How to Measure WiFi Speed

[Jeff Gaines]

I'd like to check what speed I'm getting over my WiFi. I am streaming the
radio as I don't have a DAB aerial, but it is quite crackly.

Is there a way of doing this? Google translates it as measuring Internet
speed since many people confuse the two but that's not what I want.

[Andy Burns]

Post by Jeff Gaines
I'd like to check what speed I'm getting over my WiFi. I am streaming
the radio as I don't have a DAB aerial, but it is quite crackly.
Is there a way of doing this? Google translates it as measuring Internet
speed since many people confuse the two but that's not what I want.

Windows can tell you what link speed your wifi connection is using.

[network & internet settings/wifi/properties maybe?]

have you got a NAS locally, what speed can you downloasdfiles from it,
that excludes your internet connectivity ... but that will enter into
radio streaming, but I've generally got a radio stream going for half
the day and don't notice much if any drop-out from it, certainly no
"crackle"

[Jaimie Vandenbergh]

Post by Jeff Gaines
I'd like to check what speed I'm getting over my WiFi. I am streaming the
radio as I don't have a DAB aerial, but it is quite crackly.
Is there a way of doing this? Google translates it as measuring Internet
speed since many people confuse the two but that's not what I want.

Audio is such tiny quantities of data that it's vanishingly unlikely to
be speed, and more likely something to do with your client or (less
likely) the source that generates any crackle.

Also the stream will be sourced from the Internet, so Internet
speed+latency would be the right thing to check surely?

If you do actually want to check the speed of your wifi - bearing in
mind that it'll vary moment to moment as environmental factors change -
you'd want one computer on the wifi, one wired, and run iperf on both
(one as server, "iperf -s", and one as the client with "iperf -c {host
or ip of server}". Or just transfer eg 1gig of data and stopwatch it.

Cheers - Jaimie

[Abandoned Trolley]

Post by Jeff Gaines
I'd like to check what speed I'm getting over my WiFi. I am streaming
the radio as I don't have a DAB aerial, but it is quite crackly.
Is there a way of doing this? Google translates it as measuring Internet
speed since many people confuse the two but that's not what I want.

Android phones will tell you the speed of a wifi connection, regardless
of the upstream broadband connection ?

[Raj Kundra]

Post by Jeff Gaines
I'd like to check what speed I'm getting over my WiFi. I am streaming
the radio as I don't have a DAB aerial, but it is quite crackly.
Is there a way of doing this? Google translates it as measuring Internet
speed since many people confuse the two but that's not what I want.

Download "FAST" app on phone.

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Jeff Gaines
I'd like to check what speed I'm getting over my WiFi. I am streaming the
radio as I don't have a DAB aerial, but it is quite crackly.
Is there a way of doing this? Google translates it as measuring Internet
speed since many people confuse the two but that's not what I want.

Many thanks for the replies :-)

I applied a bit of logic. I watch very little live TV now, I use a Roku
box and stream programmes in HD. Never had a problem so it's not slow
Internet or LAN.

Tried another radio programme, absolutely fine, no crackling or gaps.

Therefore it is Mellow Magic, must have a dry joint somewhere or perhaps
they won't pay for enough bandwidth?

I like the station as they play 60's/70's music and have one presenter per
show so I avoid the modern trend of two presenters spending most of their
time rolling on the floor wetting themselves at the sound of their own
wit. I'll have a poke around and see if I can find something similar to
Mellow Magic.

[Abandoned Trolley]

Post by Jeff Gaines
I like the station as they play 60's/70's music and have one presenter
per show so I avoid the modern trend of two presenters spending most of
their time rolling on the floor wetting themselves at the sound of their
own wit. I'll have a poke around and see if I can find something similar
to Mellow Magic.

https://www.radio-uk.co.uk/mellow-magic ?

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Abandoned Trolley

Post by Jeff Gaines
I like the station as they play 60's/70's music and have one presenter
per show so I avoid the modern trend of two presenters spending most of
their time rolling on the floor wetting themselves at the sound of their
own wit. I'll have a poke around and see if I can find something similar
to Mellow Magic.

https://www.radio-uk.co.uk/mellow-magic ?

That's the one!

[SH]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Jeff Gaines
I'd like to check what speed I'm getting over my WiFi. I am streaming
the radio as I don't have a DAB aerial, but it is quite crackly.
Is there a way of doing this? Google translates it as measuring
Internet speed since many people confuse the two but that's not what I
want.

Many thanks for the replies :-)
I applied a bit of logic. I watch very little live TV now, I use a Roku
box and stream programmes in HD. Never had a problem so it's not slow
Internet or LAN.
Tried another radio programme, absolutely fine, no crackling or gaps.
Therefore it is Mellow Magic, must have a dry joint somewhere or perhaps
they won't pay for enough bandwidth?
I like the station as they play 60's/70's music and have one presenter
per show so I avoid the modern trend of two presenters spending most of
their time rolling on the floor wetting themselves at the sound of their
own wit. I'll have a poke around and see if I can find something similar
to Mellow Magic.

Mellow Magic is available in different audio formats:

http://www.radiofeeds.co.uk/query.asp?feedme=Mellow+Magic

One might sound better than the other and switching to the better
sounding one?


Try the MP3 and AAC streams on Radiofeeds and if it doesn't play
properly, that certainly points to a CODEC issue.

