Frequently Asked Questions About WERU’s Web Streaming:

1. What rate is your stream encoded at ?
   We actually have two streams available now
   a)  Low Quality Stream - Our low quality stream is encoded as an mp3 at 24Kbps stream and sampled at 22.050 kHz. We provide this lower bit rate so that people of all bandwidths, including dial-up access and over cell phone data networks can tune in! This is the stream linked from our main page; http://listen.weru.org/weru.m3u .
   b) High Quality Stream - As of April 2009 we are providing a high quality stream for those on a broadband connection. This stream is available at http://listen.weru.org/weru-high.m3u . This stream is encoded as an mp3 at 128Kbps and sampled at 44.100 kHz. Note - By providing this additional service we are also encumbering additional costs, if you appreciate this high quality stream please consider making a donation to WERU.
   
   
2. Why does my old bookmark for your stream I've been using for many years no longer work?
   We recently changed to a new server to provide our streams and the 'real' address of the stream changed. You should only be using (and bookmark) http://listen.weru.org/weru.m3u or http://listen.weru.org/weru-high.m3u as these addresses should never change. 
   
   
3. Why is the web stream 90 seconds behind the live broadcast?
   This is a symptom of the method we are using to encode and deliver our stream. The time required to digitize our stream, upload it to the remote server which relays it out to all listeners who then need to buffer it before translating it back into an analog audible signal creates this 'lag'. We felt the cost savings were worth the minor delay.
   
   
4. My computer/software doesn't recognize .m3u as valid audio file, is there another address I can try?
   The above URLs should always work, even when we upgrade or transition our stream to new systems. However some players don't recognize the .m3u suffix. If this is the case you can try here for the low quality stream and here for the high quality one. Note - These addresses may change over time (see question 2 above) so if you have any problems please check back here for updated links.
   
   
5. Why can't I get your stream to play on my Windows machine?
   In order to hear our stream you need to have a player capable of listening to our type of web stream (mp3). Unfortunately, the Windows Media Player application that came with your machine does not do this. A list of applications that we have tested and know work well are provided below.
   
   
6. What applications should I use to listen to your stream?
   There are many free software packages available that will allow you to listen to our stream. Here are a few links to such software with notes about the types of systems they have clients available for.
   
   
   • iTunes: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ - Available for MacOS & Windows
   • Quicktime: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/ - Available for MacOS & Windows
   • Realplayer: http://www.real.com/ - Available for MacOS & Windows.  Be sure to follow the links on this page for the free client.
   • VLC - http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ - Available for Mac OS, Windows, and Linux
   • WINAMP: http://www.winamp.com/player/ - Available for Windows Only
   
   
7. How can I listen to you on my iPhone or iPod Touch?
   There are 2 free applications you can use to get our stream on the iPhone or iPod Touch.
   
   • Public Radio - http://www.publicradiotuner.org/
   • FStream - http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=289892007&mt=8
   • There are other commercial applications available that work also. Any application that can play an MP3 stream and lets you enter in your own stream address should work. If you find any other free ones let us know and we'll add them here.
     
   
   
8. I downloaded one of the applications you suggested, how do I listen to your stream?
   Below are some of the specifics for different players. In general you are looking for an option to 'Open Stream' or 'Open Location' where it will let you enter our stream URL (http://listen.weru.org/weru.m3u or http://listen.weru.org/weru-high.m3u ) in the window provided.
   
   • iTunes - Under the advanced menu choose "Open Stream"
   • Quicktime - Under the File menu choose "Open URL"
   • Realplayer - Under the File menu choose "Open Location". You can also try clicking on this link http://listen.weru.org/weru.ram
   • VLC - Under the File menu choose "Open Network" and enter our URL in the "Media Resource Locator (MRL)" window
   • WINAMP:  Try clicking on this link http://listen.weru.org/weru.asx
     
     

If you need any assistance getting any of these clients to access our stream drop a line to webstream@weru.org and one of our volunteer computer geeks will be happy to help you out.