Eircom & Live RTE Streaming

hailtothechimp

HI, I'm really hoping someone can help me with this.

Until recently I could always watch live streams of Champion's League Football matches (etc) through the RTE (live) website:

http://www.rte.ie/live/index.html

A few weeks' ago the little "Realplayer" and "Windows Media Player" buttons under the live stream disappeared and haven't reappeared.
The only reason I can tell, from RTE's FAQ, as to why my access might be restricted is explained below...

Why is the availability of the service restricted in some cases?

For copyright reasons, in agreement with the associated rights-holder bodies, RTÉ.ie streaming content on the web in some cases can only be accessed from certain territories. Unfortunately users outside these territories will be unable to access this content.

Obviously, I live in Ireland and my ISP is Eircom so I can't see how that would be affecting me.

Anyway, the RTE FAQ says you have to get in touch with your ISP if you've any problems accessing the service. I did this and (surprise, surprise) Eircom tell me it's not their problem and that they can't do anything!

Anybody have any idea why this is happening and how I might sort it out?

I would be very, very grateful.

Cabaal

Are you using any adblocking software in IE or Firefox?
Its unlikely that Eircom would be seen as an outside of Ireland ISP by the RTE website.

dub45

Have you tried using another browser? If this was a common problem it it likely that there would be other posts about it.

hailtothechimp

Cabaal, Not that I'm aware of.

dub45, I should have mentioned that I've tried to access it with Firefox and IE - but no joy on either front.

The strange thing is that the WMP and Realplayer links have disappeared.
Contrast this with the BBC Sport website, which also restricts access - to users in the UK in that case. I have the option of selecting the player I wish to use and only when it tires to connect/buffer does a message appear telling me that it's restricted.

I can't even get that far on RTE! Though I could until very recently and everyone else I know can.

Gah!

dub45

Have you tried turning off your firewall briefly:) Have you updated any security stuff lately? Are windows media player and realplayer working ok seperately?

Friend of mine who is a pc 'innocent' recently rang me in a state as his internet access had gone - turned out his Zone Alarm settings had mysteriously changed.

Might be worth messing around in that area and seeing if you can find anything.

hailtothechimp

Two other relevant Bits from the RTE FAQ:

I'm in the relevant territory and I can't access the service. Why?
If you are in the relevant territory but cannot access the content, please contact your ISP directly and advise them of your problem. Your ISP will then make contact with RTÉ.ie.

Why don't I contact RTÉ.ie directly rather than my ISP if I'm having problems accessing the service?
The authenticity of each new applicant needs to be checked before access can be enabled. Whether you should be receiving the service will be determined by the location of your IP address. Your ISP will have a record of your IP address and its location.

RTÉ.ie can only accept an application from your ISP to have your IP address included for the service.

My ISP basically told me that they couldn't help so where do I go from there?

dub45

hailtothechimp wrote: »

Two other relevant Bits from the RTE FAQ:

My ISP basically told me that they couldn't help so where do I go from there?

If your internet is working ok it is probably reasonable for Eircom to say it is not their problem.

dub45

Just another thought - have you tried accessing it via a hotspot where Eircom would not be the isp so that you could see if it is the laptop settings that are causing the problem?

hailtothechimp

dub45 wrote: »

Have you tried turning off your firewall briefly:)

Yup! No Joy.

dub45 wrote: »

Have you updated any security stuff lately? Are windows media player and realplayer working ok seperately?

Nope. Yes.

It's headwreckingly frustrating. I should add that I don't have access to TV (by choice) so this is my main option when it comes to watching games (other than going to the pub, but I've got the flu presently). It's a bloody good stream too.

Cabaal

imho from my experience its likely laptop config rather then something Eircom can fix for you, test on a friends connection or something

imho its worth noting that if your on a non-Irish IP you'll get "ROI Only [more info]" under each stream...atleast this is what I get, if the actual stream buttons have disappeared then its another issue I'd say

are you able to watch other streaming content on the RTE website...for example http://www.rte.ie/news/capitald/ I can watch this even though I get ROI Only on the other streams

hailtothechimp

dub45 wrote: »

Just another thought - have you tried accessing it via a hotspot where Eircom would not be the isp so that you could see if it is the laptop settings that are causing the problem?

