Question BBC Radio in Hi-Res?

[Kenneth Fernandes]

Currently, which Hi-Fi devices can exclusively stream BBC Radio channels like BBC Radio 1, 2 etc. in Hi-Res in 24 Bit 48/96 kHz or higher?

 

[nopiano]

My understanding is that the BBC doesn’t offer anything like that streaming quality.

The info here may help:-

What are the codecs, bitrates and protocols used for BBC radio online? | BBC Sounds

Since 2015, all of BBC radio's online content has been produced by the Audio Factory platform that provides the same quality and device support for all of our stations. Audio Factory is the BBC’s internal name for its audio streaming infrastructure. It is not related to the radio production...

www.bbc.co.uk

My Linn streamer reports AAC48kHz/16bit 320kbps for Radio 3, for example.

Radio Paradise in its various iterations is the only CD quality popular station I know of.

 

[SallyB]

Hi, I remember a couple of Naim streamers that I owned (Uniti2 and Muso) a few years back supported BBC Radio HD Channels, but unhelpfully I can’t remember the bitrates!

 

[My2Cents]

Currently, which Hi-Fi devices can exclusively stream BBC Radio channels like BBC Radio 1, 2 etc. in Hi-Res in 24 Bit 48/96 kHz or higher?

According to the link that nopiano posted, only BBC Radio 3 is currently streamed in HD.
It's not about the streaming devices but what is being streamed, perhaps this might be of interest?
There is plenty of variety to choose from!

CD Quality Internet Radio

How to listen to CD Quality Internet Radio in lossless FLAC with browsers and apps plus a list of CD Quality Internet Radio stations.

www.hiresaudio.online

A good quality receiver with a compatible antenna will also give you great sound quality.

 

[Deleted member 194101]

I'd love all UK radio stations to be streamed in CD quality (1411kbps) I'm sure there's plenty of available bandwidth on their servers and it amazes me how radio is such a neglected medium. I remember owning a Cambridge Audio DAB tuner and it gradually sounded worse and worse, as they crammed more stations into the available channels. I think some stations started at 192kbps and ended up at 64kbps. It sounded dreadful at the end. Internet radio is a fantastic opportunity to provide high quality music and speech, but seems to be stuck at mp3 quality here in the UK. There are exceptions, but it would be nice listening to your favourite stations in CD quality. Many people have decent internet speeds and there's so much kit available now to take advantage of FLAC and other high res formats.

 

[Revolutions]

I want hi-res radio 4. Melvyn Bragg giving me 40db of perfect bbc English hammering out of my floorstanders ❤️

 

[Gray]

I think some stations started at 192kbps and ended up at 64kbps. It sounded dreadful at the end.

Wasn't Planet Rock (or something) 64kbps and MONO?
I've still got a frisbee describing DAB as 'The Future Of Radio'.
What a pathetic future it turned out to be 🤨

 

[Kenneth Fernandes]

Hi, I remember a couple of Naim streamers that I owned (Uniti2 and Muso) a few years back supported BBC Radio HD Channels, but unhelpfully I can’t remember the bitrates!

Has BBC Studios partnered with Naim or other manufacturers, so the source, as well as the playback devices, have a seamless handshake in outputting Hi-Res 24 Bit 48/96 kHz or higher bit rates of live radio over the air? Don't they?

 

[tangledfeet]

I listen to 6Music (pretty much the only radio I listen to) using VLC and an m3u8 file that I have saved on my desktops and on all my Android devices:



The file itself has the text:

#EXTM3U
#EXT-X-VERSION:3
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF😛ROGRAM-ID=1,BANDWIDTH=339200,CODECS="mp4a.40.2"

http://as-hls-uk-live.akamaized.net/pool_904/live/uk/bbc_6music/bbc_6music.isml/bbc_6music-audio%3d320000.norewind.m3u8

Hope this might be of help, a bit of internet digging might find the same for the other stations.

EDIT... it isn't a smiley face... it is INF : P ROGRAM - just take out the spaces I've inserted to stop it converting it to an emoji!

 

[Kenneth Fernandes]

I listen to 6Music (pretty much the only radio I listen to) using VLC and an m3u8 file that I have saved on my desktops and on all my Android devices:

View attachment 7028

The file itself has the text:

#EXTM3U
#EXT-X-VERSION:3
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF😛ROGRAM-ID=1,BANDWIDTH=339200,CODECS="mp4a.40.2"

http://as-hls-uk-live.akamaized.net/pool_904/live/uk/bbc_6music/bbc_6music.isml/bbc_6music-audio%3d320000.norewind.m3u8

Hope this might be of help, a bit of internet digging might find the same for the other stations.

EDIT... it isn't a smiley face... it is INF : P ROGRAM - just take out the spaces I've inserted to stop it converting it to an emoji!

Is it a 32-bit depth audio track?

 

[tangledfeet]

Is it a 32-bit depth audio track?

Beyond the screenshot of the codec information I included I don't know; its just something I came across several years ago and have been using ever since.

Maybe this might help?

https://www.reddit.com/r/radio/comments/17hmoc8/bbc_radio_live_links_gone

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/radio/comments/17hmoc8/bbc_radio_live_links_gone/

 

[Kenneth Fernandes]

Beyond the screenshot of the codec information I included I don't know; its just something I came across several years ago and have been using ever since.

