BFBS Player vs 4VR
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BFBS Player
Access a variety of UK TV channels and exclusive Forces content while serving overseas. Requires authentication with a Defence Gateway account for serving British Forces members and entitled users. Not intended for unsupervised use by minors.
- UK TV channels
- Exclusive Forces channels
- Overseas access
- Defence Gateway authentication
- Forces TV channel access in UK
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Provides the range of BFBS TV services to members of the British Forces, including their dependents and other entitled users serving overseas. To use the app and the services you must be a serving member of the British Forces and use your Defence Gateway account to authenticate your log in. The App is not intended for unsupervised use by minors. The range of services includes the main UK TV channels with extra channels designed exclusively for the Forces. These are intended for viewers serving or posted outside of the UK and access is restricted within the UK, apart from the Forces TV channel.
4VR
Explore immersive content from Channel 4. Experience a new way to engage with television through virtual reality and augmented reality features.
- Immersive content
- Virtual reality experiences
- Augmented reality features
- Channel 4 exclusive content
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Home of Channel 4's immersive content
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: BFBS Player at 5.0 against 4VR's 1.2. BFBS Player also leads on review sentiment (19% vs 4%). 4VR's advantage is ratings volume (104 vs 3) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
BFBS Player holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 4VR has 104 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 19% of BFBS Player's written reviews are positive against 4% of 4VR's.
BFBS Player ships an update every 6 months, 4VR every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BFBS Player | 4VR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | 1.2 (104 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 19.4% of reviews — better | 4.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 104 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 4 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 66 MB | 105 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | BFBS Radio | Channel 4 |
Customer experience
BFBS Player
4VR
Bugs and requests
BFBS Player
Reported bugs
17 issues- App thinks users are in the UK when abroad
- App buffers constantly
- Unable to play stream
- Cannot log in
- App returns to login screen after submitting info
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Login button not working on iPad
- App crashes
- App freezes
- Catch up cuts off last 5 minutes
- TV guide difficult to use
- Links with Defence Gateway cause login loop
- App not working on iPad after update
- Screen shrinks when asking for full screen
- Only plays in small screen on iPad
- Registration 'No' button only works
- Black screen with sound only
- Cannot AirPlay all content
Requested features
8 requests- Show all channels
- Improve location detection for overseas users
- Add Apple TV app
- Enable screen mirroring/casting
- Make app backwards compatible for older iPads
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- Allow users to watch at local time
- Improve video quality
- Add more channels
4VR
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
BFBS Player
No in-app purchases
4VR
No in-app purchases
