Request your BBC7 comedy MP3s here!

[Pinball]

Since buying Pure's "The Bug" DAB radio, it's become absurdly easy (and consistently better quality IMO) to record radio broadcasts direct to MP2, then convert to MP3 using Cheetah Audio Converter. Having inserted a 512MB SD card into the unit, I can literally record 24 hours' output of BBC7 onto the card (@ 128kbps), then edit out desired programmes using Sound Forge 7.0. So, in a continuing quest to archive the Net, I thought - why not take requests?? It'll also make sure I don't forget anything important. I'll share stuff on Soulseek in a "BBC7" folder..

So what do y'all reckon, and what do you want to request? If we all keep/record MP3s of the main programmes, hopefully collectively we'll do a reasonable archive of BBC output (of what they share anyway...).

Edit: Cheetah is crap. MP3s have crackles in them! Use dB powerAMP instead.

[BeardFaceMan]

I also have a shiny new Bug, and a lovely thing it is too. unfortunately, i can't seem to record more than about an hour on my Viking 512meg SD card, before i get the 'Norman Collier Effect', where the audio keeps cutting out every 2 seconds. After recording for 2 hours or so, when i stop recording there is a big jump in what i'm listening to, because i'm a few minutes behind the actual broadcast because of the cutting out. it's nothing to do with the reception, because as soon as i stop recording, it all goes back to normal. grrr. are there any support forums or the like for The Bug?

And do you get BBC7 at 128kbs? i was under the impression that BBC7 only broadcast at 80kbs mono on digital radio. that's what i get. still sounds good though.

[Pinball]

You're right! I was trying to sort out the cutting out problem last night. There was a definite improvement when I plugged the Bug into a separate power supply (i.e. single socket rather than on an extension block of sockets), but after a few hours (it was recording overnight) it messed up. The only solution I can think of is to set the timer to record desired programmes, such that it doesn't exceed 2 hours at any given session. Also, having the USB connected continually to the PC seems to contribute to the problem (it was also slowing my PC down this morning). Before recording I'm going to 1) switch off and on the Bug to reboot, and 2) take out the USB.

What's the cause of the problem? Is it deliberate to stop pirating?? It's enough to make you want to buy a DAB PC card..

On playback I get 128kbps so it seems to record at that rate, however it probably varies during the day depending on the bitrate of the other channels in the BBC "channel bouquet" i.e. if Radio 3 or whatever switches to stereo then BBC7 may suffer. Most stuff on BBC7 was originally mono anyway so it shouldn't matter too much, but yes it is sub-optimal and that's annoying. Typical BBC ****up because other non-Beeb channels are fine (and stereo).

[Pinball]

Found this on Bug website:
Technical Support

Tel: 01923 277477
Fax: 01923 270188
support@thebug.com

I've emailed 'em.

Edit: Here's a Bug support forum!

[BeardFaceMan]

lovely, thanks for the link. it looks like theres an update that will be available very shortly to fix this.

and if you use the info button, it will tell you at what bitrate the station is broadcasting at.  this is from the BBC7 website -

Whilst BBC 7 is transmitted in stereo on digital TV and the internet, BBC 7 has to share the DAB multiplex with all the other national BBC radio stations. Whilst we may think that our station deserves preferential treatment, our bosses try to be fair to all the stations in their allocation of space on that multiplex.

The space we have allows us to broadcast in mono or stereo at 80 kbps (kilobits per second). However to broadcast in stereo would mean having to split the 80 kbps between the left and right channels. At that bit rate the quality of the transmission would be less than optimal.

In addition many of our programmes were made in mono.

In an ideal world every station would broadcast with at least 192 kbps in stereo, but to do that the BBC couldn't provide the wide range of stations and programming that it should. That would mean no BBC 7.

Given this situation, we took the view that we would broadcast in reasonable quality mono.


is that 128kbs playback you're getting after converting it to mp3?

[TotalNightmare]

i have recently become a convert to Radio Shuttleworth...

so i would like a load of that.

[Pinball]

I formatted the SD card with the radio, and it seems to work fine without "clicks" now. I recorded 45 mins then 4 hours as a test, and it was perfect.

Does 80kbps mono equate to same quality as 160 kbps stereo?

Consider Shuttleworth done ;-)

[Jaffa The Cake]

Does 80kbps mono equate to same quality as 160 kbps stereo?

In most modern cases, no. Without going into too much detail, the two channels share the 160kbit total, but are not 80kbit each. The share changes thoughout the file to achieve the best quality and use of bitrate.

[gazzyk1ns]

Do they use a form of mpeg joint-stereo these days then Jaffa? They always used to not do so, and so the answer to Pinball's question would be a definite "yes".

Well, I say "definite"... when you switch to mono, the clarity and definition will almost always increase, but the music might be ruined by lack of stereo image - listen to "Since I Left You" by The Avalanches in mono Vs. stereo to see what I mean...

