Listening Online To Deeper Into Music – FAQ
Q What types of streams are offered by Deeper Into Music?
A DIM offers two basic types that can be received by various types of players. Most users will find that they already have a player installed that will play the mp3 streams. The AAC/AAC+ streams require specialized players and in some cases require a few steps to initialize and make them available. However, generally speaking, the AAC/AAC+ streams have a higher sound quality than the standard mp3 stream, making the extra futzing worth your while.
Better yet, the newer versions of iTunes (version 9.0 and greater) now offer full support for AAC streams, so you can listen via iTunes and hear the extra richness in the sound.
Q How do I configure my MAC to play DIM using the AAC/AAC+ streams?
A You can use iTunes 9.0 or greater. The new versions of iTunes come equipped with AAC support (finally!) Otherwise it’s a bit of a hassle to get AAC/AAC+ to play on a MAC, you’ll find that it’s worth it in the long run. First, download VLC from this site. Open the .dmg file that you downloaded, then open the VLC disk image on your desktop and drag the orange traffic cone object into your applications folder. Then right-click (or control-click if you don’t have a 2-button mouse) one of the AAC link on the Deeper Into Music Listen page, and select “Save Link as…”. Save the link to your desktop. Then right-click (or control-click) on that file (aac.pls or something similar) and choose “Get Info”. In the info window go to “Open with:” and select VLC from the list of programs. Click the “Change All” button. Now all pls links will open in VLC rather than iTunes. You’ll find that VLC is more reliable than iTunes for playing radio streams. It’ll also play our AAC & AAC+ links (which iTunes won’t play). The 128k AAC link gives the best sound quality of any of our streams, and our 64k AAC+ link gives quality equal to 128k MP3 at half the bandwidth.
Q What players do you recommend for listening to Deeper Into Music?
A The choice of player is a personal decision, but here’s a look at the ones that tend to give the best success to most people:
- Windows: Winamp
- MacOS iTunes or to hear the higher quality AAC/+ streams, use VLC
- Linux/Unix: XMMS or to hear the higher quality AAC/+ streams, use VLC
Thanks to Morten Udsen for these helpful notes to listen on Unix based sytems with Firefox browser:
- Install MediaPlayerConnectivity (MPC)[more info]
- Install VLC
- Configure Firefox via MPC to open MS formats in VLC
Q Why does the sound keep cutting in and out?
A There can be several reasons. Sometimes the Internet gets congested and there’s nothing you can do but wait a bit.
But, in some case you may not have enough bandwidth, especially if you’re on a really slow DSL or dial-up connection. You want to try one of the 64 or 32 kBs streams listed on the Listen page.
You can also try to increase the playback buffer size of the software you’re using to listen. The method for doing this varies widely between the listening agents. You should consult your software’s help file. For your convenience, here are links to two solutions that work for some users who have periodic buffering issues:
For Winamp: go here
For iTunes: try this
Q Can I listen with my smartphone, PDA, iPhone, Blackberry, Droid, etc?
A Yup. See the links on the listen page for some free players that you can install and use with various phones and devices. At the moment DIM does not have a custom iPhone app, but we’d like to. Know how to make one? Get in touch!
