Re: [Swprograms] Changes to BBC Radio streaming, future impact on World Service formats?

["John A. Figliozzi" <jfiglio1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Really.  When has the BBC ever heeded anything its listeners have told them, done anything they've asked it to do or not done something they've asked it not to do.  

John Figliozzi

> On Feb 16, 2015, at 4:17 PM, Rob de Santos <rdesantos@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> The BBC has decided that HLS/HDS/DASH are all they want to support in the
> future. MP3 streams at 128k will be provided for some unannounced short time
> frame (probably less than a year) and it will also be shut off. There is no
> guarantee that On-demand or Podcasts will be supported going forward in any
> other format either. It's bizarre and the explanations are incomplete and
> contradictory.  Based on public comments from various aggregators and device
> manufacturers the BBC failed to properly liaise with them. The public
> announcements of this change were limited to the BBC's "Internet blog" and other
> than a few of us in the tech and radio communities that read and commented on it
> (to no avail) it was never seen.  The decision to drop Windows Media (WMA)
> support was announced in the blog but they never announced they were completely
> dropping AAC support. We were led to believe some AAC+ support will continue but
> it too, is being shut down. 
> 
> Admirably, a number of users have stepped forward to provide some relief to
> users of Logitech products but most others including Reciva, Frontier, and
> vTuner based products are going to get MP3 streams only and probably not for
> long.  Reciva and vTuner have been scrambling to update their portals with new
> streams with varying degrees of success. This has broken streaming on many
> Windows and Linux/Android devices if they are not of very recent vintage. Most
> blind and visually impaired device makers are struggling to figure out what has
> happened. To make it worse, the BBC will not publish the stream URLs and only
> through the ingenuity of some users have any been made public.
> 
> So, if you don't have an Apple or Adobe Flash based device or a browser based
> HTML5 compliant device, you are not going to get the BBC streams for much longer
> even if you get them now.  Pity those in the Third World trying to listen on an
> older mobile phone they will be cutoff. They better be within range of a
> broadcast signal. This should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks that the
> newer technologies are different. The newer technologies are just as vulnerable
> to the whims of a clueless government or broadcaster. 
> 
> The complaints from the public are legion but the BBC doesn't seem to be
> listening.  I've complained but now have been blocked from posting to most BBC
> sites because they didn't like my pointed (but polite) criticism. 
> 
> --
> -Rob de Santos
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Swprograms [mailto:swprograms-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
> Richard Cuff
> Sent: Monday, February 16, 2015 10:31 AM
> To: Shortwave programming discussion
> Subject: Re: [Swprograms] Changes to BBC Radio streaming, future impact on World
> Service formats?
> 
> It appears that MP3 is regarded as a fallback, which for someone who manipulates
> audio via a PC via any OS (Mac, Windows, Linux) is a good thing...certainly less
> bang for the bandwidth but certainly the most universal format... am I reading
> that correctly?  I would agree that
> AAC+ works the best for audio vs bandwidth, but most of the PC
> software I use to manipulate streams would rather work with MP3.
> 
> Rich Cuff
> 
>> On Sun, Feb 15, 2015 at 7:29 PM, Steven Clift <1radionewstech@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> .>
>> In terms of global access to BBC domestic stations, the big loss is 
>> lower bandwidth AAC+ which works great on mobiles via the right apps.
> .>
>> My take is that for the broadest access you want low bandwidth options 
>> for news radio in particular and AAC+ gives you the best quality at 
>> lower bit rates.
> 
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