EDIT: Having said all that, I suppose this thread would mainly be about encoding voice, so...

[Pinball]

Ah thanks for that. It certainly sounds like 160k in terms of quality, also the sound level is perfect unlike when you make MP3s yourself and screw em up (well I do unless very careful). It's just so EASY to do with the radio now, that's what I like. And I don't miss anything, 'cos the radio is recording 24/7. Then I edit it in Sound Forge, bung the relevant progs on the MP3 player & play them on't way to work.

[My Giddy Aunt]

So these bug things are worth getting are they? How much are the memory cards? etc. etc.

Also, could you post up a quick instructions for dumbies on how to get these files from soulseek?

or not, if you cant be bothered, i'd understand.

[Pinball]

Personally I think the Bug is a good product albeit a bit pricey (£149.99), and as far as I know is the only DAB radio available anywhere that has live pause/rewind and MP2 recording capabilities. The only problem is the recording glitch whereby after 1-2 hours of recording it keeps skipping. According to Pure's tech support:

This is a known problem caused by Data fragmentation on the SD Card.
We do have a fix for this in our next software release which will be ready
within the next couple of weeks.

So the v.1.1 firmware upgrade will solve the problem:
http://www.pure-digital.com/Support/index.asp

Meanwhile, if you pre-programme recordings so they are no longer than 1 hour or so, there is no skipping and the recording is perfect. This is what I'm doing. Once the upgrade is available I'm going to be leaving the radio recording all day (approx 14 hours capacity on a 512MB card), then select out the stuff I want. Even now, with an 8-hour overnight recording, the first couple of hours are okay.

As to cost of SD cards, the cheapest 512MB I could find was £60 on eBay for a new Sandisk.

Edit: An alternative approach for getting BBC7 shows would be to d/l the rm "Listen again" stream and convert it to MP3 (d/l ram file, open in notepad which gives the URL for the rm file, then d/l rm file). Does anyone know what quality you get? This would be a quick way of getting the shows...

[weekender]

I don't know the quality specs of what you get, but the rm files themselves are certainly listenable.  I got 'Lost Boy - In Search of Nick Drake' that way, the file's about 14MB for an hour.  For music (or shows with really mad sound effects) it's obviously not as good as mp3ing it, but for documentaries and spoken word et al, I'm happy to stick to .rm files.

[MojoJojo]

If enough interest is shown in getting higher quality rips, I'll try and sort out recording off my digital TV card. It's in a Linux machine, and while I can view TV stations fine, and record them in some wierd format, I haven't managed to do much with the radio channels yet. It's Program Streams, Transport Streams and Elementary streams, and it's not very well documented.

What is the bit rate of the internet stream? My Media Player seems to refuse playing internet streams anymore, so I can't check. This may be another way to get the full quality streams.

[Jaffa The Cake]

Do they use a form of mpeg joint-stereo these days then Jaffa? They always used to not do so, and so the answer to Pinball's question would be a definite "yes".

Sorry, most modern compressions use some kind of combined bitrate or joint stereo system. Wasn't aware DAB didn't.

[Santa's Boyfriend]

The only thing I can think of is to make sure you record the new series of Hitch-Hikers, as I really can't wait to hear it.

[Pinball]

The only thing I can think of is to make sure you record the new series of Hitch-Hikers, as I really can't wait to hear it.

That'll be R4 first presumably, but agree not one to miss!

[Pinball]

Okay, I've set up a folder cunningly named "BBC7 rip selection" in Soulseek (username Pinballsoul). I won't put everything in it as that would be just too damned much I predict, but some of the best stuff will go there. I've bung a 1955 Goon Show in there now - the first "perfect" rip I've done <distant sound of cherry popping>, ripped < 2 hours ago...

[Pinball]

In case anyone interested I found the easiest way to rip from BBC7 with the Bug as follows:

1. Record onto SD card (plugged directly into Bug), no more than 90 minutes at a time (use timer recording) to ensure no data compression artefacts/"jerkiness". This produces an MP2 format file. Once v.1.1 firmware is available recordings can be as long as you like without artefacts.

2. Load MP2 file into Audacity (no prior conversion to MP3 needed), edit as necessary then save as MP3.

That's it! I gave up on Sound Forge because a) it can't directly load MP2 files, ridiculous given its cost, and b) it <ahem> "stopped working", requiring online registration which failed, despite the usual "approaches". Audacity is free anyway, and as it use Lame to convert to MP3 the quality is as good as Sound Forge IMO (as opposed to Cheetah, which did a terrible "clicky" conversion to MP3).

Any road up, I'm currently encoding my little heart out on BBC7, building up a collection of beautiful quality MP3s on my Maxtor. Some of these files are shared on Soulseek in a BBC7 folder, with files added daily. They've just started re-broadcasting Little Britain S2 (E1 was yesterday), although good quality rips of this already exist so I haven't recorded that one.

