BBC Sounds through Roon ? [No]

Roon Software Discussion
1

Could we access BBC sounds through roon?

Currently i have to go through my smartphone which is really annoying

2

What do you mean by “BBC sounds”? If you mean BBC radio stations, then these can be added in Roon’s internet radio feature.

3

This KB page sets out information about Internet Radio in Roon. The post linked by Geoff contains URLs of various stations reccomended by users, including the BBC stations.

4

BBC sounds is the new BBC “iPlayer” Radio app.

So alas No is the answer to the OP’s question.

.sjb

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5

Ah - thanks for the enlightenment. I still listen to BBC Radio 3 via Roon’s internet radio…

6

I would love BBC sounds through Roon. A huge back catalogue of quality radio and podcasts at your fingertips here in the UK.

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7

Right - so it’s a streaming service. Then the question comes does it have an API that can be used by third parties to integrate with their own service. And then there’s licensing costs and copyright issues in other countries to consider as well as what is the cost/benefit analysis for Roon as a business to offer this.

Going by what I’ve seen in the past, this is a minefield that I don’t wish lightly on anyone.

Frankly, I wouldn’t hold your breath. I’ll just continue to use internet Radio and download the podcasts I’m interested in and add them manually to my Roon library.

The BBC continues to “think global and act local” too often IMO.

8

No, BBC sounds is their app/website where all podcasts, on demand and library of previous programmes can be found.

9

Obviously the individual radio channels can be added to Roon easily, and I have done so. What the BBC does is to make the radio shows available to stream for 4 weeks after a show had aired. These shows can not (legally) be downloaded so can’t be added to Roon in that way. What would be really nice if we could access these shows via Roon. They are available via other services (alexa and mediaserver) so there must be an API and expertise to do this. Just need a willingness to do so. Here’s hoping.

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10

Hi. Any update on this? SONOS allows you to add BBC Sounds as a service. It would be great to have it in Roon.

11

Squeezebox/Logitech Media Server has a plugin that allows BBC Sounds and works well. But I understand that this is a hack provided by a community version of LMS (not anything official from Logitech). So Roon has to be much more “official” about such things.

12

I just Bluetooth BBC sounds to my system… It works well, I’m not sure how it could be added to Roon…

13

The main BBC radio stations are already in Roon’s radio directory.

But in terms of the podcasts on BBC Sounds, many have an RSS feed which could be used to download them if Roon properly supported Podcasts.

I think Sonos is the only (authorised/non-voice) platform currently with tight integration into their native app for BBC Sounds mixes and archived radio shows though, and only in the UK.

14

I’ve recently heard informational interruptions on BBC Radio 6Music, saying that they are changing 3rd party access to their channels and that the changes will be complete by mid-2023.
I think this means no more access via Roon; only through the BBC Sounds mobile app, browser page, smart speakers(?) et al.
Your thoughts, please.
Dave

15

The BBC is intending to drop use of the Shoutcast technology mid-2023. See this thread:

16

Thanks, Geoff, and poo! I’m not happy about losing BBC stations on Roon.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/help/questions/recent-changes-to-bbc-sounds/shoutcast-closure

17

Isn’t the solution to stream from your iphone or Mac to a solution like RooPlay (requires a Pi, and some configuration)? The kind Dr. is very active on these forums, and helps users with configuration and questions. This also gets you into the ecosystem where you can add his support for hardware volume controls etc. If you don’t want to build a pi yourself, I think he sells some sort of pre-built pre-configured branded version, tho I think it’s exactly the same as a fully DIY box. It can also run on some very lightweight Pi’s since current supply chain constraints are insane.

Forums;

Site with RooPlay and other extension content / where to buy:

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18

You should address this issue to the Roon support forum. As far as I know Roon they will jump onto it and offer a solution for you and many others. Probably they will decide to support DASH or HLS within Roon in future.

I don‘t know if they already are informed that BBC will go this way.

Post it helping you and others.

Edit: saw that Roon is already able to receive HLS. So switch to this station in Roon and you will be fine.

Best DrCWO

19

Thanks, Dr.!
Geoff, a Roon moderator, replied above and said BBC is dropping Shoutcast.

I don’t know how to do this. Can you help?
Thanks,
DB

20

You’l find the URLs of the BBC streams here.

As far as I can see in UK they offer 320kBit AAC for BBC 3, quite a good audio quality :+1:

  • Go to this website and find the link you like to use for the radio station.
  • Copy the link of the station to your clipboard.
  • In Roon go to “My Live Radio”.
  • Click to “+ Add station” on top of this page.
  • Select “Add station URL”.
  • Paste the copied URL in the field and click “Add station”
  • If you like you can also add an image of your choice but not mandatory and it can also be done later.
  • Click “Add station” and you’re done.

Best DrCWO

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