Scheduled Ogg Vorbis streams

Ogg Streaming

We're currently testing the streaming of Ogg Vorbis, an open, free audio codec.

Update (2002-05-04): A special treat: we are streaming Richard Stallman's talk in Aberystwyth tomorrow. Richard will be talking on two topics: "Copyright vs. Community in the Age of Computer Networks" and "The Dangers of Software Patents". The talks will commence on 2002/06/05 at 16:30, the link is below.

Update (2002-05-19): The testing period is now over, so the streams have to come down. Thanks for all the comments and if you have not sent us anything, you still can, the more support the better. We are having discussions about bringing this back permanently, however we have to work round the legal issues.

Update (2002-04-24): Radio 1 now back, it took a little while because the OSS EMU10K1 driver kept causing kernel panics.

Update (2002-04-12): Moved 6music to a new encoder, it should get rid of the bad crackling and one channel dropping. We have also got a machine for radio 1, so that should be back soon.

Update (2002-04-11): Ok, sorry it took a while, but the ogg streams are back! And as a little treat, we've swapped the Radio 1 stream for a 6 Music one instead. See below for links.

Update (2002-04-03): Unfortunately the ogg streams are currently down as there is a bug in the streaming software which allows people to gain unauthorised access to our server. Details are given here. We hope to have the service back online as soon as possible.

Update (2002-02-08): Heh, ok, it was about time I updated this page and gave links to the live streams which most people are no doubt aware that we now have permission to continue streaming. Currently there is a Radio 4 stream, and two Radio 1 streams using different quality settings to ices. The _low is using -q 0, whilst the _high is using -q 3. I'd be interested to know if anyone can tell much difference between them (challenge for all you audiophiles out there :) Hopefully soon I'll be able to test some of the latest CVS code and try to accomodate the modem users among you.

Update (2002-01-21): Ok, slight bogon. The Archers will now only be available as a simulcast stream, ie it'll only be available at the same time it's being played on the radio.

Update (2002-01-18): For all you Archers fans out there, we're going to be starting streaming episodes in ogg starting this Sunday. Episodes will be available for a week until they are overwritten by the latest programme. The Archers website is here. Enjoy!

Update (2002-01-15): Ok, one more for today, the Radio 4 broadcast "Moral Maze" will be available in ogg as per the two other broadcasts scheduled below. Spot the guy going through the new schedules for this year :)

Update (2002-01-15): Another BBC Radio 4 programme has been scheduled for ogg broadcast - "On Your Farm" will start this Sunday at 07:00 GMT. Again, check http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/ for more information on this programme.

Update (2002-01-15): The BBC Radio 4 programme "File on 4" has been added to the list of stored clips broadcast using ogg. This programme first airs tonight and will be available from 20:45 GMT onwards. For more details read the Radio 4 homepage

Update (2002-01-09): We've created a moderated mailing list to keep people up-to-date with the latest Ogg Vorbis developments at the BBC. To subscribe, send a mail to majordomo@lists.bbc.co.uk with "subscribe ogg-announce" in the body.

Update (2002-01-09): Unfortunately we have come to an end of our permission to stream Radio 4 24/7. However we are looking to restart this as soon as possible as everyone is keen to continue the testing. Please continue to send your comments to oggfeedback@bbc.co.uk. So far the feedback we've received has been very positive, keep it coming!

Update (2002-01-05): Hope you all enjoyed Lord of the Rings.

Update (2002-01-04): I've decided to drop Radio 4 to a 32kHz samplerate and use the RC3 "quality" settings instead of enforcing an upper bitrate. This sounds a lot better than sampling at 44K1Hz and forcing it into 40kbps. Watching the rates, you should be able to listen fine over a good 56k modem connection, but you might have problems some time. RC4 promises bounding at lower samplerates, which should be good. I should point out that those times that you get cut off for no apparant reason, it's probably me messing. Sorry about that.

Update (2002-01-02): It's sadly now come to the end of the permission we have for streaming radio 24x7, so you won't be able to listen to Radio 1. Radio 4 have given permission to continue the test for a further week (so that'll encompass the first episode of Lord of the Rings). Various on-demand clips should still be available below. If you enjoyed the streams, be sure to let as know at the addresses below. Hopefully we can organise a proper trial some time soon (rather than just testing of infrastructure).

For more information about Ogg Vorbis, including where to get players, visit http://www.vorbis.com/. Due to the open nature of the Ogg format, players should be available for all major operating systems, and probably a lot of minor ones too! Here's a direct link to their software page.

Here are some direct links to plugins and applications available on the 'net:

FreeAmp for Windows (~2meg download) - this free player is available for Linux and Windows, and handles Ogg, MP3, etc. Check their site for the Linux version. Note: the 2.1.0 version had incomplete decoder support, if you have this, you'll have to upgrade.
WinAmp plugin (~100K download, needs WinAmp) - works very well indeed, apparantly.
XMMS - a Unix player that supports Ogg by default.
Pure Java Player - if you have the Java 1.3 runtime installed, this might be interesting.
Quicktime Component - versions are available for MacOS 9, MacOS X and Windows. I have no idea if these work
Windows Media Player plugins - from MediaXW

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. Also please note that the above is not intended to be an exhaustive list of players - there is plenty of third party software out there that plays Ogg files, and a fair subset of those support streamed Ogg too. We do not intend to promote any one of these over another.

How to configure Ogg proxy settings for XMMS

Feedback welcome - you can send mail to oggfeedback@bbc.co.uk.

Currently live streams

On-demand stored clips

Regular scheduled streams

Once-off scheduled streams

The links below are to .m3u files, which should launch your player of choice. Remember that if you're behind a firewall, you'll probably have to configure your player to use the same HTTP proxy as your browser. Where links to sites are provided, you can probably not expect to find the Ogg being listed there - this is only testing for now!