BBC Radio to restrict Internet broadcasts.

Tech, TV, Mobile, Internet and Geek Corner
1

My Internet radios, of which I have 4 plus one in the car, periodically make a polite announcement that the service will cease in mid-2023.

The BBC Sounds App, which works well on my phone in conjunction with a Bluetooth speaker (Ultimate Ears) will continue, but this won’t help the radios around the house.

This is not the first time the BBC has changed the format they stream with, but this seems a strong attempt to move to the Sounds App…

More info here:
https://bigtechquestion.com/2022/12/…2023-what-now/

2
Where I am, they have stopped already. Only BBC World News is still available e.g. on the TuneIn app, the rest has to go through Sounds.

3
My internet radio is making these periodic announcements too. Apparently newer IP radio’s will continue to work. Does anybody have a recommendation on what to buy to continue listening to BBC Radio 2 (real internet radio’s, not smart speakers)?

4
Private Eye have talked about this. Yes, it is a push to BBC sounds, and it is crazy given so many listeners do not have internet access!

Mind you, I already stream Radio 4 from the app on my phone, so it doesn't affect me.

5
Amazon Echos use TuneIn too. It's seamless. I just ask it to play "BBC Radio 4".

BBC content is being removed from TuneIn too though at the same time so with Amazon devices, you'll need to use the Alexa BBC Sounds skill.

Those with Internet radios may be able to get a firmware update to allow it to use the newer streaming protocols.

6
I’ve been using a Squeezebox Radio to listen to the Beeb (Radio Murkyside and 4 / 4 extra ) since 2010. The firmware streams over TuneIn so same problem.

Squeezebox has an accompanying Logitech Media Server one can install on a PC or Mac which has a BBC Sounds plug-in - but I have never tried this. Prefer the idea of the SB being a standalone device and for all the faff of LMS I can just as easily use BBC Sounds on my phone or tablet.

The Beeb also moved away from RSS-based podcasts, instead they want you to use Sounds to listen to things on catch-up.

Some of the enthusiasts on the Squeezebox Facebook group I read have installed LMS on an always-on Raspberry Pi - maybe I will try this once I have gotten around to the myriad other pending household chores.

Cheers,

Nick

7
I got lost at TuneIn, RSS, LMS and fruit pie. Does this mean my trusty Squeezebox basically dead?

8
Contact the manufacturer. What's the radio?

9

Sorry, I went into a bit of knowledge mode there.

The below is based on the Squeezebox Radio I have had since 2010. Things may vary for you if you have a different model.

By default, your Squeezebox radio connects via your home internet to servers at mysqueezebox.com which stream radio content to your radio - i.e. all the stations you are able to find using the dial / search function on your radio - which I am guessing is how you use it. My understanding is the mysqueezebox.com servers draw their content in turn from the popular TuneIn radio streaming service.

Additionally, there is the “Logitech Media Server” software (or LMS for short) you can download for your home computer from the Squeezebox website - https://mysqueezebox.com/ . Once installed on your home computer, you can connect your Squeezebox to LMS provided they are on the same WiFi and use it to stream e.g. music from iTunes and other media to your Squeezebox radio. Additionally, LMS has plugins you can install - some developed by Logitech, some by enthusiasts - for doing different kinds of things. You can also stream radio channels via LMS to your Squeezebox.

One of the available plug-ins for LMS which has been developed by an enthusiast allows you to stream BBC Sounds to your Squeezebox radio. I have never used this so I’m not able to comment on how well it works.

Since the BBC plan to discontinue streaming over TuneIn in March 2023, the only way after that you would be able to listen to BBC stations on your Squeezebox radio after that will be via the aforementioned plugin on LMS.

My own personal, and highly irrational objection to listening to BBC via the LMS / plugin route is I like the idea of the Squeezebox radio as a sort of standalone internet device - and I don’t want to have to switch on my laptop when I want to listen to Radio Murkyside, and at this point for me it’s just as easy to use the BBC Sounds App on tablet or phone.

Reading the Squeezebox group on Facebook, it seems quite a few enthusiasts have abandoned streaming via mysqueezebox.com and instead connect to LMS only running on their computer. Since LMS can be installed on Linux, this means it will run a Raspberry Pi computer ( https://www.raspberrypi.com/ ) and quite a few folks use this instead of having a desktop or laptop switched on all the time. I have never tried this.