Maybe this might help?

https://www.reddit.com/r/radio/comments/17hmoc8/bbc_radio_live_links_gone

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/radio/comments/17hmoc8/bbc_radio_live_links_gone/

Ok.
Why doesn’t Radio 6 music play tracks from the UK official charts every week?

 

[tangledfeet]

Ok.
Why doesn’t Radio 6 music play tracks from the UK official charts every week?

You want Radio 1 for that.

6Music is, comparatively, for the more discerning listener... 😎

 

[nopiano]

Has BBC Studios partnered with Naim or other manufacturers, so the source, as well as the playback devices, have a seamless handshake in outputting Hi-Res 24 Bit 48/96 kHz or higher bit rates of live radio over the air? Don't they?

I’ve certainly not seen it, and that BBC group of web pages I linked to above is silent on it. Can you recall where you read it or heard about it?

 

[Kenneth Fernandes]

I’ve certainly not seen it, and that BBC group of web pages I linked to above is silent on it. Can you recall where you read it or heard about it?

Same, as what Revolutions said.

Streaming live BBC Radio channels in 32-bit on capable audio devices would be great, as currently, one could easily stream 4K episodes and movies over the internet without a doubt.

 

[Dave_]

Same, as what Revolutions said.

Streaming live BBC Radio channels in 32-bit on capable audio devices would be great,

It would be entirely pointless!

Lets be thankful the BBC aren't wasting licence fee payers money pandering to a small group of deluded audiophiles who think they're superhuman.

 

[Kenneth Fernandes]

It would be entirely pointless!

Lets be thankful the BBC aren't wasting licence fee payers money pandering to a small group of deluded audiophiles who think they're superhuman.

For that there could be a separate fee apart from the standard licensing cost per year. Just like on any video streaming platform including live TV, there is an additional premium for viewing 4K content.

 

[Dave_]

For that there could be a separate fee apart from the standard licensing cost per year. Just like on any video streaming platform including live TV, there is an additional premium for viewing 4K content.

That would require an act of parliament to change the way the BBC is funded.

It's never gonna happen.

 

[Kenneth Fernandes]

That would require an act of parliament to change the way the BBC is funded.

It's never gonna happen.

The cost would remain the same for streaming live radio in 32-bit then. Wouldn't it?

 

[nopiano]

It would be entirely pointless!

Lets be thankful the BBC aren't wasting licence fee payers money pandering to a small group of deluded audiophiles who think they're superhuman.

I wouldn’t have been so direct, but I have to say I agree. IIRC the BBC used 13bit encoding for decades for their FM broadcasts which are still excellent on the best transmissions.

Once a devoted FM fan, I now confess I use my tuner less than once a month, as I’m a complete convert to internet radio via my Linn DSM. The source is actually from an ‘aggregator’ (I think that’s the word) Linn recommend over TuneIn called Airable. I’m just glad they seem to get it right!

 

[Dave_]

For that there could be a separate fee apart from the standard licensing cost per year. Just like on any video streaming platform including live TV, there is an additional premium for viewing 4K content.

Again, it would require an act of parliament, and a change to the way the BBC is funded....

The BBC, it's supporters, an the commercial operators are totally opposed to that.

It's never going to happen and it would be an entirely pointless endeavour given there's zero benefit to listeners.

 

[Kenneth Fernandes]

I wouldn’t have been so direct, but I have to say I agree. IIRC the BBC used 13bit encoding for decades for their FM broadcasts which are still excellent on the best transmissions.

Once a devoted FM fan, I now confess I use my tuner less than once a month, as I’m a complete convert to internet radio via my Linn DSM. The source is actually from an ‘aggregator’ (I think that’s the word) Linn recommend over TuneIn called Airable. I’m just glad they seem to get it right!

13-bit? Currently, the CD quality 16-bit audio already sounds like a big vacuum hole in the middle of the full frequency range to me, where the details are lost, alongside the loudness to compensate for the loss.

32-bit audio, for both live as well as in recorded formats, would be great with compatible audio devices.

 

[Kenneth Fernandes]

Again, it would require an act of parliament, and a change to the way the BBC is funded....

The BBC, it's supporters, an the commercial operators are totally opposed to that.

It's never going to happen and it would be an entirely pointless endeavour given there's zero benefit to listeners.

Then the cost would change based on the current year's inflation rate, taking all other things into consideration too.

 

[Kenneth Fernandes]

I’m a complete convert to internet radio via my Linn DSM.

For instance, on the product page of the Next-generation Klimax DSM, a dedicated 32-bit live radio streaming app (availability based on regions) could be added in the future release or via a software update when fully implemented from the source to the playback.

 

[Minkey1]

Puzzled why some forum members are so dogmatic. “I don’t value it, so no-one should get it” 🤔

I’m currently enjoying UHD content from iPlayer. Not everyone has the kit or bandwidth to do the same. Should BBC revert to SD and 425 lines and “dumb down” so everybody gets the same?

A funding model harking back to the days of dog licences and requiring me to pay it so the wife can watch Corrie live, enforceable via the courts, is simply no longer viable. The yield from it is reducing and the generations coming don’t use live TV in the same way.

I hope to see its demise. I’d be happy to subscribe for its drama and natural world stuff. News, current affairs, and sport (with its opinionated presenters) can go swing for me 🤷🏼