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines

I'd like to check what speed I'm getting over my WiFi. I am streaming the
radio as I don't have a DAB aerial, but it is quite crackly.
Is there a way of doing this? Google translates it as measuring Internet
speed since many people confuse the two but that's not what I want.

Many thanks for the replies :-)
I applied a bit of logic. I watch very little live TV now, I use a Roku
box and stream programmes in HD. Never had a problem so it's not slow
Internet or LAN.
Tried another radio programme, absolutely fine, no crackling or gaps.
Therefore it is Mellow Magic, must have a dry joint somewhere or perhaps
they won't pay for enough bandwidth?
I like the station as they play 60's/70's music and have one presenter
per show so I avoid the modern trend of two presenters spending most of
their time rolling on the floor wetting themselves at the sound of their
own wit. I'll have a poke around and see if I can find something similar
to Mellow Magic.

http://www.radiofeeds.co.uk/query.asp?feedme=Mellow+Magic
One might sound better than the other and switching to the better sounding
one?
Try the MP3 and AAC streams on Radiofeeds and if it doesn't play properly,
that certainly points to a CODEC issue.

That is interesting thank you :-)

The manual only mentions "Codec" twice. It says DAB+ uses the MPEG-4 audio
codec (AAC+) and that Bluetooth uses SBC, AAC. However, no option to
choose a codec.

It does have a lot of faked effects like "Cathedral", "Hall in Munich" and
can convert 2 channel stereo to 5 channel surround. I have changed it to
"Straight" to stop any further processing. Unfortunately still has odd
weird noises coming through.

I will keep trying...

[SH]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Jeff Gaines
I'd like to check what speed I'm getting over my WiFi. I am
streaming  the radio as I don't have a DAB aerial, but it is quite
crackly.
Is there a way of doing this? Google translates it as measuring
Internet speed since many people confuse the two but that's not what
I  want.

Many thanks for the replies :-)
I applied a bit of logic. I watch very little live TV now, I use a
Roku box and stream programmes in HD. Never had a problem so it's not
slow Internet or LAN.
Tried another radio programme, absolutely fine, no crackling or gaps.
Therefore it is Mellow Magic, must have a dry joint somewhere or
perhaps they won't pay for enough bandwidth?
I like the station as they play 60's/70's music and have one
presenter per show so I avoid the modern trend of two presenters
spending most of their time rolling on the floor wetting themselves
at the sound of their own wit. I'll have a poke around and see if I
can find something similar to Mellow Magic.

http://www.radiofeeds.co.uk/query.asp?feedme=Mellow+Magic
One might sound better than the other and switching to the better
sounding one?
Try the MP3 and AAC streams on Radiofeeds and if it doesn't play
properly, that certainly points to a CODEC issue.

That is interesting thank you :-)
The manual only mentions "Codec" twice. It says DAB+ uses the MPEG-4
audio codec (AAC+) and that Bluetooth uses SBC, AAC. However, no option
to choose a codec.
It does have a lot of faked effects like "Cathedral", "Hall in Munich"
and can convert 2 channel stereo to 5 channel surround. I have changed
it to "Straight" to stop any further processing. Unfortunately still has
odd weird noises coming through.
I will keep trying...

A question... What software are you actually using to listen to the
Mellow Magic stream?

If the two radiofeeds streams play OK within the browser, (try other
browsers if need be)

it might be worth trying a different streaming player, I'd start with
VLC or Kodi.

Regarding any missing codecs, you could try and install CCCP (Combined
Community Codec Pack) as that should have *all* codecs included

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Jeff Gaines
The manual only mentions "Codec" twice. It says DAB+ uses the MPEG-4
audio codec (AAC+) and that Bluetooth uses SBC, AAC. However, no option
to choose a codec.
It does have a lot of faked effects like "Cathedral", "Hall in Munich"
and can convert 2 channel stereo to 5 channel surround. I have changed it
to "Straight" to stop any further processing. Unfortunately still has odd
weird noises coming through.
I will keep trying...

A question... What software are you actually using to listen to the Mellow
Magic stream?
If the two radiofeeds streams play OK within the browser, (try other
browsers if need be)
it might be worth trying a different streaming player, I'd start with VLC
or Kodi.
Regarding any missing codecs, you could try and install CCCP (Combined
Community Codec Pack) as that should have all codecs included

Sorry that seems to have become lost somewhere!

It's a Yamaha RX-S601D AV Receiver - effectively a "smart" radio receiver
with a plethora of inputs of different types (including 6 x HDMI) which is
the centre of my home entertainment system. It has several boxes feeding
into it and it extracts the audio and plays it via a couple of
Mordaunt-Short Aviano 1 speakers and passes the picture on to the TV. It
has the latest firmware and as such is not flexible as far as codecs are
concerned.

The station I found played fine all afternoon and I am beginning to think
it is a problem with Mellow Magic.

[SH]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines
The manual only mentions "Codec" twice. It says DAB+ uses the MPEG-4
audio codec (AAC+) and that Bluetooth uses SBC, AAC. However, no
option to choose a codec.
It does have a lot of faked effects like "Cathedral", "Hall in
Munich" and can convert 2 channel stereo to 5 channel surround. I
have changed  it to "Straight" to stop any further processing.
Unfortunately still has  odd weird noises coming through.
I will keep trying...

