All change on the BBC app train
- Thread starter Man in a van
- Start date
Brown Bottle
UTB
I don't like navigating the BBC sounds App.
Cheers BB
Cheers BB
Whatsisnaim
pfm Member
How depressing! I use iPlayer Radio a lot, and Sounds is just crap. Reduced functionality, and a mess to navigate round.
loz_the_guru
pfm Member
Agree with comments above. I also think iplayer radio is aesthetically much nicer/clearer
Whatsisnaim
pfm Member
On iPlayer you could choose between 3 different levels. On sounds, you just get what you're given. File sizes appear to be less than half that of the same download on the higher rate on iPlayer, so they must be lower res files.
Jim Audiomisc
pfm Member
I can't tell. iPlayer will provide 320k aac. But I don't know what "Zounds!" can provide for sure. Only that it seems when I've downloaded explit 'podcast' version in the past they were 128k mp3. However I've also been able to use 'get iplayer' to obtain these as 320k aac in many cases, but this means using a non-BBC method.
The lack of clarity for me is if this ends the iPlayer *app*, but leaves the rest of the iPlayer unaffected. If the entire iPlayer web interface is shut it would be a disaster! However TV ain't 'Zounds!'. so I'm hoping all that is going is the 'app' for mobile devices and mere computer users, etc, like me can still use iPlayer pages. Not clear yet, though.
Whatsisnaim
pfm Member
There was an update for the iPlayer iOS a few days ago, supposedly 'Minor bug fixes', I wonder if it was to plant a ticking time bomb in there.
Man in a van
pfm Member
It's not required at the moment, the Triode/bpa plugin works indepently of the "Sounds" and iPlayer Radio apps.
One day it will end though
.Edit:
"Sounds" replaced the iPlayer Radio on the iPlayer web pages a long time ago.
cjyosemite
pfm Member
I have found BBC Sounds easier to navigate using my ipad due to the bigger screen but on my ipod it is dreadful. It is seldom I use either as I still have FM on 3 systems & I know it can be compressed but if it is bad (like Verdi's Requiem at last year's Proms) I just switch it off & play something else. My main internet radio source is the myTunerRadio App which has lots of good quality from around the world.
What a shame. I understand they need to attract young listeners and so are aggressively marketing Sounds (hence also blocking BBC radio on TuneIn), but is it still the case that you can't run Sounds on an iPhone or iPad that doesn't have a recent version of iOS running? If it is, I've got a problem as my devices are getting on and will be slowed down by using iOS 11, 12 or whatever. I'd imagine a lot of people are in this situation.
Whatsisnaim
pfm Member
It runs on iOS 11 or later.
I have 10.3.... on my phone. 12 will slow my iPhone SE, so what should people in my situation do? It does seem absurd that they can't make sounds compatible with earlier iOS software. I can play CD quality Qobuz on my phone (and even my older iPad, which won't even accept anything later than iOS 10), so I'm sure the BBC could manage the same with Sounds.
foxwelljsly
Me too, I ate one sour too.
Anyone know if this also means the API for their live 320k streams will also change?
martin clark
pinko bodger
I too use the iPlayer radio app a lot. Not looking forward to the change.
& I've just had a play with current release of the BBC Sounds app - yep, it's a slow, messy turd in comparison.
<grizzles some more />
& I've just had a play with current release of the BBC Sounds app - yep, it's a slow, messy turd in comparison.
<grizzles some more />
foxwelljsly
Me too, I ate one sour too.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/internet/entries/7e65dff6-9bf1-4f98-b185-3b424939c8ce
'Sounds' like we'll be stuck with some shitty MVP for a while yet.
"@Paul Webster
Unfortunately there are no plans to make these new APIs available to the public. They have been specifically designed and costed with our internal clients to offer the best possible performance for their product and usage requirements"
'Sounds' like we'll be stuck with some shitty MVP for a while yet.
"@Paul Webster
Unfortunately there are no plans to make these new APIs available to the public. They have been specifically designed and costed with our internal clients to offer the best possible performance for their product and usage requirements"
