[Wolves] Real audio stream ripper

[Stuart Langridge]

On 26/1/2005, "Jon Farmer" <jonfarmer at enta.net> wrote:
>> I want to listen to BBC radio programmes on my iRiver. I've paid
>> my licence fee, so I believe I have a right to listen to the BBC's output
>> in whatever format I choose and at whatever time.
>
>At the risk of starting a DRM/FLame war here I would suggest that
>although you might believe you have a right as a licence payer the law
>probably doesn't agree with you. As the BBC's content is copyrighted
>they have the right to decide how it is distributed. For example you
>could say you have the right to watch terrestrial TV in NTSC format
>instead of PAL but the BBC doesn't do that (I know there are other
>reasons for this but my point is the BBC decides the format).

Ah, that's not the same thing. The BBC are, indeed, not obligated to
*supply* content in a fashion that we demand. However, Matt's point
was, I think, more that he has a right to listen to it in any format he
chooses, as long as he's prepared to put the work in to get it from the
BBC's chosen output format into his choice of format. I think that
Auntie Beeb would acknowledge that you are quite welcome to watch BBC
television in NTSC, as long as you're prepared to do the PAL->NTSC
conversion; they are not obliged to supply it to you in NTSC format. The
DRM issue, as you know, is more around how some content (which includes
Real, theoretically) is supplied in a way that makes it extremely
difficult or impossible for you to listen to it in a format and at a
time of your choice. Up until relatively recently the only thing that
could decode Real streams was RealPlayer, necessitating nasty
sound-device-based hacks or a wire from speaker to microphone socket to
dumpa Real stream to a more accessible format; the advent of third-party
software like mplayer that can do it makes it a lot easier now.

Aq.