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Changes on October 22nd
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I am currently living in Shanghai, China. Since October 22nd I have been unable to access BBC radio programmes via iPlayer. The wheel simply continues to turn. Before October 22nd there were no problems. What changed on that fateful day?
From the message board other users seem to have encountered similar problems. Does anyone have a solution? -
The important change for users 'overseas, listening to iPlayer Radio is that the type of stream changed from RealPlayer to Flash. This affects you in several ways.
- you need to be able to play Flash streams
that means you need to download Flash Player if you have not already done so
- your RealPlayer will not work with iPlayer streams as they are no longer of the correct type. (But for now and maybe in the future if you open RealPlayer as a standalone program it may well provide BBC Radio streams)
- you may find your computer or ISP/bandwidth can no longer work with the new streams.
- the turning wheel often is due to either slow or no streaming the reason could be
• your bandwidth is not enough, especially if you are using a dial up connection
• your computer is unable to use the stream eg because the wrong version of flash player or no flash player is installed
• your security systems are blocking the stream (or slowing it whilst interacting with it)
As a UK user I may also wonder if any additional restrictions are placed on an ISP in another Country, does for instance the ISP have to authorise any new streams ?
or does any pre-installed software need to be adjusted to allow new streams.
For a temporary fix use the old stream see the Thread www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mb... :
JohnThis is a reply to this message.
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Hi John
Extremely grateful for your thoughts on possible cause(s) of my problem. They all seem worth investigating - but where to start?
I have tried on two occasions to download Flash Player. Both times the Flash Player site said the download was successful. However, I do not see Flash Player in my computer's list of programmes, even though the McAfee security scan that was downloaded along with Flash Player IS on my computer. Would you expect to see Flash Player on my computer if it was successfully downloaded. Real Player and Windows Media Player are on my computer
As an alternative to Flash Player, is there a way of using Real Player or Windows Media Player to receive BBC streams?
Incidentally, via www.iPlayerconverter I was able to access BBC material
NevilleThis is a reply to this message.
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Hi, Neville!
To Play WMA, try using this link:
iplayerhelp.external...
As to Flash Player, it is notoriously difficult to set up. I would suggest you uninstall it completely, using the uninstall program from Adobe - these instructions should help:
kb2.adobe.com/cps/12...
The annoying thing about both these methods, as has been mentioned elsewhere, is that you cannot pause, fast forward or rewind when listening to live streams. And it seems to vary for the "on demand 2 progs, from what I can tell.
Good luck listening live, anyhow.
Anne in Geneva.This is a reply to this message.
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What OS browser and sytem are you using.
Did the old RP stream work for you ?
and what about the .wma as last poster suggested
JohnThis is a reply to this message.
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I am using Internet Explorer and Windows Vista on a Toshiba Satellite laptop
Yes. Real Plaver used to work via iplayer. Real Player still works via the iplayer converter web site
Yes. WMA works now, but is not as convenient as iplayer used to beThis is a reply to this message.
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Hi John.
Can I ask if this has affected listening on mobile devices too? In particular the C905 Sony Ericsson I was using, as now it appears no radio catch-up services will work on the device.
Thanks in advance.This is a reply to this message.
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Neville,
Real Player still works via the iplayer converter web site
RP should still for now work in iPlayer as before IF you specifically directly choose the stream eg: bbc.co.uk/radio/list...
BBC initially remove default settings on iPlayer, then more recently removed listing on the faq, but the streams are still there if required for a few months yet. Does the one above play for you in iPlayer, it should, I can play it.
JohnThis is a reply to this message.
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I don't work for the BBC, but I do run the iplayerconverter website mentioned previously, so I've gleaned a bit about what's going on from various sources.
My understanding is that all RealAudio streams (which are what used to be used for the low-bandwidth iPlayer functionality) are being withdrawn by March 2011. The plan was to switch over from RealAudio to Window Media in October 2009. Unfortunately the Windows Media Audio streams have been delayed, but the BBC couldn't postpone the turning off of the RealAudio links on the iPlayer website, hence the temporary removal of the low bandwidth option.
However, most of the RealAudio streams are still live behind the scenes (for now - they will all disappear by March next year), but you can't get to them through the iPlayer website; you have to either parse the relevant XML feed yourself or use a website (like iplayerconverter or beebotron) that does this automatically.
This will affect all mobile devices, internet radios, home PVRs, etc which relied on RealAudio and can't run Flash.This is a reply to this message.
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Correction - should read March 2010, not March 2011 in my above post. Sorry!
