internet radio help

CantGetNoSleep

Hey guys

Looking to buy an internet radio for my father for Christmas

He has used the TuneIn app on my Android phone and would like something similar in an actual radio

Budget is around 200 and he would probably have a preference for Roberts brand

Can anyone give any assistance on brands / models and also where to buy - Dublin/cork/online

_feedback_

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

Hey guys

Looking to buy an internet radio for my father for Christmas

He has used the TuneIn app on my Android phone and would like something similar in an actual radio

Budget is around 200 and he would probably have a preference for Roberts brand

Can anyone give any assistance on brands / models and also where to buy - Dublin/cork/online

I would recommend this 100%. It's an excellent radio. It'll fit in the higher end of your budget. Most places sell for €199, I got mine for €169, so if you shop around you'll get a good price.

sudzs

elviscostello wrote: »

I would recommend this 100%. It's an excellent radio. It'll fit in the higher end of your budget. Most places sell for €199, I got mine for €169, so if you shop around you'll get a good price.

+1

Had mine for over 2 years now and never a problem with it.

The Black Oil

Another vote for the Roberts 202 here, have mine for around 18 months now. I got it from amazon UK. IIRC think it came to €147 - around 20 of that was for shipping (yikes) before amazon changed their shipping set up for Ireland. Still cheaper than the high street at the time.

There are a few other options out there, Pure Evoke Flow and Logitech's Squeezebox. This thread from a while back might help.

CantGetNoSleep

Great help guys, thanks, think I will go for the Roberts so? The other two are ~€20 cheaper but given the good reviews it looks like it is worth spending the extra?

vinnielo

Again, I'd warn that, according to the specs, the 202 doesn't appear to support AAC+. More and more stations are using this format because of the low bandwidth and highish quality, which is ideal for today's mobile trends. The ColourStream model from Roberts DOES support AAC+, if you'd like to check that out. Otherwise, if your father likes the TuneIn stations, then I'd recommend the Squeezebox Radio or Squeezebox Touch, since they use the station directory from RadioTime, which is what TuneIn also uses.

yoshytoshy

I got a wm201 from this site

Thundercats Ho

I am also looking for an internet radio.
Unfortunately my budget does not extend to €200 or even €100 i'm afraid.
Are there any cheap and chearful internet wifi radios out there for say €60-€70?
Anywhere i've looked, the prices are well over €100. Perhaps there are inexpensive alternatives, or maybe someone knows of a 2nd hand site?

tbh

Thundercats Ho wrote: »

I am also looking for an internet radio.
Unfortunately my budget does not extend to €200 or even €100 i'm afraid.
Are there any cheap and chearful internet wifi radios out there for say €60-€70?
Anywhere i've looked, the prices are well over €100. Perhaps there are inexpensive alternatives, or maybe someone knows of a 2nd hand site?

this looks pretty good:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Xtreme-Audio-Internet-Radio-Wireless-Music-Receiver-/290430156079?pt=UK_AudioVisualElectronics_PortableAudio_Radios&hash=item439efc7d2f

Thundercats Ho

Great stuff. Thanks.

byte

tbh wrote: »

this looks pretty good:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Xtreme-Audio-Internet-Radio-Wireless-Music-Receiver-/290430156079?pt=UK_AudioVisualElectronics_PortableAudio_Radios&hash=item439efc7d2f

I've used one of these, and while cheap, it's quite rubbish IMO.

While it uses Reciva similar to the now discontinued Logik IR100, the sound from it is is quite poor. I think you'd need to plug it into a hifi for decent sound. Grand, I suppose, if you mainly like talking programmes.

It is quite small, smaller than I had expected it to be when I first saw it, probably explaining why audio is so poor.

_blank_

Does the Roberts run on Reciva, or some other service? Because Reciva is gone to shíte for about the last six months, continual problems with loading station lists and things like that, it's gotten to be usable about every second day.

I may have a bit of spare cash soon-ish so may look into getting another one myself, but I'd be reluctant to use a reciva based radio.

vinnielo

Roberts can use either Reciva or Frontier Silicon, depending on the exact model.

exaisle

The Roberts WM201 uses Reciva and as far as I know, the WM202 uses Frontier.

I have a WM201 and while there have been problems, my experience is that these have been overcome with the installation of updated (beta) firmware. Have a look at the Reciva forum (forum.reciva.com) for more info. Also, the inability of Reciva radios to handle AAC+ is being worked on although it might be a while before a fix is available.

