Technical Information
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Players/Formats |
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Almost all internet audio webcasts are streamed using the RealOne format or the Windows Media format. Where possible we show what format a stream is in when we provide linking information. A few sites offer the stream in multiple formats. We suggest you install both players on your computer. They are available as free downloads, using links shown below. The only cost is disk space. The only other format we've found in regular use is Shout!, based on MP3. It seems to provide a more reliable connection and better sound than the "big two". It is difficult to be certain as there are so few examples, but the feed from Inter Milan is very reliable. Either of the two main players can handle these Shout! webcasts, although we recommend WinAmp if you often listening to this format, (or otherwise listen to a lot of MP3 files). WinAmp has a lot less clutter, starts much more quickly, and takes up fewer of your computer's resource when runing. Links for WinAmp are also provided further down this page. |
The reliablity and quality of Webcasts are very inconsistent from stations to station. There are so many variables involved in webcasting, ranging from constantly evolving software and format standards to differing qualities of web connections. As you explore broadcasting on the Web you will have to be patient and expect quirks. Generally speaking it seems that the quality of the audio and the reliability of the connections have been improving consistently over the past few years.
Webcasts are not like radio broadcasts. Each feed is limited to a maximum number of listeners. Generally the smaller clubs and smaller broadcasters allow just a few simultaneous listeners. The expense of serving a greater number of requests increases greatly. (I believe the free version of RealOne's server software allows up to ten streams, but beyond that the providers have to pony up real money).
This is not much of an issue with feeds associated with large web streaming operation carrying hundreds of stations.
There will be times when a feed has gaps in the signal. Usually this occurs if you either have either a slow connection or when internet traffic is high in your area. The only solution to this is to try again later or look at improving your connection to the internet.
If a RealOne server is full and can't handle your request you will see a message saying "This server has reached it's capacity for the requested url." The Microsoft player will tell you something similar. Once you encounter this message, you may be out of luck, although you can retry again every few minutes, you may be able to get in when somebody else decides to stop listening.
Some webcasts are streamed specifically for the match, and just the match, often from the club website. In this case about all you can do to prevent being left out is to try to connect shortly before kickoff. Other webcasts are web feeds of a radio station, and are often available around the clock. In this case you can connect well ahead of time and minimize the chance of being left out.
If you are looking for major matches involving big teams from Spain or Italy, connect well ahead of time. If you're looking for matches from Argentina, and you can't connect to one station, two or three other stations are likely to be carrying the major matches at the same time.
It is generally quite possible to get an acceptable audio feed using a 56k modem with a good connection. If the connection is not good or the modem can't synch at full speed you may find the sound stops and starts. As broadband connections have become more common and broadcasters have upgraded their signals to take advantage, we have found that 56k connections have become less reliable. With broadband access, like DSL or Cable Modem, once you connect to a station the interruptions are not as common unless you are connecting to a small or very remote station.
It is advisable, if you have paid for Broadband, to make sure you are in fact getting what you are paying for. Here is a link to various speec check tools accessed if you click here. Since there is a significant margin of error because of the varying level of internet traffic, you should run this test few times over several days, and at various times of day.
When you install the player software, you may see the minimum system requirements. It is important to recognize that these are really bare minimums. If you have a 28k modem and 16 mg of RAM, the player programs will probably run as they say, but it will be marginal . 56k with 64 mg is a more reasonable minimum. If you want to run anything other programs on your computer at the same time, 128 mg is not a bad idea. These days computers typically have significantly more memory and have little trouble processing a webcast and other programs simultaneously.
One of the most common problem people experience when they first attempt to listen to streaming audio (and video) is a "cannot connect to file" message. Most of the times this happens when people are trying to connect through a firewall, corporate server or through a proxy. If this is the case then contact your system administrator (assuming of course that it is not against your employer's policy to listen to webcasts) and ask them to configure the incoming port for audio.
Current versions of Windows come with "Windows
Media®
Player 10", the latest release. This version is also available
by download from the Windows Update page or by clicking the logo below. The
player requires Windows 98 or later or NT 4.5 or later. Some of the newest
features
only work
with
Window
XP.
(
If you have a version of Windows earlier than Windows 98 you can try version
6.4. However many stream providers assume Windows
users have, at least, Windows 98. (Less than 1% of the visits by Windows users
to this website since 2001 have originated from pre-Win98 systems).