The object in question is a desktop, so no!

My "no TV" issue complicates this.

dub45

Ok well any friends with laptops that could call over and see if theirs would work?

MickLimk

Worth trying a tracert to make sure you're not routing outside of Ireland? Another quick check would be to see if your IP address is officially registered to Eircom. Has been seen in the past where blocks of IP addresses are transferred from one ISP to another but takes a while for the Geo IP info to be updated.

hailtothechimp

Cabaal wrote: »

are you able to watch other streaming content on the RTE website...for example http://www.rte.ie/news/capitald/ I can watch this even though I get ROI Only on the other streams

No. I can't watch any live streams - simply because the player buttons aren't there. I can watch archived content fine though, but then that's another issue.

hailtothechimp

dub45 wrote: »

Ok well any friends with laptops that could call over and see if theirs would work?

They could...but probably not in time for tonight, which is when I really want/need it!

decob

as someone said, check your ip. I found this site which gives a basic idea where your ip is located. If it's not showing up as ireland complain to eircom..

watty

Try download and install latest java,
make sure SMIL is registered with real player

RTE website is top heavy with Java and SMIL instead of proper plain links to *.rm stream. Makes using gadgets, Internet radio and phones a pain, even though RTE claim a major reason for the streams is to support these.

Try view page source and search for smil, if it is there your java environment may be the problem.

It the most likely issue if the buttons simply don't exist.

watty

It really sound more like a Java issue than IP. Most Sites the links/buttons are still their and it's only when you try to play that you are blocked if an IP issue.

Besides eircom are not NTL or "3".

hailtothechimp

decob wrote: »

as someone said, check your ip. I found this site which gives a basic idea where your ip is located. If it's not showing up as ireland complain to eircom..

Thanks. Just did it. Shows up as Irish...so at least we can rule that out. I should add that the Eircom support guy I spoke to seemed only vaguely aware that RTE was the national broadcaster...

Cabaal

hailtothechimp wrote: »

No. I can't watch any live streams - simply because the player buttons aren't there. I can watch archived content fine though, but then that's another issue.

If you can't play ANY streams then its nothing to do with eircom and is likely something on the pc, as some of the streams will work outside Ireland as I've explained

hailtothechimp

watty wrote: »

Try download and install latest java,
make sure SMIL is registered with real player

Downloaded and installed latest Java. Hasn't helped. Not sure how to register SMIL with real player - but I can't find "smil" when searching through the page source.

I think you're on to something here though! It may just be a question of making those damn buttons reappear...

hailtothechimp

Cabaal wrote: »

If you can't play ANY streams then its nothing to do with eircom and is likely something on the pc, as some of the streams will work outside Ireland as I've explained

Basically the entire issue revolves around this page:

http://www.rte.ie/live/index.html

Under the orange "live" button on the right you should, as far as I remember, be seeing realplayer or Windows Media Player buttons. I can no longer see those so can play no streams from this page.

I don't have a problem streaming from other sources. In fact I'm watching live snooker as we speak.

admol

If your Internet connection is fine then it has nothing to do with Eircom. It is your own software issue and Eircom wouldn't be able to help you in the slightest :rolleyes:

Try another browser and ensure that you all have all the necessary plugins installed. Other than someone here calling to your house not much we'll be able to do I'm afraid.

Edit: Are you sure what your trying to watch is even on?

GasserOfMattoon

I don't know if i can help fix your browser issue but I took the following
URLs from the page source of the RTE site you linked


http://dynamic.rte.ie/av/live/ngb/rte1-225.asx Windows media Player


http://dynamic.rte.ie/av/live/ngb/rte1-225.smil Realplayer


I was able to stream through Media Player directly by opening File-Open URL in WMP and then pasting in the first URL. Haven't tried it in Realplayer.


Hope this helps

mickzer

admol hit the nail on the head ,I think. There are no Realplayer or WMP.buttons unless the programme is showing.
mickzer.

Cabaal

mickzer wrote: »

admol hit the nail on the head ,I think. There are no Realplayer or WMP.buttons unless the programme is showing.
mickzer.

ha, had to be something that simple I guess

hailtothechimp

mickzer wrote: »

admol hit the nail on the head ,I think. There are no Realplayer or WMP.buttons unless the programme is showing.
mickzer.

