Internet radio stations & other alternatives to Radio 3

[Pulcinella]

I have just chanced upon sonatica by browsing through some Sonos links

http://sonatica.fm/

Not sure if it has been mentioned before or not (I haven't read this thread) but it's no chat at all, which might suit many folk on here.
Not sure either how you find out what they are playing/have played if a piece takes your fancy!

[muzzer]

My two ‘go to’ stations are WQXR for classical and WBGO for jazz, both US and both publicly funded by subscription as far as I can see. Not internet only. Few ads, lots of music.

Sonos keeps interrupting my BBC listening to tell me the Beeb is ‘changing the way you listen to’ streams by taking its radio off ‘some streaming platforms’ or somesuch. I assume this means no more TTN on demand. Has anyone else heard this message? I may have posted about it before.

[Forget It (U2079353)]

Mid 2023 many BBC Radio live streams that have been operational for years are being shut down in favour of the HLS streams.

The new stream for Radio 3 operational already for the UK is
http: //a.files.bbci.co.uk/media/live/manifesto/audio/simulcast/hls/uk/sbr_med/ak/bbc_radio_three.m3u8

and that for outside the UK:
http: //a.files.bbci.co.uk/media/live/manifesto/audio/simulcast/hls/nonuk/sbr_low/ak/bbc_radio_three.m3u8

I do hope your Sonos is compatible with these HLS streams.

They are no longer mp3 streams so the instructions found here for adding radio stations:
https: //www.howtogeek.com/292842/ho...-sonos-player/
don't seem to help.

Reference page for new and legacy BBC Radio streams:

https://gist.github.com/bpsib/67089b959e4fa898af69fea59ad74bc3

[Beresford]

Mid 2023 many BBC Radio live streams that have been operational for years are being shut down in favour of the HLS streams.

The new stream for Radio 3 operational already for the UK is
http: //a.files.bbci.co.uk/media/live/manifesto/audio/simulcast/hls/uk/sbr_med/ak/bbc_radio_three.m3u8

Foobar software for PC now plays these streams directly - it didn't when they were first introduced - but a (playable) .pls stream was kept for Radio3 only, which I guess will now stop.
Foobar gives a slightly better Sound Quality than playing streams within a browser.

[Frances_iom]

Foobar software for PC now plays these streams directly - it didn't when they were first introduced - but a (playable) .pls stream was kept for Radio3 only, which I guess will now stop.
Foobar gives a slightly better Sound Quality than playing streams within a browser.

just tried it with VLC that runs on all Linux systems from RaspberryPi upwards (possibly also on windoze) - seems to handle it ok - I havn't checked what it sounds like on a decent system but VLC states output data rate 48k 32bit sample/sec - compressed bit rate abt 132kb/s (slight variations prob due to extra data)

[Beresford]

Just tried your link in Foobar:
http: //a.files.bbci.co.uk/media/live/manifesto/audio/simulcast/hls/uk/sbr_med/ak/bbc_radio_three.m3u8

It did not work, but this one from 2015 does:

http://a.files.bbci.co.uk/media/live/manifesto/audio/simulcast/hls/uk/sbr_high/ak/bbc_radio_three.m3u8

(AAC 323kbps) - Notice the url has "high" instead of "med"

There are similar links for all the other BBC national channels.

[hmvman]

YLE Klassinen played the symphony in F minor by Ernst Mielck this morning. Another Finnish composer I hadn't heard of before. He had a tragically short life. YLE Klassinen tends to be my go-to station in the mornings, if I'm at home and can listen to the internet radio or via a computer, and it's good to be able to hear complete works.

[Retune]

Mid 2023 many BBC Radio live streams that have been operational for years are being shut down in favour of the HLS streams.

The new stream for Radio 3 operational already for the UK is
http: //a.files.bbci.co.uk/media/live/manifesto/audio/simulcast/hls/uk/sbr_med/ak/bbc_radio_three.m3u8

and that for outside the UK:
http: //a.files.bbci.co.uk/media/live/manifesto/audio/simulcast/hls/nonuk/sbr_low/ak/bbc_radio_three.m3u8

I do hope your Sonos is compatible with these HLS streams.

They are no longer mp3 streams so the instructions found here for adding radio stations:
https: //www.howtogeek.com/292842/how-to-stream-any-audio-from-your-pc-to-a-sonos-player/
don't seem to help.

Reference page for new and legacy BBC Radio streams:
https://gist.github.com/bpsib/67089b...69fea59ad74bc3

Just tried your link in Foobar:
http: //a.files.bbci.co.uk/media/live/manifesto/audio/simulcast/hls/uk/sbr_med/ak/bbc_radio_three.m3u8

It did not work, but this one from 2015 does:

http://a.files.bbci.co.uk/media/live/manifesto/audio/simulcast/hls/uk/sbr_high/ak/bbc_radio_three.m3u8

(AAC 323kbps) - Notice the url has "high" instead of "med"

There are similar links for all the other BBC national channels.

The a.files.bbci.co.uk now seem to be dead too. The github page linked above has as-hls-ww-live.akamaized.net links that work (for now) - see the note at the bottom of the BBC-Radio-HLS-UK.m3u section for global accessibility and bitrates.

This page has lstn.lv links that are also currently active:

http://www.radiofeeds.co.uk/query.asp?feedme=BBC

Looks like the BBC policy is not just to get rid of shoutcast in favour of HLS, but to shut down all access to direct streams in favour of BBC Sounds if they possibly can:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/recent-changes-to-bbc-sounds/changes-third-party-info

Apparently this 'delivers value for audiences', gives us 'the best experience' and is 'convenient and cost-effective'. A cynic might say it's just a way of shoving BBC Sounds down our throats and slurping up all our listening data, never mind how many devices this breaks compatibility with.

[AuntDaisy]

Apparently this 'delivers value for audiences', gives us 'the best experience' and is 'convenient and cost-effective'. A cynic might say it's just a way of shoving BBC Sounds down our throats and slurping up all our listening data, never mind how many devices this breaks compatibility with.

I think you might well be right.

I wonder how they'd apply BBC policy (thanks for the link) to make sure that people recording FM / DAB / Freeview / FreeSat broadcasts "are not used in non-compliant ways"?

c) Directories and software solutions that enable individual users to directly access streams to add their connected devices will not be supported. This is for a range of reasons related to the BBC’s obligations under the BBC Distribution Policy, including ensuring our streams are not used in non-compliant ways.

[Retune]

I think you might well be right.

I wonder how they'd apply BBC policy (thanks for the link) to make sure that people recording FM / DAB / Freeview / FreeSat broadcasts "are not used in non-compliant ways"?

On another page, they give the example of third parties adding their own adverts when streaming BBC content as 'non-compliant', which I suppose is something that doesn't happen on broadcast platforms:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/recent-changes-to-bbc-sounds/radio-changes

'The BBC must do everything reasonable to ensure that UK listeners are able to access the public services that are intended for them, in a range of convenient and cost-effective ways. We also must ensure that third-parties are able to meet BBC requirements including prominence, which helps listeners to find content we’ve made for them, and sharing of data, which helps us understand what people are listening to, which in turn helps us improve our content and services. At the same time, it’s important we make sure that third-parties do not use our streams without permission in non-compliant ways, like serving advertisements around our radio services for example. As such, we will start restricting access to our radio streams. They will only be available to third parties that meet BBC requirements.'

It seems that ensuring compliance and 'prominence' (i.e., advertising their own stuff) while gathering audience data are overriding their primary responsibility to make content available in 'a range of convenient and cost-effective ways'. As far as the internet is concerned this 'range' has been reduced to 'just BBC Sounds and anything we haven't managed to block yet because a third party we've done a deal with still depends on it'. As a listener, it would be much more convenient for me if my AV receiver still worked directly with BBC internet radio, I didn't have to keep changing the BBC streams (or even the app) I use on my phone, and the BBC content didn't appear in my podcast aggregator a month late because it's initially exclusive to Sounds. But of course the BBC is Special and can't be expected to behave in the same inclusive way as nearly every other free to air global audio broadcaster...

[PatrickMurtha]

I don't listen to Radio 3 live at all, I prefer to cherry pick full works from through the night, lunchtime concerts and such and listen/download via Sounds

Same here! I review Through the Night every day, Lunchtime Concert, Afternoon Concert, Radio 3 In Concert, Opera on 3 once a week, and cherry-pick what I am interested in. Same with the Proms (there was less this year than usual).

I also use the listings at Operacast and World Concert Hall to keep up with opera broadcasts from global stations especially. Always on the lookout for performances of the less or unfamiliar.

[jimbo45]

Hi folks
KLARA (Classical Flemish Music station in Brussels from the VRT -- no ads -- should also be accessible on mobile phone via a Dutch app called RadioGarden which works on Samsung (android) type phones. Otherwise try this :

https://www.vrt.be/vrtmax/livestream/audio/klara/

Cheers
jimbo