The 9 Series player for the MacIntosh is also available from this link for OS X. Version 7 is available for OS versions earlier than OS X but at least 8.1. Apparently versions are no longer available for earlier Mac systems, as well as Solaris and some pocket/palm systems.
To get a copy of the RealOne player, Click the logo:
IMPORTANT: The prominent player on offer, called RealOne Player Plus on this page, costs about $30. They also promote the RealOne superpass for about $10 monthly. The also offer free trials, but ask for credit card data and will start to bill you when the free trial ends if you don't specifically cancel, so be careful. The extra features may be worth the money for some, they carry most NBA and WNBA games, practically every Major League Baseball game, and a lot of other news and entertainment channels. (* Because the SuperPass packages vary by region of the world, if you do join up you should check the options carefully. Apparently in some parts of Europe the UEFA ActionPass is included, in others it is not *)
The free program will do everything you need to listen to radio webcasts. The primary advantage of the paid version is the ten band equalizer (the free one comes with an acceptable 3 band equalizer), as well as the ability to play WindowsMedia format streams and QuickTime streams. With the latest version you can also pause and rewind, so if you are interupted for five minutes, you can continue listening to what was happening five minutes ago.
You will have to check the page carefully for the free version. It will be displayed there, but not prominently.
They offer a Windows version of the player. Requires Windows 95 or later or
NT 4.0 with Service Pack 4.
Minimum requirements for Windows:
350MHz Intel Pentium II processor or equivalent
64MB of RAM(128MB on Windows XP or later)
52MB available disk space
28.8Kbps modem (audio only)
16-bit sound card and speakers
Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0
with Service Pack 6 or later(playback only), Windows 2000 with Service Pack
2 or later, or Windows XP
Internet Explorer Version 5 or later
Earlier versions are available on their website.
They also offer a Mac version. It requires OS 8.1 or later, recommends
at least 8.5.
Minimum requirements forMacintosh:
Mac OS 8.1 or later, 32 MB RAM, 65MB virtual memory, 604 PowerPC (200 MHz or
better), Internet connection, Browser support: Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01
or later or Netscape 4.05 or later.
Some are occassionally advertised as "available with SuperPass". Super Pass is a monthly subscription service that costs $20 each month. Apparently it includes a lot of US sport feeds, including Major League Baseball and NBA Basketball. The UEFA site shows that, if you have purchased a "RealOne Superpass", you get Champion's League feeds for free. But US "SuperPass" members are unable to access the feeds. It appears that there are a variety of different "SuperPass" programs worldwide, and only the "UK" program and the "Any other European Country" program offer the UEFA pass, but if you join, for example, the USA program, you will NOT get these feeds.
(Even if you don't need it for this purpose, I recommend installing the program even if it's just for listening to MP3 files. It is a compact quick launching program. It's much better than the one provided by Microsoft. It doesn't hog nearly as much of your system resources. If you want it it is free. Click the logo. However read note about "New Version", below, first.
Version 3 of WinAmp was released in 2002. Apparently this version was intended to replace the 2.x series, but was a totally new program, not an enhanced version of the old reliable WinAmp. That version 3 had some very sophisticated features, but was rushed out quickly and was plagued with bugs and sloppy coding.
Version 5.0 has been released, an update based primarily on 2.x. As far as we can tell this is the only version currently available from WinAmp/NullSoft, and is pretty good, much better than version 3.
Minimum system requirements
Apparently earlier work on a MacIntosh version has been cancelled.
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SoundJam for the MacIntosh is apparently a well regarded audio player for MP3 and other formats. They offer a Free version, and for a payment a "Plus" version. |
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XMMS is clearly the most respected audio tool for Unix, and has essentially the same feature set as WinAmp. I don't know Linix, but it seems if you do you are likely to already have this program. Otherwise click the icon to get it. |
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We have not come across streams that use the Apple Quicktime player, but if you encounter any you can get the program by clicking the logo |
Many of the webcast links are not live until the 'pregame' starts being broadcast. If you connect before the coverage begins you may sometimes see a message such as "file not found", "bad link" or the like. In this case just try again closer to kickoff. You may hear a message saying that there is no broadcast currently available. If this happens you should shut down your player completely and re-open it again closer to the match start time.
Depending on your connection speed, the speed of the provider, and general internet congestion, it can take up to a minute to connect.
