Would it REALLY cost that many pennies to use a URL like
https://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/archers
instead of
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpgr/episodes/downloads
Would it REALLY cost that many pennies to use a URL like
https://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/archers
instead of
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpgr/episodes/downloads
? (Don't let any antipathy you might have for TA influence your responses; it's the general principle I'm wondering about.)
[The former used to work - redirecting to the latter latterly, I think -
up to a few months ago; it now gives a 404.]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
Science fiction is escape into reality - Arthur C Clarke
On 10/10/2021 20:10, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
Would it REALLY cost that many pennies to use a URL like
https://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/archers
instead of
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpgr/episodes/downloads
I suppose they need to have a unique identity for the recording, they
could use the date and time but should it be the time first broadcast
or one of the repeats.
It is just an internal cataloguing number probably generated
automatically by their system.
the above isn't the address of the actual .mp3 file - it's the general-purpose page which, itself, contains links to the last few (a week or too, I think - I've nor looked at other than its top for ages, as I only use it
when I've missed an episode), so is updated daily with the links to the latest
actual .mp3 files. (Obviously manually, because very occasionally they forget.)
I also want to know why so many organisations say listen to our weekly >podcast, but in fact there is no subscription link and its merely a play
live online audio file. That to me is not a podcast, that is a file >deliberately set up to stop you from easily downloading it.
A podcast should be set up like an rss feed really, in my opinion and listed >in the main two lists, Apple and Google.
Also as observed by many the file name saved even on the bbc podcasts is
cryptic and often bears no resemblance to anything to do with the programme >concerned.
Brian
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
the above isn't the address of the actual .mp3 file - it's the >>general-purpose page which, itself, contains links to the last few (a
week or too, I think - I've nor looked at other than its top for
ages, as I only use it when I've missed an episode), so is updated
daily with the links to the latest actual .mp3 files. (Obviously
manually, because very occasionally they forget.)
individual episode links are like "m...."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0010g01 >https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000xz43
the programme mini-sites are like "b...."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpgr >https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qnwb
RSS feed is at
https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/b006qpgr.rss
I can subscribe to that feed in thunderbird and get links to the .mp3
files as you'd expect.
but apparently not for ISIHAC
https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/b006qnwb.rss
Thanks for that! (Though I can't see why it'd be that much effort to
make at least the "mini-sites" have meaningful names.) Have you
"cracked" the encodings - do the numeric parts relate to the episode
number, date/time, or anything like that?
"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6JPG@255soft.uk> wrote:Wow!
Thanks for that! (Though I can't see why it'd be that much effort to
make at least the "mini-sites" have meaningful names.) Have you
"cracked" the encodings - do the numeric parts relate to the episode
number, date/time, or anything like that?
They're the IDs used to refer to programmes in the catalogue, for example >'Fabric':
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Programme_Identifier >https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Programme_Catalogue
It turns out there's quite a bit of infrastructure about structuring 'things >the BBC knows' - for example, think about the facts mentioned during a sports >commentary. This is the description:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/ontologies
and you end up with things like: >https://www.bbc.co.uk/things/33451da1-6183-4809-8a2a-9a6e0261bba5
Some background on the URL structure, which might answer your question as to >why there aren't curated URLs:
https://smethur.st/posts/176135860
Theo
On Mon, 11 Oct 2021 at 08:54:10, "Brian Gaff (Sofa)" <briang1@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote (my responses usually follow points
raised):
I also want to know why so many organisations say listen to our weekly >>podcast, but in fact there is no subscription link and its merely a play >>live online audio file. That to me is not a podcast, that is a file >>deliberately set up to stop you from easily downloading it.
A podcast should be set up like an rss feed really, in my opinion and >>listed in the main two lists, Apple and Google.
I do appreciate pedantry, being an incorrigible pedant myself, but I
think that the term "podcast" has morphed from "something delivered on a schedule" to mean, indeed, just a downloadable file - or more likely
these days something only streamable (without a third-party downloader).
Also as observed by many the file name saved even on the bbc podcasts(Actually, the URL I was "complaining" - though not as strongly as that
is
cryptic and often bears no resemblance to anything to do with the
programme concerned.
Brian
- about _wasn't_ that of the sound files themselves, but of the page
that contained the link to the last few.)
