Original Radio Presets

[Mike W]

This isn't a question but recent observation.

I have been using the presets that the B2 came with, most usually BBC Radio Two.

Recently there have been several dropouts and the buffer could be seen going to 0% then recovering. I was convinced of a wifi problem although the signal strength was -57db.

By chance I was searching vtuner and spotted BBC Radio 2, so I tried it and guess what? No dropouts.

I'm not sure of what the difference is but since dragging the new vtuner Radio 2 link over the original Radio Two link everything has been fine.

This may help others experiencing similar issues. Maybe the support guys could clarify.

Regards

Mike

[PMB]

Hi Mike,

It doesn't explain the drop outs but Radio Station URLs change from time to time - so it is always worth searching a problematic station with vTuner and playing it from there (as you have found).

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Mike W]

Hi Paul, the wording of the presets is different, on vtuner it's a "2" and the one that the B2 came set up with is a "Two".

Does the original preset use a different service or url to deliver the radio programme?

Since changing to the vtuner version of the programme, there have been no dropouts.

Regards

Mike

[PMB]

Hi Mike,

Yes the original presets use www.radiofeeds.co.uk which works for UK stations only and accessible from the front panel controls. You can update the station database by going to Settings > Radio Update.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Mike W]

Thanks Paul,

As the vtuner option is working fine, I think I'll leave it as is for now.

Regards

Mike

[Stuart Gillies]

I have a problem that has bugged me since getting the B2 - and now I have the solution.

I was about to post this (below) and then found this thread. Comments below

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If I access "Internet Radio"/"BBC Radio 4"  it will play, but after a few minutes the buffer will empty, sound will stop, and then, after about three seconds, the buffer will refill and sound will restart.  This has very much limited my use of the device for radio.

However, if I access the web page and select vTuner/BBC/Radio4 it plays without a break.

This is a repeatable problem that occurs whenever I try "Internet Radio".  What is this all about?

Using the web page has not been a convenient method so I have preferred to use the front panel. However, I now have spare Android devices to dedicate to the B2, so it now has its own screen.

The B2 is hard-wired to a high speed broadband service that supports iPlayer and other high bandwidth services without problems, the Android device is on wifi. I assume that the two methods of access to internet radio use e.g. different protocols or codecs or something else that means that different software is involved.

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I now understand that "Internet Radio" is giving access to presets, which may need updating. It isn't clear at all from using the front panel that they are presets, or that they are unreliable. I was expecting to be able to use the B2 entirely from the front panel. It seems that isn't going to be reliable.

[Stuart Gillies]

Since earlier when I posted my remarks I have tried to use my new knowledge regarding presets to address the issue of BBC R4 pausing when initiated from the front panel via Internet Radio/BBCR4.  So I updated the radio stations using Settings/Radio Update. Sadly, BBCR4 still pauses. It seems quite clear - if initiated from vTuner it works, from the front panel it doesn't. Huh?

[Mike W]

Hi Stuart, I've just checked on my B2, the radio presets are the same viewed from either the web UI or the front panel.

I believe that the B2 comes newly configured with the Radiofeeds URLs, these are the ones that have the BBC station numbers as "One, Two "etc.

Experiencing similar problems to yourself, I changed them to the Vtuner URLs which are "1, 2" etc, and since then have had no problems with any radio dropouts.

On a further issue with radio stations, I found that changing the router DNS settings to point to the Google ones, 8.8.0.0  8.7.0.0 the stations would pick up almost instantly, The ones used by my ISP just seemed to cause a problem with the B2 though not any other connected devices.

Hope this helps

Mike

[Stuart Gillies]

Mike, thanks for this. So, fundamentally, the original presets are flawed.  vTuner must get its good urls from somewhere. So how do I make sure that Internet Radio gets valid urls rather than faulty ones? (rhetorical question unless someone has the answer!).

I'm already using google's DNS (8.8.8.8) for other reasons. A useful fact for those that don't know you can use any DNS server you wish. The main difference being speed of lookup.

[PMB]

Hi Stuart,

As Mike says the default radio presets use Radiofeeds URLs. However if you use vTuner to find BBC Radio 4 for example, select it to play and then add to Presets, it overwrites the Radiofeeds URL with the vTuner one. The B2 will then use the vTuner URL when selected from the front panel.

Paul

Brennan Support.