Real Player Radio Pass connection

[Trumpetmaster]

T/M

How much trouble is it to convert the home to wi-fi so I can set up a radio similar to those so I can listen to B.com 24/7 without being tied to the computer?

Also, is there such a thing as a wi-fi adapter that plugs into the home stereo aux input jack that will allow one to listen to internet radio over your existing stereo system? I've found internet radio receivers readily available, but not an adapter to wire the home stereo for internet.

V/R
Shapley

Shapley,
I'm not an expert in wi-fi... I'll check around and see if anyone here has that type of knowledge.
I do know when they were discussing wireless voip there would be equipment that would be setup
outside of a house to receive the signal..... it wound up to be expensive so it was put on hold for now....

I have not seen adapters such as you mention..... However, maybe Radio Shack may have something like that as I recall... I had a wireless unit plugged into my cable TV and hooked up to a
TV in another room that did not have the coax..... it's worth a shot.....

Regards,
TM

[Trumpetmaster]

Just a guess on my part, but it could be that a bit rate limit could be imposed by your company's firewall. Since the RP stream has a lot higher bit rate than the WMP stream, it could exceed the threshold point.

Which means you'll have to get your company's IT department to do you a favor (fat chance of that happening).

Can you get any streaming video such as NASA TV?

Barfle,

I work in IT for a cable company that is an ISP provider... so there is no bit rate limit
through the firewall for us here in the office.

and I can get the steaming video on that url....

I'm stuck,... if it cannot be resolved I'll have to cancel my RP subscription and
just keep listening on WMP.....

Regards,
TM

[barfle]

How much trouble is it to convert the home to wi-fi so I can set up a radio similar to those so I can listen to B.com 24/7 without being tied to the computer?

It's not hard at all. You buy a device called a router with 802.11g capability. It will have a transmitter/receiver in it (802.11g, and there may be a later specification, is a wireless networking protocol) that you will want to set up with a reasonable level of security, which is done through a browser on a computer connected to the router. I suspect you already have a router in your home, and this would replace it. You can get a brand new one for under $200.

Also, is there such a thing as a wi-fi adapter that plugs into the home stereo aux input jack that will allow one to listen to internet radio over your existing stereo system? I've found internet radio receivers readily available, but not an adapter to wire the home stereo for internet.

Actually, I've been looking for a wifi receiver so bar can listen to her Los Angeles talk radio stations without having to lug her laptop all over the house. It doesn't seem like rocket science, but I know I spent some time about a year ago looking for such a device.

The best solution I can provide for your situation is a wired connection between your computer and your audio system. I don't do that because the PCs are noisy and if they are out of the room, I have ground loop issues that I'm too loaded up with projects to deal with right now (having spent the last three weeks trying to get Verizon to provide me with a wireless router that actually works - it seemed to be working last night, but I'll get bar's report when I get home tonight).

[barfle]

I work in IT for a cable company that is an ISP provider... so there is no bit rate limit through the firewall for us here in the office.

and I can get the steaming video on that url....

I'm stuck,... if it cannot be resolved I'll have to cancel my RP subscription and
just keep listening on WMP.....

Regards,
TM

If you're working in IT there's probably not much I can tell you that you don't already know, except that some firewall settings do restrict some web sites. I have "parental restriction" settings on my router. I know we got an email recently about a lot of activity on utube and myspace and a few other sites like that, but not beethoven (although their restrictions on streaming media pops in and out seemingly on whims).

[Shapley]

Looks like there is such a device:

Phillips SL400i WiFi Enabled Multimedia Entertainment.

This did not come up the last time I Googled, but I think I included the term "WiFi" this time, which I didn't include before.


WiFi radios are apparently quite common. Here's one: Acoustic Energy WiFi Network Audio Player.

Most of these seem to have the audio capability of a desktop radio, which should be fine for talk radio or listening in the kitchen. There may be better ones (does Bose make one?), but buying another radio seems a bit much, given that I have so many. I just need a way to get the signal from the internet to one (or more) of them.

Thanks.

V/R
Shapley

[barfle]

The Philips device looks pretty cool. I have a media manager program that lets me make slide shows and audio playlists on my PC and play them through my set top box, but this is the first one I've seen with web streaming capability. I wonder if it does Real?

Actually, any device I would hook into my audio system wouldn't need to be wifi, as I have cable strung all over the house (as you might imagine).

