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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

PostPosted: Sat Mar 09, 2013 1:13 pm
by Gridfan
We currently broadcast in 96kbit AAC+.

Our Tune In page is at player.gridstream.org an easy URL to remember and bookmark. If you wish to share with your friends then that is the URL to share. (Direct links to the stream or shoutcast stream is discouraged for legal reasons so please do not do that. And besides, player.gridstream.org is always guaranteed to be up to date and always reflect any changes should they occur.)

Your player need to support .m3u playlists and AAC+ shoutcast streams. Some players have a version number listed, this is the minimum known version required to play our stream.

Unless you are using GridStream Player or the Webplayer then you need to tune in with a special link on player.gridstream.org.
Either click on the orange "Stream" in "GridStream Productions" at the top of that page. Or click the link in the info on that page that says "stream url".

That file/url is what most players will need to tune in. Ideally it will open your preferred player on its own when you click it. But you may need to save the link to it or download the file and open that locally. This varies depending on what player or browser you are using.

TuneInMashup.png


1st/2nd party players (Directly supported by GSP)

Backup/3rd Party web players

Popular 3rd Party players with direct support for .M3U (the Open Stream link)

Smartphones
  • VLC (Android, open the stream (.m3u) file with it)
  • VLC (iOS, open the stream (.m3u) file with it)
  • Tunein.com (iOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry) Has a search function where you can search for GridStream
  • Xiaa Live (Android, iOS) Direct support for .M3U (the Open Stream link), also has a search function where you can search for GridStream
  • StreamLicensing.com App (iOs / Android) with GridStream as the default

Tablets
  • Tunein.com (iOS, Android, Amazon Kindle) Has a search function where you can search for GridStream
  • Xiaa Live (Android, iOS) Direct support for .M3U (the Open Stream link), also has a search function where you can search for GridStream
  • StreamLicensing.com App (iOS / Android) with GridStream as the default

Televisions and connected devices
  • Tunein.com (Samsung Smart TV, Panasonic Viera TV, Roku, Sonos, Logitech | UE) Has a search function where you can search for GridStream

Other

If you have technical issues or problems with the stream, please post in the tech forum and we will do our best to do fix them. Try to be as detailed about why, what, when and how it fails if possible. If we get enough information and can pinpoint/replicate the issue we can likely fix it.

If you have tips/solutions for tuning in, new players or corrections for the list, then please post in this forum and we'll add it to the FAQ.

FAQ

PostPosted: Sat Mar 09, 2013 1:14 pm
by Gridfan
player.gridstream.org
There are known issues displaying the page on older browsers, while the Tune In page itself should work on Internet Explorer 6/7/8 you need Internet Explorer 9 or later for some of the more advanced features like showing the current show and the song. You should also use a more recent version of Chrome or Firefox or Opera or Microsoft Edge instead, some of these browsers should also work on Windows Vista and XP, and Firefox v12 even work on Windows 2000 if that is your thing.

Got any info about your Webplayer?
Glad you asked. It's got it's very own thread with info about it and what browsers it works with.

Trouble Connecting
If you have trouble connecting it could be that the server is full, if more than 1 server is available try the next one. It's also possible that for some reason your computer can't reach a particular server, so try again later. If you know somebody else are tuned in then the stream is probably ok and the issue is from the stream server to you somewhere. Closing and re-starting your player is also something you could try.

Buffering/Stuttering
If the audio is cutting out and returning, or the stream seem to halt for a long time then return, this could mean a connection issue. Check with other listeners id possible. If others experience the same please notify the DJ. But be aware that unless it is the DJ having connection issues (which they should notice quickly usually) the issue may be from the server to you or to those in your area.

Station/show name is stuck
This can happen now and again. And if you are on a relay server then those have their own issues with title updates. Either use a player that directly support GridStream (like GridStream Player for example), or use a in-game service if available (like Gridbot in AO), or check the GSP website, all these use technology/features that should properly keep track of the station/show name.

Song/Track name is stuck
This should be rare, and is most likely a issue with the server or with the software a DJ uses or a issue with the playlist. Please notify GSP (by posting in the Tech forum for example).

Why don't you take requests?
We do, but only if the DJ says they are taking requests, they will inform you of this on the air, now all DJs take requests, and depending on the show or venue they may or may not take requests. If you are in Anarchy Online simply do /tell gridbot request Epicine - Without Epicine where "Epicine - Without Epicine" is the artist and song you want to hear (this makes use of Gridbot). If you are using The Secret World in-game browser or any other web browser then go to player.gridstream.org and click on "Make a request", this will take you to our request form. Our Webplayer/Tune In page also has a embed request form, just press the REQUEST button.

Why don't you play some songs/artists more often?
This is partly due to our royalty agreement and webcaster regulations. There are restrictions on how often a song/artist can be played in an hour. This severely restrict our ability to do a show dedicated to a single artist for example. And we're sorry about that.

Don't you play any indie?
Sure we do, people do not request it that much but we sure do. I fact so,e members GSP (former or current) make music and have released tracks. We also now and again get contacted by independent bands that want to be played. We are more than happy to be playing these.

Recording the stream
If you are afraid to miss a show there are several tools out there that let you record either a stream or recorders which support timed recordings.

How do I play back streams recorded with the GridStream Player?
Well, first of all the player do not record the stream, it just archives the stream raw, there is no break points or song/title info stored either. The format of the raw stream is pointed out in the first post of this thread. Any modern player should be able to play this back. GridStream Player saves the stream with a .aac file extension, Winamp and Foobar2000 and VLC should be able to handle these files without issues.

Timezones, UTC, EST Oh! My head hurts!
Do not worry, The GSP website should tell you when/how long until something starts. There are also various sites and tools and OS features that can help you with this. More information...

Why are there no GSP Apps?
We'd love to do that or work with a 2nd party on that. But direct links to the stream or shoutcast stream is not allowed for legal reasons that we won't go into here. If/when this becomes allowed again then we will obviously pursue this avenue.

Timezones, UTC, EST Oh! My head hurts!

PostPosted: Sat Mar 09, 2013 1:16 pm
by Gridfan
Timezones, UTC, EST Oh! My head hurts!

Here is a good link for various timezone conversions and more. http://timeanddate.com/

But Vista and Windows 7 both have a very cool feature that not many may be aware of. (everyone should really learn about this)

Multiple Clocks.

Just right click on the tray clock, choose Adjust Time/date. Then go to "Additional Clocks" tab.
Below is an example of my system. Somebody in the US would have i.e. EST as their local, plus UTC or maybe CET and similar.
To see all clocks just hover the mouse over the tray clock, brilliant!