In the comments to my last post, I was asked if I have the inside track on Radio NZ’s streaming, which had been thought to be off the agenda until on-demand archives had been sorted out. I started to respond in the comments – but it quickly turned into its own post. I tend to get worked up over the whole ‘RNZ takes on the internet’ thing.
The only ‘inside track’ I have on the RNZ streaming thing so far is word from RIANZ that they have ‘reached an agreement’ on streaming with RNZ. Which, I guess, was already kind of self-evident.
Somewhat predictably (in that this is exactly what they said they would do, and nothing I had to say would convince them otherwise), our public service broadcaster has made the mistake of locking us into a proprietary piece of playback software.
Why is it so hard to communicate the fact that EVERYTHING can play mp3s? Windows Media and RealAudio both favour a particular commercial (not to mention ad-filled and database-marketing-hungry) platform.
I happen to like iTunes. Can I play along too?
No word yet from sources at RNZ as to when the glorious new website they’ve been tinkering away at since the late 90s will be unveiled. I suppose you’ve got to spend the time making sure it all looks right in both Internet Explorer and Mosaic…
But grumbles aside – at least I can listen to the station now. After a year of no signal, it’s finally joining bFM as a listening preference. I’m peeved at what I’ve missed in the meantime (did anyone record the Split Enz doco series?) – but I’m looking forward to a whole new world of the sounds of home. I press ‘listen’ and out comes sound (wish I could say the same for Base FM… is that just permanently broken?).
Mind you, as soon as you do click listen, you leave the RNZ page, and end up with a completely blank browser window as Windows Media Player launches. Could somebody please present the web guys with a copy of Jakob Nielsen’s book?
At least things have progressed. Leaning too heavily on the complaints at this point would be churlish. I can now actively engage in my role as an informed (though currently displaced) citizen of New Zealand. Cheers to the RNZ IT Department. Give yourselves a day off.
And meanwhile, if you missed a programme, or you’d like to hear it again, you can always download a cassette through the post for $25. It’ll take about 3 weeks on average, but that’s dialup for you. It also will not contain music, but you knew that already.
But at the risk of incurring the wrath of both RIANZ and RNZ: I will be time-shifting. I have the Replay-Radio software and I intend to use it.
Replay Radio. It’s really called that – how’s that for irony?
Pretty interesting that. I think I gave up on Radio NZ ages ago. This’ll come in handy. I do love xtramsn.co.nz’s wonderful News streams and the 128kbps 95bfm stream. Thats one of my favourite things ever really hah.
paulie
The problem with the blank page thing is a bug in firefox (which one pressumes you are using).
I use MPlayer on a linux box to listen to the RNZ stream. It is fantastic.
But I didn’t know that MPlayer was proprietary – I thought it was released under the GPL?
Dave
I don’t buy that whole ‘it’s a bug in Firefox’ thing.
I’m also not entirely convinced by that ‘Microsoft’s Media Player = Open Source’ idea either.
I’ve been struggling to find another radio station anywhere on earth that has similar problems.
I don’t know how else to put this. It’s JUST A WEBSITE. There are other websites on earth that work.
There are other websites that can be displayed in more than one browser.
There are other websites that have links that say ‘128k mp3’ – but when you click on it – an actual mp3 comes out, and not a Windows Media .asx file (Enzology).
Most websites (and there are many these days) do not take the best part of a decade to develop.
I’m forever telling my students – and it seems appropriate here: ‘If you don’t know how to do something, there’s no shame in asking.’
But as I said – the fact that RNZ is finally streaming is a welcome event, and my gratitude honestly does far outweigh all of my many complaints.
As I said:
It is a Firefox Bug
Are you suggesting that the new site will not work in anything but IE ?
If so, what can we do? Who do we lobby?
Dave
No… I understand that this is considered a bug in Firefox. What I don’t understand is an approach to webdesign that does not attempt to display correctly in as many browsers as possible.
It’d be like building roads that only certain types of cars could drive on, because of a ‘width bug’ in European models.
As I understand it, RNZ hold the idea of accessibility very highly… but this seems to be an oversight. Like I said, I struggle to find another radio station online that hasn’t made some attempt to get around this issue.
Small branded pop-up windows with embedded players seems to be the most universally embraced approach to delivering Windows Media streams online. It’s better for the station’s online presence, and it doesn’t do anything stupid to anyone’s preferred platform.
But if we’re going to lobby RNZ about their website, we’re going to have to draw up a list. Interoperability will only be one item. Another might be the having of content. A third might be a proper archive. Another would be in the area of audio platforms…
Oh God… I’m going to have to do another long ‘Dubber doesn’t like the RNZ website’ post aren’t I?
Well, clearly there’s a bug in your Linux software, just as there’s a bug in my Firefox browser. Your preferred platform can’t interoperate with a Windows product? Surely the cause is that your non-Windows platform is to blame…
So – although embedded players do seem the most common approach for radio stations streaming Windows Media, it seems that the point is that Windows Media should not be the way in which RNZ delivers audio.
Delighted to be wrong about the streaming thing – but it took an entirely new team driving the RIANZ bus before that happened. The old guard ‘anti-everything’ campaign has since been replaced by a much more forward-thinking administration. They’re not going to immediately agree to everything we free-culture radicals get excited about – but they know who Steve Jobs is.
And can I just say at this point how much I appreciate the 95bfm podcast – and Inside Track. Points for style. Does everything it should, and it just works.
I don’t think the money thing is a scandal. If there’s one thing RNZ could always do with more of, it’s funding… and they generally spend it on making programmes, which is entirely as it should be. In fact, if anything, it’s probably half the problem. I doubt that significant amounts of money get spent on web development at Radio New Zealand.
It’s a shame… but it does explain a lot.
I agree with Paul.
What I REALLY want to be able to do is to stream music to remote speakers via iTunes and Airport and manage the whole thing from a PowerBook.
I can do it with 95bfm – a true joy.
I want to be able to do it with RNZ, BBC Radio, NPR…..
I can always be reached at dubber at gmail dot com.