Web stream of Planet Rock?

[Ulrich Onken]

For a few weeks I have been unable to access the web stream of Planet
Rock. According to their website it is still distributed at
http://www.planetrock.com/planetrock.m3u or
http://tx.sharp-stream.com/icecast.php?i=planetrock.mp3 . Planet Rock is
neither available on any of my webradios anymore, with portals at
www.wifiradio-frontier.com or vtuner.com.

I guess that they have introduced geoblocking and thus have made their
service unavailable for IP addresses outside of the UK. Could anyone in
the UK please check if these webstreams are still available there?

I am lucky though because they are also on Freesat 730, besides DAB. The
Astra 2F UK beam on 12545 MHz still reaches the Continent :-)

Regards,
Uli

[Andy Burns]

Ulrich Onken wrote:

> For a few weeks I have been unable to access the web stream of Planet
> Rock. According to their website it is still distributed at
> http://www.planetrock.com/planetrock.m3u

That works for me (in the UK) with VLC

> I guess that they have introduced geoblocking

I suspect you're right ...

[Brian Gaff]

I notice the dab feed is mono though. I'm getting really pissed off with
dabs tendency to have mono feeds for lots of stuff including radio 4 xtra,
but allowing stereo on bbc local stations.
Who is in charge, a one eared deaf person who lives in a cave obviously.

Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"Ulrich Onken" <news-1411...@spamgourmet.com> wrote in message
news:cosiab...@mid.individual.net...

[Brian Gaff]

It works here and is probably the only stereo version, though they have
ridiculous amounts of signal processing on the feed that makes the
presenter sound like an alien with bad lungs and some of the louder tracks
sound like crap.

Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"Ulrich Onken" <news-1411...@spamgourmet.com> wrote in message
news:cosiab...@mid.individual.net...

[Ulrich Onken]

On 11.04.2015 17:59, Brian Gaff wrote:

> It works here and is probably the only stereo version, though they have
> ridiculous amounts of signal processing on the feed that makes the
> presenter sound like an alien with bad lungs and some of the louder tracks
> sound like crap.

Although they pretend to have stereo (160 kbps) on Freesat, the left and
right audio channels are actually identical. It does not sound better
than 80 kbps mono which is their bit rate on DAB D1 in the UK.

Their webstream appears to be the only stereo version. The sound
processing has become worse over the years, probably they have adapted
to the low bit rates. What a pity - I remember having listened to Led
Zep's concert in December 2007 on Planet Rock with reasonable audio
quality (must have been via satellite).

Regards,
Uli

[Brian Gaff]

Is it true do you think that those in the current generation do not know the
joys of stereo any more, through listening to music on crappy mobile phones?

Brian

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From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"Ulrich Onken" <news-1411...@spamgourmet.com> wrote in message

news:cot156...@mid.individual.net...

[tony sayer]

In article <mgddtr$rer$1...@dont-email.me>, Brian Gaff
<brian...@gmail.com> scribeth thus

>Is it true do you think that those in the current generation do not know the
>joys of stereo any more, through listening to music on crappy mobile phones?
> Brian
>

Yes Brian I rather think your quite right in your assumptions, thats all
I see of them around.

iphone or similar and one ear-phone thats all they know;(...
--
Tony Sayer

[Jim Lesurf]

In article <mgddtr$rer$1...@dont-email.me>, Brian Gaff <brian...@gmail.com>

wrote:

> Is it true do you think that those in the current generation do not know
> the joys of stereo any more, through listening to music on crappy mobile
> phones?

Well, sales of fancy 'designer' headphones have boomed. What people listen
to, and their awareness of audio quality are different issues, though. Many
of the headphones seem to be keen on 'pump up the bass'... But with luck
people will graduate to finding good sound quality.

Jim

--
Electronics http://www.st-and.ac.uk/~www_pa/Scots_Guide/intro/electron.htm
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html

[Dave Liquorice]

On Sun, 12 Apr 2015 10:30:28 +0100, Brian Gaff wrote:

> Is it true do you think that those in the current generation do not know
> the joys of stereo any more, through listening to music on crappy mobile
> phones?