A question... What software are you actually using to listen to the
Mellow Magic stream?
If the two radiofeeds streams play OK within the browser, (try other
browsers if need be)
it might be worth trying a different streaming player, I'd start with
VLC or Kodi.
Regarding any missing codecs, you could try and install CCCP (Combined
Community Codec Pack) as that should have all codecs included

Sorry that seems to have become lost somewhere!
It's a Yamaha RX-S601D AV Receiver - effectively a "smart" radio
receiver with a plethora of inputs of different types (including 6 x
HDMI) which is the centre of my home entertainment system. It has
several boxes feeding into it and it extracts the audio and plays it via
a couple of Mordaunt-Short Aviano 1 speakers and passes the picture on
to the TV. It has the latest firmware and as such is not flexible as far
as codecs are concerned.
The station I found played fine all afternoon and I am beginning to
think it is a problem with Mellow Magic.

ah ha, you're using an AV reciever and here's me thinking it was PC
related as this is a uk.comp-homebuilt newsgroup...... :-)

Humour me please, what is the radio feeds of Mellow Magic like on a PC
via a web browser and also do they play OK on VLC on a PC?

If it does play better, then perhaps a Roku stick or even a Pi 4 running
Radiofeeds or VLC on one of your 6 HDMI inputs could do a better job of
playing Mellow Magic?

As an aside, isn't Mellow Magic also available on DAB+?

SFX: googles.... aha!

https://media.info/radio/stations/mellow-magic/listen

aha.... two audio links for you to try and you can get Mellow Magic on
DAB+ if you tune into the SDL Mux on 11A which is on 216.928 MHz. The
SDL mux is a national mux so should be recievable with a half reasonable
DAB aerial plugged into your AV reciever and assuming that your AV
reciever supports DAB+

See http://www.wohnort.org/dab/uknat.html#D2

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by SH
ah ha, you're using an AV reciever and here's me thinking it was PC
related as this is a uk.comp-homebuilt newsgroup...... :-)

My original question was about measuring network speed but we've moved on
:-)

Post by SH
Humour me please, what is the radio feeds of Mellow Magic like on a PC via
a web browser and also do they play OK on VLC on a PC?
If it does play better, then perhaps a Roku stick or even a Pi 4 running
Radiofeeds or VLC on one of your 6 HDMI inputs could do a better job of
playing Mellow Magic?

That's worth trying, I'll have a listen via my Roku box later. The box
isn't as easy to control via my Logitech hub as it always starts on the
home page and it's not just a simple case of sending it a string of numbers.

Post by SH
As an aside, isn't Mellow Magic also available on DAB+?
SFX: googles.... aha!
https://media.info/radio/stations/mellow-magic/listen
aha.... two audio links for you to try and you can get Mellow Magic on
DAB+ if you tune into the SDL Mux on 11A which is on 216.928 MHz. The SDL
mux is a national mux so should be recievable with a half reasonable DAB
aerial plugged into your AV reciever and assuming that your AV reciever
supports DAB+
See http://www.wohnort.org/dab/uknat.html#D2

I don't have a DAB aerial, streaming avoids having to get one!

[SH]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH
ah ha, you're using an AV reciever and here's me thinking it was PC
related as this is a uk.comp-homebuilt newsgroup...... :-)

My original question was about measuring network speed but we've moved
on :-)

Post by SH
Humour me please, what is the radio feeds of Mellow Magic like on a PC
via a web browser and also do they play OK on VLC on a PC?
If it does play better, then perhaps a Roku stick or even a Pi 4
running Radiofeeds or VLC on one of your 6 HDMI inputs could do a
better job of playing Mellow Magic?

That's worth trying, I'll have a listen via my Roku box later. The box
isn't as easy to control via my Logitech hub as it always starts on the
home page and it's not just a simple case of sending it a string of numbers.

Post by SH
As an aside, isn't Mellow Magic also available on DAB+?
SFX: googles.... aha!
https://media.info/radio/stations/mellow-magic/listen
aha.... two audio links for you to try and you can get Mellow Magic on
DAB+ if you tune into the SDL Mux on 11A which is on 216.928 MHz. The
SDL mux is a national mux so should be recievable with a half
reasonable DAB aerial plugged into your AV reciever and assuming that
your AV reciever supports DAB+
See http://www.wohnort.org/dab/uknat.html#D2

I don't have a DAB aerial, streaming avoids having to get one!

while I see the attraction of streaming off the internet, what happens
when the internet goes down?

I have a distribution system fed by a FM aerial, a DAB aerial, 4 UHF TV
aerials and 5 off satellite dishes feeding all TVs, radios and PCs that
have tuner cards.....

I also have UPS for power cuts too.

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines
I don't have a DAB aerial, streaming avoids having to get one!

while I see the attraction of streaming off the internet, what happens
when the internet goes down?
I have a distribution system fed by a FM aerial, a DAB aerial, 4 UHF TV
aerials and 5 off satellite dishes feeding all TVs, radios and PCs that
have tuner cards.....
I also have UPS for power cuts too.

The Internet went down for 5 days in the village recently, I managed to
survive without music!

I have a TV aerial and a satellite dish so that's enough for me. I used
the Roku box this afternoon and got solid reception. I will try it
tomorrow again since most of the problems seem to be in the morning.
Difficult to compare as it takes a while to switch from one to t'other.