@OP - if your father is "of a certain age", then I'd probably go for the WM201. The sound quality is exceptionally good for its type and it's an attractive and solid piece of kit.
The WM202 is more portable, which the WM201 most definitely isnt. HOWEVER, (and it's a big however) it does feature DAB and analog FM reception and will therefore work even if your broadband goes down and would be my choice if I wanted to move it about the house. In fact, having read the features, I think I'll buy myself one for Christmas. ;-)

tbh

202 uses frontier.

Greenman

Thundercats Ho wrote: »

I am also looking for an internet radio.
Unfortunately my budget does not extend to €200 or even €100 i'm afraid.
Are there any cheap and chearful internet wifi radios out there for say €60-€70?
Anywhere i've looked, the prices are well over €100. Perhaps there are inexpensive alternatives, or maybe someone knows of a 2nd hand site?

This might be worth a punt



http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pocket-Portable-Wireless-Internet-Player/dp/B0045BWMLK

Let us know is you get one.:):):)

CantGetNoSleep

Went for the 202 in the end, thanks for the advice, about 160 delivered from amazon

Greenman

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

Went for the 202 in the end, thanks for the advice, about 160 delivered from amazon

Let us know how your dad gets on with it.:):):)

_blank_

exaisle wrote: »

my experience is that these have been overcome with the installation of updated (beta) firmware. Have a look at the Reciva forum (forum.reciva.com) for more info.

It's since I installed the beta firmware that I've been having the problems, and apparently there's no rollback

ntlbell

Des wrote: »

It's since I installed the beta firmware that I've been having the problems, and apparently there's no rollback

Is there no way to restore the radio to it's default state? e.g. the firmware you had when you bought it?

Sorry I don't have your radio to check.

chelseavera

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

Went for the 202 in the end, thanks for the advice, about 160 delivered from amazon

How the hell did you manage that? Even after email and phone call - they refused to deliver Pure evoke Flow to me. I've had a middle man to deliver from the North. Amazon have really pissed me off this week - this combined with not accepting my 3v voucher.

ntlbell

chelseavera wrote: »

How the hell did you manage that? Even after email and phone call - they refused to deliver Pure evoke Flow to me. I've had a middle man to deliver from the North. Amazon have really pissed me off this week - this combined with not accepting my 3v voucher.

I got my pure avanti flow from them with no issues.

what was there reason?

chelseavera

ntlbell wrote: »

I got my pure avanti flow from them with no issues.

what was there reason?

Hi NTLBELL .. Very frustrating. This is copy and paste from email they sent confirming our phone call. I did argue that i knew people who had received similar products - to no avail.

"Dear Vera,

Thank you for contacting Amazon.co.uk.

Apologies that the PURE EVOKE Flow Portable Digital, FM & Internet Radio cannot be shipped to Ireland.

As aforementioned this is usually due to some form of hazardous material being in the product and for security and legislative reasons we cannot ship the item.

I have highlighted this issue with out product team and they will get back to me in 3-4 days. I can email you if there's any change in relation to this item.

Apologies for the inconvenience."

Now I might also add, I've just realised I was using wrong expiry date on 3v voucher:o:o:o
I thinks its all getting too much for me - Big Frazzled head on me:P

ntlbell

chelseavera wrote: »

Hi NTLBELL .. Very frustrating. This is copy and paste from email they sent confirming our phone call. I did argue that i knew people who had received similar products - to no avail.

"Dear Vera,

Thank you for contacting Amazon.co.uk.

Apologies that the PURE EVOKE Flow Portable Digital, FM & Internet Radio cannot be shipped to Ireland.

As aforementioned this is usually due to some form of hazardous material being in the product and for security and legislative reasons we cannot ship the item.

I have highlighted this issue with out product team and they will get back to me in 3-4 days. I can email you if there's any change in relation to this item.

Apologies for the inconvenience."

Now I might also add, I've just realised I was using wrong expiry date on 3v voucher:o:o:o
I thinks its all getting too much for me - Big Frazzled head on me:P

" hazardous material being in the product"

Maybe you're better off :pac:

g0g

Just came across this thread. Had previously quoted in the gadgets forum as I thought that was the right place!

Anyways I'm looking for an Internet Radio for my wife which I'm hoping will act as a bedside clock, internet/FM/DAB radio and wireless streaming from PC (therefore no need for CD player).

