# Stream CBC (and other mp3 hold-outs) - ooTunes?



## vancouverdave (Dec 14, 2008)

I have been frustrated by CBC's refusal to support MP3. What is up with that?
( CBC.ca - Listen to CBC Radio )

I have to jump through umpteen hoops just to steam live radio to my iPhone, iTunes, and my Airport express.

Maybe ooTunes would be an effective work-around... 
( ooTunes Demo.. try before you buy )

Comments?

----
Experiences (Hoop Jumping):

Been getting CBC Radio 3 via Shoutcast - streams ok to airport express but CBC 1 and 2 not available here
Free Internet Radio - SHOUTcast Radio

Been getting CBC Radio 1 using Flip4Mac - plays in iTunes but kludgy and doesn't stream to airport express so not practical for me
InsideTheCBC.com » Play CBC Radio Inside iTunes

Haven't tried Ogg Vorbis - looks like it will be the same or worse than Flip4Mac


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## vancouverdave (Dec 14, 2008)

*open letter to cbc*

Open Letter to CBC:
CBC.ca - Contact Us Page

I am an avid subscriber to your podcasts and and surprised that you offer live streaming radio only to windows users, and not Apple users.

I am a Mac/iPhone/AirportExpress user and am frustrated by your refusal to support the MP3 standard. Apple is the proven leader in bringing 'multi-media' into our homes - so why hitch your wagon solely to Windoze? Please reconsider.

Yes, I know I can get cbc radio 3 through shout-cast, and that I can use Flip4Mac to 'play' media-player streams in iTunes, but it is kludgy and does not work seamlessly with supporting hardware such as the iPhone and the Airport Express. 

All other radio stations I have been interested in already support MP3. This makes me wonder about CBC's judgement in holding-out against MP3. 

With the exception of a few nerds who will take the time to kludge something together, you are effectively shutting yourselves out of the burgeoning iPhone market.

This 'nerd' is now looking at (yet another) third party solution (ooTunes) but...


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## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

I agree, it's a mystery. I have been able to get CBC 3 working in iTunes via their "experimental" Ogg feed (experimental for a year at least!), but really they should just get with the program and use a format everyone can enjoy. It's 2009, being platform-specific is so very, very 90s.


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## mclenaghan (Sep 27, 2002)

I have had CBC streamed through Firefox but was not sure if I had not installed the correct extensions on Safari.


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## mclenaghan (Sep 27, 2002)

Of course now that I have mentioned that it does not want to work.


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## rgray (Feb 15, 2005)

vancouverdave said:


> Been getting CBC Radio 1 using Flip4Mac - plays in iTunes but kludgy and doesn't stream to airport express so not practical for me
> InsideTheCBC.com » Play CBC Radio Inside iTunes


I too have had the same kludgy experience w/CBC as described by others.

Correct me if I am wrong but the “Create streaming movies” option does not exist in the latest Flip4Mac v 2.2.1.11 nor does the "Movie" tab for that matter.


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## irontree (Oct 28, 2006)

I stream CBC with WunderRadio on my iPhone


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## vancouverdave (Dec 14, 2008)

irontree said:


> I stream CBC with WunderRadio on my iPhone


I use wunder radio as well. This still does't get cbc on my airport express. Maybe CBC just doesn't want to be played in the kitchen :-/

Still kludgy


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

I must be really old fashioned, as those times that I wish to torture myself with the CBC, I use a receiver capable of Frequency Modulation.

Streaming anything really chews up the bandwidth, and would soon clobber my girlfriend's monthly cap...


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## John Clay (Jun 25, 2006)

EvanPitts said:


> I must be really old fashioned, as those times that I wish to torture myself with the CBC, I use a receiver capable of Frequency Modulation.
> 
> Streaming anything really chews up the bandwidth, and would soon clobber my girlfriend's monthly cap...


Streaming a 32Kbps audio stream chews up bandwidth? Yeah, right. Maybe on dial up.

If you were listening to the CBC streams, available at 32Kbps or 16Kbps, 24/7 for a month, you would use just over 10GB, or 5GB. Hardly cap-clogging.


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## vancouverdave (Dec 14, 2008)

EvanPitts said:


> I must be really old fashioned, as those times that I wish to torture myself with the CBC, I use a receiver capable of Frequency Modulation.
> 
> Streaming anything really chews up the bandwidth, and would soon clobber my girlfriend's monthly cap...