[SH]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines
I don't have a DAB aerial, streaming avoids having to get one!

while I see the attraction of streaming off the internet, what happens
when the internet goes down?
I have a distribution system fed by a FM aerial, a DAB aerial, 4 UHF
TV aerials and 5 off satellite dishes feeding all TVs, radios and PCs
that have tuner cards.....
I also have UPS for power cuts too.

The Internet went down for 5 days in the village recently, I managed to
survive without music!
I have a TV aerial and a satellite dish so that's enough for me. I used
the Roku box this afternoon and got solid reception. I will try it
tomorrow again since most of the problems seem to be in the morning.
Difficult to compare as it takes a while to switch from one to t'other.

Have I have understood you correctly as it seemns you are implying that
the Mellow Magic music quality issues only occurs in the morning AND
only on the AV reciever?

To be honest with you, as Mellow Magic is on the SDL DAB+ mux pretty
much nationally, and at similar power levels as the BBC and Digital 1
ensmebles, I'd be tempted to put in a simple wire about 75 cm long with
one end stripped and poked into the centre pin of the DAB+ aerial
F-connector at the back of the AV reciever and position the wire so it
is vertical and going upwards towards the ceiling.

Then see what Mellow Magic's audio quality is like on the 11A SDL ensemble.


S.

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines
I have a TV aerial and a satellite dish so that's enough for me. I used
the Roku box this afternoon and got solid reception. I will try it
tomorrow again since most of the problems seem to be in the morning.
Difficult to compare as it takes a while to switch from one to t'other.

Have I have understood you correctly as it seemns you are implying that
the Mellow Magic music quality issues only occurs in the morning AND only
on the AV reciever?

That seems to be true, cracks and pops mainly (but not exclusively) in the
mornings.

Post by SH
To be honest with you, as Mellow Magic is on the SDL DAB+ mux pretty much
nationally, and at similar power levels as the BBC and Digital 1
ensmebles, I'd be tempted to put in a simple wire about 75 cm long with
one end stripped and poked into the centre pin of the DAB+ aerial
F-connector at the back of the AV reciever and position the wire so it is
vertical and going upwards towards the ceiling.
Then see what Mellow Magic's audio quality is like on the 11A SDL ensemble.

Two bits of good news:

When I turned on the Roku box this morning it immediately switched to the
Roku radio player app, must be something in the app as normally it goes to
the home screen. That would make adding it to the Logitech hub much easier.

It has run perfectly so far, no crackles or pops at all.

The question now is why does the Roku box play Mellow Magic cleanly but
the radio doesn't? The Roku connects to the Tenda Mesh system by WiFi, the
radio is plugged into a Tenda module. I wonder if the module has a
problem? The radio only has a wired connection. I could set up my
powerline network and see what that does.

[SH]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines
I have a TV aerial and a satellite dish so that's enough for me. I
used the Roku box this afternoon and got solid reception. I will try
it tomorrow again since most of the problems seem to be in the
morning. Difficult to compare as it takes a while to switch from one
to t'other.

Have I have understood you correctly as it seemns you are implying
that the Mellow Magic music quality issues only occurs in the morning
AND only on the AV reciever?

That seems to be true, cracks and pops mainly (but not exclusively) in
the mornings.

Post by SH
To be honest with you, as Mellow Magic is on the SDL DAB+ mux pretty
much nationally, and at similar power levels as the BBC and Digital 1
ensmebles, I'd be tempted to put in a simple wire about 75 cm long
with one end stripped and poked into the centre pin of the DAB+ aerial
F-connector at the back of the AV reciever and position the wire so it
is vertical and going upwards towards the ceiling.
Then see what Mellow Magic's audio quality is like on the 11A SDL ensemble.

When I turned on the Roku box this morning it immediately switched to
the Roku radio player app, must be something in the app as normally it
goes to the home screen. That would make adding it to the Logitech hub
much easier.
It has run perfectly so far, no crackles or pops at all.
The question now is why does the Roku box play Mellow Magic cleanly but
the radio doesn't? The Roku connects to the Tenda Mesh system by WiFi,
the radio is plugged into a Tenda module. I wonder if the module has a
problem? The radio only has a wired connection. I could set up my
powerline network and see what that does.

Correct me if I am wrong: Am I right in thinking that your AV reciever
has an integrated audio streamer that pulls radio streams off the
internet, and that you can use either wi Fi or an ethernet cable for
internet connectivity?

Do you know *Exactly* what the URL the AV reciever is using for sourcing
the Mellow Magic? Try playing that URL on a PC and see what the audio is
like?

Can you change the URL the AV reciever uses for Mellow Magic for one
that you have listened to on a PC that sounds OK?

Or is it one of those "walled garden" of audio sources that your AV
reciever is tied to?

I have a sony that is tied to the vTuner ecosystem.

Sony stopped paying royalties to vTuner so the internet radio section of
the sony is deader than a dodo!

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Jeff Gaines
The question now is why does the Roku box play Mellow Magic cleanly but
the radio doesn't? The Roku connects to the Tenda Mesh system by WiFi,
the radio is plugged into a Tenda module. I wonder if the module has a
problem? The radio only has a wired connection. I could set up my
powerline network and see what that does.

Correct me if I am wrong: Am I right in thinking that your AV reciever has
an integrated audio streamer that pulls radio streams off the internet,
and that you can use either wi Fi or an ethernet cable for internet
connectivity?

