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Can no longer see track length when streaming

spiralmux	Date: October 9, 2003 @ 5:17 PM Before today, I could see how long a track was whilst streaming it. Now I can't. This means that I can't display time remaining. What gives?
ChillinBuzz	Date: October 9, 2003 @ 5:19 PM hmm, me too. i just streamed a track using Winamp 2.9, not touched a single thing, and now i cant see a remaining time on DM streams... is this a glitch, an error in coding (which was fine until today i thought) or something darker? i really hope not
Cryxan	Date: October 9, 2003 @ 5:59 PM I'd guess that it has to do with deep linking being disabled? See fu-dog's journal.
fu-dog	Date: October 9, 2003 @ 6:08 PM Unfortunately, i have not found a better way to disable deep linking. I'm still in search of a more friendly apache module that will let me return the system to the old format of downloads only because the uninterruptable stream method is not very user friendly. :-p" id="64597">This does indeed have to do with deep linking being disabled. Previously, when you were "streaming" music it was not being streamed but instead buffering the a raw downloaded file. Now the server actually streams byte for byte instead of doing a standard file cache. Unfortunately, i have not found a better way to disable deep linking. I'm still in search of a more friendly apache module that will let me return the system to the old format of downloads only because the uninterruptable stream method is not very user friendly.
ChillinBuzz	Date: October 9, 2003 @ 6:08 PM me needs to swallow a few more books
Apertome	Date: October 9, 2003 @ 6:17 PM OTOH, if this will make the site more reliable, it might be worth it. I guess it's too early to tell. " id="64600">Ah, I see. Yeah, it looks as if those changes caused this to happen. I thought that such deep linking was already disabled, by checking the referrer. Hence those problems with AOL people not being able to stream, IIRC. When I came to DMusic, I was (very pleasantly) surprised to see that the streams were seekable. It's sad to lose this feature. I would expect people will be less likely to comment now that they can't seek, or their comments may not be as helpful. I for one often go back to hear parts of a track again so I can make a more intelligent comment. Or I might "skim" a song first to get a brief overview. OTOH, if this will make the site more reliable, it might be worth it. I guess it's too early to tell.
Apertome	Date: October 9, 2003 @ 6:18 PM Ah cool, glad to see this is a well-understood issue. Thanks for the info
fu-dog	Date: October 9, 2003 @ 7:23 PM We can't check referrer for the actual audio application because some of them don't pass referrer information, namely winamp 2x. I would definitely like to get stream seeking back, but that's dependant upon whether or not i can find a good way to compare client access to entries in the database and then give the webserver a go ahead. Right now i've set up a handler for .mp3 files that runs a php script to do the job. If the user is acceptable then the php script passes the data through to the user. This is boohicky because 1) it relies on the continuous execution of the php script and is thus susceptible to short time outs; 2) it kills stream seeking and the resuming of downloads. Any ideas? Any tech genius from anyone is greatly appreciated.
Apertome	Date: October 9, 2003 @ 7:43 PM Interesting, I didn't think about the audio apps not passing referrers. I thought the browser would first attempt to access file and that you should get a referrer from that. But I suppose if it's configured to directly send those files to the player that might not happen. I'll do some research and see if I can come up with something
Jennae	Date: October 9, 2003 @ 8:37 PM i'm screwed
fu-dog	Date: October 9, 2003 @ 8:41 PM software.tangent.org, but the former copies to cache files (creating a different headache) and the latter just runs the script separate from the request. What i need is a module that will delegate file transmission priviledges based upon the results of an external handler script. I've been seeking such a module for a few months but i haven't found anything yet. I've considered writing my own, but looking over how to write an apache module made me realise how long it's been since i've messed with any C code. :puke:" id="64620">You do get a referrer from the browser, but the browser doesn't pass that to the audio application when it is activated via the mime extension. Even if that would work, there'd be all those folks that don't have their mime extensions configured properly and they'd be out of luck. I was just playing with mod_filter and mod_trigger from software.tangent.org, but the former copies to cache files (creating a different headache) and the latter just runs the script separate from the request. What i need is a module that will delegate file transmission priviledges based upon the results of an external handler script. I've been seeking such a module for a few months but i haven't found anything yet. I've considered writing my own, but looking over how to write an apache module made me realise how long it's been since i've messed with any C code.
vonsmear	Date: October 9, 2003 @ 9:29 PM You can't move forwards or backwards either now...
vonsmear	Date: October 9, 2003 @ 9:30 PM In the track while it is streaming, I mean.