This is a reply to this message.
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First, as a user of the iplayer converter website, congratulations and thanks for providing this valuable alternative to iplayer
At this point, do you have a notion of what will happen after March 2010 to those wishing to listen to BBC radio on a computer?
Will Windows Media Audio streams be usable by then?
Is Flash Player a possibility? I have tried to install Flash Player on my laptop, presumably without success, as I still cannot use BBC iplayer to listen to BBC radio
This is a reply to this message.
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Hi Anne
Thanks for links to the two websites
I can now access previously broadcast BBC radio programmes via Windows Media Audio. I am very greatful
As yet my efforts to uninstall and install Flash Player have not been successful. Whether it is installed or not I cannot tell. Certainly no icon appears and I still cannot use iplayer
Thanks again
This is a reply to this message.
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Hi John
Thanks again for your valuable and practical suggestions. Gradually I am restoring access to both previously broadcast and live BBC radio programmes via Real Player and WMA
A point that has arisen in this thread is that, as of March 2010, Real Player streams will disappear for good. Any thoughts as to what will happen then with regard to access to BBC radio/iplayer?This is a reply to this message.
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Hi Neville,
Most uk users have been using Flash Player for quite a while for both radio and TV. There are blogs about some of the changes, which may be rather heavy reading but explain what is happening, two of which are:
www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/... [ about new flash streams for Radio]
www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/... [ about end of RealPlayer streams]
Many internet computers already use Flash, as you presumably have a suitable connection it should work at least for Radio. (Bandwidth or processing power aeffcts some users trying to get TV).
One important consideration with Flash is to uninstall previous versions correctly before re-installing the new version. kb2.adobe.com/cps/14...
I suggest you start your own new thread eg ' installing flash to use Radio streams' giving details of your isp, OS, ssytem, browser etc hopefully it will be fairly easy to get the Flash Player setup.
There is also a version test on the adobe site which is usefull, it proves (or otherwise) that you have the correct latest version installed and active. kb2.adobe.com/cps/15...
( Adobe btw is an external site, but is generally considered safe, or at least its products are as safe as say MS IE, clearly browsers and flash players are to some extent always a security risk)
You may also have noted UK and Overseas users get slightly different streams for Radio, and both have had problems with transitional changes recently
John
This is a reply to this message.
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Hi John
I am living in Delhi and have not solved being able to listen to the radio (same old problem) since 21st
I have:
1) Done the flash thing and it's def on my computer
2) Done the BBC internet check and the speed and everything thats checked is fine
3) The WMA suggestion doesn't work
4) Even tried to install Morzilla firefox and go through that...
I am using Windows xp
Please help the BBC is my lifeline!This is a reply to this message.
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Hi Cheekydelhi
Main questions ?
- what is the result of flash version test ?
- what is the result of iPlayer diagnostics test ?
( I think diagnostics needs at least rudimentary flash )
It always helps if you give full information about your sytem.
It may help if you start a new thread if your problem is not as in the title ! Meanwhile
- does an old rp thread work eg : www.bbc.co.uk/radio/... (at least for now as Radio 4)
WMA
Have you got a windows compatible computer, again maybe start a new thread,. Windows computers will play the windows streams, BUT note the bbc has some problems with some of them as I believe they had problems with on demand, but an example of a live stream that should work : bbc.co.uk/radio/list...
Anyone else with problems please give full details of your setup and system
JohnThis is a reply to this message.
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The last time I was on this message board was around this time last year when the Beeb made changes which affected dial-up iPlayer users.
Again, changes have suddenly and without notice (or so it appears) been made which have affected my ability to Listen Again so it was great to come across Neville's initial question AND to discover the iplayerconverter website. I used it for the first time yesterday and its fantastic - a doddle to use for non-techies like myself. It's also saved me the hassle of having to download and install Flash which - as one poster here has pointed out - can, apparently, be troublesome to install.
I'll get myself sorted with broadband soon but it's great to have iplayerconverter in the meantime.
Thanks!This is a reply to this message.
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I'm pretty sure the intention was to get Windows Media Audio streams up and running as soon as possible - certainly well before the March 2010 deadline. I would suspect national radio would come first, as the infrastructure for local radio is rather more complex!
Can I take a moment to plug the BBC Radio Labs blog - usually a good source of info on what's happening and when - link is www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/... . Obviously if I find anything out in the meantime I'll post a message on the iplayerconverter website. I'm intending to extend the site to support Windows Media Audio as soon as the streams are available.This is a reply to this message.
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