An integrate streamer yes, ethernet cable only.

Do you know Exactly what the URL the AV reciever is using for sourcing the
Mellow Magic? Try playing that URL on a PC and see what the audio is like?

No, it's a "black box" as far as that sort of information is concerned.
The firmware is the latest available but hasn't updated for ages.

Can you change the URL the AV reciever uses for Mellow Magic for one that
you have listened to on a PC that sounds OK?

No.

Or is it one of those "walled garden" of audio sources that your AV
reciever is tied to?

Yes, walled garden.

I have a sony that is tied to the vTuner ecosystem.
Sony stopped paying royalties to vTuner so the internet radio section of
the sony is deader than a dodo!

That's one of the reasons I prefer a different box for each function in
theory it's cheaper than replacing one multi function unit.

I suppose I should bring one of my spare machines into service as a media
streamer. It can have Freeview and satellite dish inputs plus streaming
and I would have more control over it. Might be an interesting project?

[SH]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines
The question now is why does the Roku box play Mellow Magic cleanly
but the radio doesn't? The Roku connects to the Tenda Mesh system by
WiFi, the radio is plugged into a Tenda module. I wonder if the
module has a problem? The radio only has a wired connection. I could
set up my powerline network and see what that does.

Correct me if I am wrong: Am I right in thinking that your AV reciever
has an integrated audio streamer that pulls radio streams off the
internet, and that you can use either wi Fi or an ethernet cable for
internet connectivity?

An integrate streamer yes, ethernet cable only.

Post by SH
Do you know Exactly what the URL the AV reciever is using for sourcing
the Mellow Magic? Try playing that URL on a PC and see what the audio
is like?

No, it's a "black box" as far as that sort of information is concerned.
The firmware is the latest available but hasn't updated for ages.

Post by SH
Can you change the URL the AV reciever uses for Mellow Magic for one
that you have listened to on a PC that sounds OK?

No.

Post by SH
Or is it one of those "walled garden" of audio sources that your AV
reciever is tied to?

Yes, walled garden.

This is one of the reasons why I like my own personal DNS (Pi hole) and
making *everything* network connected use this DNS instead of your ISP's
provided DNS.

It is then trivial to look at the DNS lookup logs, filter the list for
all DNS requests made by a specific device on my network, and voila, I
have the http(s) URL!

Obviously this falls down if a device makes a connection to a specific
IP address directly as that does not require DNS lookup.

Wireshark put on a Raspberry Pi and plugged into a network port that is
set to mirror the traffic on the port connected to your AV reciever will
soon sort that :-)

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH
I have a sony that is tied to the vTuner ecosystem.
Sony stopped paying royalties to vTuner so the internet radio section
of the sony is deader than a dodo!

That's one of the reasons I prefer a different box for each function in
theory it's cheaper than replacing one multi function unit.
I suppose I should bring one of my spare machines into service as a
media streamer. It can have Freeview and satellite dish inputs plus
streaming and I would have more control over it. Might be an interesting
project?

Yes, I have PCIe cards that have a Freeview tuner AND a Freesat Tuner on
board in my computers

I've seen PCIe cards that have 8 freeview tuners on board and cards with
8 Freesat tuners on board.

A RTLSDR could be used for FM, DAB and DAB Plus.

That reminds me, is Mellow Magic avaible on Freesat?

You can also get the Silicon Dust Quattro tuner which puts 4 freeview
signals on your home network, and there is the Kathrein EXIP 414 to put
4 freesat signals on the Network.

This saves you having to build and maintain a media server as the
streams are based on Sat>IP and VLC, Kodi, DVBviewer can access them
directly.

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by SH

I suppose I should bring one of my spare machines into service as a media
streamer. It can have Freeview and satellite dish inputs plus streaming
and I would have more control over it. Might be an interesting project?

Yes, I have PCIe cards that have a Freeview tuner AND a Freesat Tuner on
board in my computers
I've seen PCIe cards that have 8 freeview tuners on board and cards with 8
Freesat tuners on board.
A RTLSDR could be used for FM, DAB and DAB Plus.
That reminds me, is Mellow Magic avaible on Freesat?

Magic is but not Mellow Magic, it's the runt of the family!

Post by SH
You can also get the Silicon Dust Quattro tuner which puts 4 freeview
signals on your home network, and there is the Kathrein EXIP 414 to put 4
freesat signals on the Network.

I have dusted off my HP Z230 and installed Universal Media Player!

Is there such a thing as a PCIe card that streams radio? All my searches
are leading me up blind alleys.

[SH]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines
I suppose I should bring one of my spare machines into service as a
media streamer. It can have Freeview and satellite dish inputs plus
streaming and I would have more control over it. Might be an
interesting  project?

Yes, I have PCIe cards that have a Freeview tuner AND a Freesat Tuner
on board in my computers
I've seen PCIe cards that have 8 freeview tuners on board and cards
with 8 Freesat tuners on board.
A RTLSDR could be used for FM, DAB and DAB Plus.
That reminds me, is Mellow Magic avaible on Freesat?

Magic is but not Mellow Magic, it's the runt of the family!

Post by SH
You can also get the Silicon Dust Quattro tuner which puts 4 freeview
signals on your home network, and there is the Kathrein EXIP 414 to
put 4 freesat signals on the Network.