The players use buffering to minimize signal interruptions caused by the inconsistent speed at which data flows across the internet. With little buffering, when network congestion is heavy you will probably notice interruptions in the audio because there is no information for the player to play. With the buffer, when network traffic interrupts the stream, the player can fill those gaps with information held in buffer. Only when the congestion is prolonged and severe will all information in the buffer be used and the sound will be interrupted. I have found that I rarely experience interruptions from most broadcasters when using the default buffering for both players.
If you see messages like 'net congestion, buffering' it mean that what was in your buffer got used up faster than the incoming signal could refill it. The sound will almost always stop. If you have a significant buffer set up, there isn't much you can do about this. However if you are simultaneously downloading e-mail or other files, browsing the internet or otherwise using your internet connection for other transfers, that could the cause of the problem. The fewer other program you have actively while you are listening, the better the results, particularly programs that use the internet.
Cacheing is necessary. As a result it is not usually practical to listen to a match on the web while watching the same match on live TV. With the recent versions of the streaming software feeding the broadcast, and recent versions of your player, and an excellent connection to the internet, you may find the delay to be acceptable.
Should you lose your connection during commentary, you may be able to press the "Play" button to resume the connection. Often though it seems to work best if you close down your player, and then reopening it using the original link.
You can record
a streaming broadcast and save it
to your file. The program we use to do this
is called "Total
Recorder".
(this is for Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000 and XP)
Here's how they describe the basic concept:
Total Recorder uses a virtual sound driver to capture the sound output from another program. By installing this driver, and setting this device as the default, different sound reproducing programs send their output stream to Total Recorder's driver and not to the driver of a real device. Total Recorder then passes the information to the sound card driver.
In addition to streaming audio, this program is capable of recording anything else that runs through your computer sound card such as microphone input, line-in input from a record player, CDs, DVDs, and internet phone calls. The system also allows scheduling recordings, you can set the program to start recording when a match is scheduled to kickoff.
With easily available free drivers, they support Ogg Vorbis, MP3 and WAV format, and if you have Window Media Player installed, you can use Windows Media Audio (.wma) format.
In the Professional edition
- The ability to launch any application with the Total Recorder scheduler.
- Editing
support to delete parts of a recording, append a sound file or insert it
anywhere
within
a recording
- The capability of launching the audio stream as part of
a scheduled recording.
- Capability to shutdown the PC after a scheduled recording is completed.
- Support to initiate and terminate the dial-up connection for
an
Internet
recording
- Graphic Equalizer and Spectrum Analyzer added in current versions.
In order to schedule recordings, the program has a built in browser which lets you look around the internet and 'harvest' links, and then enter them in a "Play adddress" box on screen.
The best way to harvest these addresses from SoccerAudio.COM is to go to any of the links that immediately launch webcasts (usually the "Listen Live" button). Right click over the link, and select "Copy Shortcut". Then paste this shortcut into Total Recorder's "Play address" box.
The basic price of the product is $11.95. The Professional edition is $35.95. If you already own the basic edition you can upgrade to the Pro edition for is $24. The full price is $35.95. If you paid for a previous version you can download the new release and use the same activation key to use it at no charge.
At an extra charge they have an add-on feature of particular value for people who want to digitize their tape or vinyl music collection (removing clicks, pops and hisses).
To get the program, or for more information, click the link.
| Total Recorder |
With the product, they provide thorough documentation in a "Word" file. You can download the file and read about the program before you decide to purchase. They have a trial versioni, which will only record for about a forty seconds, which lets you try every feature and fully evaulate it, but not make practical use unless you pay.
The company has also prepared excellent information on computer audio which you can read if you click here.
The program inherently only supports the WAV format, which generates huge files. You surely want to use a compressed format, such as the MP3 format, so your drive doesn't overflow. Even with MP3, depending on your settings, a match could fill more than 10 megs of disk space. If you have version 9.0 (or later) of the Windows media player the program now supports that format automatically. We know that Ogg Virbis is highly regarded, roughly equivalent to MP3 but arguably superior. We have not tried either WMA or Ogg Vorbis simply because MP3 worked initially and we haven't taken the time.
Since Total Recorder does not come with an MP3 encoder, you will have to find one yourself or use another format.
The solution that worked for us when we initially installed for MP3 was to download and install a free CD Ripper called CDex.
NOTE: If you ever want to copy an audio CD to MP3 format on you computer, this free program does a great job. And if you've gathered MP3s from sites such as Napster, and have a CD burner, CDex also will converts MP3s back to WAVs--which is required some of the more popular programs for burning music CDs.)
