How exactly does Stream_ON work?

Kryptonite

Well-Known Member
Oct 21, 2008
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Ok, so i'm not the most technical guy in the world, but here's what I don't understand.

Some guy jimmied up a Sirius radio and is putting the audio online, similar to P2P TV sites, right?

With that said, if i'm not TOTALLY confused:

1) Does Stream_ON support Best of XM?
2) It obviously works through my password, so i'm guessing there's no way to listen without having a password, right?
3) Could Stream_ON work if I did not pay the $2.99?
4) I'm guessing if the developer of Stream_ON paid for Best of XM, then there'd be no way for it to go online, since the subscriber (me) would have to get BOXM.
 

Phreaker47

Member
Nov 14, 2009
105
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How can I put this kindly... heh... "forget everything you know".

Much more simple and less evil. It accesses Sirius Internet Radio for you without having to use Sirius.com through your browser. Simple as that. So yes, you need your own account and therefore no, it's not stealing. Yes, you get best of XM (minus live sports) if you are already paying the extra for it. Same goes for premium streams, if you're paying for it then you get it.

The only thing Stream_On does differently (and maybe this is where you are getting confused) is that it is pulling the channel artist/song information from a different server someone has set up to capture that info (dogstarradio I think), but that is only for that information not the streams themselves.
You can see the dogstarradio site in action here: http://www.dogstarradio.com/now_playing.php
 

hyson

Forum Jerk
Oct 19, 2008
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Stream_On shit the bed on me after the last update. I don't know what the problem is/was but it was great while it lasted.
 

Kryptonite

Well-Known Member
Oct 21, 2008
11,670
1,837
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How can I put this kindly... heh... "forget everything you know".

Much more simple and less evil. It accesses Sirius Internet Radio for you without having to use Sirius.com through your browser. Simple as that. So yes, you need your own account and therefore no, it's not stealing. Yes, you get best of XM (minus live sports) if you are already paying the extra for it. Same goes for premium streams, if you're paying for it then you get it.

The only thing Stream_On does differently (and maybe this is where you are getting confused) is that it is pulling the channel artist/song information from a different server someone has set up to capture that info (dogstarradio I think), but that is only for that information not the streams themselves.
You can see the dogstarradio site in action here: Now Playing on Sirius Satellite Radio - DogstarRadio.com

Since Sirius killed the free listening, would it work without paying the fee? It seems like one must now pay the $2.99 in order to access S_O. (I need to listen through the computer at one location i'm at a few times a week, so I really have no option other than to pay. Yet, I could listen through my SL2 before the internal antenna got messed up. Go figure.)

I was looking at this picture and got confused. I had an image of someone with a home setup doing some sort of quasi-legal, shady upload deal.


I just like it because:
1) I can see what's playing on other channels before I switch
2) Switching channels is fairly quick.
3) I can log in automatically, just by clicking the icon. (A HUGE benefit!)
4) Should my browser crash/close/whatever, stream_on keeps playing.
 

Kryptonite

Well-Known Member
Oct 21, 2008
11,670
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Stream_On shit the bed on me after the last update. I don't know what the problem is/was but it was great while it lasted.

I have 1.4.7.0 (downloaded from their website) and it works great.
 

Sirterp

Member
Oct 17, 2008
195
13
18
Same issue here. Problem for me is that it won't even save the first channel! No idea how to fix it.
 

Phreaker47

Member
Nov 14, 2009
105
1
18
Since Sirius killed the free listening, would it work without paying the fee? It seems like one must now pay the $2.99 in order to access S_O. (I need to listen through the computer at one location i'm at a few times a week, so I really have no option other than to pay. Yet, I could listen through my SL2 before the internal antenna got messed up. Go figure.)

I was looking at this picture and got confused. I had an image of someone with a home setup doing some sort of quasi-legal, shady upload deal.


I just like it because:
1) I can see what's playing on other channels before I switch
2) Switching channels is fairly quick.
3) I can log in automatically, just by clicking the icon. (A HUGE benefit!)
4) Should my browser crash/close/whatever, stream_on keeps playing.
Oh, did they kill the "free" low bitrate stream? ("free" in quotes because it wasn't really ever free, you still need a regular sirius account to access it.) I've had the premium addon for a while now, and honestly it's worth it anyway for the $3... music now has a quality that doesn't offend your ears, especially with headphones.

As for that link, yeah that's what I figured you were referring to. Again that only exists to capture the channel information text for web hosting that stream_on uses; nothing more. That info is also embedded in the streams but using this method is what makes it possible to see what's on other channels you aren't listening to.

Can you get the Favorites to work correctly? I can save one station as a favorite, then when I try to save another, the application bombs out on me. That's the only issue I have with it right now.

No, favorites is broken, but at least the new login changes are implemented correctly and it works.
For previous users having trouble, I'd suggest that not only do you uninstall the previous version, but also make sure the folder in "program files" is completely deleted afterwards... then install 1.4.7.
 

hexagram

Medicinal & Recreational.
Oct 11, 2008
2,760
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48
Seattle, WA
The latest Stream_ON works great for me (Windows 7, of course).

Like phreaker47 said: Do a complete uninstall before installing the latest version.

... and no, free stream is not dead. All lifetime subscribers and Stiletto 2 owners have access to the free stream (which I wish they would replace with 128k, because it honestly makes no sense to have two separate streams when you're not even selling or broadcasting the lower bit stream to the general public.
 

Kryptonite

Well-Known Member
Oct 21, 2008
11,670
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Can you get the Favorites to work correctly? I can save one station as a favorite, then when I try to save another, the application bombs out on me. That's the only issue I have with it right now.

Yeah, I think I am having a problem saving favorites, but I haven't really tried.
 

Kryptonite

Well-Known Member
Oct 21, 2008
11,670
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... and no, free stream is not dead. All lifetime subscribers and Stiletto 2 owners have access to the free stream (which I wish they would replace with 128k, because it honestly makes no sense to have two separate streams when you're not even selling or broadcasting the lower bit stream to the general public.

I have a SL2. If I were to cancel the $2.99 premium stream, I could listen on the Stiletto at 32K, but I could not listen at Sirius.com.

I'm wondering though, in the above situation, could I listen to Stream_ON?

It's sort of a moot point, since I can't save any programs on one computer I use. In this situation, Sirius.com seems to be my only way to listen.
 

hexagram

Medicinal & Recreational.
Oct 11, 2008
2,760
97
48
Seattle, WA
No, you can't. The free stream for a non-lifetime stiletto 2 is tied to the device. In other words, no login/password.