I was about to buy the Roberts 83i from amazon and then now I'm seeing this option of a 201 and 202 also. They all seem to be in similar price brackets so I'm trying to figure out which is newer/better/more future-proof. Has anyone had experience of both the 83i and others? If so, how do they compare? Any idea which would be best as a bedside clock? Should I consider the Streamtime?

What I like about the 83i is that I've seen pretty much nothing but positive reviews about it!

Any advice much appreciated! Thanks!

tbh

I have a ton of gadgets, and if my house burned to the ground, the first gadget I'd replace, even before the insurance cheque came through, would be the wm202. That said, it's not suitable for a bedside radio, IMO, because the clock is on the top, and I you wake up you can't see it at a glance. It does have an alarm and a sleep timer tho.

tbh

A poster on another thread mentioned the Roberts STREAMTIME Wi-Fi/FM Radio, and that would seem like a perfect fit for you g0g, might get one myself.

ntlbell

tbh wrote: »

A poster on another thread mentioned the Roberts STREAMTIME Wi-Fi/FM Radio, and that would seem like a perfect fit for you g0g, might get one myself.

do you not have enough radios?

tbh

Enough radios???? What is that I don't even... my AE is bust so I just have the Roberts now, but in fairness the iPhone w/ tunein radio is a very acceptable substitute when I cba dragging the Roberts into another room.

g0g

tbh wrote: »

A poster on another thread mentioned the Roberts STREAMTIME Wi-Fi/FM Radio, and that would seem like a perfect fit for you g0g, might get one myself.

Thanks yeah it does look like an option, although the thing about the 83i is that it has SO many good reviews on Amazon and if I remember correctly nearly every single one was 4 or 5 stars. See what you mean about the 201/202 not having an easily-visible clock anyway, so I guess it's between the Streamtime and 83i then.

Anyone else got any thoughts?

Thundercats Ho

Greenman wrote: »

This might be worth a punt



http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pocket-Portable-Wireless-Internet-Player/dp/B0045BWMLK

Let us know is you get one.:):):)

Actually went with the Xtreme http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Xtreme-Audio-Internet-Radio-Wireless-Music-Receiver-/290430156079?pt=UK_AudioVisualElectronics_PortableAudio_Radios&hash=item439efc7d2f
Bought it before the reply from Byte.
Not overly worried though, as most of the reviews for it that i've seen were good. Here's hoping anyway.

Greenman

Thundercats Ho wrote: »

Actually went with the Xtreme http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Xtreme-Audio-Internet-Radio-Wireless-Music-Receiver-/290430156079?pt=UK_AudioVisualElectronics_PortableAudio_Radios&hash=item439efc7d2f
Bought it before the reply from Byte.
Not overly worried though, as most of the reviews for it that i've seen were good. Here's hoping anyway.

Be sure to give us a review when it arrives.:):):)

Thundercats Ho

No problem.
It's a christmas present, but will report back in 3 weeks or so!

vinnielo

g0g wrote: »

.. I guess it's between the Streamtime and 83i then.

Anyone else got any thoughts?

Someone posted elsewhere that the 83i runs on the Venice 6.2 module, so should be capable of playing AAC+ streams:
http://www.frontier-silicon.com/audio/

I can't seem to get any info on Streamtime, though.
Try checking with Roberts directly.

byte

Interesting that the 83i has the Venice 6.2 module, as officially, Roberts don't state DAB+ support. So, it'd be nice if a fw update would facilitate it (assuming in the very long term that RTE use DAB+)

The Streamtime is a nice compact unit in fairness, and also seems to support AAC and FLAC, like the 83i. The 202, AFAIK, doesn't support either of these.

The downside of the Streamtime is that audio quality is akin to usual clock radios. Can't really expect much from such a small one speaker unit.

I'd quite happily buy another 83i, as it is quite good. The USB port is a nice handy addition and soundwise, it's better than the 202 and Streamtime.

Only thing I haven't tested is AAC+ on the 83i. It plays the Phantom FM AAC streams, but I dunno of any AAC+ streams.

Greenman

The think this is the one I'll get.:):):)

As per http://aluratek.com/wifi-wireless-internet-radio-tuner-home-theater

Any opinions???

vinnielo

byte wrote: »

Only thing I haven't tested is AAC+ on the 83i. It plays the Phantom FM AAC streams, but I dunno of any AAC+ streams.

