BBC radio internet users may have noticed a change.
We now have the BBC iPlayer which at a glance seems to afford several more listening and viewing options since they have added video. One must be in the UK in order to see the video. The radio continues to stream and offer Listen Again for a week after broadcast as before.
OK, this is fine and I suppose quite helpful to some people particularly TV viewers in the UK.
But I have a complaint.
I don't like that it is now more difficult to just get a stream to play without a browser plug-in. The reason that I don't like it being linked to the browser constantly is that when I scroll in the browser while listening to the stream the stream pauses sometimes during the scroll.
This is a particular problem when I'm trying to record the program with Audio Hijack.
I use a Mac and Safari. Also if I continue to browse I could run into other sound coming from another site I visit which could get on my recording. There used to be a button on the RealPlayer plug-in that could be clicked and instantly open the program in the stand alone RealPlayer application. This button has vanished and I did some looking around to try to find the "Stand alone player" option.
I failed.
The work around for me: When the iPlayer plug-in opens it does not show the url.
So I go View>show toolbar.
This the top of the window and reveals the url.
Copy url.
Open RealPlayer.
file>open location>paste
The program then plays in the RealPlayer stand alone.
BBC, please bring the "Stand Alone Player" button back.
Thank you very much.
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The next day. . .
Well, I spoke too soon. My little work around isn't working at all.
Anybody have any ideas? I looked a bit at the BBC Radio 4 Message Board to see if anyone else was complaining. I could find nothing there.
I have yet to attempt to reconfigure RealPlayer, maybe the solution is there.
Yeah, change=life. But sometimes I just want it to stay the same.
At least BBC Radio 4 put The Friday Play back on except that while it was off I stopped looking to see if it was there so missed some of the One Chord plays which I would have liked to have heard. I probably should read those weekly newsletter emails so I know what is going on.
