"Chris Isbell" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 1 Jan 2007 17:13:13 -0000, "Trevor"
wrote:


"Laurence Payne" lpayne1NOSPAM@dslDOTpipexDOTcom wrote in message
. ..
On Mon, 1 Jan 2007 07:46:25 -0000, "Trevor"
wrote:

I have a .ra file that lasts over an hour. When I play it in audacity
it
plays the whole thing in 2 seconds. I would really like to convert it
to
mp3, which it does but still only a high speed two second sound clip.


How big is the ra file on your computer.
What does it actually do?
Does it contain actual audio data, or is it an instruction to access
an audio stream from the Internet?

Its a Coldplay concert download from the BeeB and is 14.3 mb


You must mean: rtsp://rmv8.bbc.net.uk/radio2/r2_coldplay.ra ;-)

You are likely to be in breach of the terms of the BBC streaming audio
downloads in attempting to make a copy or copies, and could therefore
be liable to prosecution. (Record companies and the PRS seem to be
getting increasingly willing to take individuals to court these days.)

In addition, this stream uses a very high level of compression (32kbps
according to Real Player against 1411.2kbps for a CD). I have taken a
brief listen and the compression artifacts are high audible, even to
my ageing ears. Would it not be simpler and better to buy one of the
band's CDs?

That said, a Google search reveals programs able to perform the
necessary conversion. Whether you wish to run the risk of installing
such 'underground' software onto your machine and the possibility of
being taken to court for breach of copyright after raising the issue
in a public forum, is up to you.

--
Chris Isbell
Southampton, UK


I didn't realise the implications - the downloading and software is
discussed openly on uk.media.radio.bbc-2.

I have all the Coldpaly albums anyway so wasn't particularly interested from
that point of view. I'm more interested in being able to listen to 'Open
County' and Farming Today when out walking.