Raffin

I've come back to regular BBC radio listening after an absence of a couple of years.What I have experienced over the last few weeks is a frequent buffering of the most annoying kind on the R4,R5 and World Service live streams.The player states "Live" but one just gets short snatches of sound interspersed by long silences.Different from what I remember before when there was either periods of occasional buffering or complete silence, not the halfway house I am often experiencing..The BBC Radio Help page talked about some sort of outsourcing of its radio streaming last month and answered some ensuing complaints from domestic listeners with specialised radios, but there was nothing about international streams.The outsourcing news has raised my suspicions, but before I consider contacting the BBC I just wondered if anyone else has noticed any deterioration in BBC streams here in the Philippines lately?

Stokkevn

BBC going international does sometimes have a problem with buffering. There are systems available for not much that hide your location and eliminate buffering on radio. Avast is one that I know that provides this service, but I bet there are many more.

Raffin

Would you be referring to a VPN, Stokkevn? I'm generally on one to have a UK ISP address. Turning it off doesn't make any difference. I'm using AVG antivirus (free version). Interestingly, if one searches Avast on Google a lot of items about users experiencing buffering when using it come up!
I'm always suspicious about my broadband service quality - but when this extreme radio buffering is on it seems to be working well eg I can stream watchable TV.

quiltman

I use tunein on my tablet and netradio on the PC and except for a brief buffer now and then it's fine. Some days no buffering at all, others every 15 minutes or so. I suppose it depends on where you're located as t'internet can be variable here.
strange that you can stream TV when radio is buffering which as you say indicates a problem with the stream provider.
what program do you use to listen to radio?
I don't use VPN to listen to radio as except for the odd sport programme on R5 they are streamed worldwide so location does not matter.

Raffin

Thanks Quiltman, I'll give netradio and tunein a try as up to now I have just been using the BBC radio player directly for their flagship stations, not wishing to access the many stations sites like Tunein offer. You haven't noticed any deterioration recently so my outsourcing suspicion is probably unfounded. Today R4,R5 and World Service was streaming fine late night and early morning GMT, but last night here they again gave me that almost continuous buffering I have already described for the midday BBC output.

quiltman

I found the BBC player was not good , that's why I changed to netradio. I'd always used tunein on the tablet anyway. hope it works OK for you. I do like my dose of R4 & R5!