Once you have CDex installed you will find that the "LAME" MP3 encoder is also installed. It seems that there is no practical e problem with using the MP3. Back in 1999 the developers of the mp3 algorithm challenged the rights of third parties to develop and freely distribute mp3 code, such as the Lame DLLs. What happened since 1999 is unclear, but the use of MP3 has obviously continued..
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Click the Icon, download the program, and install version 1.51. It's
Free. |
The lower the bit rate, the less disk space required for the resulting file. We tried the setting that would create the smallest file. (8kbits, 8,000 hz) The sound was listenable, but noticably worse than the original feed.
We have been using 32 kbits/second 16,000 Hz, Mono and the results have been very good. At this setting the file size of a recording is approximately 14 megabytes per hour.
You can set the program to suspend recording when the feed is silent. Interruptions because of network congestion will be removed from the recording. Although you will have sudden jumps in your recording, you won't have prolonged silence. The program seems to know when the signal is truly lost. It does not seem to stop recording when some broadcasts feed total silence during halftime.
If you want to capture a match when you are away from home, Total Recorder has a built in timer, which enables you to set your system to begin recording a station while you are away. If you are using the Standard edition, simply start the stream early, set up total recorder to begin taping when you want it to, and go out. It gets even better with the Professional Edition. Sometimes you can't launch the web stream in advance because it isn't there until close to kickoff. With the Professional Edition you can provide the link to the stream, and Total Recorder will launch that stream just before the recording begins. (The professional edition also supports attaching to dial up connections as it works to establish the launch of the webcast.)
While we strongly recommend the Professional Edition, it is over three times
as expensive as the Standard Edition and may not be worth the expense, particularly
if you don't use the features often. It is pretty easy to set up the launch
of a webstream using the scheduler available as part of Windows.
Here's how to do it, as explained by Kevin Rutherford:
1) Go the web link that you would click on to start the webcast. Right click
the link. Select from the drop down menu "Save Target As.." Then
save the link to a location where you can easily find it, such as your desktop.
2) Double click on Task Scheduler in your System Tray in the lower right hand
corner. This will start the Task Scheduler Wizard. When the Wizard asks for
the program you wish to schedule select the "Browse" button and browse
to the location of the link you saved in step one, above. After selecting the
saved link continue with the Wizard setting up the date and time.
Thats all there is to it. This will only start the required player. It will
not stop it.
Of course, it will only work with a consistent reliable stream. If the stream stops, as sometimes happens, and you aren't there to restart it, the recording will not be made.
We have heard of two other programs that are similar to Total Recorder. We haven't tried them. You can click the logos below:
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Ant there is at least one recording tool available
for the Mac: |
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Some streams, such as the English Premier League broadcasts on BBC Five Live, are geographically restricted. In this particular case, the BBC does not have the right to distribute these broadcasts outside the United Kingdom. Occassionally it is possible to directly connect to such broadcasts because the technical definition of IP address locations is sometimes difficult to map to geographic borders. Sometimes the source stations neglect to activate the restrictions, and depending on how the restrictions are imposed, some people get lucky if they connect many hours ahead of time. However usually it is nearly impossible to overcome these restrictions.
With some effort, it is possible to access some of these sorts of feeds through Proxy Servers located in the region where the streams are available..
Proxy servers have generally been set up around the world primarily to enable people to connect to the internet without being identifiable and prevent some kinds of hacker attacks. Apparently they can provide performance benefits by caching frequently used internet pages. If you want to find out more about other benefits there is plenty of information out on the internet.
In the case of geographically restricted streams, what proxy servers do is enable you to connect to the stream through that server, the stream being provided back to that server (in the case of Five Live a server in the UK), and then relayed back to you.
We have tried, and suceeded, in connecting to the restricted Five Live streams. It takes some time and patience, once you find a list of servers in the UK you will probably have to try several before one works.
We have learned about one website that explains this all a lot more completely
that we can, and might enable you to connect to regionally restricted webcasts.
If you find a particular match you want to hear, have more patience and persistence
than money, and enjoy this sort of sleuthing you will probably succeed.
(Our subjective view, unless you enjoy the details of exploring what you can
do with the internet, you'll save a lot of time and hear a lot more matches
if you pay the modest fees charged by "world" and "servecast" affiliated teams
in England.)
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If you work with a website of links, similar to this one, let me recommend
a tremendous simple tool. |
Offerings from "The Free Dictionary" web feed site.
