More streaming options… by Ben Matthew

18Dec

56 We like new stuff at Absolute. Today sees us launch three new streaming formats for listening to our stations online. You can find them at http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/listen/on_your_computer.html

AAC+, also called HE-AAC or High Efficiency Advanced Audio Codec, sounds really good at low bitrates so it’s brilliant for listening on your mobile phone. We’ve started off with a 48k stream which is being used in our new Clock Radio apps. You can play it on your computer with WinAMP or VLC Media Player. Have a read here if you want more technical details.

Because AAC+ is not playable on all mobile devices we have also sorted out a Quicktime friendly MP3 stream.  Try out the new links here: http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/listen/on_your_mobile.html

Finally, and most interestingly, we’ve also launched a OGG-FLAC option for you lot who are after listening to us in the best quality possible. FLAC compression is entirely “lossless” which means when it’s decoded on your computer it is exactly the same as it started out. This means you are effectively getting a direct feed from our studio! The downside is it takes a lot of internet connectivity; averaging around 1Mbit/sec so best not to use it if your broadband provider limits your usage. Check first!

Have fun and let us know what you think of our new formats.

Categories: Technology
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Posted by adam on December 18, 2009

Comments (3)

  1. Michael (SQFreak) @ December 19, 2009 at 4:18 am | Permalink

    Thanks for the FLAC stream! It’s great to listen to my favo(u)rite radio station in pristine quality. I’ve got a 6Mbps connection, so it works fine, except I’d imagine I’ll run into problems at peak times when the network congestion gets bad.

  2. Senior @ December 21, 2009 at 3:24 pm | Permalink

    When I click on a flack stream, Ben Jones says there is currently a problem with the stream and that I should choose a different stream instead. Can you please fix the problem so it’ll work in Winamp?

  3. Niko @ December 22, 2009 at 8:34 am | Permalink

    Actually, I always encounter that problem message with the (finally better-sounding) AAC stream. And at certain times, too: at midnight BST, and at around noon. (Before, it used to sound at exactly 4.15am.)

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