Listed below are comments made by Russ between Tuesday, 19th June 2012 and Tuesday, 10th July 2012.

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• BBC iPlayer: Live Restart 9:34pm on 10 Jul 2012 Please ignore my comment #9: my problem was coincidental with the introduction of Live Restart, but has proved to be unconnected to it. (Somehow my registry had changed my primary channel Transfer Mode to PIO instead of a DMA mode, which I have now fixed.)
  
  Russ
• New Beta Homepages for Radio Stations 02:13am on 03 Jul 2012 Different but useful Radio 3 carousel content settings can be discovered if you know the right url. These urls are currently not documented and are inaccessible from the current beta menu systems.
  
  The undocumented urls take their root from Radio 4 categories, but provide correct content for Radio 3 programmes. Current (non-beta) Radio 3 category roots will not work for Radio 3 carousels.
  
  (I was going to post the above on the Radio 3 radiobeta comment request blog, but it has been closed for further comment.)
  
  Russ
• BBC iPlayer: Live Restart 3:58pm on 21 Jun 2012 #19 Hugh - live reset isn't implemented for any radio yet.
  
  Russ
• Help us test the new Radio 3 homepage 00:02am on 21 Jun 2012 Steve:
  

  The categories you see in the grey navigation bar are from the BBC's ontology for programme pages. We don't control the underlying classification or the labels used.

  
  A clear case of the tail wagging the dog, isn't it? If BBC's ontology does not cater for the type and range of programmes made by Radio 3, that is the fault of the ontology, not the fault of Radio 3.
  
  As the current carousel selections stand at the moment, there is no immediate indication to a newcomer to the Radio 3 site that Radio 3 does any Arts & Drama programmes for example. The Essay, Nightwaves, and Drama on 3 are nowhere to be found in the current carousel content for example.
  
  If you look here or here for example, you will see 'Show more factual' and 'Show more comedy' respectively. Admittedly in those Radio 4 cases there is a good alignment with the carousel designations and the official categories, but there is no 'show more ...' at all on the Radio 3 carousels, which emphasises not only the gross mismatch in the ontology but allows a visitor no sight of what else there is on offer even within the limiting and impoverished classes of 'Highlights', 'Performance' and 'Popular programmes'.
  
  The more experienced Radio 3 website user will know to dive straight for the schedule page, which is now the only route to programme/episode microsite pages. (All beta homepage programme links now go directly to the console, where unfortunately the links to programme microsite pages have recently been removed.)
  
  All in all, it's a complete shambles.
  
  Your best interim move in my view would be to get the carousel designations to include, but not necessarily be limited to, the current categories.
  
  Russ
• BBC iPlayer: Live Restart 01:17am on 20 Jun 2012 I hate to strike a negative note on what is undoubtedly a fine bit of technical wizardry, but my experience is that I'm getting an occasional rapid st-st-st-st-stutter on the audio. The stutter is rapid (in the region of 5Hz?), and is most prominent on consonants and the first syllable of a word.
  
  The strange thing is that the stutter is not noticeable on my Internet Explorer (IE8) but is far more noticeable on Chrome (v19). The really strange thing is that the stutter is pronounced on radio programmes, where the bandwidth requirement is far less than TV, to the extent it becomes an echo/reverb (on Chrome) and I can now only use IE for radio programmes.
  
  Maybe I just need some more RAM?
  
  Russ
• New Beta Homepages for Radio Stations 2:46pm on 19 Jun 2012 The duplicate drama carousel setting in #45 now seems to have disappeared.
  
  Russ
• Help us test the new Radio 3 homepage 2:08pm on 19 Jun 2012 Each carousel setting should contain a 'Show More [carousel subject]' insert, as per other beta radio station homepages.
  
  Russ
• Help us test the new Radio 3 homepage 1:55pm on 19 Jun 2012 The Radio 3 categories on the current (non-beta) homepage are 'Classical', 'Jazz', 'World Music' and 'Arts & Drama'. On the beta homepage, the stated new Radio 3 categories are 'Arts', 'Classical', 'Drama' and 'Jazz'. ('World Music' is missing.)
  
  The new carousel settings of 'Highlights', 'Performance' and 'Popular Programmes' do not align with either of the above category sets. Who is ruling the editorial roost here, BBC Online or Radio 3?
  
  Russ
• New Beta Homepages for Radio Stations 1:18pm on 19 Jun 2012 Apart from its presumably incorrect default highlights setting, the Radio4 carousel has got a duplicate drama setting listed as 'on-air'.
  
  Russ
• New Beta Homepages for Radio Stations 02:17am on 19 Jun 2012 In the initial radio homepage release, there was a choice of going to the programme microsite page (from the programme title) or going direct to the console player (from the graphic). This choice has now been removed in the updated radio homepage: except for a listen-live link, all references are merely to the beta station homepages, which is not particularly helpful. What's the point of the radio homepage if that is that is all there is present?
  
  On the old-style station homepages, references are to programme microsite pages. On the new style beta homepages, 'next' and 'coming up' programmes understandably refence microsite pages only, but for those programmes available to listen to, the programme title and rollover graphic link both carry non-console references, but actually have the effect of launching the console. It is not clear whether this cut-down functionality is intended, or whether it is another 'temporary measure' we haven't been told about yet.
  
  The only place left carrying the useful choice between programme microsite pages and console links is therefore an old-style schedule page. I hope this choice will not be removed.
  
  Russ

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