Wireless use of BBC Radio Player

[aa747]

I want a small 'internet radio' for listening to BBC Radio Player around the house.

BBC Radio player: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio4_promo.shtml
allows you to listen to previous broadcasts thru Real player, BUT it won't allow you to download and save them, so you have to play them streamed thru a plug-in.

As I've read of so many probs on these forums, I would only go for a PPC2003 fast pda, so it would be the Toshiba E750 or the IPAQ H5550. (A Palmos pda might handle Real but it wouldn't guarantee to handle Media Player streams ok).

Of course, I have a firewall in my wireless broadband router. I've read of people having firewall problems or having to to fish the URL out of the proxy server's connection status window to connect to some stations.

So, can anyone out there listen to 'BBC Radio Player' programs now? Any concrete experience gratefully appreciated.

[georgetaylor]

I have an IPAQ 5450 upgraded to Pocket PC2003. I can report than under the built in web browser (pocket explorer) that the BBC radio player does not work under Pocket PC2002 or 2003 (often called windows mobile 2003).

You can extract the "listen live" links, add them to your mobile favourites and they just work (both realaudio an windows media). You can also click on them on the radio player as viewed on your pocket pc.

Unfortunately, the links to backdated programs do not work on the pocket pc. You can download the webpage on a PC and extract the links however, but I had varied luck with these.

I emailed the BBC about this months ago, but received no reply. I think it's some kind of JavaScript problem, I was hoping PPC2003 would fix it but it didn't.

If anyone get's this working please post here!

NB. Windows Media under PPC2003 is much better than under 2002 - the sounds is interrupted less whilst doing other things. Realaudio player is available for PocketPC, but doesn't seem to have been updated for some time.

[aa747]

Thank you very much George for clarifying that issue which has been bugging me for a while. I currently have a tablet PC running XP pro to act as my portable home radio/internet tv, but the form factor is all wrong (too large) and, dare I say it, the Electromagnetic stylus tablet screen idea is a failed concept. Even if you can't rest your hand on the screen, I'd far rather have the accuracy and reliability of a touchscreen device - hence my interest in the PDA+Windows Mobile format.

By the way, I have also emailed the BBC about many things on a variety of different email addresses and never received a single non-automatic reply. Perhaps they are so spammed out that they've given up responding to anyone.

I think Media Player is better under PPC2003 because that comes with MP9 (instead of MP8) which has 'optimised 9 series listening' which is a superior buffering solution.

So, an Ipaq can offer me streaming internet radio all round the house in a convenient format. Very nice but doesn't quite clinch it because the big driver for me now in broadcasting media is 'on demand'. Being able to listen to the 9pm news at 9.14 when you've just got your dinner ready seems to me to be so rational as to be a life essential. Similarly, whether you go to bed at 11pm, 12pm, or 1am, that's the time to listen to 'Book at Bedtime' or whatever.

I guess that in a few years time the pieces will finally come together and we'll be able to use our mobile devices equivalently to our desktop ones.

[john0sweet]

AA,

I have got live BBC radio playing on my XDA via my wifi router this morning. Real networks do a standalone real player for pocket pc, which you can find by searching google (I'm lazy this morning!). Then the minisite that you would use to listen via a plugin has a "listen via a standalone player" link which opens the realplayer source file and streams direct to standalone real player.... havent tried it with listen again yet tho... give me a minute..... hmm thats bizarre.... listen again doesn't have the same link!

So, in short, I can listen to live streamed stuff, but not the listen again features..... I suggest we bombard BBC with emails until they add the same link to listen again!

Hope thats helped some...

[aa747]

Hi John,

thanks for the info. Its not immediately obvious from what I and George Taylor were saying, but we did have that working 2 years ago, but we couldn't get the 'play-on-demand' part working from the 'listen again' sections (what would now be called podcasting). So, my last comment seems to be a somewhat fateful prediction: "I guess in a few years time the pieces will finally come together..." - 2 years have gone by and they still haven't!

Actually, after that little episode, I gave up the whole PDA format for that role (I still use a PDA phone as a PDA though). I've got 4 PC's scattered around the house, and use them for my internet streams and entertainment. That way, using the PC format, I know *everything* will work. Life is simply too short for dealing with the a...holes out there that release technology solutions without thinking the whole thing thru.

Alan