BBC Sounds
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The BBC have just launched a new service called Sounds which is the Radio station analogue to the Catch up I player service for TV
At the moment I am streaming it via my laptop and Bluetooth to my Node 2 and quality is good but could be improved. (FYI it should be accessible anywhere via VPN )
Are there any plans to make it a built-in Music source and if not why not ..
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@John, it's a DIY way to conenct to any Radio by adding a custom URL within Tunin.
Alan posted a link in teh previous page (or second previous).
You just need to copy teh desired URL links from the site and copy within TuneIn as a custom radio.
The links sometimes are updated (just once in 5 years for me), but it is stable.
Please see link for comemnt below, hope this helps, N.
https://support1.bluesound.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/360034454474/comments/35458012503319
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Sorry for typo mistakes, in a rush
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The BBC removed their stations from TuneIn at the end of last week, so no tinkering is going to get them working. Workaround is the BBC Sounds App via airplay / Bluetooth.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/recent-changes-to-bbc-sounds/tunein-changes
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"This change occurred in August 2019"??
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@Seppi, this page from the BBC dates from a few years ago and was shared in previous posts. The URL links shared previously do work, I am listening to the BBC through the BluOs app with them. Worth having a go, hope this helps. N
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Bluetooth isn't so much of a 'workaround' as a poor substitute unworthy of a premium audio streamer.
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Further changes were made last week, removed from Alexa for example and the list updated. Previously there were differences with being in the Uk and outside of it with TuneIn.
I understand that BBC finally geolocked their streams on the 1st so nothing outside the UK now but a VPN would work.
Edit to clarify.
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@Seppi Evans, but I’m resident in the UK and I can’t access the BBC stations. They went off a month or so ago then came back and now they’ve gone off again.
No announcements from anyone who makes these decisions. It’s a bloody shambles. 😡
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@Ray looks like the BBC want everyone to use their BBC Sounds app now ☹️
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Agreed Sepi and now that I understand how the app works it’s not really a problem. Just frustrating no communications about plans.
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Has this affected other hifi streaming platfoms? Has anyone from Bluesound managed to look at if integrating this latest iteration natively is a thing they can do, or are we all thinking BBC might have made bluesound unviable as a product in the U.K.?
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Luke, In 2019 Bluesound said they were working on a spcecific "Music Service" for BBC radio as they knew then that there was a problem. I have written to support to see if they a still working on it!!
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Half a decade on you would hope so?!
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Luke, I also have a Naim streamer. They have created their own equivalent to TuneInn that supports the BBC OK.
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Just happy I still have my SqueezeBox that sounds works on.
Looks like Sonos and others have integrated it for the UK. and the BBC now have BBC Audio for people out side of the UK, the stations direct links should also work from outside of the UK.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250207-bbc-podcasts-are-now-available-on-the-bbc-website-and-appBut for the UK you need to log into your BBC account no different to Spotify, tidal, etc…
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Sonos apparently lost the BBC stations directly and via TuneIn at the same time as BlueOS during the last outage we had at the beginning of October.
This also posted on their support forum by a Sonos staff member 3 hours ago. It looks likle they are in the same boat again today, withg the important difference that users can add BBC Sounds directly as a supported music service if they are in the UK.
I’m sorry to hear of the problems you are having with playing BBC content on your Sonos system.As I understand it, the BBC have recently further locked-down who can access BBC content, and from where.
So, the first and most important question is, are you located in the UK, or outside of it?
If you are inside the UK (Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, United Kingdom), you can add BBC Sounds to your Sonos system as a music service - BBC stations are not available on TuneIn (and therefore Sonos Radio too) inside the UK.
If you are outside the UK, I believe the only way to play BBC content on Sonos would be via the BBC Sounds app on another device, sent to Sonos via AirPlay, Bluetooth or Line-In. Although the page you linked-to was posted in 2019, I think it may have taken a while for the BBC to full lock these down, which would explain why you are only more recently unable to play (if you are outside of the UK).
I hope this helps.
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I've just joined the crowd of frustrated long-term UK users of Bluesound and BBC radio, hit by this return of woes from 2023 which I thought we'd left behind.
If Bluesound can't sort this out with BBC it'll lose a lot of UK customers!
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Can Bluesound not follow Sonos in enabling us in UK to add BBC Sounds as a music service?
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(from a previous post)
"I've just discovered I can add Radio 4 (and others) as a custom station on TuneIn which helps a bit. Here's a link to all the BBC stations: https://garfnet.org.uk/cms/tables/radio-frequencies/internet-radio-player/bbc-national-and-local-radio-hls-streams/
You can copy the URL and add it as a custom station in TuneIn. I've just tested it and it works. No idea why BluOs can't sort it out, although the web page I found does say BBC changes the streaming URLs a lot...but it was working fine for at least 3 years!"
These links still seem to work.
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“ Luke, I also have a Naim streamer. They have created their own equivalent to TuneInn that supports the BBC OK.”
@paul so buy naim stuff instead!!
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@John Braner, I’ve tried those but when you have an Icon with a display the image is bloody awful. I’m sticking with BBC Sounds app but I agree with @David Shapiro that Bluesound really need to provide a solution within their own app.
It’s clear now TuneIn is no good for us Brits wanting access to BBC radio stations.
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With regard to getting BC Sounds integrated to Bluos, the official Bluesound response from Andrew H (Bluos brand Manager) is:
'We have been chasing various levels in the bureaucracy for years. If there is a local link for support, posting feedback etc, especially asking for addition of hardware partners that would be helpful.'
I think this is incredibly ridiculous. The Manufacturers of the World's 'premium' streaming software platform struggling to find anyone within the BBC that will talk to them 'for years' is wildly embarrassing.
Let's try something; at 14.00 today I will start contacting the BBC by phone, if someone from Bluesound can do the same that would be great. I bet I can find the right person to speak to before Bluesound do. Obviously they won't speak to me as I'm not remotely related to Bluesound apart from being ten years and around £15k into their hardware ecosystem but I bet I can find the right person or department.1 -
Perhaps the BBC licensing terms are unacceptable to Bluesound???
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According to Andrew H's statement above, Bluesound haven't been able to find a suitable contact within the BBC to discuss terms 'for years'.
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I don't think licensing has ever been mentioned. I don't suppose they ever got that far!
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To quote @Tony W. in this topic three years ago:
"I have spoken with our Business Development Team on this matter. BluOS has been in contact with the BBC and have recently been approved for direct access to the list of playable radio stations. It is not the full BBC integration, but access to the radio channels. We are pursuing this work to be completed as soon as possible so as to avoid any service disruptions to you. We also will continue to work with the BBC regarding deeper full access to BBC Sounds."
So it does beg the question as to what has been happening since?1 -
I suggest in light of the limited information that is emerging I suggest that as many people as possible contact the BBC. I have already done so.
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Can those who have spoken to someone at the BBC post the phone number please.
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Surely somebody must have a contact at the Beeb?!
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/contact-sounds-help/#/Reason%20for%20contact
We can at least make a complaint here to see if we can promote a response from the BBC.
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