Phantom uses AAC+, not AAC.
Although the radio might "play" them, does it play them in its full quality?
Many Reciva radios play them OK, but at telephone quality!
This is because these particular radios don't have the *full* AAC+ licence.

Bard

Greenman wrote: »

Any opinions???

It, eh... looks real purty...

ntlbell

Greenman wrote: »

The think this is the one I'll get.:):):)

As per http://aluratek.com/wifi-wireless-internet-radio-tuner-home-theater

Any opinions???

Well if it's an awful radio you could use in the car as a booster seat

Greenman

Took the plunge and ordered this from Amazon. I'll keep you posted.

:):)

Planet X

Only thing wrong with the 83i I got a few weeks ago is you cannot dim the display enough. Even on it's lowest setting it still glows too much for me. I have a cover over the display at night which does the trick. You should be able to set it to "no display" on standby I think.
And no, I don't wake up every ten minutes and wonder what time it is . I have the alarm set to come on with music 6:40am. Now, that's a good facility, with volume, station etc controlled.

Greenman

Greenman wrote: »

Took the plunge and ordered this from Amazon. I'll keep you posted.

:):)

Well it arrived from the USA today, not bad ordered thursday delivered to Belgium on monday morning.

The radio is great and exactly what I wanted for the bedside.

I have it connected using a Lan cable, its connected to the hifi using the RCA outputs.

For €125 delivered to the door I'm delighted with my xmas present.

It gets all the BBC's and runs on V Tuner.

Took 2 minutes to setup.

I recommend it.:):):)

joeyamg

Hi all,

Looking for an internet radio for my dad also, except I want to hook it up to an existing stereo system. Any ideas?

Greenman

joeyamg wrote: »

Hi all,

Looking for an internet radio for my dad also, except I want to hook it up to an existing stereo system. Any ideas?

What about this one?



I have this one and it works great.



€125 landed from Amazon.com:)

.

g0g

Well I gave my wife the Roberts 83i yesterday and got it set up for her today! Must say the sound quality from it is excellent! Was worried about the bright screen in standby mode, but I think it's not at all as bad as one review had suggested! It was very easy to setup to stream internet radio from the WiFi router and also to stream MP3s from the PC.

My only problem so far is the reception for DAB and FM. On the raised bedside table both are fuzzy and it barely picks up the DAB from there. If I lift it down to bed level the signal for both gets a lot better. Not quite qure how I'm gonna fix this one! The good thing is that you can get many of the Dublin stations via internet radio, but I'd much rather having all aspects of the thing working! Anyone experience similar and have any ideas?

My only other (very small!) gripe is that I wish, similar to mobiles, that when setting alarms you could specify them go only go off on certain days, i.e. Mon-Fri!!!!

Overall though am very happy with it so far! Quick delivery from Amazon too!

The Black Oil

I hardly listen to DAB or FM myself, but was extending the aerial (on a Roberts 202) seemed to help on mine. I know that's a bit obvious and unlikely to help with your situation. What stations are you after? Certainly on the 202 you can reduce the light level to virtually non-existent if needs be. The beauty of firmware updates.

g0g

Excuse my ignorance, but how exactly do you extend an aerial? Do you literally take some wire and wrap one end around the aerial and stick the other end out the window? I can't really pick up any DAB or FM where it's sitting (unless I move it lower), so it I could extend it around the back of a double bed and to the window (about maybe 4m total) that would make a world of difference I'd say!

The Black Oil

Apologies, I misspoke by mentioning extending the aerial - I really meant opening/moving it. Perhaps you could email Roberts and see what they say.

Anchises

I live in an area where FM is very weak.
I've extended my arial by stringing a length of wire (about 15feet) around the room - over/behind a curtain rail. It dramatically improves the signal.

just wrap the wire around the telescopic arial. If there is provision for an external FM arial insert the wire there. -experiment

Mine is on a conventional FM radio (not an internet radio) , but that should not make a difference to detection off air by the tuner front end.


D.

exercise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntr2os-0Fh8

dnme

Interesting thread.

Do any of you know of a DAB/Wi-Fi radio that will allow the following

1. Enter a custom url.
2. Present a web server so it can be setup via a browser.
3. Present a decent snooze button/feature with alarm clock.
4. Allow user to control lcd / display brightness fully.