I have dusted off my HP Z230 and installed Universal Media Player!
Is there such a thing as a PCIe card that streams radio? All my searches
are leading me up blind alleys.

From the Man that gave you Ventoy and Bluestacks.... :-)

I give you RTL SDR....

SDR is software defined radio where all the tuning, demodulation etc is
all done in software.

https://www.rtl-sdr.com/welle-io-new-rtl-sdr-airspy-dab-dab-decoder-available-windowslinux/

The RTL-SDR is a USB dongle and there are several versions depending on
the tuner on board.

(DAB radio is 174 MHz to 230 NHz)

The Welle.io software is here:

https://www.welle.io/

https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/RTL-SDR

Be warned, the RTL SDR and associated software is a real tinkerers
paradise and and to get the best out of, don't be surprised if you end
up using Linux.....

https://www.rtl-sdr.com/

https://radio-hobbyist.com/rtl-sdr-install-config/

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Jeff Gaines
I suppose I should bring one of my spare machines into service as a
media streamer. It can have Freeview and satellite dish inputs plus
streaming and I would have more control over it. Might be an
interesting  project?

Yes, I have PCIe cards that have a Freeview tuner AND a Freesat Tuner on
board in my computers
I've seen PCIe cards that have 8 freeview tuners on board and cards with
8 Freesat tuners on board.
A RTLSDR could be used for FM, DAB and DAB Plus.
That reminds me, is Mellow Magic avaible on Freesat?

Magic is but not Mellow Magic, it's the runt of the family!

You can also get the Silicon Dust Quattro tuner which puts 4 freeview
signals on your home network, and there is the Kathrein EXIP 414 to put 4
freesat signals on the Network.

I have dusted off my HP Z230 and installed Universal Media Player!
Is there such a thing as a PCIe card that streams radio? All my searches
are leading me up blind alleys.

From the Man that gave you Ventoy and Bluestacks.... :-)
I give you RTL SDR....
SDR is software defined radio where all the tuning, demodulation etc is
all done in software.
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/welle-io-new-rtl-sdr-airspy-dab-dab-decoder-available-windowslinux/
The RTL-SDR is a USB dongle and there are several versions depending on
the tuner on board.
(DAB radio is 174 MHz to 230 NHz)
https://www.welle.io/
https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/RTL-SDR
Be warned, the RTL SDR and associated software is a real tinkerers
paradise and and to get the best out of, don't be surprised if you end up
using Linux.....
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/
https://radio-hobbyist.com/rtl-sdr-install-config/

Thanks again :-)

Will look in detail tomorrow.

Some discoveries today:

My Yamaha AV receiver does WiFi and the reception of Mellow Magic is
excellent. One more test tomorrow - a different Ethernet cable before I
make a final decision.

Going back to your input re codecs I have set up JellyFin, Universal Media
Player and Plex and tested them today by streaming to my Roku. The
picture quality for JellyFin and Universal Media Server is noticeably
better than Plex which, presumably, reflects the codecs they use?

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by SH
From the Man that gave you Ventoy and Bluestacks.... :-)
I give you RTL SDR....
SDR is software defined radio where all the tuning, demodulation etc is
all done in software.
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/welle-io-new-rtl-sdr-airspy-dab-dab-decoder-available-windowslinux/
The RTL-SDR is a USB dongle and there are several versions depending on
the tuner on board.

Mellow Magic was back to burbling occasionally with the AV Receiver
connected by Ethernet cable, really weird.

Is there an Internet radio version of the RTL SDR? Ideally I would like a
Roku on a PCIe card so I can pick up Internet radio then something to
stream it to my home network via DLNA.

How old is welle-io? I had a crude DAB radio from Creative Labs many moons
ago that needed software to decode it and the name sounds familiar.

[SH]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH
From the Man that gave you Ventoy and Bluestacks.... :-)
I give you RTL SDR....
SDR is software defined radio where all the tuning, demodulation etc
is all done in software.
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/welle-io-new-rtl-sdr-airspy-dab-dab-decoder-available-windowslinux/
The RTL-SDR is a USB dongle and there are several versions depending
on the tuner on board.

Mellow Magic was back to burbling occasionally with the AV Receiver
connected by Ethernet cable, really weird.
Is there an Internet radio version of the RTL SDR? Ideally I would like
a Roku on a PCIe card so I can pick up Internet radio then something to
stream it to my home network via DLNA.
How old is welle-io? I had a crude DAB radio from Creative Labs many
moons ago that needed software to decode it and the name sounds familiar.

When you say burbling. does it sound like bubbling or boiling mud?

That is a sympton of marginal DAB+ signal reception, i.e the signal
quality has gone down too low even when there is enough signal strength.

So two possibilities.....

the walled garden that you get your Mellow Magic from is feeding from a
DAB+ tuner with marginal signal quality in which case a complaint to the
walled garden provider or via the AV amp manufacturer?

Or the AV reciever is giving you Mellow Magic from the DAB/DAB+ section
than from the walled garden of radio stations?

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by SH
When you say burbling. does it sound like bubbling or boiling mud?
That is a sympton of marginal DAB+ signal reception, i.e the signal
quality has gone down too low even when there is enough signal strength.

I haven't heard boiling mud, are they a 60's band?

I have put an enquiry in with Yamaha, be interesting to see if they have
any ideas.