Some software _does_ give meaningful names; certainly youtube-dl usually
digs out the proper name of a BBC prog., even given just a URL with a
string of letters and numbers in it - at least for TV programmes, I
can't remember if I've tried it for radio podcasts. And of course
something that rather than downloading podcasts after the event,
captures streaming material, can give the files it creates meaningful
names. There are probably plenty, but one I recently helped a blind
friend set up is RarmaRadio (from http://raimersoft.com/rarmaradio.html
), which seems quite good - the files it makes at the times she's
scheduled are put in a folder with the name of the "station" streamed
from, and with a name based on the date and time. (I think I saw when
setting it up it even has the facility to use artist and song title, and
to split the recording at song boundaries, if the streamer includes that information in the stream, which many do.) The only shortcoming we've
found so far is that it doesn't fill in the "length" parameter in .mp3
files it creates, for fixed-length ones anyway, but that's easily found
by playing the files in any player.
As the BBC would say, "other scheduled stream-catchers are [I presume] available"!
(Anyone know of anything - preferably _not_ just ffmpeg with a great
long string of parameters! - that will take an .mp3 file [perhaps not
VBR ones] and fill in the length parameter in its metadata [ideally
without corrupting other metadata]?)
On 10/10/2021 20:10, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
Would it REALLY cost that many pennies to use a URL like
https://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/archers
instead of
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpgr/episodes/downloads
I suppose they need to have a unique identity for the recording, they
could use the date and time but should it be the time first broadcast or
one of the repeats.
It is just an internal cataloguing number probably generated automatically
by their system.
On Mon, 11 Oct 2021 at 09:07:19, MB <MB@nospam.net> wrote (my responses usually follow points raised):
On 10/10/2021 20:10, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
Would it REALLY cost that many pennies to use a URL like
https://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/archers
instead of
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpgr/episodes/downloads
I suppose they need to have a unique identity for the recording, they
could use the date and time but should it be the time first broadcast or >>one of the repeats.
It is just an internal cataloguing number probably generated automatically >>by their system.
Yes, but the above isn't the address of the actual .mp3 file - it's the general-purpose page which, itself, contains links to the last few (a week
or too, I think - I've nor looked at other than its top for ages, as I
only use it when I've missed an episode), so is updated daily with the
links to the latest actual .mp3 files. (Obviously manually, because very occasionally they forget.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
A biochemist walks into a student bar and says to the barman: "I'd like a pint
of adenosine triphosphate, please." "Certainly," says the barman, "that'll
be
ATP." (Quoted in) The Independent, 2013-7-13
On Mon, 11 Oct 2021 13:58:05 +0100, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
On Mon, 11 Oct 2021 at 08:54:10, "Brian Gaff (Sofa)"
<briang1@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote (my responses usually follow points
raised):
I also want to know why so many organisations say listen to our weekly >>>podcast, but in fact there is no subscription link and its merely a play >>>live online audio file. That to me is not a podcast, that is a file >>>deliberately set up to stop you from easily downloading it.
A podcast should be set up like an rss feed really, in my opinion and >>>listed in the main two lists, Apple and Google.
I do appreciate pedantry, being an incorrigible pedant myself, but I
think that the term "podcast" has morphed from "something delivered on a
schedule" to mean, indeed, just a downloadable file - or more likely
these days something only streamable (without a third-party downloader).
Also as observed by many the file name saved even on the bbc podcasts(Actually, the URL I was "complaining" - though not as strongly as that
is
cryptic and often bears no resemblance to anything to do with the >>>programme concerned.
Brian
- about _wasn't_ that of the sound files themselves, but of the page
that contained the link to the last few.)
Some software _does_ give meaningful names; certainly youtube-dl usually
digs out the proper name of a BBC prog., even given just a URL with a
string of letters and numbers in it - at least for TV programmes, I
can't remember if I've tried it for radio podcasts. And of course
something that rather than downloading podcasts after the event,
captures streaming material, can give the files it creates meaningful
names. There are probably plenty, but one I recently helped a blind
friend set up is RarmaRadio (from http://raimersoft.com/rarmaradio.html
), which seems quite good - the files it makes at the times she's
scheduled are put in a folder with the name of the "station" streamed
from, and with a name based on the date and time. (I think I saw when
setting it up it even has the facility to use artist and song title, and
to split the recording at song boundaries, if the streamer includes that
information in the stream, which many do.) The only shortcoming we've
found so far is that it doesn't fill in the "length" parameter in .mp3
files it creates, for fixed-length ones anyway, but that's easily found
by playing the files in any player.
As the BBC would say, "other scheduled stream-catchers are [I presume]
available"!
(Anyone know of anything - preferably _not_ just ffmpeg with a great
long string of parameters! - that will take an .mp3 file [perhaps not
VBR ones] and fill in the length parameter in its metadata [ideally
without corrupting other metadata]?)
I use a computer screen grabber to collect videos and audio transmissions. The Windows application 'oCam' can record separately, audio or video with quite a number of video codecs available for selection. This way a
completely new file is created, without any embedded content. The main
codec I use is XVID, because I have a free editor that runs this format.
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