Internet Radio buffering?
 

Hi, I am seriously considering the N900 and I really like that the internet radio capability is built into the base media player.

My previous experience with internet radio on a phone is from using tunein radio on the iphone. If you start the radio and pause playback, it will continue to download the stream and you can effectively load up a up to an hours worth of buffer. You can also skip back and it will continue to download the stream.

So on the n900, how does it handle buffering? How long is the buffer? Does it mark track locations? Does it display album art? Can the media player be played in portrait mode?

Sorry, I'll have to order this phone from overseas (it is not out in Australia yet) so I cannot go and check it out for myself.

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

Some of the things you're asking about are probably stream-dependent, so you should let us know what stream you're listening to so we can test. They'll also be dependent on the "app". Note that I've added a question as well.

For the stream http://sc1.cdn.radiostorm.com:7010 on the *included* media player

• Buffering: No ability to pause, so no ability to cache.
• Buffer size: unknown, but very short when network is explicitly disconnected -- stream stops immediately
• Marking track locations: It shows the track names, but I suspect that you're after the ability to skip forward and back song by song in the hour long buffer you've built. No, it doesn't do that, but could you confirm I've understood correctly?
• Album art: No, doesn't display.
• Portrait mode: No, it is not orientation sensitive
• Adaptable Bluetooth: No. Ability to switch between switch easily between a Bluetooth headset and speakers. (Controlled at app level, so an incoming call will silence the speakers and let you use the Bluetooth headset you're wearing.)

That's the included media player covered, at firmware 51-1. There are several more apps to consider. Could someone else tackle rating these please?

• Canola2
• kmplayer
• Flash app in the browser
• Whatever else I have missed

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

I'd just like to add to Alan's comments and say that the default streaming by the standard media player is very poor. There is bug where it skips 'radio' stations randomly (not resolved in latest firmware despite the bug being closed). Also you can't adjust the buffer amount so any congestion (thank you iPhone users) and the signal chops up.

Using it every day I've found it a very frustrating experience. Good news is that it's only an App issue, so hopefully there are alternatives developed.

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

FWIW, I was able to stream the Ibiza Sonica station, on the default media player, and played it through my car's radio via built-in FM Transmitter, on a recent trip from DC to Philadelphia. I only lost the stream once, when the phone lost connection just outside of Baltimore (T-Mobile). It re-acquired signal and resumed play in about 5-10 seconds.

I wonder if the Recorder app will record a stream, or will it only pick up sounds via the microphone?

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

The bug about skipping stations is not universal. I, for one had little trouble. Also, no chopping. When it runs out, it stops, enters "buffering" state, then resumes when needed.

The only "choppyness" I found was when the link was very, very poor and the buffer was struggling.

I do, however, have an odd bug where pressing play gives me an "invalid url". However, pressing Play again works so I sorta lived with it. No jumping stations though.

I agree, however, buffer could be longer, adjustable and seekable. No problem though, there are many players out there, some are bound to have or soon to have this sorted.

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

That's a bug that has really annoyed me. Have you reopened it?

True, but why should users suffer these basic issues until they discover a new app? It's a significant feature out of the box, and needs attention.

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

Is this related to the inability to listen to the preset radio stations? I haven't been able to listen to those since the latest update.

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

Yep, I think for a desktop internet radio player you do not need much in the way of buffering or seeking, but in a mobile device a large buffer (in minutes at least) is quite essential. On my trip I go through a long tunnel with no 3G signal for a few miles, so the radio will be dead for those 5-10 minutes.

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

I've put a note on the bug (which was marked as RESOLVED/FIXED) stating that it is not resolved.

If they include it then it has to work.

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

Aren't settings such as buffer length etc. buried somewhere in the device? How were they able to hide that on such an open device?

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

Settings for buffer length imply designing in a buffer. :-) Based on its behaviour, I suspect that the built-in media player has only as much buffering as the TCP connection and "load the audio buffer with the minimum sample" requires. I'm obviously speculating in the absence of information here.

Hmmm, where are my glasses? I can't see any streaming video... :-)

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

Ah yes that could be true indeed Alan.

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

I started audio streaming and then in order to keep the phone from cheating I disconnected the router from the AP, cutting the internet but having no notification.

The radio played for 9 seconds before entering a buffering state.

Audio buffer it's not.

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

This implies a certain type of stream, and not really like what you have on a real radio station. The only way you could have 5-10 minutes of buffered audio if the source was a real radio station (since it can't speed up) was to start building the buffer 5-10 minutes before you actually started listening. Everything would then be out of sync, with the "9 AM news" actually hitting your ear at 9:10. So

If the sort of stream you're talking about is of the model "large/huge block of songs played in some order, with adverts inserted occasionally", that makes sense to buffer, since the delivery timing doesn't correspond with the real world time. The pipe could be opened, the music could start playing, and by the end of the first song your could have already buffered the next 4 songs.

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

This is what I want, my gprs connection is not that great and having unbroken music while on the go would definitely be worth the out of sync issue. The buffer might only need to be 1 - 2 minutes anyway...

Are there any other internet radio apps bein developed for Maemo 5 that would have buffering options?

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

I am interested in this too... I often get my radio cut off and all I hear is beeping. Is there a way to extend the buffer in media player? This would come in handy for long car trips.

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

I am amazed with mediabox, finally got a chance to install it and playing with it today on my crappy as hell 2G connection it hasn't skipped once (shoutcast streams) lol. I actually had to do a double take to make sure I wasn't connected to wifi since it worked too well hehe. Streams under 128k seem to work fine on my edge service.

Only question is how does battery life compare to streaming music with the built in media player...

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

There ought to be no noticable difference if you let the screen switch off. If you force the screen to stay lit, it will suck more battery, of course.

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

Thanks pycage I'm glad I gave mediabox a try. One thing though, will more options be added such as searching for shoutcast stations, and maybe changing the view from thumbnails to list instead? or can this be done already?

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

Yes, there will be more options added.

Streaming audio always stops playing.
 

I have never had the streaming music work for more than 4 or 5 minutes over WIFI before it stops playing. I've tried all available media players. It still appears that it's working but there is no sound and it never recovers. I can go to a site like Pandora and it works fine for hours so I don't believe it's my connection. Is there some kind of setting that I can change?

Re: Internet Radio buffering?
 

can't wait for this to be fixed.