EarthmediaCenter Radio

deya · 04. Jun 2011, 01:50 PM

Earthmedia Center Radio 1.5

Anyone use this, or used it in the past?

Over thirty thousand radio stations, easy to search by country, genre and sub genre via tree lists. Nice if you're into radio. It's only a 1MB download (.exe) but it doesn't install on your system, it's basically a portable app, you can run it from a USB stick. Scanned the file with everything, uploaded it to Virus Total and it's clean.

Nice interface, simple layout and easy to use. Ten band equalizer and SRS WOW effects which work well and give it a nice sound when enabled, no presets. You can't record with it but it's the sheer amount of stations available that got me interested, I've been using it for a few days and the variety and choice is huge, the database auto updates.

I just wondered if anyone has any experience of using it. It's called Media Center because it also lists and plays TV channels and Webcams but I've not tried many, to be honest they seem a bit hit and miss, although some do work they're not much use to me. I'm really only interested in the radio player and that works great.

It runs light, there are no settings as such, apart from the ones on the interface. If you click on the menu for station info, user guide or whatever it opens IE because it's all online. There's an online version of the player but I'd rather run it from the desktop.

The user guide is here, which is pretty straightforward. I've searched Gizmos but can't seem to find any mention of it, so I thought maybe some of the radio freaks on here might have tried it before, or want to give it a go. There's a mention of it on Softpedia here and you can download it from there if you want to. It's got a heck of a station database for such a small app, I like how easy it is to search through them. I've not come across too many dead station links either. Only thing is that although you can favourite stations while you're using it, it doesn't save them after a restart.

MidnightCowboy · 05. Jun 2011, 05:03 PM

British so it must be good?

I'll try to take a look later this week

Looks really interesting though, thanks for the link

Bob · 05. Jun 2011, 06:04 PM

I did briefly look at EarthMedia alongside Deya's previous forum recommendation, Tapin Radio.

I have to say I preferred Tapin. I found it neater and less cluttered: fewer stations, but a better selection, more appropriately categorized.

I tried the two programs only in the 'classical music' genre. EarthMedia called up loads of irrelevant stations and it was difficult to find the quality ones. By contrast, Tapin just listed some of the most significant stations.

Since I normally access internet radio stations via my browser I was curious to try the 'standalone radio' experience. Tapin did have a nice, convenient feel to it.

At the same time, I noticed that for stations that use Flash (eg BBC and Radio France), it wasn't able to access the highest quality streams. And of course there was no direct access to on demand radio. For these services I had to link through to the website, as usual.

Just my 2c - MC and others will no doubt have different takes.

deya · 05. Jun 2011, 10:05 PM

There are some stations that I listen to via a browser but generally I prefer a stand alone player, mainly because they make it easier for me to search through various genres. Tapin is very good, I use it a lot because of the huge variety but the thing that got my interest with EarthMedia was having the same variety, only from such a small app. It's similar to those you can have on your Blackberry or iPad.

I know what you're saying about it bringing up some irrelevant stations in the genres, Bob. I've come across some that don't fit into what I'd call blues, or whatever, so some of them are a bit questionable but on the whole it's making it a bit easier to discover stations I've not come across before. And because there are so many stations I suppose it's difficult to index them all correctly. The database does auto update frequently, sometimes adding lots more, sometimes a few hundered less.

Stream quality does vary with stand alone players, even dropping altogether is some instances, resulting in dead links, but in general I find them to be decent. Then again, I suppose it depends on what you listen to. It's probably difficult to tell a good stream from a poor one with some of the rubbish I have playing

I do sometimes listen to classical music though, and the free version of RadioSure offers not a bad choice for that genre, and the BBC. Personal preference in the end, I like to have tons of stations to rummage through to find new stuff - just a shame you can't keep them as favourites when you find them with EarthMedia.

Bob · 05. Jun 2011, 10:30 PM

FYI, Deya, I didn't post earlier because I guessed my reactions wouldn't be especially representative.

I don't generally have music going on in the background and I find that just a select handful of stations host way more interesting programs on demand than I can possibly get my ears around.

So I should really leave this discussion to others.

FWIW, I had illusory hopes for the webcam section on EarthMedia... it really was a bit of a time waster though.

MidnightCowboy · 06. Jun 2011, 09:24 AM

Having taken a look at this today, I think the radio app is really great. Yes the TV part is not that hot, but I also downloaded the TV specific part and this is much better.

I just wish there was a way to get the GUI smaller instead of just minimizing it to the tray. Couldn't find a function for this but maybe because of the nature of the app itself this isn't possible? (or I've missed the button)

I went through the submission process for a new station which was accepted OK, just need to wait now to see if and when it appears

deya · 06. Jun 2011, 02:07 PM

No you've not missed the button MC, there isn't one. The GUI can only be made bigger, the default size is as small as it gets so all you can do is close it to the tray. It would better if it showed a tray icon when minimised as well but I'm learning to live with it. I think it's because it doesn't install as such on your system, and that's probably why there are no real program settings. It's more of a portable app, very much like the mobile ones.

As for the TV and Webcam options, well, to be honest I had it in mind that I may be able to blag a couple of live feeds for the cycling, the European channels. But when I tried it at first it was very hit and miss, the TV, so I left it at that. I'm going look into it further though, I'd prefer to get the streams through this than through a browser.

I'm loving the radio player though, and have come across many stations that are new to me, good ones as well.

MidnightCowboy · 06. Jun 2011, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deya

I'm loving the radio player though, and have come across many stations that are new to me, good ones as well.