TameasDust	Date: October 10, 2003 @ 10:49 AM strange effect of this, not seeing the track length thingy, is that i can stream a song without having it stop to buffer 15 times in a 5 min song. i didn't stream much for this reason. this is cool now i can enjoy songs like people that have cable do not seeing the track length and being able to go back a forward are not important to me. I like to listen to the song as the artist intended it to be and make my comment based upon that. If i miss some i stream it again
skiza	Date: October 10, 2003 @ 1:17 PM I can listen to music by using download, but it behaves like a streaming audio... ie: can not save it to HD, move forwards or backwards, or see total time of tracks." id="64677">i can no longer stream any Lo or Hi-Fi spng. i get errors: "Windows Media Player encountered an unknown error." I can listen to music by using download, but it behaves like a streaming audio... ie: can not save it to HD, move forwards or backwards, or see total time of tracks.
leflaw	Date: October 10, 2003 @ 2:41 PM I am San Francisco at the moment, and this site works fine -- no GREAT. So WTF are you all referring yo that is "unreliable"? I haven't found an ISP as reliable as dmusichost.com either. Try Mp3.com (did they renew their domain name?)" id="64687">This a general observation. I have known many codeheads over the last 25 years, but not many as gifted as fu-dog, and our new coder, Dmitri. I think any other codeheads who seek to help this site ought to assume they knows what they is doing, unless you can illustrate otherwise. This well help everyone stop wasting time with workarounds and fixes that we have already considered or rejected. Not that more help or opinions are unwelcome, but we really are in a hurry to reach breakeven, since we have so far shunned investors. I pay for everything here, in case you didn't know, and I haven't seen many sites as "reliable" . Oh yeah, we get clobbered time to time with bandwidth needs, but we catch up to them and solve the problem. I am San Francisco at the moment, and this site works fine -- no GREAT. So WTF are you all referring yo that is "unreliable"? I haven't found an ISP as reliable as dmusichost.com either. Try Mp3.com (did they renew their domain name?)
fu-dog	Date: October 10, 2003 @ 2:45 PM That puts this thread to a close. For any other streaming issues please go here as to keep the timeline of complaints & repairs linear. Thanks." id="64688">I've fixed the "unknown length" issue when downloading a song, and i've also found some http headers that will allow me to adjust for seeking... this means you can scroll through tracks again! That puts this thread to a close. For any other streaming issues please go here as to keep the timeline of complaints & repairs linear. Thanks.
Apertome	Date: October 10, 2003 @ 7:02 PM dmusichost.com, I have never seen a problem with it. However, I don't spend nearly as much time on sites hosted there as I do on DMusic itself. I have been told that if I need a very reliable site, I should get a dmusichost.com account, or some other hosting account. I fully intend to do so. But I am concerned that DMusic's reliability problems make the entire site seem less professional and drive potential new artists elsewhere. I know that if I had experienced these kinds of problems when I first signed up, I wouldn't be here. I stay because this is a great site and a great community. I'm not trying to bitch and moan about problems or point the finger at anyone. I just think that this problem needs to be addressed, and fast, before it starts to tarnish DMusic's reputation -- if it hasn't already." id="64711">Fu-Dog, thanks! I noticed I could see the track length again and checked here. You rock! Leflaw, I know I have brought this up before, but since you bring it up again I will address it. In my experience, DMusic has been pretty unreliable. I'm not assuming that anyone doesn't know what they are doing or anything like that, all I know is what I observe, and what other people on here tell me they observe. Sometimes the site will work great for weeks at a time. Sometimes pages will stop loading, or start to load very slowly for no apparent reason. Sometimes it's just the .com pages or just the .net pages; sometimes it's just the images; sometimes everything will be fine except the streaming. A couple of weeks ago I was listening to some tracks. The way I like to do this is to stream an entire folder (Hifi) and comment on the songs as they play. In this instance, by the time ONE comment page loaded, I was already listening to the next song -- these were 4 and 5-minute songs, so it was taking 5-6 minutes for a single comment page to load. I know I'm not the only one with this problem. I talk to several DMusic members through instant messaging programs, spread across the US and around the world. I often will send them a message to see if they are having the same problems with DM that I am, to make sure it's not a problem with my connection, and without fail, they find they have the same problems. I also know it's not my connection that is the problem because I don't have these issues with ANY other Web site. Maybe I am on DMusic at different times from you; I don't know. How anyone could not notice these (very frequent) problems is beyond me. As you have pointed out, you are paying for the site. I understand this. I was told before there even WAS a way to subscribe that I shouldn't complain because I wasn't a subscriber. How was I supposed to subscribe when there was no way to do so? Furthermore, I just can't justify paying for a service that I don't trust will be available 24/7. Someone suggested having extra servers for subscribers; this idea is interesting, but the problem is, before I subscribe, I need to KNOW the site is reliable, from first-hand experience. At this point in time my experience is that the site is usually fine, but often erratic, and sometimes erratic for days at a time. As for dmusichost.com, I have never seen a problem with it. However, I don't spend nearly as much time on sites hosted there as I do on DMusic itself. I have been told that if I need a very reliable site, I should get a dmusichost.com account, or some other hosting account. I fully intend to do so. But I am concerned that DMusic's reliability problems make the entire site seem less professional and drive potential new artists elsewhere. I know that if I had experienced these kinds of problems when I first signed up, I wouldn't be here. I stay because this is a great site and a great community. I'm not trying to bitch and moan about problems or point the finger at anyone. I just think that this problem needs to be addressed, and fast, before it starts to tarnish DMusic's reputation -- if it hasn't already.

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