Hi again all.

The above may sound like the simple solution but I'm afraid it ain't. Even when a programme is showing the buttons are nowhere to be seen.

Doing my head in!

hailtothechimp

GasserOfMattoon wrote: »

I don't know if i can help fix your browser issue but I took the following
URLs from the page source of the RTE site you linked


http://dynamic.rte.ie/av/live/ngb/rte1-225.asx Windows media Player


http://dynamic.rte.ie/av/live/ngb/rte1-225.smil Realplayer


I was able to stream through Media Player directly by opening File-Open URL in WMP and then pasting in the first URL. Haven't tried it in Realplayer.


Hope this helps

Actually, this seems to be working. Woo hoo!

Many thanks.

hailtothechimp

GasserOfMattoon wrote: »

I don't know if i can help fix your browser issue but I took the following
URLs from the page source of the RTE site you linked


http://dynamic.rte.ie/av/live/ngb/rte1-225.asx Windows media Player


http://dynamic.rte.ie/av/live/ngb/rte1-225.smil Realplayer

Neither of these links are working now...

Not only that but the RTE Live page (http://www.rte.ie/live/index.html) won't even load for me now! Or rather it just keeps trying to load indefinitely (with the error message "[an error occurred while processing this directive]" at the bottom of the page).

What the hell? This is the ONLY page I ever have any problems with.

Does anyone have any other RTE links that might work? Please?!

admol

hailtothechimp wrote: »

Neither of these links are working now...

Not only that but the RTE Live page (http://www.rte.ie/live/index.html) won't even load for me now! Or rather it just keeps trying to load indefinitely (with the error message "[an error occurred while processing this directive]" at the bottom of the page).

What the hell? This is the ONLY page I ever have any problems with.

Does anyone have any other RTE links that might work? Please?!

Try this link. Works for my anyway.

http://dynamic.rte.ie/av/live/26gb/rte2-225.asx

sz_danii

Why is everybody so concerned about the ISP ? ... it has nothing to do with your real player & media player ... if you installed winamp or any other player, it gonna set itself as "deafult" and the media player & real player button gonna disapear

admol

sz_danii wrote: »

Why is everybody so concerned about the ISP ? ... it has nothing to do with your real player & media player ... if you installed winamp or any other player, it gonna set itself as "deafult" and the media player & real player button gonna disapear

I'd think if you read the thread you would realise that we discounted the possibility of the problem lying with his ISP long ago

sz_danii

admol wrote: »

I'd think if you read the thread you would realise that we discounted the possibility of the problem lying with his ISP long ago

i saw that ... but how can anyone blaim the ISP in the first place ..>!??! It`s a software issue !

watty

People come here and ask because they arn't expert?

If you knew what the problem was, you would be coming here to ask. What's harder to understand is why the people that DO know stuff lurk here and help. It's not like there is any money in it.

Magnet: Rory

Does anyone know which TV stations (or content companies) are offering video content or live streaming to Irish customers over the net.....

So far i have

Channel 4
RTE
Sky News
Euronews
MTV

Is there any more worth noting?

Ourlad

I'm having a problem with rte's live streaming aswell. I tried to watch the football tonight but as it was buffering geo blocked was showing beside the download speed.

I've checked my ip address on a few different sites and they are all the same and its says my location is somewhere outside Zurich.

I've only set up my new connection with eircom last night is there any chance i've wrongly configured my wireless router or something with my OS. I'm running windows Vista and my router is a Netopia 2247-02.

Anybody any idea's on what's happened here?

Spear

Rorser wrote: »

Does anyone know which TV stations (or content companies) are offering video content or live streaming to Irish customers over the net.....

So far i have

Channel 4
RTE
Sky News
Euronews
MTV

Is there any more worth noting?

Sky News provide a free low bit rate stream of headlines, and a live higher bitrate stream for those with Sky subscriber accounts (same applies to their Sports channels)

Free one is here
http://news.sky.com/skynews/livenewsevents

BIackWizard

Ourlad wrote: »

I'm having a problem with rte's live streaming aswell. I tried to watch the football tonight but as it was buffering geo blocked was showing beside the download speed.