Since Logitech took over Slimdevices, the original manufacturers of Squeezebox in 2006, they announced in 2012 they would discontinue support for the Squeezebox hardware and by implication the mysqueezebox.com service - which drove many users over to LMS. Reality is the mysqueezebox.com streaming service continues to be maintained by Logitech by what I imagine is a one-man-and-half-a-dog crew. For this reason, I would not expect the manufacturer to do anything in regard to the Beeb’s announcement.

Useful links on Squeezebox:

A forum for enthusiasts: https://forums.slimdevices.com/

Specific post about the BBC Sounds plugin - https://forums.slimdevices.com/forum…Sounds-Plugin=

On Twitter there is the @mysqueezebox page where you can reach out to Logitech’s SB team and report outages.

On Facebook there is the Squeezebox private group which is enthusiasts exchanging tips etc.

Hope this helps.

Nick

10
Many thanks for the noob explanation Nick! Mine is a Squeezebox XR001 also from around the same year as yours. As I need to have my PC turned on to make it work it kind of defeats the point of having a standalone radio like in the good old days 😊 If you or anybody else has any suggestions of a new radio that is compatible with the BBC please let me know.

11

If you have a smartphone or tablet, the BBC Sounds app works quite well. It also gives you access to past programmes on-demand and podcasts. I have been enjoying the “It’s a Fair Cop” podcasts lately.

In the “https://mysqueezebox.com” control centre (Favourites page) you can login and configure additional stations for your Squeezebox that are not part of the standard set on the radio dial. For example this is the URL for LBC if you want to get your daily Ferrari / O’Brien dose.

http://media-ice.musicradio.com/LBCLondon.m3u

Cheers,
Nick

12
I see that it was written in English, but I have no idea what you just wrote...

*Sigh* Seems I have missed a few generations of tech when it comes to radio. Every now and then, when I am feeling a bit maudlin, I listen to the Shipping forecast on BBC via Sounds. That seems to work, but other than that the British bland cooperation lives up to it ́s name.

Occasionally I will fire up my beloved 1946 Murphy 104 baffleboard wireless, I start to twiddle the dial on Longwave before tuning into MW, it ́s just static these days with only a few foreign stations, some with broadcasts in English. on clear and cold nights I have received broadcasts from really far away, like, Pacific islands far away. Then over to SW to find a few pearls in the sea of nothing, there are a few stations around the 49 meter band with a high gain, mostly Chinese or African stations with a few French and Italian thrown into the mix.

To me it seems that the rich heritage of broadcast methods and formats will be condensed to a single digital medium. I think we will lose a lot.

13
Have you considered one of the Amazon Echos - some of the more expensive ones have excellent sound at volume or you can bluetooth it to a standalone speaker.

If you have a few you can get them (like Sonos) to play the same radio station at the same time.

I listen to the radio a lot at home and for me, it's a brilliant solution.

14

Prompted by this thread I started looking at alternatives. You need to be careful before spending money. The Sonos speakers support BBC sounds but not outside the UK it seems:

https://support.sonos.com/en-nz/services/bbc-sounds

Not sure about Alexa et al - it seems the device needs to support the ability to login to a BBC account:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/qu…/international

Cheers,
Nick

15
My sonos playing all bbc stations and podcasts through BBC Sounds service just fine, at this moment...

16
If your device supports BBC sounds then it will work fine

17
I have several LMS servers running on Pis for many years, the home one with over 1TB of network FLAC files.

Tom

18
Looks like it happened today - none of my 4 Dual internet radios can receive BBC Radio. Other UK stations are still there. So it's the BNBC Sounds App and boom box from now on...

19
I can understand the Beeb want to rationalise stuff. I just like my Squeezebox that "looks like a radio". I can still listen to LBC on it and use the iPad or phone for morning fix of Radio Merseyside.

The Beeb do have some good output on R4 but I prefer to listen on catch-up these days, which is sad as in the olden days, the radio was on all day and you'd get to know stuff by being force-fed it.

20
I stopped listen to Radio 4 so much when my wife started pointing me towards interesting podcasts. Currently listening to A Very British Cult.