+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 23

Thread: Maybe you all know - R3 FLAC streaming

  1. #1
    Join Date: Feb 2010

    Location: Moved to frozen north, beyond Inverness

    Posts: 2,602
    I'm Dave.

    Default Maybe you all know - R3 FLAC streaming

    See http://www.bbc.co.uk/taster/projects...d/inside-story

    Currently Rachmaninov Symphony 2 sounds OK - though I do still think I've heard better.
    Probably better than aac streaming though.

    If you try it with an external DAC probably best to turn the volume right up on the browser - though don't do that for headphone listening from the computer which might damage your hearing.
    Dave

  2. #2
    Join Date: Feb 2011

    Location: England

    Posts: 290
    I'm James.

    Default

    Thanks for the info.

    Sounds great.

    Jim.

  3. #3
    Join Date: Feb 2010

    Location: Moved to frozen north, beyond Inverness

    Posts: 2,602
    I'm Dave.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by JimC View Post
    Thanks for the info.

    Sounds great.

    Jim.
    Indeed. I think some of the material sounds better than anything we've had before. Apparently it's 16 bit 48 kHz as distributed, but may be at different bit depths and sample rates internally. Some programmes might be at bigger bit depth and higher sample rates before transmission, and if there are any CDs actually played there would be an upsample from 44.1 kHz.

    Some material will still sound compromised, such as older recordings and more historical material. The best studio recordings are good, and if you can stay awake, or find a way to do high quality recording, then Through the Night has some good material most nights. Probably better than the so-called HD stream on the whole.

    The quality of the speech announcements might be noticeably different from the music.

    Definitely worth a shot.
    Last edited by dave2010; 10-04-2017 at 09:09.
    Dave

  4. #4
    Join Date: Nov 2010

    Location: Coventry

    Posts: 3,039
    I'm Will.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by dave2010 View Post
    Indeed. I think some of the material sounds better than anything we've had before. Apparently it's 16 bit 48 kHz as distributed, but may be at different bit depths and sample rates internally. Some programmes might be at bigger bit depth and higher sample rates before transmission, and if there are any CDs actually played there would be an upsample from 44.1 kHz.
    I checked the frequency on my iFi Nano iDSD USB DAC and it was showing 44.1 for the period I tried it...around Sunday tea time, sounded very good too
    Cheers, Will

  5. #5
    Join Date: Feb 2010

    Location: Moved to frozen north, beyond Inverness

    Posts: 2,602
    I'm Dave.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by WAD62 View Post
    I checked the frequency on my iFi Nano iDSD USB DAC and it was showing 44.1 for the period I tried it...around Sunday tea time, sounded very good too
    That's interesting. That suggests that the BBC is using whatever technical standards are appropriate, and then transmitting accordingly. My supposition of the 48/16 format was based on "inside" information - rather than technical evaluation.

    Keep listening!
    Dave

  6. #6
    Join Date: Nov 2010

    Location: Coventry

    Posts: 3,039
    I'm Will.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by dave2010 View Post
    That's interesting. That suggests that the BBC is using whatever technical standards are appropriate, and then transmitting accordingly. My supposition of the 48/16 format was based on "inside" information - rather than technical evaluation.

    Keep listening!
    There was also a 'hovering' legend stating 'lossless', anyway some interesting organ music...
    Cheers, Will

  7. #7
    Join Date: Feb 2011

    Location: England

    Posts: 290
    I'm James.

    Default

    Have you come to any concrete conclusions as to what the Sampling Rate is ?

    Also, can someone help me with that ?
    I run Windows 7 and feed a USB signal to an external DAC. In Windows 7 (maybe all Windows versions?) when Playback Devices is right clicked and the Properties of the selected device is accessed in the Advanced tab the Sampling Rate can be selected.
    However, I have found that whatever I play via the Internet is upsampled to whatever I have selected in Playback Devices. So, if I select 192kHz then listen to this Radio 3 feed my PC is upsampling to 192 and feeding this then to my DAC. So, too much 'maths' going on and I'm probably not getting the full benefit.

    I use JRiver to play my stored Music and have set this up to play the native Sample Rate of the recorded material.
    There is an option in JRiver to 'Open Live...' and JRiver can be used to play back Internet content however in Playback Devices another Output route has to be selected to be able to use this function and so Windows also upsamples this roue to whatever has been set in the Advanced tab. So again lots of upsampling going on and I'm probably not getting the full benefit of the native stream.
    Within JRiver there is also an 'Open URL' function and this can be used to access Internet Streams and does play them at the native Rate. However, with the Radio 3 feed the Play icon has to be pressed on the Web page to access the feed and JRiver cannot cope with this.

    Can anyone see a way for me to be able to access the native stream of this Radio 3 feed?
    There seems to be a difference of opinion as whether it is 44.1, 48, or ever variable so I cannot set it definitively within Playback Devices. Aaarrgghh, very frustrating !!!!

    Any help appreciated.

    Jim.

  8. #8
    Join Date: Nov 2010

    Location: Coventry

    Posts: 3,039
    I'm Will.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by JimC View Post
    Have you come to any concrete conclusions as to what the Sampling Rate is ?
    I now see the reson for the discrepancies in sampling rates...

    If you go into your sound device's properties, then advanced, there's an option to set the default sampling rate when in 'shared mode', or there is with my iFi
    From 16/44.1 through to 24/192...mine's set to 16/44.1 as I only play 'red book' FLAC

    Whatever I set my default to, shows as the rate on playback, so firefox is using the sound device in shared mode...so unless the stream details are available how can one set the appropriate rate...it just states lossless

    Attachment 19981

    Attachment 19982
    Last edited by WAD62; 14-04-2017 at 14:59.
    Cheers, Will

  9. #9
    Join Date: Feb 2011

    Location: England

    Posts: 290
    I'm James.

    Default

    Glad it's not just me !!!

    J.

  10. #10
    Join Date: Feb 2010

    Location: Moved to frozen north, beyond Inverness

    Posts: 2,602
    I'm Dave.

    Default

    Sadly this experiment is going to be cut short, so instead of five months it's now only going to run for a couple of weeks more. This is perhaps for rights reasons.

    If you like the sounds (I do ...), then let the BBC know in an appropriate way, and they might figure out a way for more programmes to be distributed in this way, but the non technical reasons will have to be sorted first I guess.
    Dave

+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •