Most of the visitors here use Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer and Windows Media player to listen to streams. For reasons I don’t fully appreciate, the testing opportunity seems to be attractive to people who are anti-Microsoft and want to prove to me just how much Firefox sucks for streaming audio.
So, if you’re going to test and not fill my inbox with broken stream reports I can’t fix, please have the following on your computer:
- A broadband connection (DSL, Cable, 3G Wirelsss) – dialup won’t cut it. Some streams will work fine with only dialup, but most won’t
- Windows XP or later
- Internet Explorer 8
- a properly configured MP3 player that supports AAC+ streams (WinAmp, iTunes or VLC)
- Microsoft Silverlight
- Flash – almost every computer has it these days, expect for the iPhone/Pad
Optional things: Rarely needed
- Quicktime (mostly used by stations using Apple PCs for streaming)
- RealPlayer – used by fewer and fewer stations – 10+ years ago, Realplayer was giving away server software free to non-profits (public radio and universities), but most have dropped support once they figured out what Free really meant
- Flip4Mac – if you’re on a Mac, the long standing fight between Apple and Microsoft has you in the crossfire. Many streams need Windows Media Player and Microsoft gave up trying to make WMP and Internet Explorer work on the Mac. Flip4Mac is not a paid piece of software that can play some (but not all) Windows Media streams on a Mac
- VLC – if you’re on the geeky side, VLC can often figure out how to play misconfigured or otherwise odd things. If you’re the type of person who needs a manual or is confused by regular expressions, VLC is not for you.
- Java – not the same as Javascript. Java is distributed by Sun (now part of Oracle) – Java is growing out of favor, in part because of a legal dispute between Sun and Microsoft – but some players like streamon still use it
- Firefox – yes I have heard of it
Unfortunately, many of the things that protect your privacy also prevent some streams from working – specifically if you try to block Flash cookies, block third party cookies or have InPrivate filtering turned on, some streams will fail to start – most notably any uStream things. Overly aggressive settings on antivirus software or your firewall may also cause issues.
If you’re using Linux, I am not interested when you have a problem. Choosing to use Linux was your decision, and if you don’t know how to rebuild your kernel and find appropriate players, I’m not your tech support.
iPhones and iPads should work IF you have purchased the ooTunes app – but if a particular stream doesn’t work, you need to tell ooTunes, since they control the configuration of their software. Some streams may work with the free fstream app, but it’s a pain to use. Tunein works for many streams, but not all – but you have to run the app to use it. Tunein and I don’t have a technical arrangement in place to launch their player, although if they’re reading this, drop me an email and let’s talk.
Andriod, Blackberry, PDA and other cell phone users are going to be pretty much on your own until/unless someone volunteers to deal with those questions. I don’t own any of those devices, so have no way to confirm what works or doesn’t work. Some radio stations are realizing they need to be smartphone friendly, but most are not there yet.