[Trumpetmaster]

I was just about to cancel my RP subscription when I decided to muck around and
try just about ANYTHING to get it to work.

OMG - Through trial and error I found out what the problem is....
If any of you go through a firewall from your office and all of a sudden
you cannot get the b.com stream, check the following in RP.

Go to:

Tools - Select Preferences
Click on Network Transports under "Connections"
Look to the right side of the box and check use specific UDP Ports(I read on the RP site there was a specific port to use when experiencing firewall issues)
type in the following string 8080,8081 and click OK.
As soon as I did this the B.com RP 96KBPS stream came back.
The string that was in there for me was 7070,7071 and was greyed out.
When you click on use specific UDP ports you have the option to make the change.
It appears RP changed ports and this is what caused this issue.

Unbelievable they could not figure this out.....

I also want to thank Chris H. for all his assistance helping me through
these issues.

Regards,
TM

[Shapley]

I tried it just now. I have the 96Kb stream.

The real test will be the reliability of the stream. I've been listening to WMP all day today, as the Real stream was intermittent this morning.

Thanks for the tip!

V/R
Shapley

[Trumpetmaster]

I tried it just now. I have the 96Kb stream.

The real test will be the reliability of the stream. I've been listening to WMP all day today, as the Real stream was intermittent this morning.

Thanks for the tip!

V/R
Shapley

Shapley,
You're Welcome!
I have been listening without any interuptions..... (no jinx)
since doing this....
Did you have 7070,7071 as your default port connection?

Regards,
TM

[Shapley]

Did you have 7070,7071 as your default port connection?

Yes.

[Trumpetmaster]

Shapley,

I ran into some problems again the past few days with RP.
Kept telling me the connection was timing out...

Anyway, this morning instead of using port combo 8080,8081 or 7070,7071
I tried 7070 and 8080.

To my astonishment.... The 96KBPS B.com stream came up immediately...

Go figure???

Regards,
TM

[Shapley]

Mine timed out once since making the change. I logged back on through B.com with no difficulty.

If it becomes a problem, I'll keep your 'fix' in mind. Thanks.

[Shapley]

Well, I screwed up! I've had RealPlayer working fine for quite a while now. No complaints.

Then, as I was closing RealPlayer for the day, it advised me that an update was available. Against my better judgement, I accepted the offer and updated to the latest version. Now I cannot log onto B.com. Last week, I had to log on through the bulletin board. Today, I can't even do that, I get the 'please come back during broadcast hours' message, whether I log on through B.com's website or through the RealPlayer radiopass link.

V/R
Shapley

I'm listening on the free WMP stream today, with no difficulties...

[Trumpetmaster]

Shapley,

I did not take the "Update".
In fact... RP has been working very well the past few weeks...

Got into work this morning... tried to connect to B.com stream
and I get the error message that B.com is NOT ON THE AIR at this time.

Stream came right up on WMP...

Apparantly something changed to cause this.. what.. who knows...

I share your frustrations....

[CLarsen]

Hi All,

Unfortunately Real decided to discontinue the Beethoven RadioPass stream and apparently disconnected our encoder over the weekend before we could get a hold of our contact there. So it looks like the stream is down BUT we are working on another option that should be even better and much more reliable so stay tuned for that. Sorry for the trouble!

[Trumpetmaster]

Hi All,

Unfortunately Real decided to discontinue the Beethoven RadioPass stream and apparently disconnected our encoder over the weekend before we could get a hold of our contact there. So it looks like the stream is down BUT we are working on another option that should be even better and much more reliable so stay tuned for that. Sorry for the trouble!

Chris,

Is the other option with RP?
If not, please let us RPers know.. as I only subscribed to RP to listen to B.com.

Thanks,
TM

[Shapley]

Is the other option with RP?
If not, please let us RPers know.. as I only subscribed to RP to listen to B.com.

Same here. There's nothing else on RP worth listening to, IMHO.

Ain't that typicall? We just get Realplayer working without difficulty, and they cancel the stream. Jeez. If that is typical of corporate mentality, small wonder the economy is in trouble...

[Trumpetmaster]

If it ain't broke ....

[CLarsen]

Nope, the new options will NOT be with Real Player so if you like, you can cancel your RadioPass accounts. The new option will be subscription based, but using Windows and/or Winamp.

[Trumpetmaster]

Chris,

Thanks...

Cancelling my subscription... now!!

Regards,
TM