Luci Live Lite Instead of MusicTaxi

This translation was generated automatically.

Today I was a guest again on Was mit Medien. This time we talked about Apple Watch, media companies rushing out half-baked apps for it, and the possible future of apps on Apple TV.

Until now I’ve connected to the studio via ISDN using MusicTaxi. But I voluntarily cancelled my ISDN line last year, before it could be cancelled on me as part of the forced switch to VoIP.

Hardware codec makers have offered IP-network option cards for some models for a while, but still charge prices close to a certain golden watch.

Technica Del Arte in the Netherlands offers a software alternative for several platforms: Luci Live. Over the internet, it connects via RTP to the IP address where the broadcaster’s hardware codec is listening. We needed a few tries and a couple of codec reboots to get it working for DRadio. You probably also need to open the right RTP ports in the firewall. Unfortunately, the software only uses the audio devices selected in the system; you can’t select individual channels.

The Lite version costs about €20–30 and supports only the G.722 codec, which transmits signals up to 7 kHz. It sounds a little muffled, but still quite good.

The full version with more and better codecs costs around €250, but you can also rent it for 30 days for €20.

There’s also a demo that sends one second of silence every 20 seconds. An echo server is preconfigured for an initial test.

And, as is so often the case with audio software: don’t open your eyes. It sounds good, though.

Thanks to Ben for the tip!