[Russ]

I'll request some Just a Minute then please

[Pinball]

I'll request some Just a Minute then please

The first one's in the BBC7 directory:
Clement Freud, Tony Hawks, Peter Jones and Paul Merton - August 1999

[Russ]

Cripes, 27 megs is very big for me to get over dial-up but I'll give it a go anyway. Could you possibly label them according to the first round subject, as then I can add in the broadcast date according to the unnoficial guide linked to on the BBC website.

It's a shame BBC7 don't give more of a clue as to which program it is before it's broadcast.

[Pinball]

The only thing I can think of is to make sure you record the new series of Hitch-Hikers, as I really can't wait to hear it.

On Tuesday 21 September 2004 at 6.30pm The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy returns to Radio 4 for a brand new series.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/hitchhikers

[Neil]

Any chance of an mp3 of this please Pinball?  

Sounding Off With McGough  

Thu 15 Jul, 23:30 - 23:45  15 mins

Heroes and Villains: Poet Roger McGough takes the stage at the Bath Festival to introduce us to some of his more colourful friends and relations. [Rptd Friday 5.00am]

[Pinball]

Any chance of an mp3 of this please Pinball?  

Sounding Off With McGough  

Thu 15 Jul, 23:30 - 23:45  15 mins

Heroes and Villains: Poet Roger McGough takes the stage at the Bath Festival to introduce us to some of his more colourful friends and relations. [Rptd Friday 5.00am]

It's in my shares, with a lot more besides ;-)

[Neil]

Cheers matey, I'll have a hoke through there now, just back from an hour long walk in the park listening to some more of John Peel's Perfumed Garden, aaah technology.  I'll enjoy mp3s a lot more now that I've got this portable mp3 cd player.

[Pinball]

I've so far got 3 Comedy Controller episodes shared, and I'll be recording 'em every week. For those who don't know, it's a 3-hour programme where the guest chooses some favourite radio shows, which are then played in full. I have the following:

The Comedy Controller  

Sat 17 Jul, 08:00 - 11:00  180 mins

Boothby Graffoe

Taking his name from a Lincolnshire market town, musical comedian Boothby Graffoe presents his favourite selection of radio gems: The Goon Show: The Evils of Bushey Spon (11/3/58); Round the Horne: From Russia With Love (16/5/65); Steptoe and Son: Two's Company (23/3/71); The Burkiss Way: Eric Pode of Croydon's Easter Special (26/12/79); The Big Booth (29/1/00); Hancock's Half Hour: The Conjurer (22/2/56).

The Comedy Controller  

Sat 10 Jul, 08:00 - 11:00  180 mins

Nicholas Parsons

The actor and chairman of Just a Minute presents his selection of six of the best comedy programmes: The Goon Show: The Dreaded Batter Pudding Hurler of Bexhill-on-Sea (21/10/1954); Much Binding in the Marsh (28/08/1953); Hancock's Half Hour: The Diary (23/12/1956); Listen to this Space (07/01/1966); Round the Horne: The Sea Cruise (27/02/1967) and Just A Minute (09/08/1999).

The Comedy Controller  

Sat 3 Jul, 21:00 - 00:00  180 mins

Simon Fanshawe

Simon Fanshawe presents six of his favourite radio comedies: Round the Horne: From Russia With Love (16/5/65); The Navy Lark: Mr Philipps' Promotion (30/10/66); Dad's Army: The Armoured Might of Lance Corporal Jones (4/3/74); The Mark Steel Revolution: Karl Marx (17/4/01); Steptoe and Son: Tea for Two (4/4/71); On the Town with The League of Gentlemen: The Wedding (4/12/97).

Each of these is 169MB, but you're worth it ;-)

[2pintz]

if its possible:

Dan And Nicks Wildebeest Years.

Ive listened to a few of these and think their pretty good.

2pintz

[Pinball]

if its possible:

Dan And Nicks Wildebeest Years.

Ive listened to a few of these and think their pretty good.

2pintz

Here ye go:

Dan and Nick The Wildebeest Years - 1998 - BBC7 150704
Edit: link now dead to accommodate ISIHAC, but all are shared as well...

BTW the first ever episode of ISIHAC is broadcast tomorrow:

19:00-19:30  
I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
This is how it all began on 11th April 1972, the start of a radio institution. The very first broadcast of 'Clue'. [Rpt of today midday and rptd Tuesday, 5.30am]

And yes I will be ;-)

Just a Minute is on R4 at 6.30pm too.

(Can you tell I've got radio overload?)

[Pinball]

I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue - 11th April 1972 first ever episode - BBC7 190704.mp3
;-)

Alert:

BBC7: The World of Pete and Dud  

Wed 21 Jul, 23:00 - 23:45  45 mins

Pete and Dud performing some of their greatest sketches from A Bit of a Chat to Art Gallery. [Rptd Thursday 4.30am]