The Roku receives it fine but is very difficult to control with my Harmony
Hub. It is limited to up, down, left, right, home & enter pretty well. The
problem is it doesn't start with the same screen twice :-(

[SH]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH
When you say burbling. does it sound like bubbling or boiling mud?
That is a sympton of marginal DAB+ signal reception, i.e the signal
quality has gone down too low even when there is enough signal strength.

I haven't heard boiling mud, are they a 60's band?
I have put an enquiry in with Yamaha, be interesting to see if they have
any ideas.
The Roku receives it fine but is very difficult to control with my
Harmony Hub. It is limited to up, down, left, right, home & enter pretty
well. The problem is it doesn't start with the same screen twice :-(

LOL, not a 60's band, its the sound the DAB radio makes when reception
is poor quality.....

[SH]

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH
When you say burbling. does it sound like bubbling or boiling mud?
That is a sympton of marginal DAB+ signal reception, i.e the signal
quality has gone down too low even when there is enough signal strength.

I haven't heard boiling mud, are they a 60's band?
I have put an enquiry in with Yamaha, be interesting to see if they
have any ideas.
The Roku receives it fine but is very difficult to control with my
Harmony Hub. It is limited to up, down, left, right, home & enter
pretty well. The problem is it doesn't start with the same screen
twice :-(

LOL, not a 60's band, its the sound the DAB radio makes when reception
is poor quality.....

P.S. it would not surprise me if the walled garden that is providing
radio streams to your yamaha has a bank of DAB tuners with digital audio
outputs which are then fed into a media server.... so when the reception
is marginal, the DAB tuner then boils mud and that gets fed to the media
server......

[SH]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines
I suppose I should bring one of my spare machines into service as a
media streamer. It can have Freeview and satellite dish inputs plus
streaming and I would have more control over it. Might be an
interesting  project?

Yes, I have PCIe cards that have a Freeview tuner AND a Freesat
Tuner  on board in my computers
I've seen PCIe cards that have 8 freeview tuners on board and cards
with 8 Freesat tuners on board.
A RTLSDR could be used for FM, DAB and DAB Plus.
That reminds me, is Mellow Magic avaible on Freesat?

Magic is but not Mellow Magic, it's the runt of the family!

Post by SH
You can also get the Silicon Dust Quattro tuner which puts 4
freeview signals on your home network, and there is the Kathrein
EXIP 414 to  put 4 freesat signals on the Network.

I have dusted off my HP Z230 and installed Universal Media Player!
Is there such a thing as a PCIe card that streams radio? All my
searches are leading me up blind alleys.

From the Man that gave you Ventoy and Bluestacks.... :-)
I give you RTL SDR....
SDR is software defined radio where all the tuning, demodulation etc
is all done in software.
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/welle-io-new-rtl-sdr-airspy-dab-dab-decoder-available-windowslinux/
The RTL-SDR is a USB dongle and there are several versions depending
on the tuner on board.
(DAB radio is 174 MHz to 230 NHz)
https://www.welle.io/
https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/RTL-SDR
Be warned, the RTL SDR and associated software is a real tinkerers
paradise and and to get the best out of, don't be surprised if you end
up using Linux.....
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/
https://radio-hobbyist.com/rtl-sdr-install-config/

Thanks again :-)
Will look in detail tomorrow.
My Yamaha AV receiver does WiFi and the reception of Mellow Magic is
excellent. One more test tomorrow - a different Ethernet cable before I
make a final decision.

If there was a defective ethernet cable, you'd expect other internet
streams to be affected at the same time as bad mellow Magic?

Post by Jeff Gaines
Going back to your input re codecs I have set up JellyFin, Universal
Media Player and Plex  and tested them today by streaming to my Roku.

Its not just codecs,

It also depends on home network bandwidth and where the source media is
coming from in the case of internet streams.

If its your own personal media, then there could be some on the fly
transcoding going on such as AVI to MPG or to MP4 etc.

It all depends on what formats the server supports and serves up and
what formats your client players can work with and whether your source
media needs transcoding if its not a supported format.

Transcoding will imtroduce artefacts...

Its better to have a server AND client that can natively support all
formats your audio and video is in.

If transcoding is unavoidable, then it is better to upcode to a better
qaulity format than to downcode to a poorer quality format.....

There are tools out there that can batch transcode your video and audio
library as this will reduce the server or client load if it has to do on
the fly transcoding.

S.

Post by Jeff Gaines
The picture quality for JellyFin and Universal Media Server is
noticeably better than Plex which, presumably, reflects the codecs they
use?

[SH]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines
I suppose I should bring one of my spare machines into service as a
media streamer. It can have Freeview and satellite dish inputs plus
streaming and I would have more control over it. Might be an
interesting  project?

Yes, I have PCIe cards that have a Freeview tuner AND a Freesat
Tuner  on board in my computers
I've seen PCIe cards that have 8 freeview tuners on board and cards
with 8 Freesat tuners on board.
A RTLSDR could be used for FM, DAB and DAB Plus.
That reminds me, is Mellow Magic avaible on Freesat?

Magic is but not Mellow Magic, it's the runt of the family!

Post by SH
You can also get the Silicon Dust Quattro tuner which puts 4
freeview signals on your home network, and there is the Kathrein
EXIP 414 to  put 4 freesat signals on the Network.

I have dusted off my HP Z230 and installed Universal Media Player!
Is there such a thing as a PCIe card that streams radio? All my
searches are leading me up blind alleys.

