to your own Planet eStream system for use by end users, and the Connect Beacon can be used to discuss content with the Connect community, comprised of people from over 1,600 educational organisations within the UK.

As content within the system is tagged with related subjects, the system will become increasingly tailored towards the subjects that you are interested in finding.

New: Share your content with the Planet eStream Connect Community.

New: Record TV with the Planet eStream Connect Freeview TV Scheduler.

Please Note: Items requested from Planet eStream Connect may require approval by an Administrator before being made available online.

Please Note: The Planet eStream Connect service includes access to content indexed by the BBC. The index does not represent a complete archive of items shown on the BBC, and programmes indexed may occasionally be incomplete or not available for download.

How to Search Planet eStream Connect

  • From the Planet eStream Homepage, click Create and then click Connect.

    If the Connect option is not available then you do not have permission to access Planet eStream Connect.

  • On the Connect home page, use the search bar to enter either the full title of the item you are looking for, or for more generic searches, a list of keywords.

    The search parameters allow you to narrow search results by a range of options and also to exclude items from search results that your establishment has already requested from Planet eStream Connect.

    Results can be further refined by using a minus character to exclude unwanted items. For example, science –biology would return results for science that do not contain biology in the title or description.

  • Click the button to begin your search, and you will be presented with a list of results.

  • Each result contains the title, description, duration, last air date and source of each item. Use the Page Forward and Page Back buttons to navigate through the various pages of results, if appropriate.

  • Where multiple items within the search results have the same title, they are grouped into a collection. To view the contents of a collection, click Show Collection.

  • Click the Add to .. button adjacent to any item to add the item to your Planet eStream system.

  • The Title, Description, Broadcast Date and Broadcast Channel fields will be automatically populated. Set the remainder of the metadata/options and then click Create.

    Please Note: Certain options cannot be set for Planet eStream Connect Content. Please see the Restrictions section below for more information.

  • On the final page, select the subjects relevant to the item and, optionally add a brief, helpful message explaining why this content is relevant.

    Setting subjects and messages helps you and other users of the Planet eStream Connect community identify content relevant to their areas of interest.

  • Finally, click the Add button to add the item to the Connect download queue.

    Please Note: The length of time taken for an item to become available on your Planet eStream server will depend on several factors, including the volume of requests that the Planet eStream Connect server is currently processing and any bandwidth scheduling or limitations that may be in place.

Sharing Your Content on Planet eStream Connect

Any video/audio file uploaded to your Planet eStream solution can be shared with the Planet eStream Connect Community.

To share an item:

  • Navigate to the Planet eStream Homepage and Search for the content that you would like to share.

  • Click the More menu

  • Click Share on Connect.

    Details of the item will be added to the Connect index. The item may take several minutes to be made available to the Connect Community.

    Refresh the page after several minutes and a banner will appear confirming that the item has been shared on Planet eStream Connect. Click the Show this item on Connect link to view the item in the Connect search results and, if desired, recommend the item to a friend (see below for details of how to recommend).

    Note: Share options are only available for uploaded video/audio items. Content added using the Planet eStream Freeview TV Scheduler is automatically shared with the connect community.

To un-share (retract) an item:

  • Navigate to the Planet eStream Homepage and Search for the content that you would like to retract.

  • Click the More menu

  • Click Retract from Connect.

  • Details of the item will be removed from the Connect index and the item will be deleted from any Planet eStream sites that have downloaded it.

    Retractions can take several minutes to register.

The Planet eStream Connect Freeview TV Scheduler

The Planet eStream Connect Freeview TV Scheduler allows programmes to be scheduled and series-linked via our central TV server.

To use the TV Scheduler, open your Electronic Programme Guide and select Connect EPG.

How to Recommend a Connect Item to a Friend

The Planet eStream Connect Beacon can be found on the Connect Home Page and contains a list of item comments and item requests.

The contents of the Beacon are tailored to match the Education Stage that you selected when first configuring your Planet eStream Connect preferences, as can be seen/amended in your Connect Options.

An item from Planet eStream Connect can be recommended either in response to a request, or ad hoc as a private message.

To recommend an item:

  • Within the Beacon on the Planet eStream Connect Homepage, click + Friend to add the user as a friend.

  • If recommending an item already in the connect archive, search the Planet eStream Connect and locate the item to recommend.

    If recommending an item uploaded to your Planet eStream Archive, follow the steps in Sharing Your Content on Planet eStream Connect above and click the Show this item on Connect link.

  • Within the Planet eStream Connect search result for the item to be shared, click the Beacon icon to open the item's Beacon page.

    Select a user from the Recommend to a Friend drop down list.

    The Recommend to a Friend dialogue will open.

  • To recommend an item in response to a request, select the relevant request from the drop down list.

    To recommend an item as an ad hoc private message, tick the Private Message checkbox.

  • Enter a message and click Submit Recommendation.

Viewing Your Private Messages and Requests

From the Connect Home Page, click My Beacon Messages to view your Private messages and Requests.

Please note that the message count shown represents recent messages rather than unread messages.

Your Private Messages and Requests can also accessed via the Connect Beacon tab in your MyHome area.

Restrictions on Planet eStream Connect Items

Planet eStream Connect content is provided under licence from the BBC and the associated copyright / licence holders.

Please read and understand the following before adding Planet eStream Connect content to your Planet eStream system.

  • All Planet eStream Connect originating from TV Broadcasts must show the ERA Licence disclaimer.

  • Planet eStream Connect may only be accessed by educational staff members. It is not permitted for students or anonymous users to directly access the Planet eStream Connect interface.

  • If edited, Planet eStream Connect content must be saved as a new recording, and the new recording must have the same restrictions applied as the original.

  • Where an item contains subtitles, the subtitles cannot be amended.

  • Items from Planet eStream Connect cannot be marked as Private.

  • The source video files for Planet eStream Connect Items cannot be directly downloaded.

  • All Planet eStream Connect content is owned by the Planet eStream Connect user. The owner cannot be modified.

  • The Title, Description, Broadcast Channel, and Broadcast Date metadata cannot be modified.