Being local broadcasts, it is reasonable (and probably better quality) to use a traditional tuner, but I have only so much space in my kitchen. I really like the compact nature of the Airport Express and a pair of active speakers. A tuner will mean more audio and power cables, plus some place for the tuner, itself.

Possible, but unfortunate to have to go buying more stuff and fiddling. Whatever happened to 'point-and-click'? (don't answer that, we all know it was Windoze that introduced all the confusion)


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

John Clay said:


> If you were listening to the CBC streams, available at 32Kbps or 16Kbps, 24/7 for a month, you would use just over 10GB, or 5GB. Hardly cap-clogging.


As I said - it would entirely blow out my girlfriend's Stupidpatico account, and many, many people have such accounts. And even 10GB can really cripple some users, especially people that work from home and use VPN, who regularly run close to their monthly caps.

However, that was not my point in the first place. If the CBC can not make their online programming available in standard formats that anyone can use - then don't use them, it's on the radio anyways, and radio is entirely free and not bound to caps or throttling or anything of the sort.


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

vancouverdave said:


> Being local broadcasts, it is reasonable (and probably better quality) to use a traditional tuner, but I have only so much space in my kitchen.


We have a shortwave radio in the kitchen that is quite compact - so we use that, but I do understand the space issues. Would something like the RadioShark handle the task, even though it is an additional piece of equipment? Or maybe just tuning into a station that has some real streaming audio going on? The CBC is nuts...


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## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

App Store > Fstream > iPhone > CBC Radio One 

Seriously though, Fstream is the best App for listening to the radio ever. Best quality and uses less data than other Apps.


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## vancouverdave (Dec 14, 2008)

Adrian. said:


> App Store > Fstream > iPhone > CBC Radio One
> 
> Seriously though, Fstream is the best App for listening to the radio ever. Best quality and uses less data than other Apps.


FStream is free, but i prefer the interface of WunderRadio and feel it was worth the extra few $$. I can't speak to the quality or data usage.

Still this is iPhone specific and does not integrate nicely across iTunes, AppleTV and (in my case) Airport.


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## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

vancouverdave said:


> FStream is free, but i prefer the interface of WunderRadio and feel it was worth the extra few $$. I can't speak to the quality or data usage.
> 
> Still this is iPhone specific and does not integrate nicely across iTunes, AppleTV and (in my case) Airport.


Fair enough. I am only working on the iPhone...


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## jmlachance (Nov 6, 2005)

*Caution: rant agaisnt cbc*



EvanPitts said:


> I must be really old fashioned, as those times that I wish to torture myself with the CBC, I use a receiver capable of Frequency Modulation.
> 
> ..


Yes, CBC has some good programs but I often turn off the radio in frustration from the way the host dither or stutter when they interview someone. They're supposed to be pros but often the guest is more articulate than they are. Micheal Enright being one of the exception to all of this. If they interview a person who's lost someone dear or come through a lot of grief,the host is almost at lost for words at times and overdoes the empathy while the interviewee is quite straightforward and does not come across as over grief-stricken. All this makes the interviews very hard to listen to.
I've written to them a number of times about it but I guess the union is so strong there that management can't do anything about sub-standard announcers. Sometimes I feel the receptionist must have gotten promoted to radio host just from her years of seniority,not qualifications. BTW,the ratio of male to female announcers seems lopsided heavily towards the latter. Even the CBC tv news reporters are mostly women. Is the cbc not hiring male reporters or are men not interested in these jobs anymore?
On the other hand,if anyone can understand French,the Radio Canada announcers are for the most part very good and a fair balance of male/female.
There,'nough said...


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## onnimikki (Nov 4, 2009)

*CBC MP3 Streams here*

Hi,

I came across the MP3 streams for CBC here:

Icecast Streaming Media Server

They are available for individual cities in multiple bitrates. Another good place to go is PublicRadioFan.com. Specifically for public radio stations (like CBC) in Ontario check out:

PublicRadioFan.com - Stations in ON, Canada


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## kastytis (Oct 24, 2006)

There is a CBC app in the itunes store for your iphone. It's really good. Might I also suggest the NFB app, too.

Both are free.


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## kastytis (Oct 24, 2006)

Or just go to the CBC web page. Streams okay on my Macbook.


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## kastytis (Oct 24, 2006)

New CBC beta mp3... or at first time I've noticed it.

Live-Beta


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