Agreed with that

04. Jun 2011, 01:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
deya Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: UK Posts: 528	EarthmediaCenter Radio Earthmedia Center Radio 1.5 Anyone use this, or used it in the past? Over thirty thousand radio stations, easy to search by country, genre and sub genre via tree lists. Nice if you're into radio. It's only a 1MB download (.exe) but it doesn't install on your system, it's basically a portable app, you can run it from a USB stick. Scanned the file with everything, uploaded it to Virus Total and it's clean. Nice interface, simple layout and easy to use. Ten band equalizer and SRS WOW effects which work well and give it a nice sound when enabled, no presets. You can't record with it but it's the sheer amount of stations available that got me interested, I've been using it for a few days and the variety and choice is huge, the database auto updates. I just wondered if anyone has any experience of using it. It's called Media Center because it also lists and plays TV channels and Webcams but I've not tried many, to be honest they seem a bit hit and miss, although some do work they're not much use to me. I'm really only interested in the radio player and that works great. It runs light, there are no settings as such, apart from the ones on the interface. If you click on the menu for station info, user guide or whatever it opens IE because it's all online. There's an online version of the player but I'd rather run it from the desktop. The user guide is here, which is pretty straightforward. I've searched Gizmos but can't seem to find any mention of it, so I thought maybe some of the radio freaks on here might have tried it before, or want to give it a go. There's a mention of it on Softpedia here and you can download it from there if you want to. It's got a heck of a station database for such a small app, I like how easy it is to search through them. I've not come across too many dead station links either. Only thing is that although you can favourite stations while you're using it, it doesn't save them after a restart.

05. Jun 2011, 05:03 PM	#2 (permalink)
MidnightCowboy Site Manager Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: South American Banana Republic, third bunch from the left Posts: 9,250	British so it must be good? I'll try to take a look later this week Looks really interesting though, thanks for the link __________________ Knows nothing and cares even less

05. Jun 2011, 10:30 PM	#5 (permalink)
Bob Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 617	FYI, Deya, I didn't post earlier because I guessed my reactions wouldn't be especially representative. I don't generally have music going on in the background and I find that just a select handful of stations host way more interesting programs on demand than I can possibly get my ears around. So I should really leave this discussion to others. FWIW, I had illusory hopes for the webcam section on EarthMedia... it really was a bit of a time waster though. Last edited by Bob; 05. Jun 2011 at 10:41 PM.

06. Jun 2011, 09:24 AM	#6 (permalink)
MidnightCowboy Site Manager Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: South American Banana Republic, third bunch from the left Posts: 9,250	Having taken a look at this today, I think the radio app is really great. Yes the TV part is not that hot, but I also downloaded the TV specific part and this is much better. I just wish there was a way to get the GUI smaller instead of just minimizing it to the tray. Couldn't find a function for this but maybe because of the nature of the app itself this isn't possible? (or I've missed the button) I went through the submission process for a new station which was accepted OK, just need to wait now to see if and when it appears __________________ Knows nothing and cares even less

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05. Jun 2011, 06:04 PM	#3 (permalink)
Bob Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 617	I did briefly look at EarthMedia alongside Deya's previous forum recommendation, Tapin Radio. I have to say I preferred Tapin. I found it neater and less cluttered: fewer stations, but a better selection, more appropriately categorized. I tried the two programs only in the 'classical music' genre. EarthMedia called up loads of irrelevant stations and it was difficult to find the quality ones. By contrast, Tapin just listed some of the most significant stations. Since I normally access internet radio stations via my browser I was curious to try the 'standalone radio' experience. Tapin did have a nice, convenient feel to it. At the same time, I noticed that for stations that use Flash (eg BBC and Radio France), it wasn't able to access the highest quality streams. And of course there was no direct access to on demand radio. For these services I had to link through to the website, as usual. Just my 2c - MC and others will no doubt have different takes.

05. Jun 2011, 10:05 PM	#4 (permalink)
deya Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: UK Posts: 528	There are some stations that I listen to via a browser but generally I prefer a stand alone player, mainly because they make it easier for me to search through various genres. Tapin is very good, I use it a lot because of the huge variety but the thing that got my interest with EarthMedia was having the same variety, only from such a small app. It's similar to those you can have on your Blackberry or iPad. I know what you're saying about it bringing up some irrelevant stations in the genres, Bob. I've come across some that don't fit into what I'd call blues, or whatever, so some of them are a bit questionable but on the whole it's making it a bit easier to discover stations I've not come across before. And because there are so many stations I suppose it's difficult to index them all correctly. The database does auto update frequently, sometimes adding lots more, sometimes a few hundered less. Stream quality does vary with stand alone players, even dropping altogether is some instances, resulting in dead links, but in general I find them to be decent. Then again, I suppose it depends on what you listen to. It's probably difficult to tell a good stream from a poor one with some of the rubbish I have playing I do sometimes listen to classical music though, and the free version of RadioSure offers not a bad choice for that genre, and the BBC. Personal preference in the end, I like to have tons of stations to rummage through to find new stuff - just a shame you can't keep them as favourites when you find them with EarthMedia.

06. Jun 2011, 02:07 PM	#7 (permalink)
deya Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: UK Posts: 528	No you've not missed the button MC, there isn't one. The GUI can only be made bigger, the default size is as small as it gets so all you can do is close it to the tray. It would better if it showed a tray icon when minimised as well but I'm learning to live with it. I think it's because it doesn't install as such on your system, and that's probably why there are no real program settings. It's more of a portable app, very much like the mobile ones. As for the TV and Webcam options, well, to be honest I had it in mind that I may be able to blag a couple of live feeds for the cycling, the European channels. But when I tried it at first it was very hit and miss, the TV, so I left it at that. I'm going look into it further though, I'd prefer to get the streams through this than through a browser. I'm loving the radio player though, and have come across many stations that are new to me, good ones as well.