With my usual obsessive behavior, I have been deep-diving into Logitech Media Server, now that its MySqueezebox intermediary service has been shut down. I am very pleased to have restored some long-lost streaming services.
Years ago, for whatever reason (probably non-technical), the TuneIn app for LMS that I relied upon dropped AAC codec support. The result was the loss of iHeart and BBC stations. The fact is, although my TuneIn account is needed when using a Web Browser, the phone app, and Roku, I shouldn’t have bothered with it for LMS.
Thanks to some plugins, iHeart stations and BBC Radio are back on my LMS network. The only iHeart station I care about on LMS is WBZ in Boston*, but the BBC is a variety-filled candy store of listening. By chance today, I caught this radio play with Prue’s old drinking buddy Norm Rossington.
There are two plugins for accessing the BBC stations. Shown above is the official, full-featured method, BBC Sounds. But take note below of the alternative selections I have set up for BBC Radio 2, and the Classical station, BBC Radio 3. Why the three ↑↑↑ arrows?
The answer is here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/about-bbc-sounds-and-our-policies/codecs-bitrates
The BBC Sounds stations, that are so nicely presented with images and descriptive text, run at Profile 3, HE-AACv1/96kbs (high efficiency). The other plugin I’m using accesses the raw audio feeds, including Profile 1, AAC-LC/320kbs (low complexity) that is not available outside of the UK on BBC Sounds. One arrow for good quality, two for better, and three for best. No fancy features, but the sound quality on headphones and IEMs is as good as streaming stereo audio gets.
* I listen to iHeart’s WZLX-FM, Boston’s Classic Rock, on the porch’s Bose Wave.