I've checked my ip address on a few different sites and they are all the same and its says my location is somewhere outside Zurich.

I've only set up my new connection with eircom last night is there any chance i've wrongly configured my wireless router or something with my OS. I'm running windows Vista and my router is a Netopia 2247-02.

Anybody any idea's on what's happened here?

Are you using a proxy?

In Firefox the settings are in:
Tools>Options>Advanced>Network>Settings

"Direct Connection to the Internet" should be selected.

Not sure how to do it in IE

BIackWizard

Does anyone know what speed GAA live streams at? Was wondering which eircom speed i should get.

Ourlad

BIackWizard wrote: »

Are you using a proxy?

In Firefox the settings are in:
Tools>Options>Advanced>Network>Settings

"Direct Connection to the Internet" should be selected.

Not sure how to do it in IE

Tried using a proxy and still gave me a swiss ip. Think i'll just get onto eircom and see if the problem is there end.

nilhg

I'm in France ATM, and yesterday in the local cyber cafe I could watch 2 of the matches streaming on RTE.ie but not Clare/Limerick, even though all were supposed to be confined to Ireland.

frink

I've the exact problem with live RTE streaming on my laptop. Can't even watch archive on the EURO2008 page.

I think it purely a problem with Eircom as I can stream live when I'm on the UCD network without any problem via Windows Media Player.

Magnet: Rory

It all depends on the speed of ur broadband, check it up on speedtest.net. I find it struggles even at 2mb so if there is any interfearance on the line and it desnt even hit 2mb you are gonna have problems.

BIackWizard

So i suppose with eircoms 24:1 contention i dont really have a chance no matter which 1 i get!

Cheers

Magnet: Rory

Its not really a question of contention, its more a question of raw speed. Contention may become an issue if you are getting nowhere near what you are paying for (3mb from contended suppliers can drop dramatically for example, I once experienced 1.5mb on a line that was provisioned for 3mb and i know there is far worse cases than that).

The service seems to run fine on a 4mb line (which consistantly runs at 4mb) but a 2mb line (which consistantly runs at 2mb) tends to present problems in terms of clean streaming. There could be other issues at play here (Ping speed, consistency of signal or even a poor broadcast from the station involved) but i do suspect its just raw broadband speed thats needed.

Ourlad

Rorser wrote: »

Its not really a question of contention, its more a question of raw speed. Contention may become an issue if you are getting nowhere near what you are paying for (3mb from contended suppliers can drop dramatically for example, I once experienced 1.5mb on a line that was provisioned for 3mb and i know there is far worse cases than that).

The service seems to run fine on a 4mb line (which consistantly runs at 4mb) but a 2mb line (which consistantly runs at 2mb) tends to present problems in terms of clean streaming. There could be other issues at play here (Ping speed, consistency of signal or even a poor broadcast from the station involved) but i do suspect its just raw broadband speed thats needed.

I'd say your right, i've only 2mb with eircom and did a speedtest tonight and was only getting 362kbs download speed so i wouldnt have a chance of watching it any way. Have 4mb in work and it plays no problem.

karlkarlson

does anyone unable to stream rte with an Irish IP run Google accelerator on their PC? If yes, try exiting in the bottom right corner of the screen or even uninstalling it. then refresh the rte screen and see do you've any joy.

Google accelerator has a known issue with youtube videos as well - when it's running the vids often say 'we are sorry this video is unavailable' or something to that effect; again, exiting and refreshing the streaming video does the trick.

Ourlad

karlkarlson wrote: »

does anyone unable to stream rte with an Irish IP run Google accelerator on their PC? If yes, try exiting in the bottom right corner of the screen or even uninstalling it. then refresh the rte screen and see do you've any joy.

Google accelerator has a known issue with youtube videos as well - when it's running the vids often say 'we are sorry this video is unavailable' or something to that effect; again, exiting and refreshing the streaming video does the trick.

The google accelerator and tool bar were causing the problem with rte's streaming in my case.

I just uninstalled everything to do with google and then it worked fine after that.

peejay1986

Is there any way of bypassing the location restriction so I can watch live streaming in the UK when I'm at Uni?