Audio Help

What audio does SPR stream?

Spokane Public Radio offers live streaming of both KPBX and KSFC broadcast transmissions. See the listen page for links. Occasionally we do not have internet broadcast rights to a program and must blackout the internet stream temporarily or present alternative programming.
We also have selected archives of our broadcast programming, which allows listeners to replay many programs at their convenience. Find the links at the individual program pages, or on the audio directory.

What do I need to listen to live or archived streams? SPR offers our live streams in three formats: MP3 (linked on most of our pages), Windows Media and RealAudio (available only on the listen page.)
In addition to a computer with a sound card and speakers or headphones, you need a connection to the internet (dial-up modem, DSL, cable modem or local area network) and audio player software.
To listen to our MP3 streams, you need one of the many audio players that can play MP3 format streams. SPR recommends the latest free versions of WinAmp, Apple's iTunes, or Real Player.
To listen to our Windows Media streams we recommend the latest version of Windows Media Player. The Windows Media Player is a Free Download available for Windows as well as the Macintosh, Pocket PC and Solaris operating systems. If you need assistance installing or using Windows Media Player, please visit Microsoft's Windows Media Player FAQ page.

When I listen to the live stream, the sound cuts out. Why?
There are a few explanations for why this may occur.
1) Your internet connection may be too slow for the stream you are trying to listen to, especially if you try to listen while doing something else on the internet at the same time.
2) There may be temporary problems on the internet somewhere between our audio servers and your computer.
3) There may be a problem with your computer hardware or software.

Buffer: Users with dial-up (telephone) internet connections are sometimes helped by increasing the "Buffer" setting on Windows Media Player. Under the "Tools" menu, select "Options" and then click the "Performance" tab. Change the "Network Buffering" setting from "Default" to 10 seconds (it can be adjusted upward to 60 seconds, though this is rarely necessary). This will permit Windows Media Player to store more audio locally so the stream can continue playing if your internet connection is briefly interrupted. Be aware, the longer the buffer time, the longer it takes for streaming content to begin playing.

When I click on the Windows "Listen Live" link, the browser asks me if I want to download a file. What should I do?
The ".asx" file is a link that tells Windows Media Player how to connect to our stream, you should not need to download it. Make sure you have the latest version of Windows Media Player (the current version is 9.00). Check your version by opening your Windows Media Player and selecting "About Windows Media Player" under the Help menu. Sometimes, especially after you install new internet browser software, it is necessary to reinstall Windows Media Player.

Why is it that when listening to the shows online the voices sound robot-like and/or tinny?
In order to broadcast audio over the Internet, sound must be compressed so it can be efficiently transmitted to the greatest number of users. We have made improvements to the quality of our audio streams and will continue to do so in the future as the technology continues to improve.

How do I download audio?
For most web browsers, right clicking on the link provides the option to download the target file.

How do I listen to downloaded audio?
Almost any free media player will play MP3 recordings, including WinAmp, Apple's iTunes, Real Player, Windows Media Player and Quick Time Media Player.

What is a podcast?
As On the Media puts it, "Think of it as TiVo for the Internet." A podcast is an easy way to automatically download audio files to your computer. You use the Podcatcher to "subscribe," the application checks the site regularly and starts a download whenever it finds something new. You can then listen to the MP3 files on your computer at your convenience, or on a portable MP3 player such as an iPod. That means you can listen to several SPR programs any time you like!

How do I get started?
All you need is a computer, an internet connection, and a podcasting software like SPR's Podcatcher, coming soon to SPR members. Other free software is IPodderX or jPodder.
Follow the directions to "subscribe" to the feeds -- usually as simple as pasting in the url. The benefit of Podcatcher is that all available KPBX and KSFC podcasts are already entered for you. You can still add any other podcasts you find interesting.
The software will keep your favorites current and should transfer the downloaded podcasts to an audio player on your computer (iTunes, Windows Media player, etc).

Why don't you offer music programs as podcasts?
Currently, licensing issues make it difficult for us to offer music shows as podcasts.

What's an RSS feed?
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and it's a different way to get content from all over the web delivered to your computer. The RSS icons at Spokane Public Radio indicate headlines of pages your reader can browse and link to.

What's the difference between RSS feeds and podcasts?
Not much! A podcast is a an RSS feed with an audio link inside. Instead of browsing the web based on sites, you save the feeds from the sites you like with an "RSS Reader" or "RSS Aggregator." You can then view regular updates from all the feeds together, or you can view each feed separately.

RSS is handled through a technology called XML (which stands for eXtensible Markup Language). So, if you click on the XML link, you will see only the raw RSS feed in XML code. To see the formatted feed, you need to subscribe to an RSS Reader, or use the Mozilla browser.