Eh? The D to A in my phone is pretty damn good and that's taking the
headphone out into a casette adapter in the car! The files are around
170 kbps VBR MP3's.

What they use to convert the electrical signal into an acoustic one
and the relationship to the ear is the problem. Things stuffed into
your ears don't give the same "sound stage" as loud speakers. For me
headphones/ear buds only produce a sound stage within my head, not
out in front (or around) me that loudspeakers do.

With the exception of some binural recordings I played with which
produce a very accurate 3D sound stage, ie up down/front back/left
right.

--
Cheers
Dave.

[Dave Liquorice]

On Sun, 12 Apr 2015 11:13:58 +0100, Jim Lesurf wrote:

> Many of the headphones seem to be keen on 'pump up the bass'...

Well of course 20 mW of power stuffed into your ears doesn't give the
same chest and gut thumping that 100 W RMS into decent sized air
shifting speakers does.

> But with luck people will graduate to finding good sound quality.

They might but a lot of "Consumer HiFi" these days only has little
boxy bookshelf speakers that sound, well, "boxy". We have a pair of
Wharfedale Denton XP2's dating from the 1980's (or maybe 70's), these
are sealed "bookshelf" speakers but have a far better sound than the
ported things that came with the "hifi". I'd use them but our
bookshelves are just that little bit too small to take 'em. B-(

--
Cheers
Dave.

[Brian Gaff]

Yeah, Adventures in Binaural, by JVC on vinyl was quite fun.
Then I went to a bbc demo of it and tht was nowhere near as good.
Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email: bri...@blueyonder.co.uk
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________


"Dave Liquorice" <allsortsn...@howhill.com> wrote in message
news:nyyfbegfubjuvyypb...@srv1.howhill.co.uk...

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message <nyyfbegfubjuvyypb...@srv1.howhill.co.uk>, Dave

Liquorice <allsortsn...@howhill.com> writes:
>On Sun, 12 Apr 2015 10:30:28 +0100, Brian Gaff wrote:
>
>> Is it true do you think that those in the current generation do not know
>> the joys of stereo any more, through listening to music on crappy mobile
>> phones?
>
>Eh? The D to A in my phone is pretty damn good and that's taking the
>headphone out into a casette adapter in the car! The files are around
>170 kbps VBR MP3's.

(I use same, but from my satnav - which spends far more time as an mp3
player than a satnav, since I know my journey to and from work well
enough!) Though in car probably isn't the _best_ environment.

>
>What they use to convert the electrical signal into an acoustic one
>and the relationship to the ear is the problem. Things stuffed into
>your ears don't give the same "sound stage" as loud speakers. For me
>headphones/ear buds only produce a sound stage within my head, not
>out in front (or around) me that loudspeakers do.

I agree; my old Solavox (I think it was one of Amstrad's aliases!)
three-unit no-port boxes, despite not being _that_ big nor any great
pretence at hi-fi, still give me better sound (I have them connected to
my telly, though sometimes listen to [via Freeview] radio through them)
than most alternatives I have.

>
>With the exception of some binural recordings I played with which
>produce a very accurate 3D sound stage, ie up down/front back/left
>right.
>

Yes, I was going to say headphones _can_ give a good stage, especially -
as you say - recordings that are made for them. I have (somewhere!) a
double LP of sounds of Berlin made by one of the radio stations there
(before reunification; might have been RIAS, or SFB, but might not),
which is excellent (but has to be listened to on 'phones). It's not the
set pieces, like the demolition, that catch you out - there's one bit
just recorded in a department store, which is a you-could-be-there
moment. These were "dummy head" recordings, that _do_ give full 3D.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Who were your favourite TV stars or shows when you were a child? Sadly they've
all been arrested ... Ian Hislop, in Radio Times 28 September-4 October 2013