From the Man that gave you Ventoy and Bluestacks.... :-)
I give you RTL SDR....
SDR is software defined radio where all the tuning, demodulation etc
is all done in software.
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/welle-io-new-rtl-sdr-airspy-dab-dab-decoder-available-windowslinux/
The RTL-SDR is a USB dongle and there are several versions depending
on the tuner on board.
(DAB radio is 174 MHz to 230 NHz)
https://www.welle.io/
https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/RTL-SDR
Be warned, the RTL SDR and associated software is a real tinkerers
paradise and and to get the best out of, don't be surprised if you end
up using Linux.....
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/
https://radio-hobbyist.com/rtl-sdr-install-config/

Thanks again :-)
Will look in detail tomorrow.
My Yamaha AV receiver does WiFi and the reception of Mellow Magic is
excellent. One more test tomorrow - a different Ethernet cable before I
make a final decision.
Going back to your input re codecs I have set up JellyFin, Universal
Media Player and Plex  and tested them today by streaming to my Roku.
The picture quality for JellyFin and Universal Media Server is
noticeably better than Plex which, presumably, reflects the codecs they
use?

finally found a PCIe DAB+ tuner....

https://www.audioscience.com/internet/products/tuner_cards/asi8821.htm

They are professional grade used by companies to monitor their radio
transmissions, this card can have up to 8 DAB+ audio signals....

As its a niche end use, expect these to cost arm and a leg.... :-)

Then you've got to work out how to stream the 8 DAB+ stations over the
home network as RTSP streams. :-)

[SH]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by SH

Post by Jeff Gaines
I suppose I should bring one of my spare machines into service as a
media streamer. It can have Freeview and satellite dish inputs plus
streaming and I would have more control over it. Might be an
interesting  project?

Yes, I have PCIe cards that have a Freeview tuner AND a Freesat
Tuner  on board in my computers
I've seen PCIe cards that have 8 freeview tuners on board and cards
with 8 Freesat tuners on board.
A RTLSDR could be used for FM, DAB and DAB Plus.
That reminds me, is Mellow Magic avaible on Freesat?

Magic is but not Mellow Magic, it's the runt of the family!

Post by SH
You can also get the Silicon Dust Quattro tuner which puts 4
freeview signals on your home network, and there is the Kathrein
EXIP 414 to  put 4 freesat signals on the Network.

I have dusted off my HP Z230 and installed Universal Media Player!
Is there such a thing as a PCIe card that streams radio? All my
searches are leading me up blind alleys.

From the Man that gave you Ventoy and Bluestacks.... :-)
I give you RTL SDR....
SDR is software defined radio where all the tuning, demodulation etc
is all done in software.
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/welle-io-new-rtl-sdr-airspy-dab-dab-decoder-available-windowslinux/
The RTL-SDR is a USB dongle and there are several versions depending
on the tuner on board.
(DAB radio is 174 MHz to 230 NHz)
https://www.welle.io/
https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/RTL-SDR
Be warned, the RTL SDR and associated software is a real tinkerers
paradise and and to get the best out of, don't be surprised if you end
up using Linux.....
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/
https://radio-hobbyist.com/rtl-sdr-install-config/

Thanks again :-)
Will look in detail tomorrow.
My Yamaha AV receiver does WiFi and the reception of Mellow Magic is
excellent. One more test tomorrow - a different Ethernet cable before I
make a final decision.
Going back to your input re codecs I have set up JellyFin, Universal
Media Player and Plex  and tested them today by streaming to my Roku.
The picture quality for JellyFin and Universal Media Server is
noticeably better than Plex which, presumably, reflects the codecs they
use?

Oh and this one:

https://www.sonifex.co.uk/radiocards/pc-dab1-4.shtml

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by SH
https://www.sonifex.co.uk/radiocards/pc-dab1-4.shtml

I don't have an aerial so was hoping for something like that which would
stream Internet radio.

[Andy Burns]

Post by Jeff Gaines
Tried another radio programme, absolutely fine, no crackling or gaps.
Therefore it is Mellow Magic

Maybe google is trying to save my lug 'oles, but it refuses to
acknowledge "mellow magic" exists ... radioplayer finds it and doesn't
sound crackly ...

[Andy Burns]

Post by Andy Burns
Maybe google is trying to save my lug 'oles, but it refuses to
acknowledge "mellow magic" exists ... radioplayer finds it and doesn't
sound crackly ...

Sorry, three songs was enough ... no crackles though.

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Andy Burns

Post by Andy Burns
Maybe google is trying to save my lug 'oles, but it refuses to
acknowledge "mellow magic" exists ... radioplayer finds it and doesn't
sound crackly ...

Sorry, three songs was enough ... no crackles though.

You're obviously much too young for it :-)

[Abandoned Trolley]

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Andy Burns
Sorry, three songs was enough ... no crackles though.

You're obviously much too young for it :-)

or just not deaf (yet)

[Jeff Gaines]

Post by Abandoned Trolley

Post by Jeff Gaines

Post by Andy Burns
Sorry, three songs was enough ... no crackles though.

You're obviously much too young for it :-)

or just not deaf (yet)

:-)

The first alternative sounded OK but the third song was Cliff Richard so I
moved on. 24-7 The Sixties has been good so far and no presenter, just non
stop music!