Shoutcast station search

pietertvl · 11th December 2015, 17:18

Long time end user, at least a decade or so.
I just upgraded to a new hard drive, and upgraded my browser from FF 27 to 42. (Win7 SP1)
I have a default tab on my browser set to Shoutcast/Search.
The format for that page has changed again, and there's even less information being displayed than before.
Years ago, run a search and you'd get the Station Name, Genre, Artist, Song Title, Listeners, Bitrate and More. Sortable by Listeners or whatever.
Now its just Station Name, alphabetically.
And the search by Genre capability has been narrowed to a listing of maybe 20 or 25 very broad genres.
A few months ago, I recall being able to say search within one of a dozen or more different types of Jazz, for example. Yes, the categories weren't always a good match to the station, but it was better than NOTHING.

The result is that as an end user, it has now become impossible to find the kind of music I'm looking for via the search dialog window, given the number of stations out there and the low information display format. I have bookmarked hundreds of stations from past efforts, so I'm not totally without current options. But its not worth the effort now to use the search tool to find potential additions.

Maybe this is a work in progress and something more helpful is being developed. But what I'm seeing is the tool being streamlined to the point where its now useless. And Advanced Search is no better, as the display of results is identical. And without a useful Search tool, all the efforts by those creating stations, working on technical improvements, will come to naught as listeners can't find their way.

ryerman · 11th December 2015, 18:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by pietertvl

...I have a default tab on my browser set to Shoutcast/Search.
The format for that page has changed again, and there's even less information being displayed than before.
Years ago, run a search and you'd get the Station Name, Genre, Artist, Song Title, Listeners. Sorted descending by Listeners.
Now its just Station Name, alphabetically.

I see Station Name, Genre, Listeners, Bitrate and Type. All are sortable.

pietertvl · 11th December 2015, 18:18

Interesting.
Switched to IE, which I don't use except for testing purposes.
You are correct ...
All the genres I remember seeing a few weeks back are listed on the left margin.
Listing is inelegant, just one long list and no separators or bolding for the major categories.
If I hit on one genre, it displays just as you indicated.
However, if I enter something in the search box, I get no results of any kind.

Going back to my Firefox browser setup, I'll have to review addons and extensions to see if they are interfering with what is being displayed there. I am not having issues of any kind on other sites.
But its a bit reassuring at least to know that the functionality exists even if I can't access it with my current setup. Of course, lots of folks use FF so if anyone else out there is using FF 42 please share your experience with Search. I'm using Flashblock (to disable pop up audio ads) and AdBlock Plus

Update .. just checked my other computer (Win7) using FF 27, and it has the same issues I'm reporting above. No long listing of genres as in IE, and no details on station listings. In both cases, Search 'works' in FF (but only Station Names come up), while in IE the search function delivers nothing. On the second machine, in a puzzle, the display in IE is the same limited display I see on both machines for FF. No full listing of genres, no station details.

Friend just sent a screenshot from Mac/Chrome, and its as I remember it from the past.
Major genres, clickable to subgenres and search brings up the whole array of station details.

Just tried Win7/Chrome, and its not like the Mac. Pretty much like FF and IE on the second machine with a short list of broad genres and no details on station listings.

pietertvl · 11th December 2015, 21:50

DJ Egg just informed me that if my browser isn't nearly full screen, I'll get a truncated display.
I was leaving an inch and a half or so on both the left and right. Widening it by one half inch at both ends revealed the missing columns. Guess the formatting is set up as all or nothing on the space demands.

Thanks to all ....

sqgl · 10th February 2017, 12:32

Works in FF 43.0.1 and Opera 42.0

11th December 2015, 17:18	#1
pietertvl Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 32	Shoutcast station search Long time end user, at least a decade or so. I just upgraded to a new hard drive, and upgraded my browser from FF 27 to 42. (Win7 SP1) I have a default tab on my browser set to Shoutcast/Search. The format for that page has changed again, and there's even less information being displayed than before. Years ago, run a search and you'd get the Station Name, Genre, Artist, Song Title, Listeners, Bitrate and More. Sortable by Listeners or whatever. Now its just Station Name, alphabetically. And the search by Genre capability has been narrowed to a listing of maybe 20 or 25 very broad genres. A few months ago, I recall being able to say search within one of a dozen or more different types of Jazz, for example. Yes, the categories weren't always a good match to the station, but it was better than NOTHING. The result is that as an end user, it has now become impossible to find the kind of music I'm looking for via the search dialog window, given the number of stations out there and the low information display format. I have bookmarked hundreds of stations from past efforts, so I'm not totally without current options. But its not worth the effort now to use the search tool to find potential additions. Maybe this is a work in progress and something more helpful is being developed. But what I'm seeing is the tool being streamlined to the point where its now useless. And Advanced Search is no better, as the display of results is identical. And without a useful Search tool, all the efforts by those creating stations, working on technical improvements, will come to naught as listeners can't find their way. Last edited by pietertvl; 11th December 2015 at 19:29.

11th December 2015, 18:18	#3
pietertvl Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 32	Interesting. Switched to IE, which I don't use except for testing purposes. You are correct ... All the genres I remember seeing a few weeks back are listed on the left margin. Listing is inelegant, just one long list and no separators or bolding for the major categories. If I hit on one genre, it displays just as you indicated. However, if I enter something in the search box, I get no results of any kind. Going back to my Firefox browser setup, I'll have to review addons and extensions to see if they are interfering with what is being displayed there. I am not having issues of any kind on other sites. But its a bit reassuring at least to know that the functionality exists even if I can't access it with my current setup. Of course, lots of folks use FF so if anyone else out there is using FF 42 please share your experience with Search. I'm using Flashblock (to disable pop up audio ads) and AdBlock Plus Update .. just checked my other computer (Win7) using FF 27, and it has the same issues I'm reporting above. No long listing of genres as in IE, and no details on station listings. In both cases, Search 'works' in FF (but only Station Names come up), while in IE the search function delivers nothing. On the second machine, in a puzzle, the display in IE is the same limited display I see on both machines for FF. No full listing of genres, no station details. Friend just sent a screenshot from Mac/Chrome, and its as I remember it from the past. Major genres, clickable to subgenres and search brings up the whole array of station details. Just tried Win7/Chrome, and its not like the Mac. Pretty much like FF and IE on the second machine with a short list of broad genres and no details on station listings. Last edited by pietertvl; 11th December 2015 at 19:26.

10th February 2017, 12:32	#5
sqgl Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 188	Works in FF 43.0.1 and Opera 42.0 Remixing listener requests of ambient tracks live http://RePlayScape.com

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11th December 2015, 21:50	#4
pietertvl Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 32	DJ Egg just informed me that if my browser isn't nearly full screen, I'll get a truncated display. I was leaving an inch and a half or so on both the left and right. Widening it by one half inch at both ends revealed the missing columns. Guess the formatting is set up as all or nothing on the space demands. Thanks to all ....